Amex Transfer Partners & How To Boost Your Points Balance [April 2024]
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Below, we’ll show you how to earn more Amex points by having cards such as The Platinum Card® from American Express or American Express® Gold Card in addition to all of the Amex’s airline and hotel transfer partners, how to transfer your points to these travel partners, and more.
Earning More Amex Membership Rewards Points
American Express provides tons of opportunities to earn Membership Rewards points. Pick the card or combination of cards that will help you earn the most points and get the benefits that matter to you.
Amex Personal Credit Cards (Top Picks)
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesAmerican Express® Gold Card
This is the best card for food lovers who dine out at restaurants (worldwide), order take-out and want big rewards at U.S. supermarkets!
American Express® Gold Card
This is the best card for food lovers who dine out at restaurants (worldwide), order take-out and want big rewards at U.S. supermarkets!The American Express® Gold Card is a game-changer.
With this card, you can earn 4x Membership Rewards points at restaurants and you’ll also earn 4x Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1x.
There isn’t another card on the market that offers a 1-2 punch like this. Of course, there are several other benefits of the Gold Card as well, including extra monthly dining rewards and more.
Pros
- 4x points per dollar at restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.
- 4x points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets, up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases; and 1x thereafter
- 3x points per dollar on flights purchased directly from airlines or at Amex Travel
- Up to $120 annual dining credit: up to $10 monthly statement credit when you pay with the Amex Gold card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations
- Up to $120 in annual Uber Cash: get $10 monthly in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S. when you add your Gold Card to your Uber account
- No foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees)
- Access to Amex’s The Hotel Collection
- Access to American Express transfer partners
Cons
- $250 annual fee (see rates and fees)
- No lounge access
- Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® Points at Restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S., and earn 4X Membership Rewards® points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X).
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Add your Gold Card to your Uber account and each month automatically get $10 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S., totaling up to $120 per year.
- $120 Dining Credit: Satisfy your cravings and earn up to $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations. Enrollment required.
- Get a $100 experience credit with a minimum two-night stay when you book The Hotel Collection through American Express Travel. Experience credit varies by property.
- Choose the color that suits your style. Gold or Rose Gold.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $250.
- Terms Apply.
Financial Snapshot
- APR: See Pay Over Time APR
- Foreign Transaction Fees: None
Card Categories
Rewards Center
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesThe Platinum Card® from American Express
The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.
The Platinum Card® from American Express
The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.When it comes to cards that offer top-notch benefits, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better card out there than The Platinum Card® from American Express.
Make no mistake — the Amex Platinum card is a premium card with a premium price tag. With amazing benefits like best-in-class airport lounge access, hotel elite status, and tremendous value in annual statement credits, it can easily prove to be one of the most lucrative cards in your wallet year after year.
Pros
- The best airport lounge access out of any card (by far) — enjoy access to over 1,400 worldwide lounges, including the luxurious Amex Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges, and many more!
- 5x points per dollar spent on flights purchased directly with the airline or with AmexTravel.com (up to $500,000 per year)
- 5x points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels booked with AmexTravel.com
- Annual and monthly statement credits upon enrollment (airline credit, Uber Cash credit, Saks Fifth Avenue credit, streaming credit, prepaid hotel credit on eligible stays, Walmart+ credit, CLEAR credit, and Equinox credit)
- TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit
- Access to American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts
- Access to Amex International Airline Program
- No foreign transaction fees (rates and fees)
Cons
- $695 annual fee (rates and fees)
- Airline credit does not cover airfare (only incidentals like checked bags)
- Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Apply and select your preferred metal Card design: classic Platinum Card®, Platinum x Kehinde Wiley, or Platinum x Julie Mehretu.
- Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
- $200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
- $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card® on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
- $155 Walmart+ Credit: Cover the cost of a $12.95 monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) with a statement credit after you pay for Walmart+ each month with your Platinum Card®. Cost includes $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax. Plus Up Benefits are excluded.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card®.
- $200 Uber Cash: Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the US annually. Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member only. Terms Apply.
