Template: MR Intro
From Travel Strategies
Amex's loyalty program is called Membership Rewards. Membership Rewards Guide
- You can transfer your Membership Reward points to many different frequent flyer programs. Membership Reward points can be converted into frequent flyer miles with any of about two dozen different frequent flyer programs. This gives you the flexibility to take advantage of award space on over a hundred different airlines, and the ability to combine the points you earn from your credit cards, with points you earn directly with an airline. In many cases, you can book any available award tickets, through one of several different partner programs, allowing you to take advantage of whichever program requires the fewest miles for any given trip.
- Amex frequently offers promotional transfer bonuses. While the promotion is active, you'll get extra airline miles when you transfer your Membership Reward points. For example, if American Express is offering a 40% bonus for British Airways, you'll receive 14,000 British Airways points, for every 10,000 Membership Reward points you transfer. See Take Advantage of Transfer Bonuses to Get More Value from Your Reward Points for more information or visit Frequent Miler’s Current Transfer Bonuses page for a list of current promotions.
- Unlike Ultimate Reward points, frequent flyer tickets are usually the only good option for redeeming your Membership Reward points. Membership Reward's transfer rates for hotel programs aren't very attractive, it doesn't partner with any fixed-value airline programs (like Southwest), and you'll only get 1 cent per point when you use them to purchase travel through Amex.
- The only exceptions are for certain Amex Platinum cardholders:
- Amex BUSINESS Platinum Cardholders get a 35% rebate on some airfare purchases made through Amex. This option provides a value of 1.54 cents per point. While this isn't as much as we hope to get by using our Membership Reward points for frequent flyer tickets, you'll always get decent value from your points, you don't have to worry about finding available award space, and it is a lot better than 1 cent per point.
- Amex SCHWAB Platinum Cardholders get an option to cash out their points at 1.25 cents per point.
- We value Membership Reward points at 1.5 cents each. Because you can take advantage of award space and "sweet spots" from many different frequent flyer programs, and the occasional transfer bonus, Membership Reward points are worth more than any single type of airline miles. If you highly valuable premium-cabin award tickets, Membership Reward points are worth even more. If you want to avoid the hassles associated with frequent flyer tickets, they are worth significantly less. How Much are Points Worth?