If you’re collecting miles & points through credit card spending, I always recommend doing what you can to accrue transferable points currencies.
That’s because these points are much more flexible than when you’re earning an individual airline or hotel points currency. You have the ability to transfer these points to all kinds of travel partners, and you’re safeguarded from a devaluation in a specific points currency.
American Express Membership Rewards is one of the most popular transferable points currencies. There are many great cards that earn Amex points, and Amex also has more airline and hotel partners than any other credit card points currency.
Amex Membership Rewards points are easy to earn
There are several credit cards that earn Amex Membership Rewards points. American Express has both personal and business cards, letting you maximize your rewards across a wide variety of spending categories.
The following are the best personal cards for earning Membership Rewards:
- The American Express® Gold Card (review)
- The American Express® Green Card (review – not currently available for new applicants)
- The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card (review – not currently available for new applicants)
- The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express (review – not currently available for new applicants)
- American Express Platinum Card® (review)
The following business cards earn Amex Membership Rewards:
- The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (review)
- The American Express® Business Gold Card (review)
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (review)
Note that you can earn a welcome offer on each of the above cards, and pool all those points toward one Membership Rewards account. Having multiple Amex cards is a great way to maximize your points earning potential. See my post about the best cards for earning Amex Membership Rewards points.
Read about my Amex credit card strategy here.
The information and associated card details on this page for the Amex EveryDay Credit Card, Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card, and American Express Green Card have been collected independently by OMAAT and have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
How much Amex Membership Rewards points are worth
Based on my methodology of valuing points currencies, I value Amex Membership Rewards points at 1.7 cents each. For that matter, that’s how much I value all major transferable points currencies.
There’s no science to that, but rather I think it’s a fair but conservative valuation for how much value you could get if you’re maximizing your rewards.
How you can redeem Amex Membership Rewards points
Let’s take a brief look at how you can redeem Amex Membership Rewards points, and then we’ll talk about how you should redeem points to maximize value.
Amex Membership Rewards points can be transferred to airline and hotel partners. The program has the below 21 partners (the most of any transferable points currency), including 18 airlines and three hotel groups, and most transfers are at a 1:1 ratio.
There are plenty of other ways to redeem Amex points as well. Among other things, Amex Membership Rewards points can be redeemed in the following ways:
- Toward cash, in the form of a statement credit
- Toward shopping directly with popular retailers
- Toward gift cards with a variety of retailers
- Toward flight and hotel purchases
The catch is that generally speaking you won’t get more than one cent of value per point with these redemption methods. There is one exception when it comes to paying for flights, which I’ll address below.
How to transfer Amex points to airline & hotel partners
My favorite use of Amex points is transferring them to airline partners, given the huge value that can be had for first and business class redemptions.
The process of transferring Amex points is easy. To start, just log into your Amex account on the points transfer page. If you prefer not to use that link, just go to the homepage of your Amex account, click on “Explore Rewards” (under your points balance), then click on “Earn and Redeem,” and then click on “Transfer Points.”
Transferring points is then a two step process. First you need to link your Membership Rewards account to an eligible loyalty account in your name. Just pick the partner program to which you want to transfer points (if you’ve already linked your accounts, you’ll see “Enrolled” listed under the name of the partner).
For example, I selected Air France-KLM Flying Blue. In order to link my Amex Membership Rewards and Flying Blue account:
- I first needed to enter the partner account number, and also select the name of the person who the partner account belongs to (this needs to be the primary cardmember or an authorized user)
- I then needed to enter the three digit code on the back of the card for verification
Once that’s complete, you’ll receive a message stating that your accounts have been successfully linked, and you should be able to move points from Amex to the partner.
Now when you select the same airline partner you should see the frequent flyer program already listed there, reflecting that the accounts are linked. You can on that same page enter how many points you want to transfer.
On the next page you’ll be asked to confirm the transfer, including the number of points you want to transfer, and the account number you want to transfer to. You then want to select the “Submit Transfer” option.
Then you’ll still need to enter the three digit code on the back of the card for verification.
Once that’s complete, check your partner loyalty program account and you should see the points in there, assuming transfers are instant (sometimes you’ll need to log out and then log back in).
How long does it take to transfer Amex Membership Rewards points?
Below is a chart with how long it typically takes to transfer Amex Membership Rewards points to airline and hotel partners:
| Membership Rewards Transfer Partner | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus AerClub | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
| Aeromexico Club Premier | 1000 : 1600 | ~4 to 5 days |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
| Air France KLM FlyingBlue | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
| ANA Mileage Club | 1000 : 1000 | ~2 to 3 days |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
| British Airways Executive Club | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
| Delta SkyMiles | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
| Emirates Skywards | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
| Etihad Guest | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
| Hawaiian HawaiianMiles | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
| Iberia Plus | 1000 : 1000 | ~4 to 24 hours |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 250 : 200 | Instant |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
| Choice Privilege | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
| Hilton Honors | 1000 : 2000 | Instant |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1000 : 1000 | Instant |
As you can see, transfers to all but three partners are typically instant, and even the partners that aren’t instant tend to process points transfers pretty quickly.
