In my opinion, transferable points programs, are the most valuable points to accumulate. These points can often be used at better than 1 cent per point value to book travel. Even better, points can be strategically transferred to airline and hotel programs when valuable awards are available. If you’re at all interested in free travel or luxury travel with points & miles, then you need to understand the basics of each of these programs, including Amex Membership Rewards.
This post rounds out our guides to the top transferable points programs: Amex Membership Rewards (this post), Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Capital One “Miles”.
Amex Membership Rewards points can be earned via credit card spend, new account bonuses, credit card referrals, and more. Those points can then be transferred to airline or hotel partners, or used to pay for travel or merchandise. In one specific case, points can be converted to cash back.
Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about Membership Rewards.
Earn Amex Membership Rewards Points
Credit Card Welcome Bonuses
The easiest and quickest way to earn Membership Rewards points is through Amex credit card welcome bonuses.
Most Amex welcome offers stipulate that you can’t get the bonus if you’ve ever had that card before. That said, it doesn’t preclude you getting a bonus for a similarly named card. For example, there quite a few versions of the high end Platinum card, and it’s possible to get the welcome bonus with each and every one. Additionally, targeted offers sometimes do not have that once per lifetime language. In those cases, you can get the bonus even if you’ve had the card before. See: 8 ways to get the best targeted Amex welcome bonus offers.
Below are the Amex cards with the best current and public Membership Rewards welcome offers.
Credit Card Upgrade Bonuses
Amex frequently offers bonus points for upgrading from one card to another. For example, we’ve seen 50,000 point offers for upgrading from the Business Gold Rewards card to the Business Platinum card. Even better, these upgrade offers often do not have the once per lifetime language. That is, if you are targeted for an upgrade offer, you may be able to earn the bonus points even if you’ve had the card before. It is best to accept these offers only after you have earned a signup bonus for the higher end card.
Shopping Portal Rewards
It is possible to earn Amex Membership Rewards points by starting your shopping with the Rakuten (formerly Ebates) Shopping Portal. An option within the portal lets you choose whether you want to be paid in cash back or Membership Rewards points.
In addition to earning points by clicking through to stores from the portal, you can also register your credit cards with the portal to earn additional points at select stores and restaurants.
Click here for more details about this portal and why the Membership Rewards option is so exciting.
Credit Card Category Bonuses
The next best way to earn Membership Rewards points is by using the best card for each category of spend. If you spend a lot personally or through your business on any of the below categories, you can do very well. Particularly noteworthy is the no-annual-fee Blue Business Plus Credit Card which offers 2 points per dollar for all spend, up to $50K spend per calendar year (then 1X thereafter). That’s fantastic.
Another standout is the Rakuten Visa card when tied to a Rakuten account that earns Membership Rewards points. With this Visa card, you’ll earn 3X Membership Rewards in addition to portal rewards anytime you shop through the Rakuten portal and pay with your Rakuten Visa card. Complete details can be found here: Rakuten Visa with Membership Rewards. Everything you need to know.
| Spend Category | Best Options |
| US Supermarkets |
American Express Gold 4X (up to $25K per year, then 1X) EveryDay Preferred Up to 4.5X* (max $6K per year) |
| US Gas Stations |
Business Gold Rewards Up to 4X** EveryDay Preferred Up to 3X* |
| Restaurants | American Express Gold 4X American Express Green 3X Business Gold Rewards Up to 4X**, US only |
| Travel (Broadly Defined) |
American Express Green 3X |
| Flights |
Platinum consumer cards 5X Business Platinum (via Amex Travel) 5X Business Gold Rewards Up to 4X** American Express Gold 3X American Express Green 3X |
| Prepaid Hotels |
Platinum cards (via Amex Travel) 5X American Express Green 3X |
| Select Car Rental Companies | American Express Green 3X Morgan Stanley Credit Card 2X |
| Select US Department Stores | Morgan Stanley Credit Card 2X |
| US Shipping | Business Gold Rewards Up to 4X** |
| US Advertising in select media | Business Gold Rewards Up to 4X** |
| US Computer related purchases |
Business Gold Rewards Up to 4X** |
| Rakuten portal shopping |
Rakuten Visa 3X + portal rewards |
| Everywhere else | Blue Business Plus 2X EveryDay Preferred 1.5X* |
* The Amex EveryDay Preferred card earns a 50% bonus every billing period in which the card was used for 30 or more transactions. Before the 50% bonus, the card has the following bonus categories: 3x points at US supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1x); 2x points at US gas stations; 1x points on other purchases. After the 50% bonus, it offers: 4.5x points at US supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1.5x); 3x points at US gas stations; 1.5x points on other purchases.
