Calculator: What's The Value of AMEX Canada Membership Rewards Points?

AMEX Fixed Points Travel: up to 2 cents per point.

The easiest way to get great value out of your Membership Rewards points is by using the AMEX Fixed Points Travel program which allows you to redeem a set amount of points for up to a maximum ticket price based on specified routes.

There's two charts: one for Economy flights and one for Business Class flights. You'll get up to 2 cents per point for Economy flights and up to 1.8 cents per point for Business flights when using the Fixed Points Travel program.

Economy Flights Chart

Business Flights Chart

Route Breakdown

Here's a quick breakdown of each of the routes offered using the Fixed Points Travel charts.

Popular Routes

Popular Routes include short-haul routes between the following destinations:

• Calgary - Vancouver
• Montreal - New York
• Toronto - Montreal
• Toronto - New York
• Toronto - Ottawa

Popular Routes are the sweet spot in the AMEX Fixed Points Travel program as you'll be able to get up to 2 cents in value which is not obtainable with the other routes.

Explore Closer To Home

Explore Closer To Home are short-haul routes within or from a Canadian Province/Territory to an adjacent Canadian Province/Territory or U.S. State. Do note that this does not include Alaska.

Discover North America

Discover North America are flights from a Canadian Province/Territory to a non-adjacent Canadian Province/Territory or U.S. State. This does not include Alaska or Hawaii.

Pick Your Vacation

Pick Your Vacation includes flights from Canada to Alaska, Bermuda, Caribbean, Central America, Hawaii, or Mexico.

Discover Europe

Discover Europe are flights from Canada to destinations in Europe.

Worldwide

Worldwide are flights from Canada to destinations in Africa, Asia, Australia, Middle East, New Zealand, South America, or South Pacific.

Benefits of using AMEX Fixed Point Travel

Some of the main benefits of using the AMEX Fixed Points Travel program are:

• Book any airline, fly anywhere, and travel any day of the year
• Book up to a day before departure
• Book economy or business class flights
• Book direct flights
• Enjoy the travel benefits that comes with your AMEX card

No matter the flight availability, time of year, or peak/off-peak season, the flight will always cost the same.

Do note that the AMEX Fixed Points program will only be available if you have enough Membership Rewards points to cover all travelers at the fixed points amount.

AMEX Fixed Point Travel examples

Let's say that you want to fly in Economy from Toronto to Quebec City and that the cost is $450 for the base ticket plus $148.74 in taxes for a total of $598.74.

Since this is considered to be a short-haul flight, you can redeem 20,000 Membership Rewards points for up to $300 maximum off the base ticket price. This means you would end up paying $150 for the base ticket plus the same in taxes for a total of $298.74.

This would give your Membership Rewards points a value of 2 cents each since you redeemed 20,000 points for $300 off the base ticket price of $450.

One important thing to note is that the required amount of points based on what the route falls under does not change. In the above example, if the base cost of the flight was less than $300, it would still cost you 20,000 Membership Rewards points.

For example, I found a flight in Economy from Toronto to Winnipeg for a base price of $121 plus $105.63 in taxes and fees for a total of $226.63. This is a short-haul flight which means that it would still cost you 20,000 Membership Rewards points even though you can only wipe out up to $121 of the cost.

When using the AMEX Fixed Point Travel program, you will always want to make sure that the base ticket cost is as close to or over the max ticket price whenever possible.

Pay with Points: 0.7 cents per point.

Membership Rewards points can be redeemed at checkout on Amazon.ca and with PayPal. Points can be redeemed at a rate of 1,000 Membership Rewards points for $7 in value.

Amazon Shop with Points

While this is a low redemption value compared to what you can get out of travel redemptions, Amazon will occasionally offer discount for using points on their website. This will be promos such as:

"Use Membership Rewards points to get $X off a purchase of $Y or more."

The good thing is that you generally don't have to pay for the full purchase in points. In fact, sometimes you can pay a single point, pay the rest in cash, and still receive the full discount.

Merchandise: 0.4 cents to 0.6 cents per point.

Membership Rewards points can be redeemed for merchandise in the 'Shop' portion of the American Express Membership Rewards portal. The value you receive from shopping with AMEX will vary, but most redemptions that I tested hovered around the 0.4 to 0.6 cents range.

This is one of the lowest redemption values for Membership Rewards points, so I recommend avoiding the purchase of merchandise if you can.