If you have any data points on how long Amex Membership Rewards points transfers have taken you, please share them below, so that I can keep the chart as accurate as possible!
Are there fees associated with transferring Amex Membership Rewards points?
Of the major transferable points currencies, Amex is the only one that charges fees to transfer points to some partners.
Amex Membership Rewards charges a federal excise tax for points transfers to US frequent flyer programs (which include Delta, Hawaiian, and JetBlue). That means non-US frequent flyer programs, as well as hotel programs, don’t have any fees.
For those programs with fees, the cost is 0.06 cents per transferred point, up to a maximum of $99. In other words, transferring 100,000 points would cost $60.
If you transfer more than 165,000 points then there’s no incremental cost to transfer points, since you’ll have paid the $99 fee, and the fee is capped at that.
How to combine Amex points between accounts
If you’re looking to maximize the Amex points you earn, it can make a lot of sense to have multiple Amex cards, whether it’s the American Express® Gold Card (review) or the Platinum Card® from American Express (review). The good news is that you can pool all the points that you earn across accounts (whether personal or business) into a single Membership Rewards account.
The process of doing that is super easy — simply add all of your accounts to a single online log-in, and then you’ll automatically see your points total for all of your accounts listed there. How do you do this?
- If you have a new card, just make sure you provide your existing online account details when registering the card online
- If you have an existing card that isn’t linked, log into your account and then click on “Menu,” then “My Account,” then “Account Services,” then “Card Management,” and then “Add a Card to Online Management” (or you can just follow this link)
Not only does this make it easier to manage points, but this can also potentially increase the value of some of your accounts. That’s because your pooled points can be used at the best rate possible toward any redemption option.
For example, Amex has the “Pay With Points” feature, whereby you can typically redeem points for one cent each toward the cost of a flight purchase (it’s an alternative to transferring to airline and hotel partners).
However, the Business Platinum Card® from American Express (review) offers a 35% rebate on Pay With Points airline bookings, meaning you could get up to 1.54 cents of value per point. If you have multiple cards, then all the points you earn on cards could potentially be used at that rate toward airfare.
Similarly, pooling points is useful if you plan on closing down one of your accounts, since you can still keep your points balance live as long as you keep at least one Membership Rewards card open. That’s why a no annual fee card (Rates & Fees) like The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (review) is so valuable, since you can maintain your full Amex account without paying an annual fee, should you decide to close other cards.
How to share Amex points with others
Unlike with some other programs, unfortunately there’s no way to transfer Amex Membership Rewards points to others. You can’t transfer your Amex points to someone else’s Amex account, and you can’t transfer your Amex points to someone else’s loyalty program account.
The only exception is that you can transfer points to the loyalty program of an authorized user’s account, as long as they’ve been an authorized user on one of your cards for at least 90 days. That 90 day requirement is presumably intended to prevent people from buying and selling points, as this would make it too easy.
So you can transfer points to someone else’s loyalty account, you just have to plan several months in advance, and add them as an authorized user.
The best uses of Amex Membership Rewards points
You’ll get the most value with your Amex Membership Rewards points by transferring them to travel partners. That’s because all other options typically get you at most one cent of value per point, and you can hopefully do better than that. Below I wanted to share what I consider the best uses of American Express Membership Rewards points to be, roughly ranked starting with my favorite.
If transferring to airline partners, it’s important to understand that you’ll generally get the most value redeeming for international flights, especially in business class. Also, if you’re new to redeeming points, check out my top 10 tips for redeeming points, so you can hopefully get the best value.
As a benefit of Membership Rewards, you also get access to a limited complimentary version of point.me! Log in here to see the reward flight options available with your Amex points, along with step-by-step booking instructions
Transfer to Air Canada Aeroplan
Air Canada Aeroplan is probably my single favorite frequent flyer program. Not only does Aeroplan have more airline partners than any other airline loyalty program, but you can also add stopovers to awards for 5,000 points one-way.
If you’re looking to redeem on Star Alliance, or a variety of other airline partners (ranging from Air Mauritius to Gulf Air), booking through Aeroplan is an excellent option. For my own travels, I redeem more points through Aeroplan than any other frequent flyer program.
Transfer to All Nippon Airways Mileage Club
Amex is the only major points currency to partner with All Nippon Airways (ANA) Mileage Club. The program isn’t as lucrative as it used to be, given the recent devaluation, but there are still some good redemption opportunities.
For example, you could fly roundtrip from the United States to Japan in ANA business class for 100,000 to 105,000 miles. You could also fly roundtrip from the United States to Europe in business class on a Star Alliance partner airline for 100,000 miles.
While Mileage Club potentially offers solid value, there’s a huge learning curve to understanding this program, so make sure you do your research prior to transferring any points. This includes that there are restrictions on who you can redeem for, there are big carrier imposed surcharges on some partners, and more.
Transfer to Avianca LifeMiles
Amex Membership Rewards has no shortage of Star Alliance partners. If you want a straightforward one-way award on a Star Alliance airline with just one or two segments, Avianca LifeMiles may be your best option. LifeMiles has great redemption rates without fuel surcharges. For example, a transatlantic business class award will generally start at 63,000 miles one-way, while a business class award to Southeast Asia will start at 78,000 miles one-way.