- $300 Equinox Credit: Get up to $300 back in statement credits per calendar year on an Equinox membership, or an Equinox club membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you pay with your Platinum Card®. Enrollment required. Visit https://platinum.equinox.com/ to enroll.
- $189 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Breeze through security with CLEAR Plus at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues nationwide and get up to $189 back per calendar year on your Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Platinum Card®. Learn more.
- $100 Global Entry Credit: Receive either a $100 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
- Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases in Saks Fifth Avenue stores or at saks.com on your Platinum Card®. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $300 SoulCycle At-Home Bike Credit: Get a $300 statement credit for the purchase of a SoulCycle at-home bike with your Platinum Card®. An Equinox+ subscription is required to purchase a SoulCycle at-home bike and access SoulCycle content. Must charge full price of bike in one transaction. Shipping available in the contiguous U.S. only. Enrollment Required.
- Unlock access to exclusive reservations and special dining experiences with Global Dining Access by Resy when you add your Platinum Card® to your Resy profile.
- $695 annual fee.
- Terms Apply.
Financial Snapshot
- APR: See Pay Over Time APR
- Foreign Transaction Fees: None
Card Categories
Rewards Center
- Amex Platinum 150k Welcome Bonus Offer
- Benefits of The Amex Platinum
- How to Use 100,000 Amex Platinum Points
- Amex Platinum Card Requirements
- American Express Platinum Military Benefits
- Amex Platinum and Business Platinum Lounge Access
- Amex Platinum Benefits for Authorized Users
- Amex Platinum vs Delta Platinum
- Amex Platinum vs Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Capital One Venture X vs Amex Platinum
- Amex Platinum vs Delta Reserve
Amex Business Credit Cards (Top Picks)
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesAmerican Express® Business Gold Card
Get 4x points in 2 select categories where your business spends the most each month (on your first $150,000 spent each year).
American Express® Business Gold Card
Get 4x points in 2 select categories where your business spends the most each month (on your first $150,000 spent each year).The American Express® Business Gold Card is excellent at racking up rewards for your business spend.
The card earns a whopping 4x points per $1 in the 2 categories (from a list of 6) that your business spends the most money on each month. With no need to opt-in or preselect your categories, so you can focus on what matters most — running your business.
Pros
- 4x points per dollar spent on your 2 highest purchase categories each month up to $150,000 each calendar year in purchases; categories include:
- NEW! Transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways
- NEW! U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers
- NEW! Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.
- U.S. purchases at gas stations
- U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
- Purchases at U.S. media providers for advertising in select media (online such as Google Ads, Facebook Ads, plus TV and radio)
- 3x points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com using your Business Gold Card
- Access to Amex’s The Hotel Collection
- Purchase protection and extended warranty protection
- Trip delay insurance
- Car rental insurance
- Cell phone insurance
Cons
- $375 annual fee (rates and fees)
- No elite travel benefits like airport lounge access or elite status
- Welcome Offer: 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.*
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points on the 2 categories where your business spends the most each billing cycle from 6 eligible categories. While your top 2 categories may change, you will earn 4X points on the first $150,000 in combined purchases from these categories each calendar year (then 1X thereafter). Only the top 2 categories each billing cycle will count towards the $150,000 cap.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com using your Business Gold Card.
- Earn up to $20 in statement credits monthly after you use the Business Gold Card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores. This can be an annual savings of up to $240. Enrollment required.
- Get $12.95 back in statement credits each month when you pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) with your Business Gold Card. $12.95 plus applicable taxes.
- Your Card – Your Choice. Choose from Gold or Rose Gold.
- *Terms Apply
Financial Snapshot
- APR: 19.49% - 28.49% Variable
- Foreign Transaction Fees: None
Card Categories
Rewards Center
Terms Apply / Rates & FeesThe Business Platinum Card® from American Express
This card is ideal for business travelers who enjoy luxury travel and are looking for a card loaded with benefits!
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
This card is ideal for business travelers who enjoy luxury travel and are looking for a card loaded with benefits!The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is a premium travel rewards card tailored toward business owners who are frequent travelers with a high number of annual expenses.
