Here’s the best way to redeem Amex Membership rewards points

American Express cards are well-known among credit card newbies and reward card aficionados alike for rewarding cardmembers with lucrative points, luxury perks and unique card designs such as the iconic rose gold American Express® Gold Card.

But perhaps the most appealing reason to love Amex cards are the versatile Membership Rewards® points that cardmembers earn through everyday purchases like dining out, groceries and business expenses — then redeem for first-class flights, luxury hotels, cash back and more.

All in all, Membership Rewards points have stood the test of time since they first came on the scene in 1991, but it’s important to know the best ways to redeem points in order to maximize their potential value.

Below, Select breaks down our favorite ways to redeem Membership Rewards points so you can squeeze the most value from your most-used Amex cards.

1. Transfer to airline partners
2. Book rooms with hotel partners
3. Invest with Charles Schwab
4. What are the best Amex cards for earning Membership Rewards points?

Amex partners with 19 airlines including AeroMexico, ANA, British Airways, Delta, JetBlue and Virgin Atlantic. Most Membership Rewards transfers process instantly, while others can take up to 48 hours.

Hone in a little more, and you’ll soon find shrewd ways to stretch your points further. Like this little-known hack we love: Transfer your Membership Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, then book a business or first class flight on All Nippon Airways (ANA). It’s a genius trick that can score you an upgraded flight from west coast cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco to Japan for just 90,000 points round-trip (business class) or 110,000 points round-trip (first class). Flights from the East Coast cost just a little more.

A round-trip first class flight from the U.S. to Japan can easily cost $15,000. If you booked this through the Amex travel portal you’d have to cough up 1.5 million points. But by transferring your Amex points to Virgin Atlantic you’ll be paying just a small fraction of an otherwise gargantuan cost.

To help you gauge how long it’d take to earn enough miles, let’s look at how many points a popular Amex card bonus earns.

The American Express® Gold Card earns qualifying new cardmembers 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $4,000 on eligible purchases within the first six months from account opening. That’s two-thirds of the way to a round-trip business class ticket to Japan using the above redemption strategy, and the card continues earning on purchases at the following rates:

• 4X Membership Rewards® points on restaurants worldwide (including takeout and delivery, plus, Uber Eats purchases) and at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X)
• 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com
• 1X points on all other purchases

Amex partners with three hotel chains: Hilton, Marriott and Choice. Using the same strategy above, you can transfer Membership Rewards points to the hotel program at an often higher value.

Hilton offers the best transfer ratio value, at 2 Hilton points per 1 Membership Rewards point. Marriott and Choice hotels offer a 1-to-1 ratio.

Using this ratio, here’s how many hotel points you could get by transferring 75,000 Membership Rewards points (equal to the welcome bonus you can get with the The Platinum Card® from American Express after spending $5,000 within six months of account opening):

• Hilton: 150,000 points
• Marriott: 75,000 points
• Choice: 75,000 points

You’ll typically yield more value by transferring your points to airline partners and booking flights, but using points for hotel stays can be smart too. You’ll do well when redeeming points for luxury hotels or when demand for hotels is high which translates into high cash prices.

You can book the Conrad Maldives for 95,000 Hilton points a night, meaning the Amex Platinum welcome bonus would almost be enough to reward cardmembers with a two-night stay. Rooms at the Conrad Maldives can go for more than $1,000 a night.

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