The value of American Express Membership Rewards points can vary depending on how they are redeemed. These points can be used directly with American Express or transferred to their airline and hotel partners, providing flexibility in how they are used. As a result, the value of these points is not fixed and can vary depending on the redemption method chosen.
Membership Rewards points offer an easy range of 0.5 cents to 1 cent in value per point meaning that you can redeem 10,000 points for a value of $50 to $100 with no effort. Higher redemption values will either require a certain combination of Membership Rewards credit cards or research on which transfer partners offer the best bang for your points.
Here's a quick look at how much American Express Membership Rewards points are worth based on our valuations:
| Redemption Option | Average Value (in cents) |
|---|---|
| Point transfers to airline partners | 1.2 - 2 |
| Point transfers to hotel partners | 0.4 - 1 |
| Booking flights through American Express Travel | 1 - 2 |
| Booking Fine Hotels & Resorts | 1 |
| Booking other travel through American Express Travel | 0.7 |
| Paying with points at checkout | 0.7 |
| Using points for card charges (statement credit) | 0.6 |
| Redeeming points for gift cards | 0.5 - 1 |
Learn More: Best American Express Credit Cards + Rewards Calculator
AMEX Point transfers to airline partners: 1.2 cents to 2 cents per point.
Transferring Membership Rewards points to airline partners will give your points a value of about 1.2 to 2 cents per point depending on the airline and how they are redeemed. You'll get the highest value when aiming for premium, First, and Business class cabins.
Here's a few of the best options when it comes to transferring Membership Rewards points to airline partners:
Delta Airlines
American Express Membership Rewards is the only major credit card rewards program that transfers to Delta SkyMiles. That makes this the best program for anyone who frequently flies the airline.
Delta offers great promotion sales from time to time that can net you some fantastic value when redeeming SkyMiles. They also have great deals on short-haul, one-way flights throughout the United States.
Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic is a very close partner of Delta Airlines. You can use them to book Delta One flights using Virgin Atlantic Flying Club Miles which will often be cheaper than transferring miles to Delta's own SkyMiles program.
You can also find great award redemption flying from U.S. West Coast to Asia and from U.S. East Coast to Europe.
British Airways Executive Club
British Airways is part of the oneworld Alliance. Their award chart is based on distance which makes Avios fantastic for short-haul trips. This especially holds true for booking short-haul trips with American Airlines and Alaska Airlines using Avios such as a flight between the West Coast and Hawaii for example.
Singapore KrisFlyer
While there are many sweet spots with Singapore Airlines, they are most known for their premium in-air First Class Suites. With KrisFlyer being a transfer partner of all major U.S. credit card rewards programs, it is very easy to build rewards transferable to this program and redeem them for exceptional value.
Air France/KLM Flying Blue
Air France-KLM Flying Blue is part of the SkyTeam alliance which consists of airlines like Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico, and Korean Air. The Flying Blue program provides great value when flying between the U.S. and European destinations. They also have monthly promos to select cities that can net you some serious value.
AMEX point transfers to hotel partners: 0.4 cents to 1 cent per point.
When transferring Membership Rewards Points to American Express hotel partners, you can expect an average value of around 0.4 to 1 cent per point. While this is significantly lower than the value airline partners offer on average, it is possible to get higher value when booking high-end resorts or hotels in popular destinations (e.g. Maldives, Bora Bora, islands, beaches, etc).
Here are few of the best hotel transfer partners for Membership Rewards:
Marriott Bonvoy
Out of AMEX's three hotel partners, Marriott Bonvoy is the program that will typically provide the most value. Marriott Bonvoy Points have an average of 0.7 cents each, but there's many sweet spots in the program that can offer 1 cent or more per point.
This will typically be Marriott's lower end hotels (e.g. Category 1-2) and Marriott's high-end hotels (Category 7-8) which can offer anywhere between 1 and 2 cents per point.
Choice Privileges
Choice Points provide a solid value when booking stays in expensive cities, particularly European cities such as London. Depending on the booking, you can easily squeeze 1 cent or more out of your points
Value aside, Choice is also great for when you're visiting cities that are "off the beaten path". There are many instances of cities in which Choice is the only option with no other major brand anywhere in the vicinity.
