It is no secret that American Categorical Membership Rewards factors are one in every of our favourite bank card reward currencies.
TPG’s August 2025 valuations worth Membership Rewards factors at 2 cents per level. Nevertheless, leveraging the precise switch companions makes it simple to get much more worth out of your factors. And with American Categorical having 17 airline companions and three lodge companions, you’ve got some ways to maximise your factors.
To focus on this worth, let’s take a look at a number of the greatest methods to redeem your Membership Rewards factors — from high-end business-class redemptions to home flights across the U.S., there are a number of methods to stretch your factors for the absolute best journey expertise.
Tips on how to earn Membership Rewards factors
The easiest way to earn Membership Rewards factors shortly is to earn welcome provides on Amex’s high playing cards. Listed below are a few of our favorites:
- The Platinum Card® from American Categorical: Discover out your supply and see in case you are eligible for as excessive as 175,000 Membership Rewards Factors after spending $8,000 on purchases inside the first six months of card membership. Welcome provides range, and also you might not be eligible for a suggestion.
- American Categorical® Gold Card: Discover out your supply and see in case you are eligible for as excessive as 100,000 Membership Rewards factors after spending $6,000 on purchases inside the first six months of card membership. Welcome provides range, and also you might not be eligible for a suggestion. Phrases apply.
- The Enterprise Platinum Card® from American Categorical: Earn 150,000 bonus factors after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases inside the first three months of card membership.
Tips on how to use your Membership Rewards factors
You are more likely to get probably the most worth out of your Amex factors by transferring them to companion packages. Membership Rewards companions with 17 totally different airways, together with Air Canada, JetBlue and British Airways. You even have the choice to switch your factors to 3 lodge chains: Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy and Selection Privileges.
You possibly can guide flights or accommodations immediately by means of American Categorical Journey®, however redeeming factors with a switch companion often ends in a greater redemption worth. It’s because Amex Journey solely allows you to redeem at a set 1 cent per level worth for flights, whereas transfers can yield a a lot larger worth.
Most Membership Rewards transfers course of immediately, whereas others can take as much as 48 hours. For extra info, see our information to Membership Rewards switch occasions.
Listed below are a number of the greatest methods to redeem your Membership Rewards by transferring them to companions.
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Fly Air France or KLM enterprise class to Europe for 60,000 miles
If you wish to journey to Europe comfortably, take into account transferring your Membership Rewards factors to Air France-KLM Flying Blue. This system costs award tickets dynamically, so on peak dates, you might be charged greater than 100,000 miles for a flight to Europe. Nevertheless, this system standardized saver-level pricing for one-way business-class flights between the U.S. and Europe, which means you possibly can redeem as few as 60,000 miles (with minimal taxes and charges).
Earlier than transferring Membership Rewards factors to Flying Blue to guide this candy spot, affirm award availability by trying to find your most popular dates on Air France’s web site or by utilizing an award journey instrument like Seats.aero.
Taxes and gas surcharges often add $350 to $450 per individual to a round-trip Flying Blue reward in enterprise class. Regardless, round-trip business-class flights from the U.S. to Europe on Air France and KLM typically value over $3,000, so you are still saving an excellent amount of money by transferring Membership Rewards factors to Flying Blue.
Flying Blue’s month-to-month Promo Rewards are additionally value testing as they will supply a limited-time 25% low cost on award tickets in all courses of service. Flying Blue refreshes this sale each month, switching up which cities are eligible for a reduction.
Associated: Is KLM premium financial system value it on the 787 Dreamliner?
E book Delta One and All Nippon Airways premium cabins by means of Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership expenses as little as 47,000 factors (so 47,000 Amex factors) for flights from the East Coast to Europe in Delta One enterprise class.
That is considerably cheaper than transferring factors to Delta SkyMiles for a similar award ticket. With that program, 375,000 miles for a flight to Europe in enterprise class isn’t unusual. That mentioned, Virgin Atlantic expenses over $1,000 in taxes and charges for these nonstop tickets. However when you’re pressed for Amex factors, reserving Delta One this manner might be a worthy trade-off.
Associated: Dynamic airline award pricing is uncontrolled — listed here are some methods to beat it
Availability might be arduous to return by, however you will typically have higher luck reserving on the final minute. To make discovering these awards simpler, chances are you’ll take into account subscribing to an award search instrument like Seats.aero. This program has a useful Delta One Finder instrument that exhibits you routes bookable by means of Virgin Atlantic.
