American Express® Membership Rewards Guide
Transferable points programs are the most valuable points to accumulate. These points can often be used to book travel at more than 1 cent per point value. Even better, points can be strategically transferred to airline and hotel programs when valuable awards are available. If you’re at all interested in free travel or luxury travel with points & miles, then you need to understand the basics of each of these programs.
This post rounds out the guides to the 4 big transferable points programs: Amex Membership Rewards (this post), Chase Ultimate Rewards®, Capital One Miles and Citi ThankYou® Rewards.
Amex Membership Rewards points can be earned via credit card spend, new account bonuses, credit card referrals, and more. Those points can then be transferred to airline or hotel partners or used to pay for travel or merchandise. In one specific case, points can be converted to cash back.
Below, you’ll find everything you need to know about Membership Rewards.
Earn Points
Credit Card Welcome Bonuses
The easiest and quickest way to earn Membership Rewards points is through Amex credit card welcome bonuses.
Most Amex welcome offers stipulate you can’t get the bonus if you’ve ever had that card before. That said, it doesn’t preclude you from getting a bonus for a similarly named card. Additionally, targeted offers sometimes do not have that once-per-lifetime language. In those cases, you can get the bonus even if you’ve had the card before.
Click here for our walkthrough guide on “As High As” Offers and how they work.
Below are the Amex cards with the best current and public Membership Rewards welcome offers:
Personal
An ultra-premium card loaded with benefits and perks, especially for the frequent traveler. Terms apply.
A must-have for anyone who loves Amex Points. Some of the highest returns (4x!) for spending at U.S. supermarkets and restaurants worldwide (plus takeout and delivery in the U.S). Definitely worth a spot in your wallet.
Terms apply.
Business
Limited time travel offer expires 6/30/25. You can earn either or both of these offers. This is a card with a great welcome offer and loaded with benefits for frequent travelers. However, the very large annual fee needs to be weighed versus the benefits. Terms apply.
Higher than usual offer, making it a great time to snag this card. However, there's a fairly hefty annual fee, especially when compared to the Ink card. Earn 4x points from the top two eligible categories where your business incurs the most expenses each month, out of qualifying categories on up to $150,000 in combined purchases from these two categories annually (then 1x point thereafter). Terms apply.
One of the best Amex business cards with no annual fee. It has transfer partners and offers 2x points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. Earn 2x on the first $50,000 of eligible purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter. Eligible purchases are for goods and services minus returns and other credits. Terms apply.
Credit Card Upgrade Bonuses
Amex frequently offers bonus points for upgrading from one card to another. These upgrade offers often do not have the once-per-lifetime language. That is, if you are targeted for an upgrade offer, you may be able to earn the bonus points even if you’ve had the card before. It is best to accept these offers only after you have earned a welcome bonus for the card you are upgrading to.
Shopping Portals
Did you know you can earn Amex Membership Rewards points just by doing your regular online shopping? When you start at the Rakuten shopping portal, you’ll have the option to earn either cash back or Membership Rewards points. Just link your Amex account, and choose points as your payout method—it’s that easy.
Beyond the online clicks, Rakuten also lets you register your credit cards to earn extra points in-store at select retailers and restaurants. It’s a great way to stack up even more rewards without changing your everyday spending habits.
Credit Card Category Bonuses
The next best way to earn Membership Rewards points is by using the best card for each category of spend. If you spend a lot personally or through your business on any of the below categories, you can do very well. Particularly noteworthy is the no-annual-fee Blue Business Plus Credit Card, which offers 2 points per dollar for all spend, up to $50K spend per calendar year (then 1X thereafter). That’s fantastic.
| Spend Category | Best Options |
| US Supermarkets | American Express Gold 4X (up to $25K per year, then 1X) EveryDay Preferred Up to 4.5X* (max $6K per year) (Card no longer available to new applicants) |
| US Gas Stations | Business Gold Up to 4X** EveryDay Preferred Up to 3X* (Card no longer available to new applicants) |
| Restaurants | American Express Gold 4X American Express Green 3X Business Gold Rewards Up to 4X**, US only |
| Travel (Broadly Defined) | American Express Green 3X |
| Flights | Platinum consumer cards 5X Business Platinum (via Amex Travel) 5X Business Gold Rewards Up to 4X** American Express Gold 3X American Express Green 3X |
| Prepaid Hotels | Platinum cards (via Amex Travel) 5X American Express Green 3X |
| Select Car Rental Companies | American Express Green 3X |
| US Advertising in select media | Business Gold Rewards Up to 4X** |
| US Computer related purchases | Business Gold Rewards Up to 4X** |
| US Construction/Hardware Stores | Business Platinum 1.5X |
| Everywhere else | Blue Business Plus 2X EveryDay Preferred 1.5X* (Card no longer available to new applicants) |
* The Amex EveryDay Preferred is currently not available to new applicants. The card earns a 50% bonus every billing period in which the card was used for 30 or more transactions. Before the 50% bonus, the card has the following bonus categories: 3x points at US supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1x); 2x points at US gas stations; 1x points on other purchases. After the 50% bonus, it offers: 4.5x points at US supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1.5x); 3x points at US gas stations; 1.5x points on other purchases.
