Amex Membership Rewards Transfer Partners: What to Know
It’s no wonder why TPG staff (and our readers) love it American Express Membership Rewards point.
Whichever you want Redeem your Amex points For a cheap and cheerful hotel room or flying first class to Asia, you can transfer Amex points to an impressive 18 airline partners and three hotel partners. Additionally, membership rewards points are easy to earn and redeem.
Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about American Express Membership Rewards transfer partners, including some redemption options. This will help you determine the best ways to get the most out of your Amex points for your next trip.
How to earn American Express membership rewards points
You need to be qualified American Express to earn membership rewards points.
Several popular Membership Rewards cards are currently offering generous welcome bonuses.
American Express Platinum Card
American Express Platinum® Card: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $8,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. However, you can be targeted for a higher welcome offer by using CardMatch tool (offer subject to change at any time).
Accumulate points:
- 5 points per dollar spent on airline tickets purchased directly with airlines or through Amex Travel (up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar)
- 5 points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels booked with Amex Travel
- 1 point per dollar spent on other purchases
Annual fee: $695 (see exchange rates and fees)
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American Express Gold Card
American Express® Gold Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months of card membership. However, some readers have been targeted with a higher welcome offer by using CardMatch tool (offer subject to change at any time).
Accumulate points:
- 4 points per dollar spent at restaurant (on purchases up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar)
- 4 points per dollar spent in the US supermarket (on first $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar)
- 3 points per dollar spent on airfare purchased directly with airlines or through amextravel.com
- 2 points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other qualifying purchases booked on amextravel.com
- 1 point per dollar spent on other qualifying purchases
Annual fee: $325 (see exchange rates and fees)
American Express Business Platinum Card
American Express Business Platinum® Card: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $20,000 on qualifying purchases with the Business Platinum Card within the first three months of card membership.
Accumulate points:
- 5 points per dollar spent on prepaid flights and hotels booked through Amex Travel
- 1.5 points per dollar spent in select business categories and on qualifying purchases of $5,000 or more (with up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar)
- 1 point per dollar spent on other qualifying purchases
Annual fee: $695 (see exchange rates and fees)
American Express Business Gold Card
American Express® Business Gold Card: Earn 100,000 bonus points after spending $15,000 on purchases in the first three months of card membership.
Accumulate points:
- 4 points per dollar spent on the two categories your business spends the most on each billing cycle from the six qualifying categories; You’ll earn 4 points per dollar spent on the first $150,000 in combined purchases per calendar year (after that it’s 1 point per dollar)
- 3 points per dollar spent on prepaid flights and hotels booked through amextravel.com
- 1 point per dollar spent on other qualifying purchases
Annual fee: $375 (see exchange rates and fees)
American Express Green Card
American Express® Green Card: Earn 40,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership.
Accumulate points:
- 3 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants worldwide and takeout and delivery in the US
- 3 points per dollar spent on travel and transit
- 1 point per dollar spent on other qualifying purchases
Annual fee: $150
Information about the American Express Green Card has been independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Amex Membership Rewards Transfer Partner
American Express has 18 airlines and three hotel transfer partners. These partners include at least one useful option in each major airline alliance: SkyTeam, Star Alliance And world.
You can transfer your Membership Rewards points to the following airline programs:
Related: Best frequent flyer program for US travelers
There are also three hotel transfer partner options:
Related: The best hotel rewards programs in the world: Which one is right for you?
How to transfer Membership Rewards to partners
If you want to transfer your Membership Rewards, you will need an open and valid Amex account. You can then link each transfer partner in your Membership Rewards account and transfer Membership Rewards Points in 1,000 increments to any partner you want, with a minimum of 1,000 points.
American Express offers bonuses on transfers to selected partners from time to time.
However, there are some important limitations to note:
- Transfers to travel partners are irreversible, so make sure you’re sure you have access to the points before transferring them.
- First and last names must be the same on your Amex account and your loyalty program account.
- You can only transfer points to your loyalty program account or the account of an authorized user of the card. However, said authorized users must be in your account for at least 90 days before they are eligible for transfer.
- You are charged a federal excise tax offset fee when transferring Amex points to US frequent flyer programs – specifically Delta SkyMiles, HawaiianMiles and JetBlue TrueBlue. This is 60 cents (or 120 points) for every 1,000 points you transfer, up to a maximum of $99 (or 19,800 points).
Related: How to transfer credit card rewards to partner programs
How to Maximize Transfer Partner Membership Rewards
With so many different options, deciding where to transfer your Membership Rewards Points can be difficult. the Great thing about transferable points is that you can keep them in your Amex account until you decide where and when to transfer them.
For more inspiration, here are some of our favorite transfer options:
- Book American Airlines tickets with HawaiianMiles: Alaska Airlines get Hawaiian Airlines last year, but the two airlines have yet to combine their loyalty programs. Currently, you can transfer Membership Rewards Points to Hawaii and beyond transfer the miles to Alaska to book a one-way ticket on American Airlines for just 4,500 miles. Read our full guide to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan for other redemption ideas. Please note that transfers between these two programs may end when the programs are combined into one.
- Book ANA first class flights to Japan with Virgin Atlantic: You can book a one-way flight to Japan on ANA from the US West Coast for 52,500 points (business class) or 72,500 points (first class).
- Book Oneworld economy flights with British Airways Avios: Many routes from the East Coast to Dublin on Aer Lingus can be booked in economy class for just one price 26,000 Avios round trip on off-peak days by transferring your Membership Rewards to British Airways. You can also fly short flights outside of North America for as little as 5,000 Avios.
- Fly round trip to Madrid on Iberia: One of the The industry’s sweet spot are flying Iberia business class from the northeastern US, including Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD), to Spain for just 34,000 miles each way on off-peak days, book through Iberia Plus or British Airways Executive Club.
- Fly premium class on Singapore Airlines by transferring your Membership Rewards to KrisFlyer: You can fly first class on the Airbus A380 for 93,500 points if you book a one-way flight between Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) and Sydney Airport (SYD). Although Singapore no longer flies the A380 to the US, you can still book a first class ticket on the airline’s 777-300ER from New York to Frankfurt for 97,000 points. Sometimes, you’ll even see business class awards on select routes included in carrier tickets. Spontaneous escape promotion.
- Switch to Flying Blue for flights to Europe and North Africa: Flying Blue is the joint loyalty program of Air France and KLM. Flights to Europe start at 20,000 miles one-way in economy and 60,000 miles one-way in business class. Also, pay attention to the program Monthly promotional rewardswhere select routes are discounted for last-minute travel.
Related: The best way to use Amex Membership Rewards: From business class flights to Europe to Hawaii
Bottom line
American Express Membership Rewards points are some of the most valuable on the market. This is mainly due to Amex’s wide selection of airline and hotel transportation partners.
There are so many valuable ways to use them, and the flexibility to decide when, where, and how many points to transfer at your convenience is one of the reasons we rate this type of bonus so highly. .
For Amex Platinum Card rates and fees, click This.
For Amex Gold Card rates and fees, click This.
For rates and fees on the Amex Business Platinum Card, click This.
For Amex Business Gold Card rates and fees, click This.