Amex Membership Rewards Review

American Express Membership Rewards Review Summary

American Express Membership Rewards is the 15th best credit card rewards program, according to WalletHub's latest comparison, receiving 81 points out of a possible 100. The American Express Membership Rewards program also features some very lucrative rewards cards, including American Express Platinum Card® and the American Express® Gold Card.

American Express Membership Rewards is one of several rewards programs offered by Amex. The cards that participate in Membership Rewards offer points that are generally worth 0.5 cents to 1 cent apiece, depending on which card you have and how you redeem. There are plenty of redemption options, from statement credits to travel.

American Express Membership Rewards Review Scorecard

#22 for Earning Policies
#17 for Redemption Policies
#1 for Rewards Value per Point
#1 for Eligibility & Transparency

Best American Express Membership Rewards Cards

• Big Bonus Offer: American Express Platinum Card®
• Travel Rewards: American Express® Gold Card
• Business: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

 

Summary: American Express Membership Rewards Scores by Review Category

How to Earn American Express Membership Rewards

Category Rating: 74% (22/30)

You will earn at least one American Express Membership Rewards point in return for every dollar you spend with an eligible Amex rewards credit card. Choosing the right credit card and using it strategically can enable you to earn even more points, and there’s no limit on how many points you can earn.

There are a few restrictions and potential areas of confusion that you should be aware of, though.

Earning Restrictions to Watch Out For:

• • Spending Limit on Rewards
    Select Amex cards, such as the Blue from American Express® Card, will only offer bonus points on travel if that travel is booked directly through American Express.
  • Certain Cards Only Offer Travel Bonuses Through Amex
    Select Amex cards, such as the Blue from American Express® Card, will only offer bonus points on travel if that travel is booked directly through American Express.

How to Redeem American Express Membership Rewards

Category Rating: 46% (9/20)

The best way to redeem American Express Membership Rewards points is for airfare or select gift cards, as you can redeem at a rate of 1 cent per point. All other redemption options offer less than 1 cent per point in value. You can see all of the different redemption options below.

Travel

You can redeem points for travel purchases like airfare, hotel stays, car rentals and cruises. You can redeem points for travel by applying them to purchases you’ve already made, booking a new trip through amextravel.com or transferring your points into the loyalty program of one of the American Express transfer partners.

Cash Back

You can redeem your points for cash back, but the only way to do so is as a statement credit. 

Gift Cards

You can trade your points for gift cards from various merchants, such as Apple, Macy’s and Target. You can also get American Express gift cards that you can use anywhere. 

Pay with Points at Checkout

Amex Membership Rewards lets you use your points directly when checking out with certain merchants, such as Amazon, Best Buy, Dell, Grubhub, PayPal, Rite Aid and Saks Fifth Avenue.

Noteworthy Features:

• Cover Your Card Charges: You can choose which eligible charges you want to cover with points. The minimum redemption amount is $1, and the rewards value tends to be higher than what you would get with a gift card.
• Use Pay With Points: You can use Pay with Points for purchases from many places, including American Express Travel, Amazon.com, Rite Aid, Best Buy and other retailers.
• Fair Travel Prices & No Date Restrictions: Amex's travel booking tool has no blackout dates or similar restrictions. Prices for hotels, flights, car rentals, etc., also tend to be similar to those on other travel booking websites.
• Numerous Transfer Partners: American Express Membership Rewards has 21 transfer partners, to which certain cardholders can send their Membership Rewards earnings for direct booking. Transfers are usually done at a 1:1 ratio – one Amex Membership Rewards point for one Delta mile, for example. There are a few exceptions, though. The minimum number of points you must transfer depends on the partner.

Membership Rewards Transfer Partners

Redemption Restrictions to Watch Out For:

• Limitations on Travel – To use Pay with Points for a travel purchase (airline, hotel, car, cruise etc.), you must charge your eligible purchase through American Express Travel.
• Restrictions on Transferring Points – The points collected in your account are not transferable to any other person or account.

• No Cash Back Option Available – You cannot redeem points for straight up cash back (as a check, ATM withdrawal, or deposit into a savings or checking account). You can only get a statement credit.

• American Express Gift Cards Give Low Value – Of the available gift card options, the only one that can be used anywhere – an Amex gift card – gives the lowest value per point.

American Express Membership Rewards Value per Point

Category Rating: 100% (30/30)

American Express Membership Rewards points vary in value depending on what you spend them on, ranging from 0.5 cents to 1 cent each. Values also vary when you transfer points to a Membership Rewards travel partner.

 

 

 

American Express Membership Rewards Eligibility & Transparency

Category Rating: 100% (20/20)

American Express has multiple rewards programs, but many cards participate in Membership Rewards. All cards in this program have exactly the same redemption options, except for Blue from American Express® Card, which does not allow you to transfer points to travel partners or use points at checkout with certain retailers. We therefore refer to that card as having “partial Membership Rewards rights.”

American Express Membership Rewards Cards

• American Express Platinum Card®

• American Express® Gold Card

• American Express® Green Card

• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

• American Express® Business Gold Card

• Business Green Rewards Card from American Express

• The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

• Corporate Platinum Card® from American Express

• American Express® Corporate Gold Card

• American Express® Corporate Green Card

• American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab

Discontinued Membership Rewards Cards:

American Express has discontinued some of its Membership Rewards credit card offers over the years. So while some people may still have these cards, they’re not available to new applicants and were not factored into scoring.

• Business Membership Rewards® Credit Card from American Express
• Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card
• The Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express
• The Morgan Stanley Credit Card
• Blue from American Express® Card (partial eligibility)

Popular American Express Membership Rewards Cards

7 Tips for Getting the Most Out of American Express Membership Rewards

1. Pick the Right Card & Use it Wisely
   Some American Express cards offer bonus points if you spend a certain amount within a few months of account opening. Others reward you more for purchases in certain spending categories. And a few combine the two. Your job is to find a card that complements your particular needs.

2. Redeem regularly
   The whole point of earning credit card rewards is to enjoy the savings they provide. If you just leave your American Express Membership Rewards points sitting in your account unused, they won’t do you much good.

3. Pay your bill on time every month
   Your American Express Membership Rewards points won’t expire as long as your account remains in good standing. In other words, you have nothing to worry about if you pay your monthly bills on time.

4. Pay your bill in full every month
   Paying interest at a credit card’s regular APR will end up costing you more than rewards save you.

5. Book travel through American Express
   On certain Amex cards, booking travel through American Express may earn you more points than booking directly through airlines or hotels using your card. You also might get better value using your points through Amex Travel compared to transferring them to travel partners or paying for past purchases.

6. Redeem for Airfare
   Using your American Express Membership Rewards points for flights is a good way to get the most bang for your buck.
7. Redeem before closing your account
   You will lose any American Express Membership Rewards points left unredeemed when you close your account.

American Express Membership Rewards vs. Chase Ultimate Rewards vs. Citi ThankYou Rewards

American Express Membership Rewards Review Methodology

This review of American Express Membership Rewards is based on the same methodology as WalletHub’s annual study on the Best Credit Card Rewards Programs. Editor’s ratings reflect the sum of each program’s scores across the study’s five major categories, adjusted to a 5-point scale to create a representative distribution of ratings. The four major categories considered were: Earning Policies, Redemption Policies, Rewards Value per $1 Spent and Eligibility & Transparency.

WalletHub calculated American Express Membership Rewards point values by comparing the dollar value of redemption items against the number of points needed for each.

These values are approximate and intended for illustrative purposes only. Actual point values may vary based on redemption method and individual usage. The estimates provided do not represent fixed or guaranteed values and may differ from the experience of typical cardholders.