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Certain American Express cards — such as the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express and Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express — earn Amex Reward Dollars instead of Amex Membership Rewards points. One of the ways cardmembers can redeem these rewards is for Amazon purchases.
Members can redeem at a rate of 1 Amex Reward Dollar = $1 off their Amazon purchase. While at first glance this may seem like a good use of your Amex Reward Dollars, is it the best use? Let’s have a closer look at the details.
Which Amex Cards Are Eligible?
The following Amex cards earn Amex Reward Dollars that can be used to offset Amazon purchases:
- Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
- Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
- Cash Magnet® Card
- Morgan Stanley Blue Cash Preferred® American Express Card
- American Express Business Cash Rebate® Credit Card (closed to new applications)
- American Express Classic Blue Cash for Business® Card (closed to new applications)
- American Express Platinum Business Premium Cash Rebate® Credit Card (closed to new applications)
Related: Comparing American Express Cashback Cards: Which One Should You Get?
- Earn a $250 statement credit after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card within the first 6 months.
- $0 intro annual fee for the first year, then $95.
- Low Intro APR: 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for 12 months from the date of account opening. After that, your APR will be a variable APR of 19.99% - 28.99%.
- Plan It®: Buy now, pay later with Plan It. Split purchases of $100 or more into equal monthly installments with a fixed fee so you don't have the pressure of paying all at once. Simply select the purchase in your online account or the American Express® App to see your plan options. Plus, you'll still earn rewards on purchases the way you usually do.
- Earn 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in eligible purchases (then 1%), 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% cash back at eligible U.S. gas stations and on transit (including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more) purchases and 1% cash back on other purchases. Cash Back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit and at Amazon.com checkout.
- Get up to a $10 monthly statement credit after using your enrolled Blue Cash Preferred® Card for a subscription purchase, including a bundle subscription purchase, at disneyplus.com, Hulu.com, or Plus.espn.com U.S. websites. Subject to auto-renewal.
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- 6% Cash Back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions
- 6% Cash Back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in eligible purchases (then 1%)
- 3% Cash Back on eligible transit purchases including taxis/rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses and more
- 3% Cash Back on eligible purchases at U.S. gas stations
- 1% Cash Back on other eligible purchases
- Cash Back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.
How to Redeem Your Amex Reward Dollars on Amazon
Shopping at Amazon with your Amex Reward Dollars is easy; simply follow these few simple steps.
- Link an eligible Amex Rewards account to your Amazon account here.
- Shop on Amazon as you would normally.
- At the checkout, choose Reward Dollars as a payment method. You can pay for part or all of your purchase with Reward Dollars.
- Complete your order. Your Reward Dollars will be applied to your order, and you will pay cash for any remaining balance.
Regarding the exchange rate, you redeem 1 Amex Reward Dollar for $1 off your Amazon purchase. This is the same value you would get if you redeem your Reward Dollars for statement credits against your purchases.
Why It Generally Doesn't Make Sense To Use Amex Reward Dollars at Amazon
When you are given the choice between redeeming points for a purchase or cashing out those points for a statement credit at the same rate, always choose the cash-out option. That's because you'll miss out on rewards by redeeming points at checkout.
Say you're making a $100 Amazon purchase and have at least 100 Amex Reward Dollars. It seems appealing to redeem those Reward Dollars to offset the Amazon purchase — essentially getting the Amazon purchase for free!
However, if you redeem Amex Reward Dollars for the Amazon purchase, you won't earn rewards on that purchase. If your card earns 1% back — as most cards on the list do — you'd get 1 Amex Reward Dollar for charging the $100 Amazon purchase to your card.
Note that you can still use Amex Reward Dollars to offset the purchase. Just redeem 100 Amex Reward Dollars for a $100 statement credit. This way, you'll have earned 1 Amex Reward Dollar from the purchase and still don't have to pay out-of-pocket for the purchase.
The difference is even more stark when it comes to cards that earn more than 1% back at online retailers, like the Blue Cash Everyday. The card earns 3% back on up to $6,000 of annual spending at U.S. online retailers, then 1% back.
In this case, you're even better off charging the purchase to your card to earn Reward Dollars and then redeeming Reward Dollars for statement credits. Taking the above example, spending $100 would earn you $3 in Reward Dollars, which you can redeem against your future bills.
Another scenario that would skew the math is if you have a targeted Amex Offer providing extra earnings on Amazon. In this case, you could earn extra cash back or receive a statement credit after making a purchase, so redeeming Reward Dollars as a statement credit later (not toward your Amazon purchase) would give you the best value.
Our Take
Being able to use your Amex Reward Dollars at Amazon is useful, but generally not the best way to use your rewards. That said, redeeming your Reward Dollars directly with Amazon may be convenient and a fun way of seeing the final purchase amount drop to $0.
However, if you want to maximize your rewards, you are much better off charging the purchase to your card and earning rewards. You can then redeem your cash back for statement credits. This way, you will end up with more cash in the long run.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees)
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