American Express Membership Rewards Transfer Partners

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American Express has a line of credit cards that earn flexible rewards called Membership Rewards points. American Express credit cards are known for their incredible perks, travel benefits, and generous welcome offers. Let’s dive into how you can use these points for maximum value. 

Transfer partners 

There are many different ways that you can use your Membership Rewards points from American Express, but my top choice is to transfer them out to transfer partners. There are 21 different airline or hotel transfer partners that you can transfer your Membership Rewards points to, making these points incredibly flexible and valuable. 

Airlines

Aer Lingus

AeroMexico

Air Canada Aeroplan

ANA Mileage Club

Avianca LifeMiles

British Airways Executive Club

Cathay Pacific

Delta Airlines 

Emirates Skywards

Etihad Guest

Flying Blue (Air France and KLM)

Hawaiian Miles

Iberia Plus

JetBlue TrueBlue

Qantas Frequent Flyer

Qatar Airways Privilege Club

Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Hotels

Choice Privileges

Hilton Honors

Marriott Bonvoy

How I’ve recently used my Membership Rewards points

Air Canada Aeroplan: I transferred 120,000 MR points to Air Canada to book two business class tickets on Singapore Airlines. This will be their 5th freedom route from Frankfurt (FRA) to New York City (JFK). The cash value of this redemption was about $5,500! 

Hilton Honors: This is a unique transfer partner since the ratio for the points transfer is 1:2. So when I transferred 96,000 MR points to Hilton, I ended up with 192,000 Hilton Honors points. I used these points to book my overwater villa in the Maldives. 

British Airways: I transferred 170,000 MR points to British Airways to book 2 tickets in Qatar Qsuites! This will be a flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to the Maldives (MLE). The cash value of this redemption was over $14,000! 

Virgin Atlantic: I transferred 97,000 MR points to Virgin Atlantic to book 2 business class tickets on KLM. This will be a flight from Chicago (ORD) to Brussels (BRU). 

Other ways to use Membership Rewards points

There are a variety of ways to use your Membership Rewards points for travel or other purchases. You can opt to book travel with your points directly in the American Express travel portal and you will earn one cent per point when booking this way. There are options to also shop with your points, buy gift cards, or use your points for a statement credit. But if you are looking to get the most value for your points, transferring to transfer partners is always my favorite option! 

My favorite cards that earn Membership Rewards

Bottom line: 

There are so many ways to use Membership Rewards points and a wide variety of cards that can help you rack up a ton of these flexible points! When you consider many of the added travel perks of some of their high end cards, they can be a great addition to your wallet.

EDITORIAL DISCLOSURE: Opinions  expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, hotel, airline, or other entity. This content has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of the entities included within the post.

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