** The Business Gold Rewards card offers 4X points on the two categories your business spends the most each billing cycle from the following categories ($150K spend per calendar year, then 1x): Electronic goods retailers or software and cloud system providers in the U.S., U.S. purchases at restaurants, Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S., U.S. purchases for advertising in select media, U.S. purchases at gas stations, Transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways.
Amex Offers
Amex Offers are usually best for saving cash. But, sometimes, Amex Offers provide terrific opportunities for point earning instead. Log into your account and check the section titled “Amex Offers and Benefits” to look for offers like these.
Credit Card Referrals
Another great way to earn Membership Rewards points is by referring friends and relatives. In some cases these referral bonuses can be quite substantial and Amex can offer as much as 40,000 points for referring someone to another Amex card. Make sure that the offer they get is as good as the best available public offer (by comparing your referral offer to our Best Offers page).
Miscellaneous Other Options for Earning Points
Pay Over Time Option
Amex charge cards often offer an easy way to earn additional Membership Rewards points. Once you sign up for a charge card, you will start getting emails and letters inviting you to sign up for the Pay Over Time Option. This option essentially turns your charge card which has to be paid off monthly into a credit card which can carry a balance. Don’t do it. That is, don’t sign up until the offer includes a bonus of 10,000 to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. In my experience, these bonus offers usually appear toward the end of your first year of card membership (as long as you haven’t enrolled already).
Once you get an offer like this, go ahead and sign up. As long as you keep paying your card’s complete balance each month, there is no downside to enabling this feature.
Redeem Points
In general, Membership Rewards points are worth up to 1 cent each. Fortunately, there are three ways in which it is possible to get more value: redeem points for flights, transfer points to hotel or airline partners, or invest rewards. More on each below…
Travel
Those with American Express Platinum cards automatically get 1 cent per point value when redeeming points for travel. That’s not particularly good, but it’s much better than the value people get without a Platinum card. Currently, the only way to get better than 1 cent per point value when redeeming points for travel is with the Business Platinum Card.
The Business Platinum Card offers a 35% Airline Bonus: Get 35% of your points back when you redeem points through Amex Travel for either a First or Business class flight on any airline or for any flights with your selected airline.
After you receive the 35% rebate, the value works out to 1.54 cents per point. That’s very good, but it does require owning this ultra-premium card and paying the high annual fee.
Transfer points
The best use of Membership Rewards points is to transfer points to airline and hotel partners in order to book high-value awards. Your best bet is usually to wait until you find a great flight or night award before transferring points. One exception: Amex often offers 30% or higher transfer bonuses to certain programs. If you’re confident that you’ll use the points for good value, it may make sense to transfer points when those bonuses are in effect.
Points can be transferred to the loyalty accounts of the primary cardholder or any authorized user or employee on the account.
Transfer Partners
It is free to transfer Membership Rewards points to foreign airlines. For transfers to US airlines, however, Amex charges an “excise tax offset fee” of $0.0006 per point (with a maximum fee of $99). Airlines subject to this fee are noted below.
| Rewards Program | Transfer Ratio | Best Uses |
|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus | 1:1 | Aer Lingus shares the “Avios” currency with British Airways and Iberia. In most cases it is best to move points to one of those programs in order to book awards for less. |
| AeroMexico ClubPremier | 1:1.6 | Aeromexico is part of SkyTeam, so you can use Club Premier Points to book partner awards on Delta, Air France, Korean Air. |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1:1 | Redeem for Star Alliance flights and/or flights with Air Canada partners (such as Etihad). No fuel surcharges; $39 CAD award booking fee; 5,000 points to add stopover on one-way award. |
| Air France / KLM Flying Blue | 1:1 | Monthly Air France Promo Awards often represent very good value. Air France miles can be used to book Sky Team awards, including Delta awards. |
| Alaska MileagePlan | 1:1 via Hawaiian | Alaska Airlines offers decent oneworld award pricing, excellent short-distant pricing, and uniquely allows free stop-overs one one-way awards. Additionally, Alaska allows free award changes and cancelations (although they do have a small non-refundable partner award booking fee) |
| ANA | 1:1 | Redeem for Star Alliance flights. Multiple stopovers allowed. |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1:1 | They offer reasonable-ish prices and no fuel surcharges on awards. |
| British Airways Avios | 1:1 | While flights on British Airways itself often incur outrageously high fuel surcharges, many BA partners charge low or no fuel surcharges. Great value can be had in redeeming BA points for short distance flights. |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1:1 | Cathay Pacific has a decent distance based award chart, but they don't allow stopovers longer than 24 hours. Cathay Pacific Asia Miles can be a good option for booking American Airlines flights with a distance based award chart, especially if other OneWorld Alliance miles aren't available. |
| Choice Privileges | 1:1 | Choice Privileges points seem to be randomly quite valuable within the US, but dependably valuable internationally in expensive locations such as Scandinavia and Japan |