** The Business Gold Card offers 4X on the two categories where your business spends the most each billing cycle from the following categories: ⚬ US purchases at restaurants ⚬ Airfare purchased directly from airlines ⚬ U.S. purchases for advertising in select media ⚬ U.S. purchases at gas stations ⚬ U.S. purchases for shipping ⚬ U.S. computer hardware, software, and cloud computing purchases made directly from select providers. 4X applies to first $150,000 in combined purchases in your two categories each calendar year, 1X point per dollar thereafter and on other purchases. Terms apply.
Credit Card Referrals
Another great way to earn Membership Rewards points is by referring friends and relatives. In some cases referral bonuses are really big. For example, in the past Amex has offered as much as 25,000 points as a referral bonus for the Business Platinum card. However, if you want to keep your friends, then make sure that the offer they get is as good as the best available public offer (compare to our Best Offers page).
Log into your account to check for any special referral offers.
Note that this option is especially powerful since you can now refer friends to other cards — even to cards you do not have. See this post for full details: Maximizing value from Amex multi-referrals.
Amex Offers
Amex Offers are usually best for saving cash. But, sometimes Amex Offers provide terrific opportunities for point earning instead. One (now expired) example was an offer for Reebok: Spend $75 or more, Get 1,500 Membership Rewards points. And one for Hugo Boss: Spend $250 or more, Get 5,000 points.
Sometimes Amex Offers are longer term and act more like a new category bonus. For example, there were a large number of offers in which you can get an extra Membership Rewards point per dollar spent at selected merchants throughout 2017. See: 2x Membership Rewards (2.5x with Everyday Preferred) at many online merchants.
Log into your account and check the section titled “Amex Offers and Benefits” to look for offers like these.
Miscellaneous Other Options for Earning Amex Membership Rewards Points
Extended Payment Option
Amex charge cards often offer an easy way to earn additional Membership Rewards points. Once you sign up for a charge card, you will start getting emails and letters inviting you to sign up for the Extended Payment Option. This option essentially turns your charge card into a credit card. Don’t do it. That is, don’t sign up until the offer includes a bonus of 5,000 to 10,000 Membership Rewards points. In my experience, these bonus offers usually appear towards the end of your first year of card membership (as long as you haven’t enrolled already).
Once you get an offer like the one shown above, go ahead and sign up. As long as you keep paying your card’s complete balance each month, there is no downside to enabling this feature.
FX International Payments
Amex offers businesses the ability to earn 1 Membership Rewards point per $30 of foreign wire payments (max 4,000 points per transaction). Even better, you may receive a welcome bonus offer like the one shown above (keep an eye out for this in your mailbox or email!).
Redeem Points
In general, Membership Rewards points are worth up to 1 cent each. Fortunately, there are three ways in which it is possible to get more value: redeem points for flights, transfer points to hotel or airline partners, or invest rewards. More on each below…
Travel
Those with American Express Platinum cards automatically get 1 cent per point value when redeeming points for travel. That’s not particularly good, but it’s much better than the value that people get without a Platinum card. Currently, the only way to get better than 1 cent per point value when redeeming points for travel is with the Business Platinum Card.
The Business Platinum Card offers a 35% Airline Bonus: Get 35% of your points back when you redeem points through Amex Travel for either a First or Business class flight on any airline, or for any flights with your selected airline.
After you receive the 35% rebate, the value works out to 1.54 cents per point. That’s very good, but it does require owning this ultra-premium card.
Transfer points
The best use of Membership Rewards points, in my opinion, is to transfer points to airline and hotel partners in order to book high value awards. Your best bet is usually to wait until you find a great flight or night award before transferring points. One exception: Amex often offers 30% or higher transfer bonuses to certain programs (Virgin Atlantic and British Airways are two recent examples). If you’re confident that you’ll use the points for good value, it may make sense to transfer points when those bonuses are in effect.
