Amex Membership Rewards Points: A Guide to Earning & Burning

In the hierarchy of points and miles, American Express Membership Rewards® points are arguably at – or certainly near – the top of the list.

From booking flights and hotels through American Express Travel® to the ability to send points directly to more than 20 different airline and hotel partners, these points offer almost unparalleled flexibility and value to travelers looking to fly or stay somewhere for free … or nearly free. And despite an all-out arms race with other major banks like Chase, Citi, Capital One and even a newcomer like Bilt, American Express has continually evolved and made Membership Rewards points – and the cards that earn them – even more valuable over the years.

We’ll walk you through everything you need to know about the Amex Membership Rewards points program, including how to earn points, use them for maximum value, and all the little nuances you should be aware of along the way.

In this post

How to Earn American Express Membership Rewards Points
What are Membership Rewards Points Worth?
How to Use Amex Membership Rewards Points
Important Restrictions on Getting American Express Cards
Do Amex Membership Rewards Points Expire?
Can You Transfer Points to Someone Else?

How to Earn American Express Membership Rewards Points

By far the easiest and best way to earn Amex Membership Rewards points is by taking advantage of a big, new-card welcome offer and continuing to spend on the suite of cards that earn American Express Membership Rewards points.

Keep in mind: This is specifically about Amex's flagship cards, not co-branded Amex cards like the suite of Delta SkyMiles American Credit Cards or even Hilton Honors American Express cards. Those cards only earn Delta SkyMiles or Hilton Honors points, respectively.

Instead, you want the far more versatile Membership Rewards cards. And whether you are looking for a personal or business card, there is no shortage of cards that earn these valuable points.

Cards That Earn Membership Rewards Points

The Platinum Card® from American Express

The top dog when it comes to cards that earn American Express Membership Rewards points is without question *amex platinum*. The card provides an exhaustive list of both travel and lifestyle benefits which push the card's annual fee to $695 each year (see rates & fees).

Here's the full list of benefits:

bonus_miles_full – but check to see if you qualify for a 175,000-point offer via CardMatch first!
Earn 5x Membership Rewards Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel (up to $500,000 spent each year).
Earn 5x Membership Rewards Points on prepaid hotels booked with Amx Travel.
Get access to Centurion Lounges, plus other lounges like Airspace Lounges, Plaza Premium, and others
Get access to Delta Sky Clubs® (10 visits per year between Feb. 1 and Jan. 31) when you are flying with Delta Air Lines.
Get a Priority Pass Select Membership for access to 1,300-plus more lounges worldwide
$200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel® on a minimum two-night stay when you pay with your Platinum Card.
$240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 in statement credits each month when you pay for eligible purchases with the Platinum Card at your choice of one or more of the following providers: Disney+, a Disney+ bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal.
$200 Airline Fee Credit: Get up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year in baggage fees and more at one qualifying airline.
$200 Uber Cash: Get $15 Uber cash each month ($35 in December) to use on rides or Uber Eats orders in the U.S.
$209 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Use your card and get up to $209 back per year on your CLEAR® Plus membership.
$695 Annual Fee (see rates & fees)

Learn more about *amex platinum*.

Own a small business, or are you eligible to open a small business card? Even if you don't think so … you just might be!

American Express also has a business version of the Platinum Card. *biz platinum* offers many of the same benefits as the personal card, but also has a number of small business-focused benefits. The annual fee is $695 each year (see rates & fees).

Learn more about *biz platinum*

American Express® Gold Card

Next on the list is the *amex gold*. While the card doesn't offer quite as many benefits as the Platinum Card, it's a great mix of value and a much more palatable annual fee of only $325 (see rates & fees). You'll be hard-pressed to find a better all-around card to keep piling up points on your everyday spending than this.

Here's the full list of the card's benefits:

Welcome Offer: bonus_miles_full
Earn 4x points per dollar spent at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S. (now capped up to $50,000 per year
Earn 4x points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per year)
Earn 3x points per dollar spent directly with airlines or at amextravel.com
Earn 2x points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels, car rentals, and cruises at amextravel.com
Earn 1x point per dollar spent on other eligible purchases
$120 Dining Credit: Enroll and earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly (up to $120 annually) when you pay with the Gold Card at Five Guys, Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory®, wine.com, and Goldbelly
$120 Uber Cash: Add the U.S. Consumer Gold Card to your Uber account to receive $10 in monthly Uber Cash credits (up to $120 annually) towards Uber Eats or Uber Rides.
$100 Resy Credit: Get up to $50 in semi-annual statement credits ($100 per year) after you enroll and pay with the Gold Card at U.S. Resy restaurants or on other eligible Resy purchases.
$84 Dunkin' Credit: Get up to $7 per month ($84 per year) in statement credits after you enroll and pay with the Gold Card.
No foreign transaction fees
Annual fee: $325 (see rates & fees).

