Amex Membership Rewards Transfer Partners: What You Need to Know

No wonder why the TPG staff (and our readers) love it American Express Membership Rewards needles.

If you like redeem your Amex points For a cheap and cheerful hotel room or flying first class to Asia, you can transfer Amex points to an impressive 18 airline partners and three hotel partners. Plus, Membership Rewards points are very easy to earn and redeem.

Read on to learn everything you need to know about American Express Membership Rewards transfer partners, including some redemption options. This will help you determine the best ways to make the most of your Amex points for your next trip.

How to Earn American Express Membership Rewards Points

You need an eligible american express card to earn Membership Rewards points.

Currently, several popular Membership Rewards cards offer generous welcome bonuses.

The American Express Platinum Card

The Platinum® Card from American Express: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $8,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. However, you could be the target of a high welcome offer using the CardMatch Tool (offer subject to change at any time).

Earn points:

• 5 points per dollar spent on airfare purchased directly with airlines or through Amex Travel (up to $500,000 in these purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar)
• 5 points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels booked with Amex Travel
• 1 point per dollar spent on other purchases

Annual fee: $695 (see rates and fees)

American Express Gold Card

American Express® Gold Card: Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $6,000 on purchases during the first six months of card membership. However, some readers have received an even bigger welcome offer using the CardMatch Tool (offer subject to change at any time).

Earn points:

• 4 points per dollar spent on restaurants (on purchases up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar)
• 4 points per dollar spent in the US. supermarkets (on the first $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar)
• 3 points per dollar spent on airfare purchased directly with airlines or through amextravel.com
• 2 points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on amextravel.com
• 1 point per dollar spent on other eligible purchases

Annual fee: $325 (see rates and fees)

The American Express Business Platinum Card

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Platinum Card within the first three months of card membership.

Earn points:

• 5 points per dollar spent on prepaid flights and hotels booked through Amex Travel
• 1.5 points per dollar spent on select merchant categories and eligible purchases of $5,000 or more (on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar)
• 1 point per dollar spent on other eligible purchases

Annual fee: $695 (see rates and fees)

American Express Business Gold Card

American Express® Business Gold Card: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $15,000 on purchases during the first three months of card membership.

Earn points:

• 4 points per dollar spent in the two categories your company spends the most in each billing cycle of six eligible categories; You’ll earn 4 points per dollar spent on the first $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year (then 1 point per dollar)
• 3 points per dollar spent on prepaid flights and hotels booked through amextravel.com
• 1 point per dollar spent on other eligible purchases

Annual fee: $375 (see rates and fees)

American Express Green Card

American Express® Green Card: Earn 40,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership.

Earn points:

• 3 points per dollar spent on dining at restaurants around the world and takeout and delivery in the US.
• 3 points per dollar spent on travel and transit
• 1 point per dollar spent on other eligible purchases

Annual fee: $150

The information for the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Amex Membership Rewards Transfer Partners

American Express has 18 airlines and three hotel transfer partners. These partners include at least one useful option in every major airline alliance: Team Sky, Star Alliance and one world.

You can transfer your Membership Rewards points to the following airline programs:

Related: The Best Frequent Flyer Programs for American Travelers

There are also three hotel transfer partner options:

Related: The World’s Best Hotel Rewards Programs: Which One Is Right for You?

How to transfer membership rewards to partners

If you want to transfer your Membership Rewards, you will need an open and valid Amex account. You can then link each transfer partner in your Membership Rewards account and transfer Membership Rewards points in increments of 1,000 to any partner you want, with a minimum of 1,000 points.

American Express offers bonuses on transfers to selected partners from time to time.

However, there are some important restrictions that you should be aware of:

• Transfers to travel partners are not reversible, so make sure you have a use for the points before transferring them.
• The first and last name must be the same on your Amex account and loyalty program accounts.
• You can only transfer points to the accounts of your loyalty program or to those of authorized users on the card. However, such authorized users must be on your account for at least 90 days before they are eligible for transfers.
• You are charged a federal excise tax offset fee when you transfer Amex points to US frequent flyer programs, i.e. Delta SkyMiles, HawaiianMiles, and JetBlue TrueBlue. This is 60 cents (or 120 points) for every 1,000 points you transfer, up to a maximum of $99 (or 19,800 points).

Related: How to Transfer Credit Card Rewards to Partner Programs

How to Maximize Membership Rewards Transfer Partners

With so many different options, deciding where to transfer your Membership Rewards points can be difficult. He The good thing about transferable points is that you can keep them in your Amex account until you decide where and when to transfer them.

For inspiration, here are some of our favorite transfer options:

• Book American Airlines flights with HawaiianMiles: Alaska Airlines acquired Hawaiian Airlines last year, but the two airlines have not yet combined loyalty programs. At the moment, you can transfer Membership Rewards points to Hawaiian and then transfer those miles to Alaska to book one-way tickets on American Airlines for just 4,500 miles. Read our complete guide to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan for other ideas of redemption. Please note that transfers between these two programs will likely end when the programs are combined into one.
• Book ANA First Class Flights to Japan with Virgin Atlantic: You can book a one-way flight to Japan with ANA from the US West Coast for 52,500 points (business class) or 72,500 points (first class).
• Book cheap Oneworld flights with British Airways Avios: Many routes from the east coast to Dublin with Aer Lingus can be booked in economy class for only 26,000 Avios round trip on off-peak dates transferring your Membership Rewards to British Airways. You can also fly short distances outside of North America for as little as 5,000 Avios.
• Fly round trip to Madrid with Iberia: One of the The industry’s best sweet spots Fly Iberia Business Class from the Northeast US, including Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD), to Spain for just 34,000 miles each way on off-peak dates, booking through Iberia Plus or British Airways Executive Club.
• Fly Singapore Airlines Premium Classes by Transferring Membership Rewards to KrisFlyer: You can fly first class suites on the Airbus A380 for 93,500 points if you book a one-way flight between Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) and Sydney Airport (SYD). While Singapore no longer flies the A380 to the US, you can still book first class on the airline’s 777-300ER from New York to Frankfurt for 97,000 points. Sometimes you’ll even see business class awards on select routes included in the airline’s program. Spontaneous Getaways Promotion.
• Transfer to Flying Blue for flights to Europe and North Africa: Flying Blue is the joint loyalty program of Air France and KLM. Flights to Europe start at 20,000 miles one way in economy class and 60,000 miles one way in business class. Also, keep an eye on programs Monthly Promotional Rewardswhere selected routes have discounts for last minute trips.

Related: Best Ways to Use Amex Membership Rewards Points: From Business Class Flights to Europe to Hawaii

In a nutshell

American Express Membership Rewards points are some of the most valuable points on the market. This is mainly due to the wide selection of airlines and hotels associated with Amex transfers.

There are many valuable ways to use them, and the flexibility to decide when, where, and how many points to transfer at your convenience is one of the reasons we rate this reward currency so highly.

For Amex Platinum Card rates and fees, click here.
For Amex Gold Card rates and fees, click here.
For rates and fees for the Amex Business Platinum Card, click here.
For rates and fees for the Amex Business Gold Card, click here.