For specific examples of great ways to use points transferred to airline miles, please see: Amex Membership Rewards sweet spots.
Current Transfer Bonuses
Here are the currently available transfer bonuses from Amex Membership Rewards (this table will update automatically when new offers are found):
| Transfer Bonus Details | End Date Sortable |
|---|---|
| Qantas Transfer Bonus: Get Up To 25% Bonus Points & Earn Status Credits (Targeted?) | 2020/11/30 |
| 15% Bonus: Bank Points to Singapore KrisFlyer | 2020/12/27 |
Points can be transferred to the loyalty accounts of the primary cardholder or any authorized user or employee on the account.
Transfer Partners
It is free to transfer Membership Rewards points to foreign airlines. For transfers to US airlines, however, Amex charges an “excise tax offset fee” of $0.0006 per point (with a maximum fee of $99). Airlines subject to this fee are noted below.
| Rewards Program | Amex Transfer Ratio | Best Uses |
|---|---|---|
| AeroMexico ClubPremier | 1 to 1.6 | AeroMexico is a SkyTeam partner. Club Premier points can be used to book flights on AeroMexico, SkyTeam alliance members (such as Delta or Korean Air), or on select partner airlines. Unfortunately many have reported that awards are extremely difficult to book through AeroMexico so we do not recommend transferring points to this program. If you want to fly AeroMexico, look to transfer points to another SkyTeam partner (such as Air France) and then book AeroMexico with that program. |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1 to 1 | Redeem for Star Alliance flights and/or flights with Air Canada partners (such as Etihad). As of 11/8/20: No fuel surcharges; $39 CAD award booking fee; 5,000 points to add stopover on one-way award. See: Air Canada Aeroplan: Everything you need to know. |
| Air France KLM Flying Blue | 1 to 1 | Monthly Air France Promo Awards often represent very good value. Air France miles can be used to book Sky Team awards, including Delta awards. |
| Alitalia MilleMiglia | 1 to 1 | Alitalia is a member of the SkyTeam alliance. Unfortunately, fuel surcharges can be quite high, and partner awards cannot be booked online. Worse, after numerous devaluations, few sweetspots exist in this program. |
| ANA Mileage Club | 1 to 1 | Redeem for Star Alliance flights. Multiple stopovers allowed. Very good award prices for round-the-world travel. See also: How To Find Business Class Awards To Europe For 88,000 Miles Or Points. |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1 to 1 | Avianca LifeMiles can be great for Star Alliance awards. They offer reasonable award prices and no fuel surcharges on awards. They also offer shorthaul awards within the US (for flying United, for example) for as few as 7,500 miles one-way. Best of all, their mixed-cabin pricing can lead to fantastic first-class award prices. See this post for details. |
| Avios | 1 to 1 | While flights on British Airways itself often incur outrageously high fuel surcharges, many BA partners charge low or no fuel surcharges. Great value can be had in redeeming BA points for short distance flights. Iberia offers very low award prices on their own flights. Round trip partner awards can offer good value under some circumstances as well. Fuel surcharges are often lower than when booking through British Airways. Aer Lingus shares the "Avios" currency with British Airways and Iberia. In most cases it is best to move points to one of those programs in order to book awards for less. |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1 to 1 | Cathay Pacific has a decent distance based award chart, but as of April 2020 they no longer allow stopovers longer than 24 hours. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles can be a good option for booking American Airlines flights with a distance based award chart, especially if other OneWorld Alliance miles aren't available. |
| Choice | 1 to 1 | Choice Privileges points seem to be randomly quite valuable within the US, but dependably valuable internationally in expensive locations such as Scandinavia and Japan |
| Delta SkyMiles | 1 to 1 plus excise tax | Award flights to Canada are often a great deal. Partner awards often have terrific availability, but you may pay more miles than with other programs. |
| Emirates Skywards | 1 to 1 | Emirates has different award charts for each airline partner. Sometimes they allow one-way awards, sometimes they do not. In general, award prices are fairly high, but there are a few sweet spots such as New York to Milan for 90K round trip in business class. |
| Etihad Guest | 1 to 1 | Etihad has a very competitive award chart for American Airlines flights, among others. For example, they charge only 50,000 miles one-way for business class flights from North America to Europe. Partner awards must be booked over the phone. |
