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Eligibility is limited for the Amex Offers discussed in this post. Enrollment is required in the Amex Offers section of your account before redeeming.
American Express Membership Rewards is one of the best transferable points currencies around. With a slew of cards that earn these points and many ways to redeem them, the Membership Rewards program offers great value for both consumers and businesses.
If you're new to Amex Membership Rewards, this guide offers a high-level program overview. For those wanting to dive deeper into specific aspects of the Membership Rewards program, check out the links to related content in the sections below.
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How To Earn American Express Membership Rewards Points
Travelers have a few ways to earn Amex Membership Rewards, but earning through American Express credit cards is the most common. Not any Amex card will do, though. Only certain cards earn Membership Rewards points. It all starts there. Then, you open up other avenues for earning Amex points.
Amex Membership Rewards cards
Amex offers several Membership Rewards-earning credit cards for both consumers and businesses. Many Membership Rewards cards allow you to earn extra points on purchases made with specific categories of merchants like travel, restaurants, or supermarkets.
For this reason, the ideal earning strategy will include a combination of Amex rewards cards. Some Amex cards also offer lucrative welcome offers to new card members. Plus, it's worth noting that these offers change frequently, so timing your application could mean earning even more Amex points after you meet the minimum spending requirement for your card of choice.
We have a post covering all the cards that earn American Express Membership Rewards points. These run the gamut from no-fee cards to premium travel rewards cards. But for now, we'd like to highlight a couple that may be the most ideal for many consumers, starting with the American Express® Gold Card.
(Terms apply)
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you're approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount - all with no credit score impact. If you're approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- Pay It® lets you tap in the American Express® App to quickly pay for small purchase amounts throughout the month and still earn rewards the way you usually do. Plan It® gives you the option to split up big purchases into equal monthly payments with a fixed fee. You'll know upfront exactly how much you'll pay.
- Updated! $120 Dining Credit: Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub (including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory, and Wonder. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. Enrollment required.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year at over 10,000 qualifying U.S. Resy restaurants after you pay for eligible purchases with the American Express® Gold Card. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: Earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin' locations. Enrollment required.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Enjoy up to $120 in Uber Cash annually with your Gold Card. Just add your Card to your Uber account and you'll get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction.
- New! As an American Express® Gold Card Member, you can enjoy complimentary Hertz Five Star® Status. Enjoy benefits like skipping the counter at select locations, adding an additional driver at no additional cost*, and vehicle upgrades**. Benefit enrollment and Hertz Gold+ registration are required. *Additional drivers must meet standard rental qualifications and must be a spouse or domestic partner to qualify as complimentary. Other additional drivers subject to fees. **Benefits are subject to availability and vary by location. Additional Hertz program Terms and Conditions including age restrictions apply.
- Take advantage of a $100 credit towards eligible charges* at over 1,300 upscale hotels worldwide when you book The Hotel Collection through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App **. *Eligible charges vary by property. **The Hotel Collection requires a two-night minimum stay.
- Book your travel through the Amex Travel App with added peace of mind - backed by American Express® service and support. Only for American Express® Card Members.
- Whenever you need us, we're here. Our Member Services team will ensure you are taken care of. From lost Card replacement to statement questions, we are available to help 24/7.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.
- 4X Membership Rewards® points at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S. (on up to $50,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X)
- 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com
- 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
- 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through amextravel.com
- 2X Membership Rewards® points on cruises booked and paid through amextravel.com
- 1X on other eligible purchases
The mid-tier Amex Gold doubles as both a travel and a lifestyle card. It offers solid rewards for booking hotels and flights, plus you can earn bonus points for spending at restaurants and on groceries. You can also take advantage of monthly Uber Cash and dining credits. This card can provide great value if you can take advantage of its credits, and it can earn you an excellent number of American Express Membership Rewards points each year. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
One business card we want to highlight is The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express. Despite charging a $0 annual fee (Rates & Fees), this card earns 2X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on the first $50,000 per year, then 1X. It's a simple earning structure that will help you rack up American Express Membership Rewards for your next trip.
(Terms Apply)
- Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
- 0.0% intro APR on purchases for 12 months from the date of account opening, then a variable rate, 16.74% - 28.49%, based on your creditworthiness and other factors at account opening. APR will not exceed 29.99%
- Earn 2X points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 2X applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter. Terms and limitations apply.
- You've got the power to spend above your credit limit* with Expanded Buying Power. *The amount you can spend above your credit limit is flexible, so it adapts with your use of the Card, your payment history, credit record, financial resources known to us, and other factors. Just remember, the amount you can spend with Expanded Buying Power is not unlimited.
- No Annual Fee
- Terms Apply.
- Earn 2X points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 2X applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter. Terms and limitations apply.
If those two don't seem like the right card for you, American Express still likely has something that would be an ideal fit for your wallet. Make sure you review the details, pros, and cons of all the Membership Rewards-earning cards.
Amex Offers
Amex Offers are another way to earn extra Amex Membership Rewards points on purchases. You must have an American Express credit card to be eligible for Amex Offers. Not all offers let you earn additional Membership Rewards points, as some provide statement credits as cash back or Rewards Dollars instead.
If you log into your account at americanexpress.com, you'll see your offers listed under “Amex Offers & Benefits.” Click “View all” to see the entire list for your card. You must activate Amex Offers before using them by clicking the “Add to Card” button. You'll then earn points or receive a statement credit if you meet the terms of the offer.
As these are targeted offers, not everyone sees the same deals. If you have multiple Amex cards, not every card may have the same Amex Offer available. If two cards do have the same offer, you're typically only able to add it to one of them.