Just be aware that sometimes LifeMiles doesn’t have access to the same award space as other programs, so you’ll want to check that in advance.
Transfer to Singapore KrisFlyer
Singapore Airlines restricts most of its first class and business class award space to members of its own KrisFlyer program. So while the airline is in the Star Alliance, don’t expect to be able to snag Singapore Airlines long haul premium cabin awards through other programs.
Fortunately Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer has fair redemption rates, pretty good award availability in business class (and sometimes even in Suites and first class), and limited surcharges. This could be useful whether you want to travel on the world’s longest flight from New York to Singapore, or want to take one of Singapore Airlines’ fifth freedom flights, like New York to Frankfurt.
Transfer to Emirates Skywards
Emirates Skywards is the best way to book most Emirates tickets with miles. This could be useful whether you want to take one of Emirates’ fifth freedom flights (from Newark to Athens or New York to Milan), or whether you’re looking to fly with the airline to Dubai and beyond.
It’s even possible to redeem miles for Emirates first class, though it could take some work. A shower in the sky is a worthwhile reward, though! A first class award between the United States and Europe costs 102,000 Skywards miles one-way, if you can find award availability.
Transfer to Air France-KLM Flying Blue
If you want to fly across the Atlantic in business class, it’s tough to beat Flying Blue, as this is the key to unlocking Air France business class and KLM business class awards. Not only is this great if you’re looking to travel to Amsterdam and Paris, but the two airlines have extensive route networks throughout Europe and beyond. You can even add a stopover to an award at no extra cost.
You can generally expect that transatlantic business class awards will start at 50,000 miles one-way, with mild fuel surcharges (around $200 one-way). You can sometimes get even better pricing if you can book a Flying Blue Promo Rewards offer.
Transfer to British Airways Executive Club
British Airways Executive Club is a useful frequent flyer program, especially for oneworld redemptions. Executive Club has unique distance based award pricing, so it’s a particularly useful points currency if you’re trying to redeem for travel on Alaska or American from or within the United States. Avios can be a great deal for travel to Hawaii and the Caribbean. Avios are also useful for short haul redemptions in other regions, including within Asia and Australia.
Another great thing is that you can transfer rewards between the various “flavors” of Avios, and there’s value to all those programs, like Aer Lingus AerClub, Iberia Plus, and Qatar Airways Privilege Club.
Can you pay for flights with Amex points?
Unlike with Chase Ultimate Rewards, there’s typically not an efficient way to redeem Amex Membership Rewards points directly toward the cost of a flight. Amex’s “Pay With Points” program for flights generally lets you redeem points toward flights at around one cent per point, which isn’t great.
There is one exception, though. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (review) offers a 35% rebate on Pay With Points airline bookings. This can get you up to 1.54 cents of value per point toward airfare. Now, there are some things to be aware of:
- This rebate only applies when booking first or business class travel, or economy travel on your designated U.S. airline (you can designate an airline in your Amex account)
- You can pool your Amex points across all cards and redeem at these rates, assuming you have one of the above cards
- With this redemption option, the Amex Business Platinum offers up to one million points in rebates per year
- You need to have the full Amex points for the redemption upfront (based on the rate of one cent per point), and then the 35% points rebate will post to your account within 6-10 weeks
I’d say this could be a great deal, though as you can tell, there are some major limitations here in terms of the card you need to have, and how the redemptions work.
How not to redeem Amex Membership Rewards points
I tend to think that if you feel good about an award redemption then that should be enough. At the same time, I’d generally aim to get more than one cent of value per Amex Membership Rewards point. As a result, I’d highly recommend avoiding the following redemptions:
- Transferring points to Choice Privileges, Hilton Honors, and Marriott Bonvoy; these programs no doubt offer value in general, but based on the transfer ratio this just doesn’t make sense, as these points are worth less than other currencies on a per-point basis
- Redeeming points for merchandise, statement credits, etc.; this will get you at most one cent of value per point (and in many cases even less), so you don’t want to redeem that way
- Redeeming points through Amex Travel toward the cost of hotels, flights, and rental cars; the exception is if you have a card that offers a rebate on “Pay With Points” flight bookings, as that’s the primary way you’ll get more than one cent of value per point with this redemption option
Amex Membership Rewards FAQs
Bottom line
Amex Membership Rewards is a popular points currency, especially given how many people have products like American Express Platinum Card® and American Express® Gold Card.
Amex has more transfer partners than other transferable points currencies, and generally that’s going to be the best way to use your Amex points. Personally my favorite Amex partners are programs like Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Emirates Skywards, and Singapore KrisFlyer.
The process of transferring points to airline and hotel partners is easy, as it is with most transferable points currencies. The same is true when combining points between Amex accounts. Unfortunately unlike some other programs, Amex doesn’t let you share points with others, though (except being able to transfer points to a loyalty account in the name of an authorized user).
To those who collect Amex Membership Rewards points, what are your favorite uses of the currency?
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees).
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