| Hawaiian Miles | 1 to 1 plus excise tax | Hawaiian Airlines’ award prices tend to be quite high, but there are some not-terrible uses: fly to neighboring islands for 7.5K miles, fly first class round-trip from Hawaii to South Pacific islands for as few as 95K miles, fly first class round-trip from Hawaii to Australia for as few as 130K miles. |
| Hilton | 1 to 2 | 5th Night Free awards |
| JetBlue | 250 to 200 plus excise tax | JetBlue points offer the most value when cheap ticket prices are available and when award taxes are high relative to the overall cost of the ticket (more details can be found here). The JetBlue Plus Card and the JetBlue Business Card offer a 10% rebate on awards, so you can get more value by holding one of these cards. |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1 to 1 | 5th Night Free awards |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1 to 1 | Best use is probably for flights on El Al with no fuel surcharges. Also useful for short AA flights. Qantas offers distance based award charts similar to Cathay Pacific. Both are OneWorld Alliance members. I recommend comparing award prices across both programs before transferring to either. Qantas offers round the world business class awards for only 280,000 points (but with many restrictions) |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1 to 1 | Use to book Singapore Airlines First Class awards (generally reserved for their own members) or for Star Alliance awards. Low change fees and no close-in booking fees make this a very good program for booking United Airlines flights. |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1 to 1 | Virgin Atlantic miles can be usefully thought of as a way to get a discount off Virgin Atlantic flights (high fuel surcharges make the flights far from free), but there are some better uses. Use miles to upgrade paid flights or to fly partner airlines. A fantastic use is to fly ANA in business or first class thanks to Virgin’s generous ANA partner award chart. Or, if you can find saver level Delta awards for nonstop international travel, you can often book through Virgin Atlantic far cheaper than with Delta directly. Virgin Atlantic also offers great award prices for Air France premium economy awards. |
Cash back (invest with rewards)
The only good way to get cash back is to add the American Express Platinum Card for Schwab to your portfolio. This card offers its “Invest with Rewards” benefit. With this benefit you can deposit Membership Rewards points into a Schwab account at a value of 1.25 cents per point. For example, 60,000 points becomes $750.
Considering the fact that there are so many ways to earn lots of Membership Rewards points, the ability to cash out at 1.25 cents per point is excellent.
Other ways to redeem points
You can also redeem points for gift cards or merchandise. At most, with this approach you’ll get 1 cent per point value, but usually you’ll get quite a bit less.
You can also use points to pay some merchants directly (Amazon.com, for example). Don’t do this. These options offer very poor value. Further, they may compromise the security of your account (i.e. if someone hacks into your Amazon account, they might spend your Membership Rewards points – causing you a headache in getting your points reinstated).
Sweet spot awards
Our post, Amex Membership Rewards sweet spots, details the best value uses of Amex Membership Rewards. Either click here or click below to jump to a section of the post:
- Domestic US Flights
- Hawaii
- Europe
- Asia
- Caribbean / Latin America
- Africa
- Australia / New Zealand / Oceania
- Round the world ticket
- Hotel Partners
Manage Points
Combine Points Across Cards
Amex automatically pools all of your points together. When you earn points with different cards, the point total shown when viewing either card is the total across cards.
Share Points Across Cardholders
Unlike Chase and Citibank, Amex doesn’t allow members to move points from one person’s account to another. That said, it is possible to transfer one person’s points to another person’s loyalty program account. The key is that the person who receives the points must be an authorized user or employee on the other person’s account. For example, my wife can transfer Membership Rewards points to my Virgin Atlantic account as long as I’m an authorized user (or employee) on any of her Membership Rewards cards.
As of September 1, 2019, the authorized user card must be active for 90 days before it will unlock the ability to transfer your points to the authorized user’s loyalty program account.
How to Keep Points Alive
Thankfully, it is very easy to keep Amex Membership Rewards points alive. Simply keep any Membership Rewards card open. For example, if you are about to close your one and only Membership Rewards card, then open another Membership Rewards card account first in order to preserve your points. Amex offers some no-fee Membership Rewards cards, such as the Blue Business Plus and the Amex Everyday, so this shouldn’t be much of a burden.
More information
Amex’s official Membership Rewards page can be found here.