Related reading: A Full Review of the Amex Gold Card

Learn more about the *amex gold*

Like the Platinum Card, there is also has a business version of the Gold Card. The *biz gold* offers many of the same benefits as the personal card, but also has a number of small business-focused benefits.

But the annual fee on the Business Gold Card is higher than the personal Gold card at $375 each year (see rates & fees).

Learn more about the *biz gold*.

American Express® Green Card

Then there is the American Express® Green Card. Once again, the benefits are not as fruitful as they are on either the Platinum or the Gold Card. But with fewer benefits comes a smaller annual fee of only annual_fees each year.

See below for a full listing of the card's benefits:

bonus_miles_full
Earn 3x Membership Rewards Points at Restaurants, including takeout and delivery.
Earn 3x Membership Rewards Points on transit, including trains, buses, ferries, subway, and more.
Earn 3x Membership Rewards Points on travel, including airfare, hotels, cruises, tours, car rentals, and more.
$199 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Use your card and get up to $199 back per year on your CLEAR® Plus membership.
$100 Credit for Lounge Access: Use your card to purchase lounge access through LoungeBuddy and receive up to $100 in statement credits each year.
annual_fees Annual Fee

All information about the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by Thrifty Traveler and has not been reviewed by the issuer.

Learn more about the American Express® Green Card (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).

American Express® Business Green Rewards Card

Much like the Platinum and Gold Cards, there's also a business version of the Amex Green Card … but it's not much to get excited about. The annual fee is a modest $95 (see rates & fees), but it only earns 2x points on flights and hotels booked through Amex Travel and 1x on all other eligible purchases.

All information about the American Express® Business Green Rewards Card has been collected independently by Thrifty Traveler and has not been reviewed by the issuer.

Learn more about the American Express® Business Green Rewards Card (for full disclosure, this is not an affiliate link).

Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

Perhaps one of the most underrated credit cards out there is *blue biz plus*. This card earns 2x Membership Rewards points on all purchases on up to $50,000 spent each calendar year (then 1x). The best part? The Blue Business Plus card does not have an annual fee (see rates & fees).

Welcome Offer: *Blue Biz Plus Bonus*
Earn 2x Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 in purchases each year
Earn 1x Membership Rewards points after the first $50,000 spent each year
Buy above your credit limit with Expanded Buying Power. The amount you can spend above your credit limit adjusts with your use of the card, your payment history, credit record, and other factors.
No annual fee (see rates & fees)

Learn more about *blue biz plus*.

Shopping with Rakuten

Unlike Chase Ultimate Rewards which has its own Shop Through Chase shopping portal, American Express doesn't have a shopping portal that allows you to earn bonus Membership Rewards points for making an online purchase. But there's a great workaround.

Back in 2019, American Express teamed up with Rakuten to provide an option to earn Membership Rewards points instead of cashback for clicking through the Rakuten shopping portal on your way to make an online purchase.

Rakuten is among the best online shopping portals out there. It lets you earn additional cashback – or Membership Rewards – by first clicking through Rakuten on the way to the website of thousands of retailers. It occasionally offers huge signup bonuses for first-time users as well as elevated bonuses at hundreds of retailers.

If you elect to earn Membership Rewards points instead of cashback, you'll earn one Membership Rewards point for each percentage point of cashback offered. So let's say you're shopping at the Apple Store, where you'd typically earn 2% cashback. That'd be 2x Membership Rewards points per dollar instead.

Just know: If you switch back to earning cash rewards, you won't be able to change your mind again.

Earn Membership Rewards Through Referrals

Another great opportunity to earn Membership Rewards points comes from referring your card to friends and family members. Many times, the offers you send a friend or family member are better than the offers that are publicly available, making it a win-win for both parties.

Just beware, American Express started taxing points earned through personal referrals back in 2019. Each card will allow you to earn 100,000 points each year through personal referrals, and Amex will tax those at one cent each. That means, come tax time, you would receive a 1099-MISC form for $1,000 if you max out on those referrals.

Retention Offers

Retention offers are another great way to earn more Amex Membership Rewards points. They're the bank's way of convincing you to stay on as a customer (and pay another year of annual fees) if you're thinking of canceling your card.

A lot of times, these retention offers will come with some sort of spending requirement … but not always.