Moreover, Virgin Atlantic’s award chart for All Nippon Airways could also be probably the greatest candy spot redemptions within the factors and miles world. The chart beneath exhibits one-way costs.
This implies you possibly can fly one-way from West Coast airports to Tokyo’s Narita Worldwide Airport (NRT) or Haneda Airport (HND) in ANA first-class for less than 72,500 factors or in enterprise class for 52,500 factors. ANA first-class tickets typically value $16,000 or extra, so that is a straightforward approach to get greater than 10 cents per level in worth.
That mentioned, reserving ANA flights by means of Virgin Atlantic might be difficult since these flights aren’t bookable on Virgin’s web site. To guide them, use a Star Alliance companion web site like united.com to search out ANA award availability first. Then, name Virgin Atlantic to guide your award ticket.
Fly to Hawaii on United Airways or Alaska Airways through Singapore KrisFlyer
From the attractive shores of Waikiki to the volcanoes and waterfalls of Maui, the Hawaiian Islands actually have all the things. You possibly can guide flights to the islands on United Airways and Alaska Airways by transferring your Membership Rewards factors to Singapore Airways KrisFlyer.
You will pay 13,500 KrisFlyer miles for a one-way financial system flight from California, Oregon or Washington state to any Hawaiian island on Alaska Airways. Nevertheless, be aware that Singapore Airways does not allow you to guide Alaska Airways flights with stops, so that you’re restricted to reserving flights from one of many latter’s varied hubs. You additionally must name in to guide these awards.
These primarily based elsewhere within the nation can guide nonstop or connecting flights with United Airways. A one-way financial system ticket prices 19,500 KrisFlyer miles, whereas a business-class ticket will set you again 39,000 KrisFlyer miles. That is typically cheaper than what United expenses by means of its United MileagePlus loyalty program.
Associated: Lower your expenses: How one can guide flights to Hawaii utilizing factors and miles
Benefit from the world’s longest nonstop flight to Singapore in consolation
Singapore Airways operates two of the world’s longest flights: Singapore Changi Airport (SIN) to Newark Liberty Worldwide Airport (EWR) and New York’s John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport (JFK).
You in all probability do not wish to spend 18 hours in an uncomfortable seat, so use your Membership Rewards factors to fly enterprise class. Each routes value 111,500 KrisFlyer miles plus taxes and charges one-way for a saver award — a small worth to pay for consolation on such an extended flight.
E book Iberia flights to Madrid beginning at 16,000 Avios
Reserving premium cabin award flights to Europe generally is a sophisticated and costly endeavor, however Amex’s switch companion, Iberia Membership, makes use of a distance-based award chart. Regardless of a current devaluation, that is nonetheless probably the greatest choices to contemplate when trying to find choose nonstop flights to Spain.
Listed below are the one-way award costs:
| Vacation spot to/from Madrid | Blue class (Primary financial system) (Off-peak/Peak) | Economic system consolation (Off-peak/Peak) | Premium financial system (Off-peak/Peak) | Enterprise (Off-peak/Peak) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
16,000 Avios/19,500 Avios | 25,000 Avios/31,500 Avios | 29,500 Avios/40,250 Avios | 40,500 Avios/59,000 Avios |
|
20,000 Avios/24,250 Avios | 31,250 Avios/39,000 Avios | 36,750 Avios/50,500 Avios | 50,500 Avios/74,000 Avios |
|
24,000 Avios/29,250 Avios | 37,250 Avios/46,500 Avios | 44,000 Avios/60,500 Avios | 60,600 Avios/88,500 Avios |
Off-peak business-class flights supply the very best deal. You possibly can fly one-way from JFK, ORD or BOS to Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport (MAD) for simply 17,000 Avios in financial system, 25,500 Avios in premium financial system and 34,000 Avios in enterprise class. Off-peak dates span a lot of the calendar 12 months, excluding holidays and the summer time months.
Associated: 5 variations of Avios: When to make use of Aer Lingus, British Airways, Finnair, Iberia and Qatar Airways
Lock in stays at Selection accommodations world wide
The Selection Privileges program isn’t as well-known as these from bigger lodge teams like Marriott and Hilton, but it surely’s nonetheless value a glance. Due to its cheap redemption charges, you may get respectable worth by transferring Membership Rewards factors to Selection Privileges.