| Delta SkyMiles® | 1:1 plus excise tax | Award flights to Canada are often a great deal. Partner awards often have terrific availability, but you may pay more miles than with other programs. |
| Emirates | 1:1 | The best use of Emirates miles has been to fly Emirates itself. Unfortunately fuel surcharges can be extremely steep. One workaround is to book select routes such as JFK to Milan or Newark to Athens. |
| Etihad | 1:1 | Etihad offers a distance based award chart for flying Etihad and another for its partners. Points may offer good value for expensive but short-distance flights. |
| Finnair Plus+ | 1:1 via British Airways | Finnair points are now "Avios" and points can be moved to/from other Avios programs. Finnair uses zone based award charts rather than distance based. As a result, Finnair sometimes has better (and sometimes worse) pricing than other Avios programs. |
| HawaiianMiles® | 1:1 plus excise tax | Hawaiian Airlines’ award prices tend to be quite high, but there are some not-terrible uses: fly to neighboring islands for 7.5K miles, fly first class round-trip from Hawaii to South Pacific islands for as few as 95K miles, fly first class round-trip from Hawaii to Australia for as few as 130K miles.Hawaiian Miles can be converted instantly to Alaska Mileage Plan miles. Alaska Airlines offers decent oneworld award pricing, excellent short-distant pricing, and uniquely allows free stop-overs one one-way awards. Additionally, Alaska allows free award changes and cancelations (although they do have a small non-refundable partner award booking fee) |
| Hilton Honors | 1:2 | 5th Night Free awards. Best value is usually found with very low end or very high end Hilton hotels. Bonus: award nights are not subject to resort fees. |
| Iberia Avios | 1:1 | Iberia offers very low award prices on their own flights. Round trip partner awards can offer good value under some circumstances as well. Fuel surcharges are often lower than when booking through British Airways. |
| JetBlue | 250:200 | JetBlue points offer the most value when cheap ticket prices are available and when award taxes are high relative to the overall cost of the ticket. |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1:1 | 5th Night Free awards |
| Qantas | 1:1 | Best use is probably for flights on El Al with no fuel surcharges. Also useful for short AA flights. |
| Qatar Privilege Club Avios | 1:1 | Qatar offers one of the best business class seats in the world, QSuites |
| Singapore Airlines Kris Flyer | 1:1 | Use to book Singapore Airlines First Class awards (generally reserved for their own members), Alaska Airlines economy awards, or for Star Alliance awards (including United Airlines). |
| Virgin Atlantic® Flying Club | 1:1 | Virgin Atlantic miles can be usefully thought of as a way to get a discount off Virgin Atlantic flights (high fuel surcharges make the flights far from free), but there are some better uses. Use miles to upgrade paid flights or to fly partner airlines. A fantastic use is to fly ANA in business or first class thanks to Virgin’s generous ANA partner award chart. Or, if you can find saver level Delta awards for nonstop international travel, you can often book through Virgin Atlantic far cheaper than with Delta directly. |
Cash Back (Invest with rewards)
The best way to get cash back is to add the American Express Platinum Card for Schwab to your credit card portfolio. This card offers a benefit called “Invest with Rewards,” which allows the cardholder to deposit Membership Rewards points into a Schwab account at a value of 1.1 cents per point. For example, 50,000 points becomes $550.
Other ways to redeem points
You can also redeem points for gift cards or merchandise. At most, with this approach, you’ll get 1 cent per point value, but usually, you’ll get quite a bit less.
You can also use points to pay some merchants directly (Amazon.com, for example). Don’t do this. These options offer very poor value. Further, they may compromise the security of your account (i.e. if someone gets into your Amazon account, they might spend your Ultimate Rewards points – causing you a headache in getting your points reinstated).
Manage Points
Combine Points Across Cards
Amex automatically pools all of your points together. When you earn points with different cards, the point total shown when viewing either card is the total across cards.
Share Points Across Cardholders
Unlike Chase and Citi, Amex doesn’t allow members to move points from one person’s account to another. That said, transferring one person’s points to another person’s loyalty program account is possible. The key is that the person who receives the points must be an authorized user or employee on the other person’s account. For example, my wife can transfer Membership Rewards points to my Virgin Atlantic account as long as I’m an authorized user (or employee) on any of her Membership Rewards cards.
In order to use this method to share points, the authorized user card must be active for 90 days before it will unlock the ability to transfer your points to the authorized user’s loyalty program account.
How to Keep Points Alive
Thankfully, it is very easy to keep Amex Membership Rewards points alive. Simply keep any Membership Rewards card open. For example, if you are about to close your one and only Membership Rewards card, then open another Membership Rewards card account first in order to preserve your points. Amex offers some no-fee Membership Rewards cards, such as the Blue Business Plus and the Amex Everyday (Card no longer available to new applicants), so this shouldn’t be much of a burden.
One of the best Amex business cards with no annual fee. It has transfer partners and offers 2x points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. Earn 2x on the first $50,000 of eligible purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter. Eligible purchases are for goods and services minus returns and other credits. Terms apply.
More information
Amex’s official Membership Rewards page can be found here.
Note: This article was inspired by Frequent Miler – any content used with permission.
