Amex Membership Rewards: How to earn, redeem and t...

With an American Express card that earns profitable Membership Rewards factors, cardholders can redeem factors via American Express Travel for resorts (together with trip leases), automobile leases, cruises and flights or decide to make use of their factors for assertion credit, reward playing cards and extra.

Whether or not you are a factors knowledgeable or not, you may as well maximize your Membership Rewards points by transferring them to Amex’s 21 airline and hotel partners. With many choices to redeem and maximize your hard-earned factors, your Membership Rewards factors are extraordinarily beneficial.

Preserve studying to study extra about methods to redeem factors, maximize Amex advantages and one of the best Amex playing cards to earn Membership Rewards factors.

Membership Rewards factors are the rewards forex of American Categorical. When you have an Amex card that earns Membership Rewards factors, you’ll earn them for on a regular basis spending, simply as you’ll earn airline miles with an airline-branded card or resort factors with a hotel-branded card. Plus, relying in your Amex card, you may as well earn bonus factors in sure spending classes.

On the earth of factors and miles, American Categorical Membership Rewards factors are thought-about a number of the most beneficial and helpful factors you possibly can earn due to their flexibility. Per TPG’s March 2025 valuations, Amex factors are price 2 cents per level. Since Membership Rewards factors are a type of transferable forex — Amex at the moment has 18 airline and three resort companions — there are a lot of methods to get essentially the most worth out of your factors whenever you switch them to companions.

Associated: How (and why) you should earn transferable credit card points in 2025

How do I earn Amex Membership Rewards factors?

The best option to earn many Membership Rewards factors is by making use of for a Membership Rewards points-earning American Categorical card. Amex presents a number of to select from, starting from premium playing cards with beneficiant advantages (and excessive annual charges) to no-annual-fee playing cards that reward every day spending.

Incomes Membership Rewards factors from playing cards

This is a take a look at the welcome supply, bonus-category construction, annual payment and advantages for every of the six most beneficial Membership Rewards playing cards that can assist you select one of the best Amex card.

