American Express Membership Rewards Guide

Alina Rudya/Bell Collective/GettyImages; Illustration by Hunter Newton/Bankrate

While some rewards credit cards only let you earn points or miles within a specific airline or hotel loyalty program, others, like the American Express Membership Rewards program, let you earn flexible rewards points that you can redeem in multiple ways. For example, you can redeem Membership Rewards points for travel, gift cards, merchandise, statement credits and Amex experiences, or you can transfer points to Amex hotel and airline partners.

Here’s a breakdown of the American Express Membership Rewards program, including how to earn points, how much points are worth and the best ways to redeem them.

What are Amex Membership Rewards points?

American Express Membership Rewards points are a lucrative credit card currency you earn when you make purchases with your eligible Amex rewards credit card. You can redeem these points through the Membership Rewards program for a variety of uses, including travel.

Even though all Amex reward cards earn these points, some Amex cards restrict how you can use them. For example, some of the top American Express credit cards are marketed as earning cash back, such as the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express and the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express. While these cards do technically earn Membership Rewards points, they don’t allow you to redeem them for things like travel. Instead, you have to redeem your points for cash back-related options like statement credits or gift cards.

Pros

• More transfer partners than other rewards programs: The program currently has 18 airline and 3 hotel partners.
• Many high-value transfer partners: Amex Membership Rewards points have some of the highest redemption values on average, thanks to their transfer partners.
• Flexible redemption options: You can redeem points for everything from gift cards and statement credits to travel and shopping purchases.

Cons

• High annual fees for some cards: To take full advantage of Amex Membership Rewards, you often need a credit card that allows points to be used for travel. Amex’s most popular cards in this category tend to have high annual fees.
• Can’t share points with other accounts: Unlike some competing card reward programs, Amex doesn’t allow you to transfer points from one card to another.
• Poor value outside of travel: While Amex Membership Rewards points offer excellent value on travel, that value can dip when you redeem those points in other ways, such as for statement credits.

How to earn Amex Membership Rewards points

You can earn Membership Rewards points by charging purchases to your card, earning a welcome bonus, using Amex Offers, and referring others to get the card. Here’s how to maximize your points earned with each option:

• Charge eligible purchases to your credit card
  

  The easiest way to earn rewards in this program is by making purchases with an eligible credit card in your card’s bonus categories. Some cards are designed for everyday spending, with higher reward rates on grocery and gas purchases. Other Amex cards offer a higher reward rate for travel purchases like flights and hotel stays.

  While there’s no limit to how many Amex Membership Rewards points you can earn, there might be restrictions on certain bonus category rates. For example, the Amex Blue Cash Everyday Card allows you to earn 3 percent cash back at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations and U.S. online retail purchases, but has a purchase limit of $6,000 per calendar year in each category. After that, you’d only earn 1 percent in those categories.

• Reach your welcome bonus
  

  Many Amex credit cards offer welcome bonuses for new cardholders. If you sign up for the American Express® Gold Card, for example, you could earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points by spending $6,000 in eligible purchases within the first six months of opening the account.

• Add Amex Offers to your cards
  

  Another way to earn more Amex Membership Rewards points is through Amex Offers. You can select merchant offers you’re interested in and add them to your card for additional opportunities for points or cash back.

• Send out referrals
  

  You can also earn points by referring a friend or family member to American Express through the issuer’s referral program. If they’re approved for a consumer or business card, you’ll get a referral bonus.

How to redeem Amex Membership Rewards points

You can use these valuable points in a variety of ways:

• Book travel through American Express Travel
  

  One of the best ways to use your points is on travel through the American Express Travel portal. The American Express Travel portal allows you to search for travel and choose from different flights, hotels, cruises and more. You can pay for travel with points, cash or a combination of the two.

• Transfer points to Amex travel partners
  

  Another way — and often the most lucrative way — to use Amex Membership Rewards points is by transferring points to Amex Membership Rewards travel partners.

  The travel options vary widely depending on where you plan to travel and where you are departing from, but there are plenty of ways to get Bankrate’s latest valuation of 2.0 cents per point on average considering stellar partners like Hawaiian Airlines, Emirates, Avianca, Aeroplan and others. So make sure to compare transfer partners that fly where you plan to travel.