When you factor in the large number of perks that the card offers like the best airport lounge access at over 1,400 lounges, along with tons of annual credits, it’s easy to see why this card can is a top option for frequent traveling business owners.
Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a huge welcome bonus offer of up to 170,000 points with the Amex Business Platinum. The current public offer is 150,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)
Pros
- 5x Membership Rewards points per $1 on flights and prepaid hotels at Amex Travel
- Up to $200 annual airline fee credit on your selected qualifying airline
- Statement credits on select purchases with your card
- 35% airline bonus when using Pay With Points (up to 1,000,000 bonus points per calendar year)
- Access to over 1,400 worldwide airport lounges as part of the American Express Global Lounge Collection
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit
- Get 50% more Membership Rewards points (1.5 points per $1) on eligible purchases in key business categories, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more (cap applies)
- Access to Amex’s Fine Hotels & Resorts program
Cons
- High annual fee of $695 (rates & fees)
- Airline fee credit does not cover airfare, only incidentals like checked bags
- Welcome Offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
- 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on AmexTravel.com, and 1X points for each dollar you spend on eligible purchases.
- Earn 1.5X points (that’s an extra half point per dollar) on each eligible purchase at US construction material, hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else, on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year.
- Unlock over $1,000 in statement credits on select purchases, including tech, recruiting and wireless in the first year of membership with the Business Platinum Card®. Enrollment required. See how you can unlock over $1,000 annually in credits on select purchases with the Business Platinum Card®, here.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to the Card.
- $189 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Use your card and get up to $189 in statement credits per calendar year on your CLEAR® Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use the Business Platinum Card®.
- The American Express Global Lounge Collection® can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market as of 03/2023.
- $695 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
Financial Snapshot
- APR: 19.49% - 28.49% Variable
- Foreign Transaction Fees: None
Card Categories
Rewards Center
- Find The Amex Business Platinum 150k Welcome Bonus Offer
- Find The Amex Business Platinum 170k Welcome Bonus Offer
- Benefits of the Amex Business Platinum
- Authorized Users Benefits of the Amex Business Platinum
- 35% Points Rebate with the Amex Business Platinum
- Amex Business Platinum vs Amex Platinum
- Amex Platinum and Business Platinum Lounge Access
Amex Airline Transfer Partners
To clarify, if you’re earning Amex Membership Rewards points (which you will be if you have the Amex Platinum Card or the Amex Gold Card for example), then you can transfer those points to any of the partners below.
| Amex Airline Partner | Min Transfer | Transfer Ratio (Amex > Partner) | Transfer Time |
| Aer Lingus | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Aeromexico | 1,000 | 1:1.6 | 2-12 days |
| Air Canada | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| ANA | 1,000 | 1:1 | 3 days |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| British Airways | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Cathay Pacific | 1,000 | 1:1 | Up to 1 Week |
| Delta Air Lines | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Emirates | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Etihad Airways | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Flying Blue Air France/KLM | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Hawaiian | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Iberia | 1,000 | 1:1 | 1-3 days |
| JetBlue | 250 | 1:0.8 | Almost Instant |
| Qantas | 500 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Qatar Airways | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Singapore Airlines | 1,000 | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
| Virgin Atlantic | 1,000 | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
Amex Hotel Transfer Partners
Membership Rewards can also be transferred to 3 hotel rewards programs.
| Amex Hotel Partner | Min Transfer | Transfer Ratio (Amex > Partner) | Transfer Time |
| Choice Privileges | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Hilton Honors | 1,000 | 1:2 | Almost Instant |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
How To Transfer Membership Rewards
With some Membership Rewards points in your account, it’s time to decide where you want to transfer your points so you can start traveling. Here are the simple steps to make the transfer process easy.
Step 1: Select Earn and Redeem from the menu.
Step 2: Select Transfer Points under Redeem.
Step 3: Choose your desired airline or hotel transfer partner and select Transfer Points. If you haven’t already, you will need to link your frequent flyer account to your Membership Rewards account. In the example below, we chose Delta Air Lines.