Card	Welcome supply	Bonus classes	Annual payment	Perks
The Platinum Card® from American Express	Earn 80,000 factors after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases throughout the first six months of account opening.	Earn 5 factors per greenback spent on flights booked straight with airways or with American Categorical Journey (on as much as $500,000 per calendar yr, then 1 level per greenback) and pay as you go resorts booked with American Categorical Journey.	$695 (see rates and fees)	Obtain as much as $200 in statement credits yearly for incidental charges charged by one airline you choose. Obtain as much as a $200 annual hotel credit, within the type of a press release credit score, on pay as you go Amex Fantastic Inns + Resorts or The Lodge Assortment bookings with Amex Journey whenever you pay along with your Amex Platinum (Lodge Assortment stays require a two-night minimal). Earn as much as $200 annually in Uber Cash, legitimate on Uber rides and Uber Eats orders within the U.S. (break up into month-to-month $15 credit, plus a $20 bonus in December; add your Amex Platinum to your Uber account and pay with any Amex card). Get a $120 statement credit for International Entry each 4 years or as much as a $85 payment credit score for TSA PreCheck each 4 1/2 years (relying on which software payment is charged to your card first). Enrollment is required for choose advantages.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express	Earn 150,000 factors after you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases throughout the first three months of card membership.	Earn 5 factors per greenback spent on flights and pay as you go resorts on Amex Journey and 1.5 factors per greenback spent on eligible purchases in choose enterprise classes and eligible purchases of $5,000 or extra (on as much as $2 million of those purchases per card account per calendar yr, then 1 level per greenback).	$695 (see rates and fees)	Obtain as much as a $199 Clear Plus assertion credit score. Obtain as much as a $200 annual airline payment assertion credit score on expenses by the airline you choose per calendar yr. Rise up to $120 in assertion credit for purchases made straight from any U.S. wi-fi phone supplier (as much as $10 per 30 days). Enrollment is required for choose advantages.
American Express® Gold Card	Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards factors after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases in your first six months of card membership.	Earn 4 factors per greenback spent on purchases at eating places worldwide (as much as $50,000 in purchases per calendar yr, then 1 level per greenback), 4 factors per greenback spent at U.S. supermarkets (on as much as $25,000 per calendar yr in purchases, then 1 level per greenback), 3 factors per greenback spent on flights booked straight with airways or on American Categorical Journey and a pair of factors per greenback spent on pay as you go resorts and different eligible purchases booked on amextravel.com.	$325 (see rates and fees)	Obtain as much as a $120 annual eating assertion credit score every calendar yr (as much as $10 per 30 days). Obtain as much as a $100 annual Resy credit score every calendar yr at U.S. Resy eating places (credit score is damaged down into as much as $50 assertion credit biannually). Rise up to $84 in annual Dunkin’ credit score every calendar yr at U.S. Dunkin’ areas (as much as $7 in month-to-month assertion credit). Enrollment is required for choose advantages.
American Express® Business Gold Card	Earn 100,000 bonus factors after spending $15,000 on purchases within the first three months of card membership.	Earn 4 factors per greenback spent on the highest two eligible classes (from six classes) the place you spend essentially the most every billing cycle (on as much as $150,000 in mixed purchases from these two classes every calendar yr, then 1 level per greenback), 3 factors per greenback spent on flights and pay as you go resorts when booked on Amex Journey and 1 level per greenback spent on different purchases.	$375 (see rates and fees)	Obtain as much as a $240 assertion credit score yearly (as much as $20 every month) for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub and workplace provide shops. Earn as much as $155 in assertion credit score yearly (as much as $12.95 per 30 days, plus relevant taxes on one membership payment) for a month-to-month Walmart+ membership (topic to auto-renewal; Plus Ups not eligible). Enrollment is required for choose advantages.
American Express® Green Card	Earn 40,000 factors after you spend $3,000 on eligible purchases within the first six months of card membership.	Earn 3 factors per greenback spent on eating places worldwide, journey and transit and 1 level per greenback spent on different purchases.	$150	Obtain as much as a $199 Clear Plus assertion credit score every calendar yr. Enrollment is required.
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express	Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards factors after you make $3,000 in eligible purchases on the cardboard inside your first three months of card membership.	Earn 2 factors per greenback spent on on a regular basis enterprise purchases (on as much as $50,000 every calendar yr, then 1 level per greenback) and 1 level per greenback spent on different purchases.	$0 (see rates and fees)	*Eligibility and profit stage varies by card. Phrases, situations and limitations apply. Please go to americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for extra particulars. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Firm.

The knowledge for the American Categorical Inexperienced Card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or supplied by the cardboard issuer.

Day by day Publication

Reward your inbox with the TPG Day by day e-newsletter

Be part of over 700,000 readers for breaking information, in-depth guides and unique offers from TPG’s specialists

Different methods to earn Membership Rewards factors

After getting one (or extra) of the above playing cards, there are further choices for incomes Amex factors. The primary is leveraging Rakuten, considered one of TPG’s favourite on-line purchasing portals. Previously generally known as Ebates, the positioning as soon as supplied money again to buyers who clicked via to collaborating retailers from its dashboard. Nevertheless, members can now earn money again or Membership Rewards factors.

If you do not have an account, you can sign up and luxuriate in a one-time bonus of $30 whenever you spend not less than $30 inside 90 days of changing into a member.

Who’re the Amex Membership Rewards switch companions?

By transferring Membership Rewards factors to 18 airline and three resort switch companions, you possibly can seek for award journey throughout the globe, masking virtually each main route and metropolis. Thus, incomes Membership Rewards is often extra beneficial than solely incomes factors in considered one of these airline or resort loyalty applications. Bear in mind, you aren’t locked into one switch associate — you possibly can ship some factors to 1 program after which some to a different.

Under, we have listed all these companions, the switch ratios and the switch instances found in our testing.

