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The American Express Membership Rewards program offers a bevy of redemption options you’d expect from a robust loyalty program. However, transferring your points to one of their 21 travel partners is the best way to maximize your point value.
Redeeming Membership Rewards points in Amex portal
There are five ways to redeem your Amex points through the Membership Rewards portal along with one way to redeem them outside of the portal. You can access your redemption options at the Membership Rewards site by clicking “Use Points.”
Pay with points at checkout
You can use your accumulated Membership Rewards points when checking out at participating retailers. The value of your points depends on each retailer.
Data obtained May 2019. Values are subject to change and should be used only as a general guide.
Redeem for gift cards
Much like redeeming points on partnered retailers, the value of your points spent on gift cards depends on the retailer you’re purchasing a gift card from. At of the time of writing, your point values will range from 0.5 cents per point to 1 cent per point.
Make purchases through the Amex shopping portal
Points redeemed through the Amex shopping portal are worth 0.5 cents per point based on our valuation. Strangely, these points are worth less on average than redeeming at checkout.
Redeem for statement credits
You can redeem points for a statement credit to pay off charges on your Amex card. This isn’t a great choice for pure value as these redeemed points are only worth 0.6 cents each.
Book travel through Amex travel
There are a variety of ways to redeem your points for travel through Amex directly, including booking flights, reserving hotels and taking cruises. Here are the point breakdowns for each travel option.
Travel option
Point values per point
Flights through American Express Travel
1 cent
Hotels through American Express Travel
0.7 cents
Cruises through American Express Travel
0.7 cents
Vacations through American Express Travel
0.7 cents
Excise tax offset fee
0.5 cents
Hotels and flights on Expedia.com
0.7 cents
Data obtained May 2019. Values are subject to change and should be used only as a general guide.
Transfer your points to travel partners
Transferring your Amex Membership Rewards points to travel partners is the best use of Amex points. That’s because the average point values of airline and hotel reward programs are often much greater than a single Amex point. Considering that many — but not all — travel partners accept points at a 1:1 or similar ratio, you can double or triple the value of your points.
We covered Amex to partner transfer ratios in our Amex Membership Rewards guide, but here’s the current average point values of each partnered airline according to our research.
Travel partner
Average point value in cents
Aer Lingus AerClub
Between 1 and 2 cents
Air France KLM Flying Blue
2
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
1.4
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
1.5
JetBlue TrueBlue
1.4
Iberia Plus
Between 1 and 2 cents
British Airway Avios
1.5
Choice Privileges
0.6
Marriott Bonvoy
0.9
Aeromexico Club Premier
0.6
Air Canada Aeroplan
1.4
Millemiglia
0.5
All Nippon Air
1.5
AsiaMiles
1.4
Avianca LifeMiles
1.7
Delta SkyMiles
1.4
El Al Israel Airlines
0.6
Emirates
1.2
Etihad Guest
1.5
Hawaiian Airlines
1.5
Hilton Honors
0.4
Data obtained May 2019. Values are subject to change and should be used only as a general guide.
Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards points
There are roughly 10 Amex cards that can earn you Membership Rewards points, each with their own reward categories and perks centered around the program.
Some Amex cards can’t transfer points to partners, despite being able to earn Membership Rewards points. These cards include:
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Blue for Students®
Some Blue from American Express cards
Business Management Account
Gold Optima® Card
Optima® Credit Card
Optima® Platinum Card®
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
ZYNC® Card
How to choose to redeem your points
While transferring points to partnered airlines is often the best way to maximize value, this might not always be the best redemption option for you personally. Here are a few questions to ask when considering your choices.
Do you want to do the research? Transferring points to a partnered airline for great value requires a little research. Without doing your homework, you could end up transferring points to an airline with a higher average value per point and receive the same — or worse — value on your points than if you hadn’t transferred.
Do you prefer Delta? Amex is partnered with Delta for the purposes of its travel portal. If you prefer Delta flights or live near a Delta hub, it may be easier to book through the Amex travel portal rather than transfer your points.
Do you value customer service? American Express travel is well-known for its excellent customer service. No matter what happens during your trip, you’ll be able to connect with an Amex agent to help you find a solution.
Are you interested in a cruise? One option that the Amex travel portal offers that point transfers don’t is the ability to book a cruise with your points. While points redeemed this way are only worth 0.7 cents each, it’s an interesting use of points for a type of travel that you can often only purchase with cash.
Which Amex credit card do you have?The Platinum Card® from American Express in particular may warrant occasional redemptions through the Fine Hotels & Resorts program. Cardholders receive room upgrades, dining credits and other exclusive hotel perks at eligible Fine Hotels & Resorts properties.
Steven Dashiell is a credit cards writer at Finder. He's worked on 250 Finder articles and counting, helping readers embrace and maximize credit cards. Backed by nearly a decade of research and reporting experience, Steve's work can be seen on Debt.com, CreditCards.com and Lifehacker.
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