If cash is just a little tight this 12 months, you could discover your American Specific Membership Rewards factors steadiness is greater than your financial savings account steadiness. In the event you fall into this camp, you could marvel how one can flip a few of your Membership Rewards factors into vacation presents this season.
Usually we might advocate redeeming your factors for a visit. Journey is among the finest presents you can provide anybody — particularly when you can provide your time and the present of journey collectively. Additionally, redeeming your Membership Rewards factors for journey will typically present probably the most worth in your factors.
Nonetheless, not everybody can journey or needs to journey. Though redeeming your factors for journey typically gives probably the most worth on a cents-per-point foundation, the very best redemption is the one which helps you meet your targets. Proper now, your particular person targets could not contain a flight or resort.
Whether or not you wish to present journey, a toy or the most recent and biggest gadget, let’s take a better have a look at the very best methods to redeem Amex Membership Rewards factors for presents this vacation season.
Switch Amex factors to journey companions to e-book award journey
Fortunately, most airline and resort loyalty applications permit you to e-book awards for others if you’re touring collectively. Some loyalty applications even permit you to e-book journey for others after they’re touring with out you. So, you could possibly give the present of journey this vacation season by reserving award journey for others.
In the event you’re seeking to e-book award journey this vacation season, you may switch your factors to the next Membership Rewards switch companions:
- Airline loyalty applications: Aer Lingus AerClub, Aeromexico Rewards, Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, ANA Mileage Membership, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Government Membership, Cathay Pacific Cathay, Delta SkyMiles, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Visitor, HawaiianMiles, Iberia Plus, JetBlue TrueBlue, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Qatar Airways Privilege Membership, Singapore Airways KrisFlyer and Virgin Atlantic Flying Membership
- Resort loyalty applications: Selection Privileges, Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy
TPG’s December 2024 valuations peg the worth of Membership Rewards factors at about 2 cents every. So, you will typically wish to intention to get at the least 2 cents per level if you switch to journey companions. Nonetheless, be certain that award availability exists earlier than transferring.
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Though most transfers are immediate, it may well generally take as much as 48 hours for factors to switch. Take a look at our article on how lengthy American Specific Membership Rewards transfers take to estimate switch occasions.
Associated: Which is the very best American Specific bank card for you?
Use Amex Pay with Factors to e-book journey
Nonetheless, holders of choose Amex enterprise playing cards get a rebate when utilizing Pay with Factors for airfare as follows:
- The Enterprise Platinum Card® from American Specific: Get 35% of your factors again if you use Pay with Factors for first- and business-class flights on any airline or flights in any class in your chosen airline, as much as 1 million factors again per calendar 12 months.
- Centurion Enterprise Card from American Specific: Get 50% of your factors again if you use Pay with Factors for first- and business-class flights on any airline or flights on a specific airline in any class. Per Upgraded Factors, starting Feb. 1, 2025, Amex will impose a cap of three million factors again yearly for cardholders.
The data for the Centurion Enterprise card has been collected independently by The Factors Man. The cardboard particulars on this web page haven’t been reviewed or offered by the cardboard issuer.
Better of all, you may e-book a flight for anybody utilizing Pay with Factors.
You may also e-book pay as you go accommodations, cruises, automotive leases and holidays utilizing Pay with Factors via Amex Journey. Nonetheless, you will solely get 0.7 cents per level, so $700 in pay as you go resort stays will value 100,000 Membership Rewards factors.
You will get a barely higher redemption price of 1 cent per level when you use Pay with Factors for a pay as you go keep booked via Amex’s Positive Accommodations + Resorts program. Take into accout, although, that solely choose Amex cardmembers can entry this premium resort program.
Associated: Your full information to maximizing vacation purchases
Redeem Amex factors for present playing cards
You may also redeem Membership Rewards factors for a wide range of present playing cards. Nonetheless, redemption charges rely on the kind of present card and present (focused) affords accessible:
- 1 cent per Membership Rewards level (for instance, $1,000 in present playing cards for 100,000 factors) for many present playing cards
- 0.85 cents per level for choose present playing cards, together with Greatest Western, Bonefish Grill and Macy’s
- 0.7 cents per level for choose present playing cards, together with Greatest Purchase, 4 Seasons, Hilton, Marriott, Starbucks and Uber
- 0.5 cents per level for American Specific present playing cards (a $500 present card for 100,000 factors). Notice that Amex is presently working a present card promotion, so your factors are value about 0.67 cents apiece.
Different present card promotions on my Amex Platinum Membership Rewards account embody Apple present playing cards at 1.06 cents per level; they have been beforehand 0.85 cents per level. Moreover, Delta Air Traces present playing cards are presently being provided at 0.87 cents per level; they have been beforehand valued at 0.7 cents per level.
You will get a bodily or digital present card for many redemptions. You’ll be able to acquire present playing cards in numerous values, however most begin at $25 or $50.
Associated: What bank cards must you use to buy present playing cards?
Use Amex Pay with Factors at checkout
Pay with Factors is not only for journey. You need to use Pay with Factors at checkout if you store with numerous retailers, together with Amazon, Greatest Purchase, Dell, Grubhub, Seamless, PayPal, Ceremony Support, Saks Fifth Avenue and Staples.
Nonetheless, paying with factors at these retailers often is not a great use of your factors when you’re in search of the very best return. You will solely get 0.7 cents per level for the retailers listed above if you redeem Membership Rewards factors. So, a $700 buy would value 100,000 Membership Rewards factors.
The redemption price is even worse at 0.5 cents per level when you use Membership Rewards factors for occasion tickets via Ticketmaster.
Donate Amex factors to charity
You may also donate your factors to charity. Particularly, you may donate to greater than 1.5 million U.S. charities via JustGiving with Amex Pay with Factors.
You will get 0.7 cents per level if you make a JustGiving redemption. So, 100,000 Membership Rewards factors would offer $700 towards the charity you select.
Associated: One of the best bank cards to maximise your charitable donation
Cowl current Amex card costs
In the event you purchase presents along with your card from retailers that do not take part in Pay with Factors, you may think about using Membership Rewards factors to cowl your purchases.
Though you may redeem Membership Rewards factors to cowl current costs in your card, doing so will solely present a redemption price of 0.6 cents per level. So, you’d want 100,000 factors to cowl a $600 cost.
Associated: Earn extra and spend much less: The right way to use your factors and miles higher in 2025
Backside line
If money is tight or you have got a big stash of factors, you could wish to use your American Specific Membership Rewards factors for vacation presents.
Need to give the present of journey? You will get the very best worth out of your factors by transferring them to journey companions after which reserving luxurious resort stays or premium-cabin flights for family members. You may also get 1 cent per level in worth when utilizing Pay with Factors to e-book flights via Amex Journey.
Even when you do not wish to give the present of journey, you may nonetheless get 1 cent per level in worth by redeeming factors for choose present playing cards.
Understanding the redemption worth earlier than you redeem your factors for vacation presents is a good suggestion. One simple approach to evaluate all of the choices in your Amex Membership Rewards factors is to make use of Amex’s Rewards Calculator.
