I Have Points… Now What?

After your intro bonus and normal spending, you will soon look at your account and see a plethora of points… but what do you do with them? Points vary in terms of what their monetary value is, however for this post lets focus on American Express Membership Rewards points which the “industry” typically values at 2 cents per point. These points can then be used as statement credits, booking travel through American Express Travel, transferred to partners, paying with points on certain websites, or redeeming for gift cards. Let’s dive into each of these options and discuss which ones I would avoid.

Statement Credits

The easiest of all the options is to use your points to cover your charges, however it is certainly not the best! Using your points to cover statement credits results in .6 cents per point, which is far less than the 2 cents per point that American Express Membership Rewards points are normally valued at. On occasion American Express will run promotions where you are able to spend 1/2 or 1/4 of the points necessary, which would then make this a potentially good use of your points.

Booking Travel Through American Express

Booking travel through American Express Travel is another option for redeeming points, however in most cases it is only worth 1 cent per point. That being said, they sometimes run “insider fares” that allow you to book flights with points that are discounted, often earning you redemption rates over 2 cents per point! Whenever I am looking to travel I always compare costs both in cash and miles vs booking directly through the airline/hotel. Keep in mind that booking hotels through American Express Travel codes as a “discount travel site”, similar to a Travelocity, Priceline, etc., and often eliminates the benefits you would receive if you have status through the hotels. For example, if you have Hilton Honors Diamond Status through your American Express Hilton Aspire card and use American Express Travel to book your room, you will most likely not be granted free breakfast, suite upgrades, extended checkout, etc.

Transferring To Partners

Arguably your greatest chance of achieving 2 cents per point or higher is by transferring your Membership Rewards points to partners such as Marriott, Hilton, Delta, Etihad, Emirates, and many more. When transferring to partners American Express often runs promotions like 40% additional points when transferring to Marriott or Hilton, however your greatest redemptions are going to come when booking “YOLO” flights to places like the Maldives, Hawaii, and Bora Bora. When transferring points to these airlines you are often able to achieve 4 cents per point or more! Transferring is as easy as linking your account to American Express and waiting 24 hours for the transfer however in my experience it is often done in a few minutes.

Paying With Points

Another option for point redemption is paying with points at checkout on certain websites. I have seen this as an option on Amazon, Dell, Best Buy, and Staples, however this redemption method is only going to earn you .7 cents per point. When the “gold standard” is 2 cents per point, achieving roughly 1/4 of the is not a good idea in my opinion. Keep in mind that if you link your American Express card to Amazon, it defaults to “Pay with points” and therefore you should disable this immediately.

Purchasing Gift Cards

Purchasing gift cards with your Membership Rewards points is also an option, however you are going to see between .5 and 1 cent per point redemption values. These values change depending on the retailer your gift card is from with American Express gift cards being .5 cents per point up to 1 cent per point for most retailers. That being said there doesn’t seem to be any reason why Best Buy gift cards are .7 cents per point and Apple is .85 cents per point, with these values varying depending on promos and the time of year.

Do you have any aspirational trips planned that you are going to redeem your points for? I personally just transferred points to Marriott to cover an AMAZING suite at the JW Marriott Marco Island for an upcoming trip… that review to come later!