American Express Membership Rewards Guide: How To Earn, Redeem and Maximize
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Written by
Joseph Hostetler
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Edited by
Jasmin Baron, CCC™
Want to vacation on the cheap without sacrificing your standard of travel? American Express Membership Rewards® are key. In fact, you can book fancier flights and hotel stays that you otherwise may not have while still paying a fraction of what you’d typically spring for.
But earning them with the best travel credit cards — and squeezing every ounce of value from them — takes strategy. Here’s what you need to know about Amex Membership Rewards.
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What Are American Express Membership Rewards?
American Express Membership Rewards points are the proprietary points currency of American Express. They’re a flexible currency that can be used for cash back, converted into airline miles and hotel points, and more (we’ll cover this shortly).
These points don’t expire as long as you’ve got a Membership Rewards-earning credit card open. That’s a big advantage over many other travel-related loyalty rewards, which don’t have such a generous policy.
How To Earn Amex Membership Rewards
To earn American Express Membership Rewards points, you must have a Membership Rewards-earning card or checking account.
American Express Platinum Card
Welcome Offer: You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $12,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
Annual Fee: $895
The American Express Platinum Card®, an advertising partner, doesn’t have a spectacular return rate for everyday spending. Its reputation as one of the best American Express cards comes instead from its valuable ongoing benefits. You’ll earn 5 points per dollar on flights booked directly with the airline or through American Express Travel® (capped at $500,000 per calendar year, then 1x), 5 points per dollar on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel® and 1 point per dollar on everything else.
American Express Gold Card
Welcome Offer: You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $6,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
Annual Fee: $325
One of the stronger earners in the travel rewards card world, the American Express® Gold Card, an advertising partner, is ideal for foodies who love travel. It earns 4 points per dollar at restaurants worldwide (on up to $50,000 in spending per calendar year, then 1x), 4 points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1x), 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly with the airline or via Amex Travel, 2 points per dollar on prepaid hotels and other eligible travel purchases reserved through Amex Travel, and 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases.
American Express Green Card
Welcome Offer: Earn 40,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Annual Fee: $150
The American Express® Green Card**’s return rates are better than those of many premium travel rewards cards with considerably higher annual fees. You’ll receive 3 points per dollar on travel and transit, 3 points per dollar on dining worldwide (including takeout and delivery in the U.S.), and 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases.
American Express Business Platinum Card
Welcome Offer: Earn as high as 300,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on your Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
Annual Fee: $895
The The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is slightly more generous than the Amex Platinum when it comes to earning points. You’ll earn 5 points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel, 2 points per dollar (on up to $2 million per calendar year, then 1x) on U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers, U.S. electronic goods retailers and software/cloud system providers, U.S. shipping providers, and single transactions that amount to at least $5,000, and 1 point per dollar on everything else.
American Express Business Gold Card
Welcome Offer: Earn as high as 200,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $15,000 in purchases on your new Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
Annual Fee: $375
The American Express® Business Gold Card’s bonus spending categories are well-optimized to cover the expenses of many different business types. You’ll earn 4 points per dollar on your top two eligible categories (including purchases at U.S. media providers for online/TV/radio advertising, U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and softer/cloud system providers, U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and more), 3 points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels reserved through Amex Travel, and 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases.
American Express Blue Business Plus Card
Welcome Offer: Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your Card in your first 3 months of Card Membership.
Annual Fee: $0
For those who prefer not to juggle multiple bonus categories and are looking for a card with a simple and solid return on all purchases, the The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express earns a flat 2 points per dollar on everything (up to $50,000 in spending per year, then 1x).
American Express Business Green Rewards Card
Welcome Offer: Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 on eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
Annual Fee: $95
The American Express® Business Green Rewards Card is perhaps the least compelling American Express Membership Rewards-earning card in terms of earning rate. You’ll get 2 points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel and 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases.
How To Redeem Amex Membership Rewards
American Express Membership Rewards points are as complicated as you make them. But whether you value straightforward cash back or jaw-dropping travel experiences, your return will generally reflect the amount of effort you’re willing to put in to maximize them.
Here are the most popular ways to use Amex points.
Transfer Partners
The true magic of Amex points comes through American Express transfer partners. By transferring your points to one of these airline frequent flyer programs or hotel loyalty programs, you can potentially get enormous value toward travel.
Amex partners with 17 airline programs and three hotel programs. Transfers are typically 1:1, but variants are noted below:
| Loyalty Program | Transfer Ratio | Minimum Transfer Amount |
| Aer Lingus AerClub | 1:1 | 1,000 points |
| Aeromexico Rewards | 1:1.6 | 1,000 points |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1:1 | 1,000 points |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | 1:1 | 1,000 points |
| ANA Mileage Club | 1:1 | 1,000 points |
| Avianca Lifemiles | 1:1 | 1,000 points |
| Cathay Pacific | 1:1 | 1,000 points |
| Choice Privileges | 1:1 | 1,000 points |
| Delta SkyMiles | 1:1 | 1,000 points |
| Emirates Skywards | 1:1 | 1,000 points |
| Etihad Guest | 1:1 | 1,000 points |
| Hilton Honors | 1:2 | 1,000 points |
| Iberia Plus | 1:1 | 1,000 points |
| JetBlue TrueBlue | 5:4 | 250 points |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1:1 | 1,000 points |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1:1 | 500 points |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 1:1 | 1,000 points |
| Singapore Airlines Krisflyer | 1:1 | 1,000 points |
| The British Airways Club | 1:1 | 1,000 points |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1:1 | 1,000 points |
In many cases, Amex transfers are instant, though a few partners may take longer. That’s a laundry list of options, and here’s why it matters: Collecting Amex points means you’re effectively collecting ALL these currencies at once. Instead of swiping a Delta credit card, which only collects Delta miles, using a Membership Rewards-earning card lets you redeem for whichever loyalty program best suits your unique upcoming travel. It multiplies your award booking flexibility.