Eligibility is limited for the Amex Offers discussed in this post. Enrollment is required in the Amex Offers section of your account before redeeming.
Related: Current Travel-Related Amex Offers
Earn Amex points by shopping through Rakuten
American Express partners with the Rakuten shopping portal to offer Membership Rewards points instead of cash back when shopping at participating online merchants. To be eligible, you must have a credit card that earns Membership Rewards points.
If you already have a Rakuten account, you can convert to earning Membership Rewards instead of cash. Going forward, you'll earn points at the same rate as you would earn cash back (1 Amex point instead of 1% cash back, etc.).
Refer-a-Friend bonus
You can earn up to 100,000 bonus Membership Reward points by referring American Express credit cards to friends and family. The number of points you earn per referral depends on the card(s) you have, but it often varies from 10,000 to 20,000 per referral. Referral offers can go higher than this, however.
To refer a card, log into your Amex account and navigate to the card you want to refer. Or log in and head to this link to see all eligible cards. Copy the referral link and send it to friends and family.
The person you refer does not necessarily need to get that exact card for you to earn a bonus. They'll see a set of options once they click on your unique link. What is critical is that they use your referral link when applying for the card to earn you bonus Amex Membership Rewards points.
Additional cardholder bonus
American Express will sometimes offer extra Membership Rewards points if you add an authorized user to one of your Membership Rewards-earning cards. It isn't always available, and when it is, it's for a limited time. You usually need to both add a user, and that user needs to make a certain amount in purchases using their card in order to be eligible for the points.
Watch out for fees when adding authorized users. For many cards, it's free. But cards like the American Express Platinum Card® charge $195 for each additional Platinum Card® for Authorized Users (Rates & Fees), since the user gets a handful of the primary card's perks and benefits. Conversely, companion cards don't charge an annual fee and have few benefits.
Targeted offers
You may see targeted offers from Amex at times on your card(s) that may allow you to earn extra Amex Membership Rewards. These offers aren't available to everyone, and what you see might differ from the offers others receive.
For example, Amex may offer bonus points if you enroll in Pay Over Time. Pay Over Time allows you to carry a balance on your card without penalties. However, you should still pay your balance in full each month to avoid paying interest.
Note: Eligible charges can be included in a Pay Over Time balance, up to the Pay Over Time Limit. All charges not added to a Pay Over Time balance or monthly payment plan or Cash Advance balance must be paid in full each month by the payment due date. Pay Over Time only applies to eligible charges meeting minimum transaction amounts for certain cards.
Another time you might earn bonus Membership Rewards points is if American Express gives you a retention offer. This is an offer made by the card issuer to convince you to keep your account when you're trying to close your account. Retention offers can vary, but you may receive a statement credit, bonus points, or an “earn X if you spend Y” offer to encourage you to keep your account open. Retention offers should factor into your long-term credit card strategy.
How Much are Amex Points Worth?
The value of Amex points is highly dependent on how you redeem them. You have many options for redeeming Amex Membership Rewards, but not all offer great value. With that said, AwardWallet users average 2¢ apiece in recent redemptions.
The actual value you get from your points will depend on how you use them. You'll likely get the most by transferring them to travel partners.
Best Ways To Use Amex Points
American Express offers many ways to redeem Membership Rewards points. However, not all are created equal. We have a dedicated, detailed guide that outlines all the ways to redeem Membership Rewards points. But as a summary, you can redeem Amex points as follows:
- As a statement credit, effectively cashing them out.
- For gift cards.
- As a donation through JustGiving.
- For merchandise through the online merchant mall.
- At checkout to pay for online orders with several popular merchants.
- To book travel through American Express Travel®, including flights, cruises, hotels, and more.
- By transferring them to airline and hotel partners to book award travel
On the whole, transferring your points to airline partners will get you the best value from your points. There are some airline partners you'll want to avoid, however. The Amex Membership Rewards hotel partners usually fall short of the value offered by airline partners. I'll list all the Amex transfer partners in the next section. For a deep dive, check out our linked post above at the beginning of this section that covers which partners offer good value, decent value, and poor value.
You also can get decent value if you have a card like The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, which gives you 35% of your points back when redeeming through Amex Travel with your selected qualifying airline. Given that Amex treats these bookings as paid flights, make sure you factor in the miles you earn from the flight into the value equation. Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
Most other ways to redeem Amex Membership Rewards net you 1¢ per point or less. This includes redeeming for cash, gift cards, merchandise, or booking travel through the Amex Travel portal.
Related: 5 Excellent Redemption Strategies for Amex Membership Rewards
American Express Transfer Partners
Transfer partners are where American Express Membership Rewards shines. Here are the 17 airline and three hotel Amex transfer partners, as well as transfer times from AwardWallet user data points. See our guide to the Amex transfer partners to learn more about each of these partners.
Related: How To Transfer Amex Points: A Step-by-Step Guide
Do Amex Points Expire?
Amex Membership Rewards points do not expire. However, it is possible to forfeit them. If you're concerned about this, see our post on whether Amex points expire. In short, you'll want to have an open American Express card in good standing and make timely payments.
Final Thoughts
American Express Membership Rewards continue to be one of my favorite flexible points currencies. With multiple ways to earn them, a variety of high-value redemption options, and an excellent set of transfer partners, I've been a fan for years. I've used transfer partners such as Avianca LifeMiles to get incredible value from my points.
If you're not yet a part of the Amex Membership Rewards ecosystem, I highly recommend you get your first card and see the program's value firsthand.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: American Express® Gold Card (Rates & Fees), The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and American Express Platinum Card® (Rates & Fees)
