Best Ways to Use American Express Membership Rewards^® Points

Do you have points with American Express Membership Rewards program? It's an incredibly valuable credit card rewards program but it does have one disadvantage. There are so many ways to redeem your points that many cardholders have trouble finding the most valuable option.

Let's take a look at all of the different ways that you can redeem your points and find out which ones are the best.

Transferring Points to Airline Miles

One of the most valuable ways to use your Membership Rewards points is to transfer them to one of their 17 different airline transfer partners. You are allowed to transfer 1,000 points to 1,000 miles with the following partners:

• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Flying Blue (Air France/KLM and others)
• Alitalia Millemiglia
• ANA (ALL NIPPON Airways)
• Asia Miles (Cathay Pacific)
• Delta SkyMiles
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Virgin Atlantic Flyingclub

In addition, you can transfer points to miles with these airlines at different rates:

• Aeromexico: 1000 points = 1,600 Club Premier points
• British Airways: 250 points = 200 Avios
• Iberia: 250 points = 200 Avios
• El AL Israel Airlines: 1,000 points = 20 Matmid points
• JetBlue Airways: 250 points = 200 JetBlue TrueBlue^® points
• Virgin America: 200 points = 100 Elevate points; must be transferred in 200-point increments

And when you use these miles for expensive flights in business and first class, or last minute tickets, it's possible to realize several cents in value per mile. However, some of these programs are much more valuable than others.

Examples of those with excellent value include:

1. Air Canada Aeroplan. The Aeroplan program offers some great deals including business class flights to Europe for 110,000 or 115,000 miles, round-trip. And since Air Canada is part of the Star Alliance, you can redeem your miles to fly on partners such as United, Lufthansa, LOT Polish, Turkish, Swiss, and Scandinavian. Air Canada allows a stopover en-route and offers infant award tickets for between $50 and $125, or 5,000 - 12,500 miles. In contrast, most other airlines make you pay 10% of the normal fare to carry an infant on your lap.

2. Flying Blue. This is the frequent flyer program of Air France, KLM, and others. It offers round-trip award flights to Europe for just 50,000 miles in economy, and 125,000 in business class. It also considers Israel to be part of Europe, making its award flights to Tel Aviv a bargain compared to other airlines that charge more for awards to the middle east. And since Flying Blue is part of the SkyTeam alliance, you can redeem its miles for flights on Delta, AeroMexico, Korean Air, and others.

3. Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. Singapore Airlines miles can be extremely valuable as they are the only way to book its coveted business and first class flights. In addition, Singapore is part of the Star Alliance, which includes United, Air Canada, and others. For instance, you can use Singapore miles to book a round-trip, first class flight within North America for just 40,000 miles.

4. British Airways Avios. This partner is valuable because it offers distance based awards. For example, you can fly between any two cities that are within 1,350 miles of each other for just 7,500 Avios. And because British Airways is partners with American and Alaska Airlines, these points are especially valuable for shorter flights within the United States and to Canada, the Caribbean, and Mexico.

5. ANA. All Nippon Airways is a Japanese carrier that's also part of the Star Alliance. It's a great transfer partner because of its exceptionally low priced award chart. For example, flights to Europe in business class are just 88,000 miles round-trip, and Africa and the Middle East are just 104,000 miles round trip.

6. JetBlue Airways. JetBlue points are very valuable as they can be redeemed for awards on any flight that they offer. It's also one of the few domestic carriers that's a Membership Rewards transfer partner.

Transferring Rewards to Hotel Points

It would be a valuable option to transfer your Membership Rewards points to hotel programs, but only at a reasonable transfer ratio. Unfortunately, American Express doesn't offer the best value here. You can transfer 1,000 Membership Rewards points to 1,000 Choice Privileges points, but these points are rarely worth more than one cent each. 1,000 Membership Rewards points can also be transferred to 1,500 Hilton Honors points, but these points are usually worth less than a half of a cent each. Finally, you can transfer 1,000 Membership Rewards points to just 333 Starwood points, which is a poor transfer ratio.

Redeeming Points for Travel Booked Through American Express

You can use your Membership Rewards points for travel booked directly with American Express. Typically, you will only receive one cent in value per point redeemed, which is usually less than the value of frequent flyer miles. However, some Business Platinum cardholders may be eligible for a 50% rebate on airfare purchased with their points. When you do this, you will receive a net value of two cents per point, which is a good use of your points. Just be aware that this benefit is being phased out, so check with American Express to see if you qualify.

Gift Cards

American Express allows you to purchase gift cards with your points, but it only offers one cent in value per point redeemed towards merchant gift cards. Points are only worth a half of a cent each towards American Express gift cards, which is a very poor value.

Merchandise Awards

American Express allows you to redeem points for brand name merchandise, but it often gives you as little as a half of a cent in value per point redeemed. Therefore, it's best to avoid these rewards.

Other Shopping Partners

You can redeem points directly with companies like Amazon.com, Best Buy, Telecharge, Uber, and Ticketmaster. However, these options never offer more than one cent in value per point, and often much less.

Bottom Line

American Express points are the most valuable when transferred to airline miles. When you are able to use your miles for expensive flights in premium class, then you can receive several cents in value per point. This can also offer you outsized value when redeeming miles for expensive flights in economy class without advance purchase, or when you can take advantage of the 50% points rebate offered to some Business Platinum cardholders. Otherwise, your points will rarely be worth more than one cent each.

By understanding the best ways to use Membership Rewards points, you can realize the most value from your hard-earned rewards.

_{Note: This content is not provided by American Express. Any opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express.}

First published September 14, 2017, last updated October 20, 2021

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