Amex Membership Rewards, explained
American Express Membership Rewards is the largest transfer partner network. Here's how it earns, redeems, and stacks up against Chase Ultimate Rewards.
Amex Membership Rewards is the largest credit card transfer partner network in the United States. Points earned on Amex personal or business cards with the Membership Rewards branding move to roughly seventeen airline and hotel partners. The breadth is the program’s main advantage. The depth varies by partner.
How you earn
The Amex Platinum earns 5x on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel (up to $500K per calendar year), 5x on prepaid hotels via Amex Travel, and 1x on everything else. The Amex Gold earns 4x at restaurants worldwide (up to $50K per year), 4x at US supermarkets (up to $25K per year), 3x on flights, and 1x elsewhere. The Business Platinum and Business Gold offer category-driven 4x and 5x options for business spending.
The Green Card (we don’t have it in our current roster) earns 3x on travel, dining, and transit. Two cobrand families exist that earn Membership Rewards through their own paths.
How you redeem
Three main paths exist.
Cash and statement credits. Amex pays as low as 0.6 cents per point for gift cards and 1 cent per point for statement credits. This is the floor and the worst of the three. Do not redeem this way if you have any alternative.
Amex Travel. Points are worth 1 cent each on most travel redemptions, with occasional promotions. Amex Travel is more limited than Chase Travel and the points multiplier you get from holding a premium card does not apply on Amex Travel the way it does on Chase.
Transfer to partners. This is where the program earns its valuation. Air Canada Aeroplan, ANA Mileage Club, British Airways Avios, Air France/KLM Flying Blue, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Delta SkyMiles, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, JetBlue TrueBlue, Singapore KrisFlyer, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy, and Choice Privileges. Most transfers are 1:1 except Hilton (1:2) and Marriott (1:1 with caps).
What the program is good for
Premium cabin international flights. Aeroplan, Flying Blue, and ANA can move points into business and first class seats on Star Alliance, SkyTeam, and partner carriers at meaningful discounts to cash.
Hilton stays. The Honors transfer ratio is 1:2, which sounds great but Hilton points are worth roughly 0.45 cents each. The math comes out to about 0.9 cents per Membership Reward point, which is below the editorial 2.0 cpp valuation. Useful only if you have a specific Hilton stay in mind.
Delta SkyMiles. Delta is a transfer partner, which means SkyMiles flash sales can be exploited via Membership Rewards balances. SkyMiles outside flash sales are generally not a good redemption.
Where Membership Rewards loses to Ultimate Rewards
Hyatt. If you stay at Hyatt, Amex does not have a path. Chase Ultimate Rewards transfers to Hyatt at 1:1, which is the most consistent premium hotel redemption available in any flexible-points program.
Cash-back floor. Amex’s 0.6 cents per point gift card floor is worse than Chase’s 1.0 cent cash back. If you ever need to redeem at the floor, you lose.
Bottom-line recommendation
Membership Rewards is the right anchor for someone who flies international premium cabins. Aeroplan and ANA make it work. For domestic travelers and Hyatt loyalists, Chase Ultimate Rewards is the better default.
