How to Use American Express Points for Flights?
American Express offers its cardholders some of the best membership rewards on the market and has the largest pool of transfer and air travel partners. While loyalty programs can be complex and confusing, with American Express Membership Rewards, you have access to some foolproof options for maximizing your points.
So, how to redeem your Amex points to United Miles or other partners’ bonus programs and get the most value on your flights? Keep reading to learn the best ways to use your valuable Amex awards.
What Are American Express Points?
First things first. Amex points are one of your rewards for being a loyal American Express member—you can earn Membership Rewards for spending with both personal and business cards. The easiest way to earn points is to spend a lot and take advantage of great welcome bonuses.
By default, you earn at least 1 point for every dollar spent with your Amex card. Additionally, in some cases (the specifics depend on the card type), you may also earn extra points for purchases in certain categories. An important thing to note is that not all American Express cards offer a points system and membership rewards—some cards come with cash bonuses instead.
In all cases, you have lots of options for using your Membership Rewards points, from shopping and gift cards to statement credits and donating to charity. The value you get for your points depends on what you use them for, and in this regard, your best bet is air travel.
Paying for flights allows you to get the most value out of your Amex points, as this option has the best conversion rates. And how many Amex points for a flight you can possibly get? American Express Membership Rewards bonuses are generally worth no more than 1 cent per point in most cases, but when it comes to booking travel with an airline transfer partner, you can get 2 cents or even more.
However, there’s a lot to consider. Let’s take a closer look at how you can use your card perks.
How to Exchange American Express Points for Flights?
American Express Membership Rewards is a loyalty program that, among other things, helps you save on your flights. Here are our insights on how to use Amex points for flights and what options you have to redeem American Express bonuses for airline tickets.
Option 1: Book Flights
Your first, most obvious, and perhaps best way to spend Amex rewards is to use American Express’s flight partners. More than 10 airlines are available to you—and among what they have to offer, you can likely find a good deal for any destination.
By default, you can only transfer Amex points to the three largest airlines in the United States: Delta SkyMiles, HawaiianMiles, and JetBlue TrueBlue. But can you transfer Amex points to United Airlines, or some other popular provider? Well, with expanded airline partnership options, your American Express rewards also apply to other leading air transfers, like United Airlines, American Airlines, and Alaska Airlines.
You can transfer bonus funds to most partners at a 1:1 ratio. Sometimes American Express also offers additional rewards for transferring bonuses to certain providers, so it’s a good idea to check the bank’s special offers from time to time. Keep in mind that Amex points are non-refundable: once you transfer your American Express points to American Airlines (or any other partner), you can’t return them to your balance. The transfer is usually near-instantaneous.
Option 2: Visit the Amex Travel Portal
If you want to explore other options for spending your Amex Rewards points on flights, you can do so by using the Amex Travel Portal and searching for available flights to your destination. When you select a flight, you’ll see how many bonuses you need to transfer to make the booking.
How does it work? Tickets are charged to your Amex card, and then you receive a refund for the amount offset by your Membership Rewards points (it usually takes up to two days). To be eligible for this feature, you must use at least 5,000 points.
While this may not be the most efficient, convenient, or rewarding way to use your Amex bonuses, it is a great option to book flights with non-partner airlines.
Option 3: Pay Off Your Card Expenses
Another way to reduce the cost of your flights is to use your bonus points to cover your past expenses. With Membership Rewards, you can transfer Amex points to American Airlines or other providers to offset previous ticket purchases.
While this also isn’t the most profitable thing you can do with your Amex points (you can only redeem your bonuses for 0.6 cents per point), it’s a great option to save on flights you’ve already taken, especially if you don’t plan on booking any more tickets in the near future. Plus, getting a refund is super easy—you just have to find the “cover your expenses” option in the Amex app, select the purchase you want to cover, and transfer Amex points to Delta (or another airline).
Option 4: Upgrade Your Seat
The final way to redeem American Express bonuses is to use them for a flight upgrade. While this option doesn’t involve transferring your Amex points to United Miles (or another airline of your choice) to offset the cost of your ticket, it’s an excellent way to secure an upgrade. You can use your Membership Rewards points to upgrade your seat to higher class on over 20 partner airlines.
Final Thoughts
Perhaps the most compelling reason to choose American Express cards is the excellent Membership Rewards loyalty program, which allows cardholders to earn points just for using the card. These bonuses open up a wide range of opportunities and allow you to save on shopping, but their most valuable benefits are the perks associated with air travel.
You can transfer your American Express points to United Miles or another one of the numerous partner airlines, book flights through the Amex Travel Portal, pay for previous airfare expenses, or use your bonuses to upgrade your flight. You can also still use the bonuses for other purposes, such as cashback or gift cards. However, transferring them to partner airlines allows you to maximize their value.
American Express Membership Rewards points are also quite easy to earn. Many Amex cards have good welcome offers and allow cardholders to accumulate more bonuses for spending in select categories. And the benefits that come with these points are truly some of the most valuable travel rewards available today.
With so many ways to earn and use American Express points, you will definitely find your win-win option to make your future flights cheaper and more comfortable.
