Amex Membership Rewards, which is one of the major transferable points programs, has just added a new points transfer partner. Specifically, you can now move points to Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club, potentially unlocking stays at hundreds of luxury properties, including some of the most well-regarded in the world.
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Transfer Amex points to Leaders Club at a 4:1 ratio
The Amex Membership Rewards program in the United States has just added Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) Leaders Club as its newest transfer partner. The transfer ratio is 4:1, and you can transfer Amex points in minimum increments of 1,000 points (which would earn you 250 Leaders Club points).
This is Amex Membership Rewards’ 20th travel transfer partner and fourth hotel transfer partner. Amex is the second transferable points currency to partner with Leaders Club, after Citi ThankYou (though with Citi the transfer ratio is 5:1, so on the surface, Amex is a better deal). There are several great cards earning Amex Membership Rewards points.
What is Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club?
Many people understandably might not be familiar with Leading Hotels of the World or Leaders Club, so let’s talk about that. Leading Hotels of the World is a collection of independent luxury hotels, with over 400 properties in 80 countries around the globe. Chances are that you’re familiar with some of LHW’s properties, even if you didn’t know they were associated with the group.
You should think of Leading Hotels of the World as more of a hotel marketing group than as a single hotel group. LHW doesn’t manage its hotels; rather, it markets a group of otherwise independent luxury hotels. As a matter of fact, many properties of smaller hotel groups, such as Rocco Forte, belong to LHW.
Leading Hotels of the World is similar to Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), with which Hilton Honors has a partnership. I would say that, on balance, LHW properties are a bit higher end than SLH properties, as LHW has some truly iconic properties, like the Ritz Paris.
Is transferring Amex points to Leaders Club worth it?
What is award pricing like with Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club? Pricing is dynamic, and you can search for award costs by logging in to your account and going through the booking process.
Let me note that what’s really cool about this partnership is that you can redeem at some independent luxury hotels that you can’t otherwise currently efficiently book with transferable points.
Based on just about all the hotels that I’ve searched, each Leaders Club point gets you an average of around eight cents (in USD) toward the cost of a hotel stay — in some cases it’s a bit higher, and in some cases it’s a bit lower. So when you factor in the 4:1 transfer ratio from Amex Membership Rewards to Leaders Club, that means you’re potentially getting a very respectable two cents of value per point.
That’s a really good redemption rate, though let me note that the eight cents of value is in comparison to what LHW would otherwise charge, and in some cases you might find better rates elsewhere. Furthermore, these luxury hotels almost entirely belong to programs like Virtuoso, so you are giving up some perks by booking this way.
Bottom line
The Amex Membership Rewards program has added Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club as its newest transfer partner. Points transfer at a 4:1 ratio, and this is a great opportunity to book independent luxury hotels that you couldn’t otherwise efficiently redeem points for.
As of now, it appears to me that Leaders Club points are worth about 8 cents each toward the cost of a redemption, so, given the 4:1 transfer ratio, you could redeem Amex points for about 2 cents each toward luxury hotel stays. That could be a great value, assuming these are properties you’d otherwise consider booking.
What’s your take on transferring Amex points to Leaders Club?
Not all hotels are bookable using points and in many cases the points bookings are limited to some of the lowest level rooms and as you go up - its not available.
Secondly, using Membership Miles to book those rooms is much better than transferring to get Leaders Club points. You get all the Virtuoso type benefits (as you do also with Chase Travel). You are behind the 8 ball when using LC Points.
Would love to see this be a catalyst in AmEx offering Chase-style points boost redemptions (or AmEx style points “rebates”) for hotel stays.
surprised at your ambivalence here. this is a fantastic ratio and a really cool partner. you were just recently lamenting how hotel partners cant seemingly make the math work, and now a great option becomes available and you sort of hand waved it? Unless I'm misreading your tone entirely.
If you have a huuuuuuge stash of points and not a lot of cash, then sure it's a cool partner. I love boutique hotels so I looked into this a while back from the Citi POV, and Ben's screenshot of the JK Place Paris is an anomaly in my experience. As Ben calls out, most hotels I found were massively up-charged over market rates so you'd end up having to transfer hundreds of thousands (plural)...
If you have a huuuuuuge stash of points and not a lot of cash, then sure it's a cool partner. I love boutique hotels so I looked into this a while back from the Citi POV, and Ben's screenshot of the JK Place Paris is an anomaly in my experience. As Ben calls out, most hotels I found were massively up-charged over market rates so you'd end up having to transfer hundreds of thousands (plural) MR just for ONE night. If you can find the rare occasion where it's 50-60k MR a night then it might make sense. I also recall not being able to redeem points for a lot of them... but that may have been user error.
I feel like this is not publicized as much, but LHW charges taxes and fees on their awards. I had to pay $300 additional to the award for a one night stay once. You wouldn't see the taxes till the final check-out screen.
Oof! There it is! Just like IHG, Hard pass.
thanks for the FYI, definitely an important topic to bring up since most of their hotels seem to be craaaazy expensive (at least for me)
I made a reservation this year (for next year) for one night as an award stay and they didn't charge me anything other than the points (11,000 for a room which would have been 578 euro leader's club rate). I wonder if it changed. Could it be hotel dependent?
I redeemed some LHW points for a free night next year and wasn't charged any fees or taxes (it said "included"). It was 11,000 points for a room with a cash price of 580 euro so I thought it was a good deal (and they were points I had accumulated from staying at some LHW properties this year). Maybe it varies by property?
Not unexpected given the LWH tier status grant via the Platinum Card. Great move. Great transfer rate.
You’re better off booking the properties on FHR, THC or other platforms that grant upgraded benefits.
I guess this proves at least AMEX is breathing over there. Their transfer program is circles the drain.
That guaranteed 4PM late checkout via FHR, if you actually need it, is worth a lot. Better than most elite statuses (especially when those are usually discretionary ‘availability’-based).
A "leaders club" to sell to abject-groveling-followers with money ? Brilliant .
Alert, you've been taking the whole 'if you're not first, you're last' thing to a new level. (I'm reminded of the 'Gotcha-a-Dollar' fisherman... 'oh, oh... gotta be quicker than that!')