How to Transfer Amex Membership Rewards Points to Partners

American Express Membership Rewards points are the transferable points currency earned by American Express travel rewards credit cards. 

This guide explains how to transfer Amex points to airline and hotel partners.

How to transfer Amex points to partners

‍Step 1: On your desktop, log in to the American Express Membership Rewards portal.

‍Step 2: In the navy blue navigation bar, click on “Earn and Redeem” and then select “Transfer Points” in the drop-down menu.

‍Step 3: Select the airline you want to transfer points to.

When you click on an airline, it will display the terms of your points transfer, the timing, and other details and requirements.

If it’s your first time transferring points to that airline loyalty program, you’ll be prompted to enter your account number with the program. 

In order to transfer Amex points to an airline loyalty program, you need to first have an account with that program. It’s a good idea to proactively make accounts with these programs because some have rules that require an account to be open for a certain period of time before you can transfer points to it. It can get unwieldy with different member ID numbers and passwords, so keep track of your account numbers somewhere safe, like in a password manager.

Step 4: Transfer your points.

Once you link your American Express account to your selected airline loyalty program, or if you’ve transferred Amex points to that airline before, you can then select how many points you want to transfer. After that, click the “Review Transfer” button. You’ll be prompted to make sure everything is correct, then you can click “Submit Transfer.”

 Depending on the airline partner you selected, you’ll see your points appear in your airline account either instantly, within 24 hours, or within 2 days.

American Express Membership Rewards points are the transferable points currency earned by American Express travel rewards credit cards. 

This guide explains how to transfer Amex points to airline and hotel partners.

Amex transfer partners

American Express transfer partners include 18 airlines and three hotels. 

American Express airline transfer partners

The following airlines are Amex transfer partners. 

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Aeromexico Club Premier: 1:1.6 transfer ratio
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• Air France / KLM Flying Blue
• ANA Mileage Club
• Avianca LifeMiles
• British Airways Executive Club
• Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
• Delta SkyMiles
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• Hawaiian HawaiianMiles
• Iberia Plus
• JetBlue TrueBlue: 1.25:1 transfer ratio
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

With two exceptions, all Amex points transfer at a one-to-one (1:1) ratio. This means that 1,000 Amex points are equivalent to 1,000 miles with these loyalty programs once transferred. 

The exceptions to this are Aeromexico Club Premier and JetBlue TrueBlue. Amex points transfer to Aeromexico at a 1:1.6 ratio (e.g. 1,000 Amex points become 1,600 Aeromexico Club Premier miles), and Amex points transfer to JetBlue at a 250:200 ratio (e.g. 1000 Amex points become 800 JetBlue TrueBlue points).

Transfer times from Amex to its travel partners vary. Points transfer can take up to 24 hours for Aeromexico Club Premier and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer. Meanwhile, points transfers can take up to 48 hours for ANA Mileage Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and Iberia Plus. Points transfers to all other airline partners are relatively instantaneous.

Amex hotel transfer partners

And these are Amex’s current hotel partners. Points transfers to all these hotel loyalty programs are instantaneous.

• Choice Privileges: 1:1 transfer ratio
• Hilton Honors: 1:2 transfer ratio
• Marriott Bonvoy: 1:1 transfer ratio

Amex points transfer at a 1:1 ratio to IHG Rewards Club and Marriott Bonvoy; points transfer to Hilton Honors at a 1:2 ratio.

On the whole, transferring points to hotels rarely maximizes the value of your points. You’re better off sticking to points transfers to airlines to get the most cents per point when you compare the cash price to the points cost.

Cards that earn Amex Membership Rewards

The following are some cards that earn American Express Membership Rewards points: