American Express offers multiple rewards cards, some of which earn points on purchases in the form of Membership Rewards.
For example, you could potentially double their value by turning them into Hilton Honors loyalty points versus using them to shop at Yeti — and those are just two out of hundreds of options.
American Express Membership Rewards: The basics. How much are American Express Membership Rewards points worth? Cards that earn American Express Membership Rewards points. Other ways to earn American Express Membership Rewards points. Fine print. Frequently asked questions about American Express Membership Rewards.
You'll earn at least 1 point per dollar spent with your card. Depending on the card, you may earn extra points for spending in specific categories, such as 3 points per dollar at restaurants or 5 points per dollar on certain travel purchases.
Jump ahead to cards that earn Membership Rewards points. Additional points can be earned through bonus offers for new cardholders , targeted "Amex Offers" that give you bonus points for shopping with specific merchants, or other incentives. Using points: Membership Rewards points can be redeemed for things like:. Point transfers to partners, including airlines and hotels. You can view all of your options by logging into the American Express Membership Rewards website.
You have a lot of options when it comes to redeeming your Membership Rewards points — and the value you get per point varies depending on how you use them. You can also look up the values for different options based on your card using a tool on the American Express Membership Rewards website. Here are ways to redeem:. You can use Membership Rewards points to book travel directly through American Express via the AmEx Travel site, where you can find flights, hotels and vacation packages.
You can also use points to book directly through Expedia at checkout. Either way, the value of points ranges between 0. AmEx has multiple transfer partners — more than any other major U. The transfer rate varies by partner, but in most cases, it's 1-to-1, meaning that when you transfer 1, Membership Rewards points, you get 1, points in the partner program. One thing to keep in mind: When transferring Membership Rewards points to U. For a 1,point transfer, that comes out to 60 cents.
For details on transfer ratios, see AmEx's website. The exact value you ultimately get per point depends on which program you transfer to and how you redeem the points within that program, but NerdWallet estimates the overall transfer value at 2 cents per point.
The Upgrade with Points feature , available via the Membership Rewards portal, allows you to bid on seat upgrades with your points at over 20 participating airlines. Still, be aware that your points can lose value as your bid escalates. Membership Rewards are worth at least 1 cent per point, depending on how you redeem them. You can redeem your Membership Rewards points for a statement credit, which is essentially a cash-back option.
Points are generally worth 0. Cardholders can get discounts and shop with points at retailers from Sephora to Tumi, with the point value varying by store. At Yeti, for example, points are worth about 0. You may have to sign into the retailer's account, enter your card number or otherwise follow the prompts to pull up your point balance. Each point is typically worth 0. You can redeem your points for gift cards through the AmEx site at several dozens of retailers, from Home Depot to iTunes, and the point value varies by retailer.
After selecting a cause through the JustGiving website, you can make a donation using points. See our guide to Citi ThankYou Points. More than a dozen American Express cards earn Membership Rewards; here are some of the most popular, including some with no annual fee :. You can use points for all or a portion of the offer amount. Use points for a donation to your charity of choice through the JustGiving site. With over 1. Terms and Conditions for the Membership Rewards program apply.
Visit membershiprewards. Participating partners and available rewards are subject to change without notice. The value of Membership Rewards points varies according to how you choose to use them. To learn more, go to www. Explore all the ways you can experience rewards. Ways to Use Points. Book Travel. Book Now-Opening in same window Book Now. American Express brand gift cards go for only 0. You can redeem your Membership Rewards points as statement credits for charges on your credit card account a minimum of 1, points is required to make a redemption.
Unfortunately, statement credits are only worth 0. American Express has many shopping partners — including Amazon, Walmart, Grubhub and Best Buy — that allow you to link your account to their sites and apply your points at checkout with a single click. Additionally, you can use your Membership Rewards points via PayPal anywhere that accepts the service. The American Express shopping portal gives you an even worse value on your points.
Though you will find a bevy of merchandise through the portal, your rewards are worth 0. You can also use your American Express Membership Rewards points to support your choice of thousands of different charities. Simply choose a charity that you want to help, and you can use your points at a value of 0. You can use Membership Rewards points to purchase tickets for concerts and events through Ticketmaster and AXS, but this is ill-advised.
Points are worth 0. Like most travel sites, American Express Travel lets you search for airfare within a date range and from a variety of airlines. You can book any available flight with your rewards starting at 5, points. The average value per point for airfare is 1 cent. Any American Express cardholder could book this flight for 30, points. That puts your net cost at 19, points. A note of caution: Airfare on American Express Travel can run higher than average.
The American Express Travel portal is a full-fledged travel site that lets you book all kinds of travel, including hotels , vacation packages and cruises. All travel booked through the American Express Travel portal besides airfare is booked at a rate of 0.
This makes it a relatively unattractive option for using your American Express points. Another travel option is using Membership Rewards points to bid for upgrades, which American Express introduced in On 21 different airlines, you can use your Membership Rewards at a value of 1 cent per point toward upgrading an economy cash ticket to a premium cabin ticket.
American Express has 22 travel partners — including several major airlines that can take you practically anywhere you want to travel — and your points transfer at a rate to most of them. The value per point varies wildly by each program, and you also need to consider that American Express charges an excise fee of 0. Using the travel portal provides a fixed cost for your points and is simpler.
You should also stick with using them for flights at the 1 cent per point rate. The 0. While many options are available for you to spend your Amex points on gift cards or through shopping partners like Amazon, PayPal, Best Buy and Expedia, these generally provide poor value and are not recommended in most cases. Most people will get the best value of their points either transferring to airline or hotel partners or booking airfare directly through the American Express travel portal.
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