7 of the Best Ways to Redeem Amex Membership Rewards Points (2024)

American Express has a variety of cards with specific perks, from cash back to airport lounge entry, but they all have one thing in common: American Express Membership Rewards. This program allows Amex cardholders to earn points that can be used for travel, shopping, or even paying off their credit card bills. Depending on how you redeem those points, they can be worth anything from 0.5 to two cents per point. To get the most for your money, transferring them to your preferred airline's frequent flier program is the best way to use Amex points.

Amex frequently offers cards with welcome bonuses of up to 100,000 points, putting you well on your way to some free travel. If you're new to the program, here are the best ways to redeem your Amex Membership Rewards points to maximize their value.

Transfer points to airline partners.

This is hands down the best way to maximize your Amex points because it gives you the most significant return —points can be worth up to two cents apiece when transferring to airline partners. How does this work? Amex has partnered with 18 airlines worldwide, allowing you to transfer points into your chosen airlines' frequent flier programs as miles, typically at a 1:1 rate. Then, you can use your new airline miles to book award flights.

One way to see all your redemption options is through the point.me reward search tool. American Express members log in with their Amex credentials and input their desired flight details. The point.me tool will generate a list of flights available for redemption using Amex points. You can then transfer the applicable points and book the flights.

The key here is to transfer your Amex points only when you find a good award deal on an airline so your points aren't sitting in limbo. For example, if you find round-trip business-class flights between the U.S. and Europe for 110,000 Air France–KLM Flying Blue points (a solid redemption!), transfer your Amex points to Flying Blue and book those flights as soon as the transfer is processed.

Transfer points to hotel partners.

You can also transfer your Amex points to three hotel loyalty programs: Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and Choice Hotels Choice Privileges. The transfer operates like it does for airlines— your Amex points become hotel points, typically at a 1:1 rate, and you can use those points to book hotel rooms. (Keep an eye out for transfer bonuses, though, which can net you more points for free!)

Most people who transfer to hotel loyalty programs go for splurges at luxury resorts to maximize their savings. A great way to get an even bigger bang for your buck is through the fifth-night free program Marriott and Hilton offer when booking with points. Redemption values vary based on the deals you find, but hotel points redemptions are typically not as lucrative as airline award bookings.

Book travel directly via American Express.

American Express has its own travel portal that lets you book flights, hotels, rental cars, cruises, and packaged deals. If you can't find a good award deal that's worth a points transfer, this is a decent second option, as you'll still be getting "free" travel. But Amex caps the value of points at one cent per point, so it's not necessarily the best value redemption. Still, free travel is free travel!

Pay off your credit card bill.

If you're worried about paying off your credit card balance, you can use points to get a statement credit to lessen that final sum. No, it's not a travel hack, but it's important to keep yourself out of debt, too. Generally speaking, your points will be worth about 0.6 cents per point if you choose this redemption option.

Go shopping.

Amex offers several shopping options for points redemption. First, there's the company's own shopping portal, which has hundreds of retailers on the platform. Second, Amex allows you to pay with points when shopping on certain retail partners' websites, including Amazon, Apple, and Uber —you'll have to add your Amex card to the site to select points when you check out. These aren't bad ways to use your points if you need to stock up on travel supplies or clothes for your upcoming trip, though they are typically lower-value redemptions compared to travel partner transfers.

Redeem points for gift cards.

If you want a super easy way to redeem your Amex points, you can redeem them for gift cards for companies like Air Canada, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, and Nordstrom. Redemption values vary from 0.5 to one cent, and you can choose digital or physical gift cards.

Donate them to charity.

You might not receive monetary value from this redemption, but the lift you'll get from doing good is priceless. You can donate to charities with points through the website JustGiving at a redemption value of around 0.7 cents per point.