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American Express now allows eligible cardholders to redeem their Amex Reward Dollars for Amazon purchases. The new facility took immediate effect, and members can redeem at a rate of 1 Reward Dollar for $1 off their Amazon purchase. Is this a
How to Redeem Your Amex Reward Dollars
Shopping at Amazon with your Amex Reward Dollars is easy; you only need to follow a 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 Dollars 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.
Which Cards Are Eligible?
The following Amex cards are eligible to use Amex Reward Dollars with Amazon:
- 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
- The Blue for Business® Credit Card from American Express (closed to new applications)
- 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)
When To Pay Cash and When To Use Reward Dollars
The choice of whether to pay cash, redeem for statement credit, or use your Amex Reward Dollars directly will depend on the cash-back earning rate of your card.
For instance, if your card earns 1% back, as most cards on the list do, then it makes no difference in the long run. You'll earn the same whether you buy on Amazon with cash and redeem Reward Dollars for a credit after the fact or if you redeem them directly on Amazon.
For instance, for every $100 you spend, you will earn $1 in Reward Dollars. You do not gain anything from using your Reward Dollar at the checkout or as a statement credit. You also don't lose anything.
Things are much different 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 are best served by paying cash, earning Reward Dollars, and then redeeming them 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
More options to use and earn points are always good news, even if they are not the most exciting and lucrative. That said, redeeming your Reward Dollars directly with Amazon may be more convenient for those with cards that only earn 1% cash back on purchases. However, in other cases, it would be better to pay cash if your card earns more than 1% cash back, and then redeem your cash back for statement credits. You'll come away with more cash back in this setup.
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