Step 4: Once you have linked your airline or hotel account to your Membership Rewards account, choose how many points you would like to transfer. Transfers must be made in increments of 1,000.
Step 5: Confirm the number of points you are transferring and complete the transfer.
Step 6: Head over to the appropriate airline or hotel program to book your award flight or award stay.
Bottom Line: Transferring Amex points to partners is easy. Just have your loyalty program numbers handy and your Amex card details, and you’ll be good to go!
American Express Transfer Bonuses
Transferring your points when there is a bonus is an ideal situation. Getting the most value out of every point you have is the key to getting those high-level redemptions!
Amex has previously offered both public and targeted transfer bonus offers of 15% to 40%. For example, if you were to transfer 10,000 points when a particular partner is offering a 40% bonus offer, your points would be worth 14,000 points after transfer.
However, you shouldn’t transfer points JUST because there is a bonus. It’s best to keep your points in a transferable account (like Amex, Capital One, Chase, Citi, or Marriott Bonvoy) until you have a specific redemption in mind.
Booking Travel With the Amex Travel Portal
If you’re booking economy flights or hotels, don’t forget to check out Amex Travel where you can book cash flights with points. Points are generally worth 1 cent each.
With The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, each point is worth about 1.54 cents when booking on your preselected airline.
The boost is applied in the form of a 35% rebate, so you’ll still need the total points in your account at the time of booking. You can get up to 1 million points rebated per calendar year.
Let’s check out an example (below). If you have the Amex Business Platinum card and Delta Air Lines is your selected airline, this booking will cost 22,516 Membership Rewards points initially.
Once the rebate is applied, American Express will return 7,880 Membership Rewards to your account, which means this booking would actually cost you 14,636 points.
You might have noticed in the example above that the booking is a Membership Rewards Insider Fare.
This can make your bookings through Amex Travel even more valuable since American Express sometimes discounts flights if you pay entirely with points.
Should You Transfer or Book Through Amex?
Consider the flights we discussed above. Booking this itinerary through Amex Travel costs 14,636 Membership Rewards points, and the booking still earns Delta SkyMiles as a paid fare rather than an award ticket.
If you were to transfer Membership Rewards to Delta and book this same itinerary as an award ticket, you would have to transfer 25,000 points to your SkyMiles account to book it. In this case, booking through the portal would be a much better deal.
This is clearly a time to book through Amex Travel rather than transferring points. To ensure you get the most out of your points every time, it’s important to check both the portal and transfer options when booking economy class.
Other Ways To Use Your Points
Amex Travel also allows you to book hotels at up to 1 cent per point in value through Fine Hotels & Resorts.
You can also redeem your points for gift cards to merchants like Nike, Saks Fifth Avenue, Walmart, or Amazon, or use your points to shop for items from the Membership Rewards site.
Unfortunately, these are generally terrible uses of your hard-earned Membership Rewards points. To get the most value out of them, stick with travel redemptions!
Combining Membership Rewards From Different Accounts
If you have multiple cards that earn Membership Rewards, they can each be linked to the same account so your points will automatically collect in one place.
Generally, when you apply for a new card that earns Membership Rewards points, it will automatically be linked to your account.
One downside is that points cannot be transferred to your spouse or significant other’s Membership Rewards account.
However, you can transfer points to a frequent flyer program owned by any authorized users on your account, as long as they have been an authorized user for at least 90 days.
While this isn’t a perfect solution, it still allows you to help friends and family book award flights.
Redeeming Membership Rewards
Using your Membership Rewards points for travel is clearly the best way to use your points.
With so many airline transfer partners and tons of ways to redeem your points, it’s almost overwhelming!
To make the process a bit easier, we’ve compiled a list of the best ways to redeem your Membership Rewards for some amazing travel experiences.
Final Thoughts
American Express Membership Rewards points are tremendously useful if you want to travel. With so many ways to earn and redeem points, you can book award flights to just about anywhere in the world!
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, click here.