Booking flights through AMEX Travel: 1 cent to 1.54 cents per point.
When you redeem your Membership Rewards Points for airfare through the American Express Travel, they will have a value of 1 cent each. This means a $300 flight would cost you 30,000 Membership Rewards Points to cover it.
There are two Membership Rewards credit cards that offer airfare rebates: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Business Gold Card. With these cards, you'll get more value out of your airfare bookings through American Express Travel.
Business Platinum airfare rebate
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express offers a 35% rebate when you book airfare through American Express Travel. This means that 35% of the points you used to book your airline ticket will be credited back to your account.
For example, a $300 airline ticket would normally cost you 30,000 Membership Rewards Points. If you were to redeem your points as a Business Platinum Card holder, you would get 35% of those points back meaning that 10,500 points would be credited back to your account.
So you would end up paying 19,500 points for a $300 ticket.
Not only do you save points with this benefit, but it also bumps up the value of Membership Rewards Points to a value of 1.53 cents each which is superb.
Business Gold airfare rebate
The American Express® Business Gold Card offers a 25% rebate when you book airfare through American Express Travel. This means that 25% of the points you used to book your airline ticket will be credited back to your account.
For example, a $300 airline ticket would normally cost you 30,000 Membership Rewards Points. If you were to redeem your points as a Business Gold Card holder, you would get 25% of those points back meaning that 7,500 would be credited back to your account.
All-in-all you would end up paying 22,500 for a $300 airfare ticket which would give your points a value of 1.33 cents each. Not as big of a discount as the Business Platinum, but still significantly better than the fixed value of 1 cent per point.
Other things to note for AMEX Travel airfare
One important piece to note about booking AMEX Travel flights using Membership Rewards points is that they are not considered to be award reservations. AMEX will deduct the Membership Rewards points from your account and pay the airlines in cash for the reservation.
This means you'll be able to earn frequent flyer miles on these airline bookings which is fantastic. These bookings also offer a confirmation number that you can use to pull up your reservation on the airline's website. This allows you to make small changes such as selecting your seat assignment.
AMEX Travel hotel redemptions: 0.7 cents to 1 cent per point
You can use Membership Rewards Points to book hotel stays through the American Express Travel Portal. You'll get 1 cent per point booking Fine Hotels & Resorts and 0.7 cents per point for all other redemptions.
Fine Hotels & Resorts
If you have a personal or business version of the Platinum Card, you'll be able to book stays through Fine Hotels & Resorts. These bookings will give your points a value of 1 cent apiece.
Room upgrades, daily breakfast for two people, guaranteed 4pm late check-out, noon check-in, complimentary Wi-Fi, and a unique property amenity, such as a spa or food & beverage credit comes with Fine Hotels & Resorts reservations.
The Hotel Collection
The Hotel Collection is available to personal and business cardholders of Platinum and Gold cards. These bookings will give you the standard value of 0.7 cents per point, but you'll receive a $100 hotel credit to spend on qualifying dining, spa, and resort activities and can also receive a room upgrade at check-in if available.
Upgrade with points: 0.5 cents to 1 cent per point
Membership Rewards Points can be used to place an offer towards a seat upgrade with more than 20 airlines.
After you've purchased your ticket with a participating airline, you can jump to the American Express Travel Site to enter your reservation details. If the itinerary is eligible for an upgrade, you can then use points to make an offer.
You will find out where or not the offer has been granted usually within 5 days of the flight.
Pay with Points: 0.7 cents per point.
The Pay With Points program allows you to redeem your points at checkout with top retailers. This will give you 0.7 cents in value per point with the majority of the listed partners.
While not the best use of points, it's nice to have an option that can help the cost off your bill at checkout. The option to pay with Points will typically appear if you have a Membership Rewards credit card attached to your account.
Card charges and statement credits: 0.6 cents per point.
Membership Rewards Points can be redeemed towards card charges for a value of 0.6 cents per point. You can use your points to cover card charges made to any of your Membership Rewards credit cards regardless of how the points were obtained.
When redeeming your Membership Rewards Points, AMEX allows you to pick which charges you want to cover using your points. If you do not have enough points to cover the charge, it will not allow you to use partial points to cover it.