For instance, you should use 15,000 factors per evening to guide a keep on the Consolation Inn Gurnee close to Six Flags in Illinois. This generally is a good possibility for a staycation close to Chicago or a cease on an extended highway journey.
Issues get extra thrilling whenever you journey overseas. A handful of properties in Tokyo might be booked for simply 10,000 factors per evening. The centrally positioned Consolation Resort Tokyo Higashi Nihombashi is one in every of them. The rooms look strong and are inside strolling distance of public transit.
Associated: Greatest lodge rewards packages on this planet: Which one is best for you?
E book home short-haul flights through British Airways
You do not have to jet midway world wide to get a fantastic redemption.
British Airways Membership is one of the simplest ways to guide home flights operated by American Airways and Alaska Airways. This system makes use of an unpublished distance-based award chart, so you will pay extra Avios for longer flights. Brief-haul home flights are the award chart’s candy spots for Oneworld flyers.
Home financial system flights which might be 1,151 miles or shorter might be booked for 16,000 Avios. In the meantime, flights as much as 650 miles in size value simply 12,000 Avios. It is a strong means to make use of your factors if money fares are in any other case costly, equivalent to throughout peak journey occasions like holidays, conferences and faculty breaks.
One factor to notice about Avios is that it costs award tickets per leg. This implies you will pay extra for connecting flights, as every flight is charged individually.
Associated: Greatest methods to redeem British Airways Avios: From flights to Hawaii to island hopping within the Caribbean
Fly Qatar Airways Qsuite to the Center East for 70,000 Avios
Among the best methods to make use of Amex factors is to switch them to Qatar Airways Privilege Membership to guide the world-renowned Qsuite business-class seat. By transferring 70,000 Amex factors to Qatar Airways, you possibly can fly from any one in every of its U.S. gateways to its hub at Doha’s Hamad Worldwide Airport (DOH).
Qsuite modified the business-class panorama by being the primary to supply a personal suite with a door and in an optimum 1-2-1 configuration for excellent privateness and direct aisle entry. Seats within the center might be laid flat to kind a double mattress, which is a wonderful perk for {couples} and households touring with a toddler. You may as well anticipate wonderful inflight eating with Western and Arabic choices.
Better of all, when reserving a business-class award ticket through Doha to pick locations within the Center East, you possibly can entry probably the greatest first-class lounges on this planet, Al Safwa First Lounge. Qatar Airways markets business-class flights inside the Center East as first-class. Because of this, for instance, an award ticket from LAX to Cairo Worldwide Airport (CAI) offers you entry to Al Safwa throughout your connection.
Associated: Qatar Airways Qsuite evaluation: Nonetheless setting the usual for enterprise class (and a mileage candy spot)
Journey to London through Virgin Atlantic for as few as 6,000 factors
Factors and miles fanatics are not any followers of dynamic pricing on airline award tickets, however there may be one exception: Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership.
The loyalty program launched dynamic pricing by itself flights again in October 2024. After the change, the price of award tickets decreased on most off-peak dates, with flights from the East Coast being the most cost effective.
You possibly can fly between JFK and London’s Heathrow Airport (LHR) or Manchester Airport (MAN) within the U.Okay. for as few as 6,000 Virgin factors in financial system. Even higher, you possibly can typically discover one-way premium financial system awards for underneath 15,000 factors and business-class awards for as little as 29,000 factors. Taxes and carrier-imposed surcharges are additionally dynamic, however anticipate to pay between $100 and $400 per one-way ticket.
These are wonderful redemption charges, however when you mix them with a switch bonus, they’re much more superb. Previously, we have seen as much as a 40% switch bonus from Amex Membership Rewards to Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership.
Associated: Bringing the enjoyable again to flying: Virgin Atlantic A350 Higher Class evaluation
Backside line
Whether or not you are on the lookout for first-class airfare, an financial system flight dwelling for the vacations or a highway journey lodge, you should use Membership Rewards factors to cowl all of it. Use these examples as inspiration in your subsequent large journey. Not solely will you’ve got an upgraded expertise, however you will spend considerably much less out of pocket.
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