Note that when you transfer points to a U.S. airline, you’ll be charged an excise fee of $0.0006 per point, up to a maximum of $99. Non-U.S. airline frequent flyer program and hotel loyalty program transfers aren’t subject to this fee.
Cash Back/Statement Credits
If you’d like a less complicated redemption option, you can opt to cash out your Amex points at a rate of 0.6 cents each. You can request a statement credit, a check, or a deposit into your bank account.
This is a bad deal. If you plan to use your points for cash back, you’ll likely benefit more from holding one of the best cash-back credit cards, such as the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express or the no-annual-fee Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express (both advertising partners).
Booking Travel
If you’d prefer not to transfer your points to airlines and hotels, you can still use your points to “buy” travel through Amex Travel.
For most things, such as prepaid hotels, rental cars, and cruises, you’ll receive a value of 0.7 cents per point. For flights, you’ll receive 1 cent per point. And if you’ve got an American Express Platinum Card® variant, you’ll also get 1 cent per point when booking a hotel via American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts (Amex’s curated luxury hotel booking platform).
Pay With Rewards
American Express lets you pay for your cart with points on certain websites. These include Amazon, Best Buy, Dell, Grubhub and more.
In most cases, you’ll receive a value of 0.7 cents per point. Slightly better than redeeming for a statement credit, but still less than ideal.
How To Maximize Amex Membership Rewards
If you’re serious about collecting Amex points, you shouldn’t settle for a return anywhere near the “cash-out” price of 0.6 cents per point. Here are a few strategies for getting the biggest value for your rewards.
Compare Multiple Loyalty Programs for Your Upcoming Travels
Amex points give you fantastic flexibility. No matter where you want to go, you’ll typically have multiple choices in terms of loyalty programs to book through. Take a quick look to see which offers you the best price.
As an example, here’s a flight from New York (LGA) to Columbus (CMH). You’ll have to transfer 21,000 points when booking through Delta.
But the exact same flight, booked through Air France-KLM Flying Blue, requires only a 6,000-point transfer.
Book Business-Class Flights
Business-class flights almost always net you a big return on your points. That’s because cash prices are often absurd.
I recently transferred 60,000 Amex points to Flying Blue for a trip between Paris (CDG) and New York (JFK). That’s a lot of points, but the seat retailed for over $5,000, giving me a value of more than 8 cents per point after taxes and fees.
Look for Amazon “Points and Cash” Promotions
Amazon runs targeted promotions several times per year that offer a discount at checkout when you mix cash with American Express Membership Rewards points for payment. Many promos allow you to use just a single point to trigger the savings.
Depending on the specific deal, you may get $40 or more off your cart — just from redeeming a single Amex point. This is one of the most lucrative ways to use Amex points.
How Much Are Amex Membership Rewards Worth?
When redeemed for travel through American Express transfer partners, we estimate the value of Amex points to be around 2 cents each. Again, it can be much higher (or lower) depending on how you use them — I once received more than 26 cents per point in value when booking a business-class flight to the Caribbean. A value that high is incredibly rare, but it’s a good illustration of what’s possible with a bit of searching.
Here’s a quick and dirty recap of what you can expect to get from your points based on your redemption:
- Transferring to travel partners: 2 cents per point
- Cash back: 0.6 cents per point
- Gift cards: 0.5 to 1 cent per point
- Pay for travel through Amex Travel: 0.7 to 1 cent per point
- Pay with points at participating merchants: 0.7 to 1 cent per point
The information related to the American Express® Green Card**, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, American Express® Business Gold Card, The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, and American Express® Business Green Rewards Card was collected by CardCritics™ and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this product/card. Product details may vary. Please see issuer website for current information. CardCritics™ does not receive a commission for this product.
Frequently Asked Questions About Amex Membership Rewards
How do you earn Membership Rewards points?
You can earn American Express Membership Rewards points by opening and using Membership Rewards-earning cards such as the Amex Platinum, Amex Gold and Amex Green. You can also earn rewards by opening an eligible Amex checking account (though these offers are often targeted).
How do you transfer Amex points to partners?
To transfer Amex points to partner airlines and hotels, you must first enroll in the loyalty program to which you’d like to transfer. Once you’ve acquired a loyalty number, enter your Amex account and link that number to your profile.
Can you pool Membership Rewards points?
If you’ve got multiple Membership Rewards-earning Amex cards, your points will automatically be combined in the same account. You cannot transfer points to other members, though it is possible to make transfers directly to a loyalty account not owned by you, as long as the member is an authorized user on one of your accounts.
