Maximizing American Express Membership Rewards for Air Travel

American Express Membership Rewards points are considered some of the most valuable credit card points due to their flexibility. Cardholders can earn points for everyday spending and redeem them through American Express Travel or transfer them to airline and hotel partners.

## Earning Membership Rewards points Cardholders can earn Membership Rewards points with an American Express card that earns these points. The easiest way to earn many points is to apply for a Membership Rewards-earning American Express card. There are six most valuable Membership Rewards cards, each with its own welcome offer, bonus-category structure, and annual fee.

| Card | Welcome Offer | Bonus Categories | Annual Fee | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Amex Platinum | varies | 5x air travel, 1x other | varies | | Amex Gold | varies | 4x dining, 1x other | varies | | Amex Classic Green | not available | not available | not available |

## Transferring Membership Rewards points Membership Rewards points can be transferred to 16 airline and four hotel transfer partners. This flexibility makes earning Membership Rewards points more lucrative than earning miles or points in a single airline or hotel loyalty program. Some popular transfer partners include Delta SkyMiles, Singapore KrisFlyer, and Iberia Club.

## Redeeming Membership Rewards points for air travel To get the most value from points, cardholders should transfer them to partners. Some favorite redemptions include flying to Hawaii on Delta SkyMiles, saving on business-class award flights with Singapore KrisFlyer, and transferring to Iberia Club for off-peak flights to Spain. Cardholders can also use points to book travel through the Amex Travel platform, although this typically offers a lower value of 1 cent per point.

## Poor-value ways to redeem Membership Rewards points Some options for redeeming points represent less-than-stellar value and should be avoided. These include using points for charges, using Pay with Points at checkout, redeeming for taxi rides in New York City, and redeeming for gift cards. These options typically offer a value of 0.5-0.7 cents per point.

The value of Membership Rewards points depends on how they are redeemed. According to TPG's valuations, Amex points are worth 2 cents apiece. However, this value can vary depending on the redemption option. Cardholders should aim to transfer points to airline partners to maximize their value.