Simply call up the customer service line on the back of your card – or chat online (when logged into your account) – and let them know you're thinking about canceling your card unless there's a discount or other incentive to keep it open.

Here's an example from a recent Amex chat:

Oh, and a little tip: You can get one of these retention offers even if you aren't actually thinking about letting your card go. Critically, you have to ask for a retention offer – or at the very least, threaten to close your card. Don't expect the bank to come to you offering a bonus.

Just because you ask doesn't mean you'll get a retention offer – it varies bank by bank and from person to person. Still, it's worth asking, even if you're not seriously thinking of canceling your card. The worst they can say is no.

Who knows? You might just be able to get an offer you can't refuse.

Amex Offers

With Amex Offers, American Express opens an easy way for cardholders to get cash back (or extra points) back on everyday purchases with select retailers on travel, dining, shopping, entertainment and more. Add one to your Amex card, make an eligible purchase, and get something back – it's that easy.

If you're unfamiliar with Amex Offers, you can think of them as a sort of digital coupon or rebate that you get when using your American Express card for purchases.

Although most of these offers give you cash back, you'll sometimes be targeted to earn bonus points or miles instead of a monetary statement credit. Fortunately, you won't have to wait long for your rewards to be deposited as cash back and bonus points could be awarded as early as a few days after purchases post.

No matter which type of offer your American Express cards are targeted for, they can be a great way to save money or earn additional points. It's a good idea to add them to your card if you think there's even a slight chance that you'll be able to put them to use – especially as many will disappear as soon as a certain amount of cardholders have done so.

What are Membership Rewards Points Worth?

American Express doesn't publish anything official regarding what its points are worth. It really all depends on how you put them to use.

On the extreme conservative side, American Express Membership Rewards points are worth at least one cent each. So if you had 100,000 points, for example, they would be worth at least $1,000 towards travel.

But thanks to the stable of American Express Membership Rewards travel transfer partners, you can often do much, much better than that. In fact, some of the best transfer partners will allow you to get two cents – or much more – for each of your points without a ton of effort.

So let's dive into the basics on how to use Membership Rewards.

How to Use Amex Membership Rewards Points

When it comes to using Membership Rewards points, you'll have a handful of options at your disposal. But we're a travel website, so let's get the obvious out of the way: Using them for travel experiences will give you the best return … by far.

For example, while it is possible to redeem your points for charges, or even gift cards, many of those redemptions are at a very poor value in comparison – .6 cents each, in many cases.

When it comes to gift cards, the value of your points will change depending on the gift card you are looking at. For example, you can redeem points for a Home Depot gift card, getting one cent apiece for your points. That means 2,500 points would get you a $25 gift card.

But that value drops dramatically if you are looking at a Best Buy gift card.

So here's the bottom line: Use Membership Rewards for travel. Doing so will simply give you the most value out of your points.

Book Travel Through the Amex Travel Portal

When booking travel with Membership Rewards points, the first and perhaps easiest is to use the Amex Travel portal. Through Amex Travel, you'll have the ability to book flights, hotels, rental cars, and even cruises.

When you book flights and certain hotels through Amex Travel, your points are worth one cent each. That means 100,000 Membership Rewards points would get you $1,000 towards travel.

That's true unless you hold the *biz platinum*. With this card, you'll get a 35% points rebate when you book economy flights on one selected airline each year – or on any airline if you book a business or first class ticket. You can earn up to 1,000,000 points back each year through these rebates.

Amex International Airline Program

Another feature to be aware of with Amex Travel is the Amex International Airline Program (IAP). It's an exclusive benefit available to both Platinum and Business Platinum cardholders that allows you to get exclusive savings on select airlines when you book your airfare through the American Express travel portal.

But it's only valid for international itineraries booked in first class, business class, and premium economy. There are no additional savings here when flying economy.

American Express claims that the average savings are $150 on premium economy, $300 in business class, and $600 on international first-class round trip fares. In practice, we’ve seen these numbers vary depending on the routing, fare class, and the airline.

Transfer Membership Rewards Points to Partner Airlines & Hotels

The next – and perhaps the best – way to use Membership Rewards points is by transferring them to partner airline and hotel programs. Just like Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou, and even Capital One Venture Miles, you can transfer Amex points directly into your account with certain airlines and hotels.

Scope out the full list of transfer partners, and you'll see there are plenty of options to send your points.