• Use Pay with Points
  

  Many retailers participate in the American Express Pay with Points program, including:

  • Amazon
  • Dell
  • Best Buy
  • Rite Aid
  • Staples

  All you have to do is connect your American Express card to your retail account. Then, when you shop online with that retailer, you’ll be able to pay with Membership Rewards points at checkout.

• Get a statement credit
  

  You can also redeem points for statement credits to cover charges posted to your account, but this option usually offers less value than travel options. If you have a cash back credit card, however, this would be one of your best options since you wouldn’t be able to use your points for travel.

• Get gift cards
  

  Another option is to redeem points for gift cards. You can choose from more than 100 retailers, including:

  • Apple
  • Best Buy
  • Sephora
  • Walmart
  • Target

  Options are subject to change, so you may want to check back periodically to see which options are available.

  You can get up to 1 cent per point in value when you redeem Amex points for gift cards, though the exact value you receive depends on the retailer.

• Buy merchandise on the Membership Rewards site
  

  You can also opt to shop with points directly on the Membership Rewards website instead of shopping on a retailer’s website. You can shop by brand, department and featured offers. As you explore items, you’ll see both dollar amounts and point values. After you make a purchase, the retailer will process the order and Amex will issue you a purchase credit.

• Donate to charity
  

  American Express also allows cardholders to donate some of their unused points to charitable causes through its partnership with the company JustGiving. This is an excellent way to support worthy causes while also spending points you’re not going to redeem in other ways.

How much are Amex Membership Rewards points worth?

The value of Amex Membership Rewards points varies depending on how you redeem them. For example, Amex points are worth 2.0 cents each on average when transferred to high-value airline or hotel partners, according to the latest Bankrate valuations.

If you’re not transferring your points, you can figure out the value of your points using the American Express rewards points calculator. This chart shows the current values of different redemption options based on that calculator:

You’ll typically get 1 cent per point when you book flights or fine hotels and resorts through American Express Travel and 0.7 cents per point when you book prepaid hotels, cruises or vacation packages. Paying for your excise tax offset fee with points would get you a value of 0.5 cents per point.

Gift cards also vary in redemption value. For example, cards from certain partners like Adidas, Banana Republic and Saks Fifth Avenue have a redemption value of 1 cent per point, while other partners like Instacart and Starbucks have a redemption value of 0.7 cents per point at the time of writing. American Express-branded gift cards are typically worth 0.5 cents per point.

How does Amex Membership Rewards compare with other programs?

American Express Membership Rewards is a popular rewards program, but there are several other valuable reward programs available. Here’s how Amex Membership Rewards points compare to some of the best credit card rewards programs:

Amex Membership Rewards transfer partners

To get the highest value out of your Membership Rewards points, consider transferring your those points to a reward program of one of American Express’s many transfer partners.

Airline partner programs

Hotel partner programs

The bottom line

Amex Membership Rewards points offer flexible redemption options, no point caps and don’t expire. They also offer some of the best value available among credit cards when you transfer your points to Amex travel partners, and also provide plenty of additional redemption options if travel isn’t your thing.

Before redeeming points, consider all of your options and determine which redemptions might provide the greatest return. Also, don’t forget to compare American Express Membership Rewards cards against other cards with flexible rewards programs, like Chase Ultimate Rewards, to ensure you have the ideal card for your spending style.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs) about Amex Membership Rewards

• Do Amex Membership Rewards points expire?
  

  No, Amex Membership Rewards points never expire. The value of those points, however, can change often depending on how you wish to redeem them.

• Can you share Amex Membership Rewards points with friends and family?
  

  You cannot transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to friends and family members, but you can allow them to take advantage of some of the perks you get if they are authorized users on your account.

• Can you buy Amex Membership Rewards points?
  

  According to American Express, you may be able to buy points when you’re in the process of using points and you don’t have enough points for redemption. In this case, points must be purchased in increments of 1,000 points (worth $25).

• What is the Upgrade with Points feature and how does it work?
  

  Amex’s Upgrade with Points feature allowed cardholders to score seat upgrades on flights. Cardholders used points to place an offer on an available seat so that they could essentially purchase an upgrade. This feature was discontinued on December 3, 2023.

• What happens to the points if I cancel my Amex card?
  

  If you cancel your Amex card while you still have unused points on your account, you will lose those points entirely. If you’re considering canceling your card, make sure you use up all of your points first, even if you just have a small amount. You can always donate those points to charity if you don’t plan on redeeming them another way.