You may find it challenging to figure out how to optimize your credit card rewards because loyalty programs might be complicated. Through Amex’s transfer partners, for instance, American Express Membership Rewards provides a plethora of redemption possibilities. Determining the best use for these points, though, can be difficult.
We’ll go over several tactics on how to maximize redeeming American Express Membership Rewards points.
Earning Points with American Express Membership Rewards
Getting a sizable number of Membership Rewards points is easy because there are so many Amex cards available. Among the several Amex cards providing bonus categories that yield the highest points and substantial extra benefits, these five well-liked choices stand out.
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Amex Platinum: After spending $8,000 on purchases throughout the first six months of your card membership, you will receive 80,000 Membership Rewards Points.
Gaining points:
- 5 points per dollar spent on airfare bought directly from airlines or through Amex Travel (up to $500,000 on these purchases in a calendar year, after which 1 point per dollar).
- Five points for each dollar spent on Amex Travel-booked prepaid hotels
- For every dollar spent on other items, 1 point
Annual Charge: $695 dollars annually (see rates and fees)
Related Article: For an in-depth look at this card, check out our review on the American Express Platinum card.
The American Express® Gold Card
Amex Gold Card: Within the first six months of card membership, spend $6,000 on qualified purchases with your new card to earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points.
Gaining points:
- Four points for every $1 spent in restaurants globally
- Four points for every dollar spent at American supermarkets (for the first $25,000 in purchases made in a calendar year, then one point per dollar)
- Three points for every dollar of airfare paid directly to airlines or through AmexTravel.com
- For every dollar spent on other qualifying purchases, one point
Annual Charge: $250 annual charge (see fees and rates)
Related Article: To see how these cards stack up in earning and using points, explore our comparison in Amex Platinum vs Amex Gold.
The American Express Business Platinum Card®
Amex Business Platinum: Within the first three months of card membership, spend $20,000 on qualified transactions with the Business Platinum Card to earn 150,000 Membership Rewards points.
Gaining points:
- Five points for every dollar spent on Amex Travel-booked flights and prepaid accommodations
- 1.5 points for every dollar spent in particular business sectors and for qualifying purchases of $5,000 or more (up to $2 million of these purchases in a calendar year, after which one point is awarded).
- One point per dollar spent on other qualifying purchases
Annual Charge: Sixty-five dollars annually (see rates and fees)
Business Gold Card from American Express
Amex Business Gold Card: During your first three months of card membership, spend $10,000 on qualifying transactions to receive 70,000 bonus points.
Gaining points:
- Four points for every dollar spent in the two of the six eligible categories that your company spends the most in each billing cycle. Every dollar spent on the first $150,000 in combined purchases in a calendar year will earn you 4 points; after that, you will receive 1 point.
- Three points for every dollar spent on AmexTravel.com-booked prepaid hotels and flights
- For every dollar spent on other qualifying purchases, one point
Annual Charge: $375 yearly charge (see rates and fees)
Green Card from American Express
Amex Green Card: With the Amex Green Card, spend $3,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership to earn 40,000 Membership Rewards points.
Gaining points:
- 3 points for every dollar spent eating out globally and in the United States on takeaway and delivery.
- Three points for every $1 spent on transportation
- For every dollar spent on other qualifying purchases, one point
Annual Charge: $150 yearly charge
More Ways to Collect Amex Points
Using Rakuten, you can maximize your points with an Amex card. Clicking via Rakuten to participating merchant websites will earn you extra Amex points for every dollar spent.
Targeted offers are another method to accrue additional Membership Rewards points. When cardholders add authorized users and fulfill certain spending conditions, Amex often offers additional points.
If a friend or small business you recommend applies for an Amex card, you may also get a bonus if they are accepted. Finally, a nice approach to raise your balance is to make retention calls.
Ways On Redeeming American Express Membership Rewards
Moving your Membership Rewards points to partner hotel or airline reward programs is usually your best option if you want good value from them.
Points can be used for free hotel stays and award flights that could otherwise be extremely expensive when they are converted into hotel or airline money. Furthermore, by making use of sporadic transfer bonuses to particular partners, you may increase the worth of your points even more.
Here are a few of the top programs to transfer your points to and redemption examples.
Reserve First Class ANA Tickets Through Virgin Atlantic and Delta Flights to Europe (No Fuel Surcharges)
Just 50,000 points will get you one-way Delta One business class tickets from the United States to Europe. Given that fuel surcharges are waived, this is a great price; however, be advised that Virgin Atlantic does pass on Delta’s Europe origination surcharge on flights that start in Europe.
For the best experience, try to schedule flights that include Delta One Suites. Sadly, the remaining Virgin Atlantic Delta award chart is not very helpful and is dependent on distance.
Sometimes using the program to book short-haul Delta domestic flights makes sense if cash fares are prohibitively high. Economy class flights of 500 miles or less cost just 7,500 points to reserve. Just see if Delta SkyMiles, another Amex transfer partner, has a better pricing first.