Very rarely, AMEX will offer promotions in which you can redeem points for 1 cent each for statement credits. I've only seen this a handful of times, so don't count on it too much.
Gift cards: 0.5 cents to 1 cent per point.
Membership Rewards Points can be redeemed for over 90 different gift cards consisting of restaurants, retail stores, entertainment and more. The value you get out of redeeming your points for gift cards will range between 0.5 cents and 1 cent in value.
Shop with points: 0.5 cents per point.
You can use Membership Rewards Points to shop the Membership Rewards store. It features a range of departments such as technology, home & office, sports & games, and more.
It also has brand name products from top companies such as Apple, Sony, and Google. Redeeming your AMEX points through the shopping portal will give them a value of 0.5 cents each which is one of the lowest redemption values for Membership Rewards Points.
Unless you find a deal within the Membership Rewards store, you would be better off using your card to make the purchase and then using points to cover the card charges.
AMEX points value calculator
Use the AMEX Points Value Calculator to estimate the average dollar value of your points, whether you decided to redeem them for airfare, hotels, gift cards, or other rewards. This will give you an idea of how much your points are worth.
| Redemption | Average Dollar Value |
|---|---|
| Transferring points to airline partners | $0 to $0 |
| Transferring points to hotel partners | $0 to $0 |
| AMEX Travel airfare via Business Platinum Card's 35% rebate | $0 |
| AMEX Travel airfare via Business Gold Card's 25% rebate | $0 |
| All other AMEX Travel airfare bookings | $0 |
| AMEX Travel hotels through Fine Hotels & Resorts | $0 |
| All other AMEX Travel hotel bookings | $0 |
| Pay with Points at checkout | $0 |
| Card charges & statement credits | $0 |
| Gift cards | $0 - $0 |
| Shopping portal | $0 |
Credit cards that earn AMEX points
American Express Membership Rewards points can be earned through welcome bonuses and everyday spending across Membership Rewards credit cards. They offer several of the best travel rewards credit cards in the market for both personal and business use.
Listed below are all the cards you can use to earn Membership Rewards points.
All information about The American Express® Green Card, American Express EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card, American Express EveryDay® Credit Card, and Business Green Rewards Card from American Express has been collected independently by The Point Calculator and has not been reviewed by the issuer.
American Express EveryDay® Credit Card
- Earn 10,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $2,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Earns 2X points on the first $6,000 spent at U.S. supermarkets and 1X points on everything else.
- Earn 20% more points in a billing period when you make 20 or more purchases on the card. Terms apply.
- No annual fee.
American Express EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card
- Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $2,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Earns 3X points on the first $6,000 spend at U.S. supermarkets, 2X points at U.S. gas stations, and 1X points on everything else.
- Earn 50% more points in a billing period when you make 30 or more purchases on the card. Terms apply.
American Express® Green Card
- Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn 20% back on eligible travel and transit purchases made during your first 6 months of Card Membership, up to $200 back in the form of a statement credit.
- Earns 3X points on travel, transit, and at restaurants and 1X points on all other purchases
- $189 in annual CLEAR membership credits and up to $100 in annual LoungeBuddy credits. Terms apply.
American Express® Gold Card
- Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months.
- Earns 4X points on restaurants purchases worldwide, 4X points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year), 3X points on airfare booked direct, and 1X points on everything else.
- Up to $120 in annual Uber Cash and up to $120 in annual dining credits. Terms apply.
The Platinum Card® from American Express
- Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Earns 5X points on airfare purchased direct or through American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 per year) and 5X points on prepaid hotel bookings through American Express Travel.
- Global airport lounge access, over $1,400 in annual credits, complimentary elite status with several loyalty programs, top-notch travel insurance, and much more. Terms apply.
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
- Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
- Earns 2X points on the first $50,000 in purchases per year, then 1X for the rest of the calendar year.
- Terms apply.
American Express® Business Gold Card
- Earn 70,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
- Earns 4X points on the two categories your business spends the most in every month, and 1X points on everything else.
- 25% point rebate when booking flights via AMEX Travel. Terms apply.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
- Earn 120,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with your Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
- Earns 5X points on airfare and pre-paid hotel bookings through American Express Travel and 1X points on everything else.