Membership Rewards Airline Transfer Partners

Program	Type	Transfer Ratio	Transfer Time
Aer Lingus	Airline	1:1	Instant
AeroMexico	Airline	1:1.6	3-5 days
Air Canada Aeroplan	Airline	1:1	Instant
Air France/KLM	Airline	1:1	Instant
ANA	Airline	1:1	1-2 days
Avianca	Airline	1:1	Instant
British Airways	Airline	1:1	Instant
Cathay Pacific	Airline	1:1	Instant
Delta	Airline	1:1	Instant
Emirates	Airline	1:1	Instant
Etihad	Airline	1:1	Instant
Hawaiian	Airline	1:1	Instant
Iberia	Airline	1:1	Up to 24 hours
JetBlue	Airline	1.25:1	Instant
Qantas	Airline	1:1	Instant
Qatar Airways	Airline	1:1	Instant
Singapore	Airline	1:1	Instant
Virgin Atlantic	Airline	1:1	Instant

As you can see, your Membership Rewards points will transfer to many airlines instantly. That means as soon as you complete the transfer from your Amex account, they should arrive in your airline frequent flyer account.

That said, some transfer partners like Singapore, Cathay Pacific, ANA, Iberia, and more will take anywhere from 12 hours to 12 days.

And while the majority of airline transfer partners will transfer on a 1:1 basis – meaning 1 Amex point will equal 1 airline mile – that's not the case for every one of them.

Membership Rewards Hotel Transfer Partners

On the hotel side of things, you'll have three options. Hilton, Marriott and Choice hotels.

Choice and Marriott will transfer at a ratio of 1:1, while Hilton transfers are a rate of 1:2. That means for every 1 Amex point transferred, you'll receive 2 Hilton Honors points.

Program	Type	Transfer Ratio	Transfer Time
Choice Privileges	Hotel	1:1	Instant
Hilton Honors	Hotel	1:2	Instant
Marriott Bonvoy	Hotel	1:1	Instant

While it's possible to transfer Amex points to hotels, you'll almost always do better by focusing on transferring points to airlines. In our minds, 50,000 ANA miles are worth far more than 50,000 Marriott Bonvoy or Choice points.

Important Restrictions on Getting American Express Cards

The idea of opening more than one travel card might sound absurd to some, but it's the key to how many savvy travelers keep piling up points. Yet some semi-recent changes from American Express have thrown a wrench in how it all works.

You see, each bank has its own set of rules for determining who is (and isn't) eligible for a new card bonus. Traditionally, Amex had just one real rule: You could earn each card's welcome bonus exactly one time. But over the last few years, we've seen Amex add new language to many of its cards, limiting whether you can earn another bonus based upon other Amex cards you have – or have had.

These new restrictions might require you to start with the cheapest card and work your way up the ladder – paying a higher annual fee as you go to keep earning welcome offers.

So while it's still possible to earn an Amex welcome offer bonus on each card once per “lifetime,” these new rules mean you have to do it in the right order.

Watch for the Amex Welcome Offer Pop-Up

These rules may all sound confusing. But the bottom line is that if you think you might be eligible, the best thing to do is try and apply.

Here's why: American Express implemented a tool a few years ago that stops you from submitting an application if you are not eligible for the bonus.

All you need to do is fill out the application as normal and click “Agree and Submit Application.” After a few seconds, if you are not eligible to earn the bonus on that card, American Express will let you know with a pop-up like this:

Better yet, they will give you the chance to cancel your application before pulling your credit and processing the application. If you don’t receive the pop-up, you should be good to go and eligible to receive the welcome offer on whatever card you are applying for.

Do Amex Membership Rewards Points Expire?

As long as you have an active card that earns Membership Rewards points, your points will never expire. Even if the points you have were earned from a different credit card than you currently have open, you should have nothing to worry about.

But if you decide to cancel a card that earns Membership Rewards, make sure you have a plan for your points. If you only have one card open, canceling that card will immediately forfeit all of your points in your Membership Rewards account.

The best option in this scenario is to transfer your points to one of the airline or hotel partners – or use the points up in a different way – before you close your account.

Can You Transfer Points to Someone Else?

American Express does not allow points transfers between two different accounts. Whether it's a spouse, family member, or friend, you can't transfer points between two Membership Rewards accounts – even if both users live at the same address.

Instead, you’re allowed to transfer Membership Rewards points directly to another user’s frequent flyer account – so long as that person is an authorized user on your account.

That makes it fairly easy to pool points together to book travel, but it’s still the most restrictive of all the flexible points programs when it comes to this topic. And remember: You can always transfer points into your own airline account and book travel for somebody else.

Bottom Line

There is a lot to know about American Express Membership Rewards points. But if you play your cards right, they can be some of the most valuable points out there when it comes time to book cheap travel.