The Platinum Card from American Express for Schwab has a unique super power that’s often mentioned in passing by the FM Team: it makes it possible to convert your Membership Rewards points to cash at a rate of 1.1 cents per point. Even if your Membership Rewards points were earned from other Amex cards, simply having the Schwab Platinum card unlocks this capability. The name for this feature is “Invest with Rewards.”
How to Use Amex/Schwab Invest with Rewards
Using the Invest with Rewards feature is simple: Log into your Amex account, click “invest with rewards”, then follow the prompts. In the end, the cash will be deposited into your Schwab brokerage account where you can invest or withdraw it.
1) Log into Amex and click “Invest with Rewards”
Log into your Amex account and select your Schwab card. On the right, you should see a box showing your Membership Rewards points total. Beneath that total, you should see a link labeled “Invest with Rewards”. Click it.
2) Enter you Schwab Platinum card info
The next screen will invite you to get started. The screen after that will ask for your Schwab credit card info:
After entering that info, click “Next.”
3) Pick your brokerage account and the number of points you want to convert
The “Select Brokerage Account” drop down should auto populate with any valid Schwab brokerage accounts you have. You will then be able to review all of your choices on the final page. If everything is correct, click “Redeem Now.” Afterwards, you’ll see something like this:
Your redemption has been received and is being processed. Thank you for redeeming your Membership Rewards® points through Invest with Rewards. You should expect to see a deposit from Schwab in your brokerage account in approximately 4-6 business days. If you do not receive your deposit within that time frame, please contact Charles Schwab at 1-866-385-1227.You will receive an email confirmation of your redemption request. In the meantime, please print this page for your records.
Although the notice states that it will take 4-6 business days, normally it’s only a few minutes, even if you do the conversion outside of normal banking hours. Occasionally, there can be glitches that will stall the process or cause a delay, but that’s fairly rare.
The redeemed points will appear as cash in your brokerage account. Then, you can either invest the funds or transfer them to an external account.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
Is there a limit to how many MR you can convert annually?
Why bother? Can get 1 cpp by simply buying a ticket with points, canceling before 24 hours and getting quick statement credit for ticket at 1 cpp, Schwab seems like a lot of hassle for an extra .1 cpp or am I missing something?
I was wondering that too
Is this the highest cash out option amongst the flexible currencies?
Yes it’s the highest sanctioned cash out option that I can think of. There are sometimes tricks that involved buying refundable travel that result in better cash-outs though
Thanks for the reply! In terms of refundable how would that work? Wouldn’t a refundable booked through CSR just be refunded in points?
Is it possible to change a standard-issue Platinum card to a Schwab-branded card?
Answered my own question. From an AMEX page about Schwab cards:
“I already have an American Express Card. Can this Card be converted into The Schwab Investor Card® from American Express or American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab?
“No. You will need to apply and be approved for a new Schwab Investor Card® from American Express account or a new American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab account.”
Don’t forget to update it to 1.1c per point.
Thanks for the reminder. Updated.
I recently opened a Schwab Platinum card. When I get to step #2, after I enter my credit card details, I get an error stating that my information is incorrect and needs to be fixed. (It isn’t. Everything is entered accurately.)
I spent about an hour on the phone with an AmEx customer service agent, who ultimately concluded its a Schwab issue and directed me to contact them. I then spent about another hour on the phone with a Schwab agent who was equally flummoxed and insisted it must me an AmEx issue.
Has anyone else encountered this? Any idea on how to resolve?
This is a common problem with the Invest with Rewards option. I had the same problem back in 2019. Based on comments I’ve seen since then, it has never been fully resolved
I was in the same situation as you a few days ago. Did you get an instant number after approval? I used the expiration date from the instant number instead of the one on the physical card (I guess it takes them a while to update). The actual card number and CID should be the same though. Give that a try, it worked for me.
Had this issue early on as well. After calling in, we determined that the expiration on my card didn’t match what AMEX had in their system. Odd issue. Was easily resolved by requesting a new card (used that it was damaged – in order to get a new card number). As AMEX overnights Plat cards,it was working correctly in 24 hr turnaround.
Do you get 1099 if you convert MR to cash?
No