Gift cards: 0.76 cents to 1 cent per point.

Membership Rewards points can be redeemed for gift cards starting at 3,250 for a $25 gift card. This gives your points a value of 0.76 cents per point.

American Express prepaid cards do not cost the same value as the standard gift cards. They can be redeemed at a value of 1 cent per point with the lowest redemption starting at 2,500 points for a $25 American Express prepaid card.

I also want to point out that Air Canada gift cards are available through the portal as well. I recommend avoiding these since you can transfer points directly to your Aeroplan account and use those points to book award flights on Air Canada for as much as 2 cent per point.

Charity: 1 cent per point.

Membership Rewards points can be donated to Save the Children which gives your points a value of 1 cent each. Donations start at 1,000 AMEX Points for a $10 donation.

Use points for purchases: 1 cent per point.

Membership Rewards points can be used towards eligible purchases charged to your Membership Rewards credit card at a value of 1 cent per point. This means that every 1,000 AMEX Points you redeem towards purchases will give you a $10 statement credit.

This can be useful if you want to use your points to pay of purchases you've made to a card during the last 3 months.

Convert AMEX points to dollars

Use the AMEX Points Value Calculator to determine the dollar value (in CAD) of your Membership Rewards points when redeemed for travel, gift cards, and more. This will give you an idea of how much your points are worth on average.

Credit cards that earn Membership Rewards points

Membership Rewards points are earned through intro bonuses and everyday spending across American Express Canada Membership Rewards credit cards. You can earn points using the following cards:

Credit Card	Benefits	Annual Fee
The Platinum Card® Best For Luxury Travel & Lounge Access Card Value & Points Calculator	Earn 3X points on dining and food delivery purchases in Canada Earn 2X points on travel Earn 1X points on all other purchases Annual $200 CAD Travel Credit $100 CAD NEXUS statement credit Access 1,300+ airport lounges around the world including Centurion Lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges, Delta Sky Club (when flying Delta), and Priority Pass lounges Access to hotel benefits when booking Fine Hotels & Resorts and The Hotel Collection Enroll in complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status	$699
American Express® Gold Rewards Card Card Value & Points Calculator	Earn 2 points for every $1 spent on travel, including flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and more Earn 2 points for every $1 spent on eligible gas, grocery and drugstore purchases in Canada Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on everything else Annual $100 CAD Travel Credit $50 CAD NEXUS Statement Credit Priority Pass and Plaza Premium Lounge access Access to hotel benefits when booking through The Hotel Collection	$250
American Express Cobalt™ Card Best Overall Travel Rewards Card Card Value & Points Calculator	Earn 5 points for every $1 spent on eligible restaurant and grocery stores in Canada, including food and grocery delivery Earn 3 points for every $1 spent on streaming subscriptions with select providers in Canada Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases Access to hotel benefits when booking through The Hotel Collection	$12.99 per month ($155.88 annually)
American Express® Green Card Best For No Annual Fee Card Value & Points Calculator	Earn 1 point for every $1 on all card purchases Be protected with shopping coverage.	$0
Business Platinum Card® from American Express Best For Luxury Business Travel & Lounge Access Card Value & Points Calculator	Earn 1.25 points for every $1 spent on all card purchases Access 1,300+ airport lounge around the world including Centurion Lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges, Delta Sky Club (when flying Delta) and Priority Pass lounges Access to hotel benefits when booking Fine Hotels & Resorts and The Hotel Collection Complimentary elite Marriott Gold Bonvoy Elite status Get access to discounted base fares for you and your travel companions when you book through the International Airline Program Excellent travel and shopping coverage	$499
American Express® Business Gold Rewards Card Card Value & Points Calculator	Earn 1 point for every $1 in card purchases on everything Earn 10,000 bonus Membership Rewards Points when you spend $20,000 in net purchases each calendar quarter (up to 40K points annually) Travel and shopping coverage	$199
American Express Business Edge™ Card Best For Business Purchases Card Value & Points Calculator	Earn 3 points for every $1 spent on eligible office supplies & electronics, rides & gas, and eats & drinks Earn 1 point for every $1 spent on all other purchases Spend $3,000 or more in Card purchases each monthly billing period to earn a Monthly Spend Bonus, up to 12,000 bonus points a year Car rental theft & damage insurance and shopping coverage	$99