If you have not completed so, hyperlink your switch associate accounts to your Membership Rewards account. This may stop delays sooner or later when you have to make a fast switch.

The most effective methods to redeem Amex Membership Rewards factors

There are limitless methods to make use of these switch companions to get most worth on your Membership Rewards factors. Listed here are only a few of our favourite redemptions:

• Fly to Hawaii on points and miles: Switch your factors to Singapore KrisFlyer and you may pay simply 13,500 KrisFlyer miles for a one-way flight from California, Oregon or Washington to any of the 4 Hawaiian Islands serviced by Alaska Airways. These primarily based elsewhere within the nation can e-book nonstop or connecting flights on United Airways. You will pay 19,500 KrisFlyer miles for a one-way financial system ticket or 39,000 miles for enterprise class. This consists of United’s long-haul nonstop flights from Newark, Chicago and Washington, D.C., to Honolulu.
• Save on business-class award flights: Singapore Airways additionally operates two of the world’s longest flights, one from Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) to Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport (EWR) and one other from SIN to New York’s John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport (JFK). You will not wish to spend 18 hours in an uncomfortable seat, so use your Membership Rewards to fly enterprise class. Each routes value 111,500 KrisFlyer miles plus taxes and costs one-way, a small value for consolation on such an extended flight.
• Switch your Amex points to Iberia Plus: On off-peak dates, you possibly can fly from JFK and Boston Logan Worldwide Airport (BOS) to Spain’s Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) for simply 17,000 Avios in financial system, 25,500 Avios in premium financial system and 34,000 Avios in enterprise class every method. This can be a steal — most airways cost not less than 60,000 factors or miles for a one-way business-class flight to Europe.
• Switch your Amex factors to Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue: Ebook business-class flights from North America to Europe ranging from simply 60,000 miles every method.
• Ebook home JetBlue award flights: Following various devaluations from Avios applications in 2024, transferring your Membership Rewards factors to Etihad Visitor could also be a greater possibility. JetBlue flights 500 miles or shorter inside North America value simply 6,000 Etihad Visitor miles.

Simply keep in mind that transfers are irreversible, so it is best to solely switch your Amex factors as soon as you have confirmed the award house for the flight or resort you need.

For extra data on maximizing your Amex factors for journey, try our guide on booking business-class flights and extra with Membership Rewards factors.

Moreover, you may as well use your factors to e-book just about any journey via the Amex Journey platform. You often obtain a worth of 1 cent per Amex level. That is an OK worth however not a spectacular option to redeem these factors.

Poor-value methods to redeem Membership Rewards factors

Sadly, a number of choices for redeeming your factors symbolize lower than stellar worth and may sometimes be prevented if you wish to maximize your hard-earned rewards. These embrace:

• Utilizing factors for expenses: This is sort of a cash-back possibility masking eligible expenses in your billing assertion. What are eligible expenses? You possibly can view the listing of eligible expenses out of your present on-line assertion. With this feature, you may solely obtain 0.6 cents per level, so it is not a terrific return.
• Utilizing Pay with Factors at checkout: After linking your Membership Rewards account with online merchants like Amazon, Finest Purchase and Grubhub, you possibly can pay on your purchases at a barely higher (however nonetheless poor) worth of 0.7 cents per level. Though this feature can typically be helpful for promotions, chances are you’ll wish to flip this off to stop unintended and unauthorized use of your factors.
• Redeeming for taxi rides in New York Metropolis: You possibly can redeem factors for New York Metropolis taxi fares at a worth of 1 cent per level.
• Redeeming for reward playing cards: One of many worst choices is redeeming your factors for reward playing cards. Relying on the service provider, these redemptions are price wherever from 0.5 cents to 1 cent apiece.

For charges and costs of the Amex Platinum Card, click on here.
For charges and costs of the Amex Gold Card, click on here.
For charges and costs of the Amex Enterprise Gold Card, click on here.
For charges and costs of the Amex Enterprise Platinum Card, click on here.
For charges and costs of the Blue Enterprise Plus Card, please click on here.