How do I book American Express flights?

Amex points do not expire. Cash back and miles earned using American Express credit cards do not expire, either. However, points and other rewards can be forfeited when you close your account or when your account is closed due to inactivity. American Express will also cancel all points, miles or cash back earned during any billing period where a late payment occurs.… read full answer

Read on to learn more about when you could lose your Amex points so you can make sure it doesn’t happen.

Here’s when Amex points expire:

• Account Inactivity: Your American Express account can be closed due to inactivity – not making a purchase or bill payment for an extended period of time. When that happens, you have 90 days to redeem points before losing them. Amex doesn’t disclose a timeframe for closing accounts due to inactivity, so try to use your card regularly to keep your account active.
• Closing Your Account: Unredeemed American Express rewards will expire when you close your account. Try to redeem a couple weeks in advance so there’s plenty of time for the transaction to be processed. You can even use the rewards to pay for some of your final balance.
• Late Payments: Rewards earned during a billing period where a late payment occurs will be forfeited. You can reinstate lost points, though. Visit your account’s Points Summary page to reinstate them after bringing your account current. There’s a $35 fee for each billing period points are reinstated from.
• Returned Purchases: Points earned from purchases that are later returned get deducted from your rewards total. When you return an item purchased with points, you may receive a statement credit or a points refund. Statement credits can be converted back into points by calling Membership Rewards at 1-800-297-3276.

American Express points, cash back, and miles do not expire. Just be sure to use all your rewards prior to closing an American Express credit card account. Use your card regularly to keep your account active, and remember to make payments on time to keep points earned each billing period.

It's harder to get an American Express card than it is to get a credit card from many other major issuers simply because all of Amex's credit card offers require good or excellent credit for approval. But American Express isn't the only credit card company to target people in the highest tiers of the credit score scale. Barclaycard and Chase do too, for example. And if you're fortunate enough to have good credit or better, an American Express credit card will be no harder to get than any other credit card.… read full answer

The easiest American Express cards to get are those that require a minimum of good credit for approval, as opposed to excellent credit only. You may also want to target cards that are co-branded with companies such as Delta and Hilton as well as offers with lower annual fees. Co-branded cards often have relatively high approval rates to accommodate more fans of the brand (e.g. Hilton) in question. And some of Amex's premium cards for big-spenders, which can be relatively difficult to get, have high fees.

Easiest American Express Cards to Get:

• Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
• The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express
• Blue Delta SkyMiles® Credit Card from American Express
• Hilton Honors American Express Card
  

Of course, American Express also evaluates each applicant's income and debt obligations to make sure they can afford monthly bill payments on a new line of credit. But there isn't much information available about Amex's standards in those regards, and you shouldn't expect them to differ too much from other credit card companies' policies.

You can check your latest credit score for free on WalletHub and then track your progress with free daily updates.