- Global lounge access, over $1,400 in annual credits, 35% point rebate when booking flights via AMEX Travel, complimentary elite status with top travel programs, and much more. Terms apply.
American Express® Business Gold Card
- Earn 70,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
- Earns 4X points on the two categories your business spends the most in every month, and 1X points on everything else.
- 25% point rebate when booking flights via AMEX Travel. Terms apply.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
- Earn 120,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with your Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
- Earns 5X points on airfare and pre-paid hotel bookings through American Express Travel and 1X points on everything else.
- Global lounge access, over $1,400 in annual credits, 35% point rebate when booking flights via AMEX Travel, complimentary elite status with top travel programs, and much more. Terms apply.
The Business Green Rewards Card from American Express also earns Membership Rewards points.
Other ways to earn AMEX points
The only other good way to earn lots of additional Membership Rewards points outside of credit card usage is by using the Rakuten Rewards program.
Rakuten Rewards
Rakuten is a free-to-use online cash back portal that pays you to shop online, but Membership Rewards credit card holders can opt in to receive Membership Rewards points instead of cash. If you frequently shop online, this will easily allow you to double and triple dip on rewards.
You can sign up for Rakuten Rewards through our link and earn bonus Membership Rewards Points (or cash back) the first time you use the portal. If you're looking to get the most out of the Membership Rewards program, you don't want to ignore this program.
FAQ
How much are AMEX Membership Rewards Points worth?
American Express Points have a value range of 0.5 to 1 cent each when redeemed with American Express. They can be worth significantly more when transferred to airline and hotel partners.
What's the best way to redeem AMEX Membership Rewards Points?
The best way to redeem points for maximum value is by transferring them to AMEX's airline and hotel partners. This can give you more than the 1 cent in value you would get redeeming them through American Express.
How much are 10,000 AMEX Points worth?
The value of 10,000 AMEX Points ranges from $50 to $100 when redeemed through American Express, but can be worth as much as $200 when transferred to a frequent flyer partner.
How much are 20,000 AMEX Points worth?
The value of 20,000 AMEX Points ranges from $100 to $200 when redeemed through American Express, but can be worth as much as $400 when transferred to a frequent flyer partner.
How much are 30,000 AMEX Points worth?
The value of 30,000 AMEX Points ranges from $150 to $300 when redeemed through American Express, but can be worth as much as $600 when transferred to a frequent flyer partner.
How much are 40,000 AMEX Points worth?
The value of 40,000 AMEX Points ranges from $200 to $400 when redeemed through American Express, but can be worth as much as $800 when transferred to a frequent flyer partner.
How much are 50,000 AMEX Points worth?
The value of 50,000 AMEX Points ranges from $250 to $500 when redeemed through American Express, but can be worth as much as $1,000 when transferred to a frequent flyer partner.
How much are 60,000 AMEX Points worth?
The value of 60,000 AMEX Points ranges from $300 to $600 when redeemed through American Express, but can be worth as much as $1,200 when transferred to a frequent flyer partner.
How much are 75,000 AMEX Points worth?
The value of 75,000 AMEX Points ranges from $375 to $750 when redeemed through American Express, but can be worth as much as $1,500 when transferred to a frequent flyer partner.
How much are 80,000 AMEX Points worth?
The value of 80,000 AMEX Points ranges from $400 to $800 when redeemed through American Express, but can be worth as much as $1,600 when transferred to a frequent flyer partner.
How much are 100,000 AMEX Points worth?
The value of 100,000 AMEX Points ranges from $500 to $1,000 when redeemed through American Express, but can be worth as much as $2,000 when transferred to a frequent flyer partner.
We've run the calculations for you and here are our top picks for best credit cards of 2023:
- Best premium card for unlimited miles: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
- Best for flexible travel rewards: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
- Best for everyday spend and travel: Citi Premier® Card.
- Best cash back card for groceries: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express.
- Best for dining and supermarkets: American Express® Gold Card
- Best for business travel rewards: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
- Best cash back business card: Capital One Spark Cash Plus
Our Credit Card Rewards calculator can help you find the perfect card and offers based on your monthly and yearly spending habits. Simply enter your spend amounts into our tool and let us do the work for you!
