American Express Membership Rewards Points are one of the most useful and flexible loyalty currencies. Not to mention, they’re easy to get if you have a card like this American Express Platinum Card® and American Express® Gold Card In your wallet.
While this isn’t your only redemption option, you can often get the most value from your points by transferring them to a travel partner. The program offers 17 airlines and 3 hotel transfer partners, including at least one useful option from major alliances such as SkyTeam, Star Alliance and Oneworld. Transfer ratios are 1:1 for all but three Amex partners.
Transfer times vary by partner, so the TPG team tests each partner regularly. Not giving yourself enough time to transfer points from your Membership Rewards account to the program you want can get you into trouble. Your experience may vary, but here’s what we found.
Related: American Express Membership Rewards Transfer Partners: Maximizing Your Points
American Express Membership Rewards transfer timings
| program | ratio | Transfer time |
|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus Aeronautical Club | 1:1 | Immediate |
| Aeromexico Awards | 1:1.6 | Immediate |
| Air Canada Aeroplan | 1:1 | Immediate |
| Air France-KLM Flying Blue | 1:1 | Immediate |
| ANA Mileage Club | 1:1 | 48 hours |
| Avianca Life Miles | 1:1 | Immediate |
| British Airways Executive Club | 1:1 | Immediate |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | 1:1 | Immediate |
| Delta SkyMiles | 1:1 | Immediate |
| Emirates Skywards | 1:1 | Immediate |
| Etihad Frequent Guest | 1:1 | Immediate |
| Hawaiian Airlines miles | 1:1 | Immediate |
| Iberia Plus | 1:1 | Immediate |
| JetBlue Airways TrueBlue | 1.25:1 | Immediate |
| Qantas Frequent Flyer | 1:1 | Immediate |
| Qatar Airways Frequent Flyer Club | 1:1 | Immediate |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 1:1 | Immediate |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 1:1 | Immediate |
| Select privileges | 1:1 | Immediate |
| Hilton Honors | 1:2 | Immediate |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1:1 | Immediate |
Please note that the times listed above represent our personal experiences and should not be viewed as hard and fast rules. However, other users have reported similar timelines when transferring points from Membership Rewards. Your transfer times may be faster or slower, but you can use these times as a guide when planning your trip. Instant transfers are obviously always a first choice, and American Express does a great job here compared to competitors such as Citi Appreciation Rewards.
Related: How (and why) you should earn transferable credit card points
Things to note before transferring Membership Rewards points
The biggest risk when transferring points is that the availability of rewards may change while you wait for the points to appear in your account. Transfers are irreversible, so in the worst-case scenario, you’ll rack up thousands of points in a program that you’ll have little use for other than the award flights or hotel stays you originally intended. Here are some tips to help you avoid this:
- Make sure the name on your American Express credit card exactly matches the name on your loyalty program account.
- Link all of your transfer partner accounts to your Membership Rewards account immediately to prevent delays when you need to transfer money quickly.
- Pause your award booking before transferring (if possible). Few programs allow you to do this, but those that do make things easier.
- Choose flights with multiple award seats available to prevent others from booking before your miles show up. Use tools like Expert flyer (Owned by TPG parent company Red Ventures) Find out how many award seats are available on a flight. You can also conduct a search with three or four passengers so you can determine exactly how many seats are available.
- You can improve your chances of finding award space by choosing less popular routes or routes departing from non-hub airports, as these routes generally have better award availability. One example is American Airlines’ transatlantic flight from Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) in North Carolina to London Heathrow Airport (LHR). For transpacific flights, check out All Nippon Airways flights from San Jose Mineta International Airport (SJC) in California to Tokyo Narita International Airport (NRT).
If your original flight disappears, don’t panic. Keep in mind that award availability changes frequently and may increase dramatically as you get closer to your departure date. Check in regularly and be ready to act quickly when a seat becomes available.
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Related: Current credit card transfer bonuses
Can you transfer Membership Rewards points to someone else’s account?
Unlike Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi Thank You Rewards, American Express does not allow the transfer of Membership Rewards points to other accounts, even for family members living under the same roof. However, there is a workaround: add them as authorized user.
While you cannot transfer points to another Amex account, you can transfer points to someone else’s travel loyalty account by adding them as an authorized user. American Express allows authorized users to be added to all of its Membership Rewards earning cards. You can add almost anyone as an authorized user on your account – even if you don’t share the same address – but you’ll be responsible for their spending.
American Express Platinum Card® Adding an authorized user to an account costs $195 per year (see Rates and fees). In addition to being able to transfer points to their loyalty account, Authorized users enjoy all benefits of the cardsuch as lounge access and hotel elite status. However, if the benefits aren’t important and all you want is the ability to transfer points, you can add Gold card authorized user Free deposit into your Platinum account (see Rates and fees).
superior American Express® Gold Cardthe first 5 authorized users can be added for free, additional users are $35 each (see Rates and fees). this American Express® Green Card $40 per authorized user per year (see Rates and fees).
American Express Green Card information is independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: Best value credit card for authorized users
Is there a fee to transfer Membership Rewards points?
When you transfer points to American Airlines, American Express charges a consumption fee of 0.06 cents per point (capped at $99). For example, if you transfer 30,000 Membership Rewards points to Delta Air Lines, you’ll pay an $18 fee. This is in addition to any taxes and fees the airline may charge you when redeeming miles.
To minimize these fees and maximize your American Express points, transfer your points to a foreign frequent flyer program, such as Avianca Life Miles or British Airways Executive Club.
How to Earn Membership Rewards Points
There are powerful options to earn Membership Rewards points on a variety of common spending categories, including groceries, dining and travel. These cards also offer sizable welcome bonuses that can give your Membership Rewards account a major boost:
- American Express Gold Card: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $6,000 in qualifying purchases with your new card within the first six months of becoming a member. Plus, get 20% back in bill points (up to $100 back) on qualifying purchases at restaurants around the world within the first 6 months of becoming a cardmember.
- American Express Green Card: Earn 40,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $3,000 in qualifying purchases with your new card within the first six months of becoming a member.
- American Express Platinum Card: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 in qualifying purchases with your new card within the first six months of membership.
American Express Green Card information is independently collected by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Related: Best American Express Credit Cards
bottom line
For most partners, American Express Membership Rewards points are instantly transferable. Even laggards can complete transfers in up to 48 hours, which is significantly better than some other programs. Please keep in mind that the pick up times listed above are based on what we see and may vary from person to person.
With such a wide variety of Membership Rewards transfer partners, it can be difficult to choose just a few top choices. Some sweet spots include transferring 50,000 Membership Rewards points to Air France-KLM Flying Blue Fly business class to Europe on off-peak dates. transfer to Select privileges Reward nights starting at 8,000 points will also bring you great value. Check out our guide Redeem Amex points for maximum value The best value transfers of all.
For American Express Platinum Card rates and fees, click here.
For American Express Gold Card rates and fees, click here.
For American Express Green Card rates and fees, click here.