A further reason you might switch to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is to purchase first- and business-class tickets on ANA. Even with its 2023 devaluation, a one-way ticket from the West Coast to Japan costs 45,000 points for business class and 72,500 points for first class.
Book Oneworld Economy Flights Utilizing British Airways
Amex Membership Rewards points can be transferred 1:1 to British Airways Executive Club. Regular transfer incentives from the program will let you take full advantage of its distance-based award chart. Still, there’s a ton of value in the program, even without a bonus.
For example, Aer Lingus offers a number of sub 4,000-mile trips from the East Coast to Dublin. Off-peak, you can reserve these economy class tickets for just 26,000 Avios round-trip. Short-haul flights outside of North America can also be had for as little as 5,000 Avios.
Take an Iberia Round-Trip to Madrid
A great approach to using Amex points is to reserve Iberia business class for off-peak travel dates. With the low points cost and low fuel fees, this can be a great use of your points.
Explore the First-Class Cabins of Singapore Airlines
After several devaluations, using your miles for any Singapore Airlines-operated flight might be a fantastic deal. You won’t find a more opulent seat in the skies than in the carrier’s well-known Suites class.
Book a one-way journey between Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) and Sydney Airport (SYD), and you may fly the first-class suites on the Airbus A380 for 93,500 Membership Rewards.
While Singapore no longer operates the A380 to the United States, you can still reserve first class on the 97,000-mile Boeing 777-300ER that flies from New York to Frankfurt. You have to, however, locate Saver availability, which might be difficult. Though more available, advantage award space will set you back 155,500 miles one way.
Among the easiest to accumulate currencies are Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer points. You can top up your account using Capital One miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards points, and Citi ThankYou Rewards points; the program is a 1:1 transfer partner with American Express Membership Rewards.
Transfer to Flying Blue for Travel to North Africa and Europe
The joint loyalty program Flying Blue is offered by Air France and KLM. The program frequently offers excellent discounts on flights from North America to Europe and North Africa and dynamically prices award tickets.
In business class, these flights begin at 50,000 miles one way and at 20,000 miles one way in economy.
Remember that fuel fees on these rewards can be a little difficult to swallow—if you book round-trip business-class flights, they can come to about $400 per person.
All the same, round-trip economy tickets for 40,000 miles and roughly $120 in cash are still a fantastic price. Pricing on some flights is even more alluring because there are also sporadic benefits for moving points from American Express to Flying Blue.
35% Back With Points for Business Platinum Cardholders
If you use your points to pay for an economy flight on the airline you select for your up-to-$200 airline charge statement credit or any business- or first-class airfare on any airline booked through Amex Travel, you will receive an additional benefit from the Amex Business Platinum Card. 35%of those points will be returned to you (up to one million bonus points each calendar year). A $1,000 ticket, then, is worth 65,000 points. Selected perks need enrollment.
It’s crucial to remember, though, that you need to have enough points in your account to pay for the redemption in its whole—100,000 points for the $1,000 ticket in the previous example. Within one to two billing cycles, you will then get your 35% points rebate back in your Membership Rewards account.
While this might not be the greatest use of your points, keep in mind that the airlines view tickets purchased through Amex Travel as revenue pricing. On these tickets, you will, therefore, typically accrue elite qualifying miles and redeemable miles.
The Business Platinum Card might be a useful addition to your wallet if you want to avoid the headache of searching for award space and using points to book cheap tickets.
Which Redemption Choices Should I Stay Away From?
Online redemption of Membership Rewards points is possible in a number of ways. While there are various ways to redeem your points, most of them are not worth much and should be avoided:
- Points for statement credits: This is a poor return because you only get 0.6 cents for each point.
- Shopping on Amazon: You can use points to pay for your purchases at a little higher (but still lousy) value of 0.7 cents per point after linking your Amazon and Membership Rewards accounts.
- Shopping using Membership Rewards: When you shop with Membership Rewards, your points are only worth 0.5 cents apiece.
- Gift card redemption: You may exchange your points for gift cards from restaurants, retailers, car rental companies, and even Airbnb. You can usually redeem points for a flat fee of one penny apiece.
- Using Membership Rewards points to pay for travel: This choice offers you 0.7 cents per point for automobiles, hotels, vacations, and cruises and 1 cent per point for airfare. Using the Amex Business Platinum to reimburse for airfares with a 35% rebate is an exception to this regulation and can be a good redemption.
- Low-value transfer partners: Unless there’s a sizable transfer benefit, you probably won’t want to move Membership Rewards to programs like HawaiianMiles, Hilton Honors, or Marriott Bonvoy. Usually, the sweet spots that the other currencies provide are absent from these schemes.
Bottom Line
Amex Business Gold Card and Amex Gold Card are only two of the several ways to earn Amex Membership Rewards points. To those who are doing their research on several transfer partners and possible redemptions, American Express Membership Rewards, like the other transferable point programs, offers fantastic sweet spots.
Considering the examples given above, select the ideal American Express card for you. Check out these choices after that to get the most of your points for your next vacation.