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American Express Membership Rewards® points are incredibly flexible—but knowing the best ways to redeem them is the key to unlocking their full value.

Best Membership Rewards® Earning Credit Cards:

American Express® Gold Card

American Express® Green Card

The Platinum Card® from American Express

American Express® Business Gold Card

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

Membership Rewards® Redemption Options

1. You can use your membership rewards in a few ways: cash them out, book travel directly through the portal, or transfer to airline and hotel partners. While cashing out might sound tempting, it’s actually the worst option with Amex— your membership rewards are only worth 0.6 cents each (10,000 points = $60).

2. You can redeem your Membership Rewards® points directly through the Amex Travel portal to book flights, hotels, rental cars, or experiences—just like you would with cash. Each point typically covers about 1 cent in value toward travel, making it a simple and flexible option.

3. The real magic happens when you transfer your Membership Rewards® points to travel partners. This strategy can often unlock 2–3x more value than using them for cash or through the Amex Travel portal—especially with programs like Hilton Honors or Flying Blue (Air France/KLM). If you want to squeeze the most out of every point, transferring is almost always the smartest move.

1:1 Transfer Partners

I’ll say it again because it’s that important: transferring your points is the single best way to unlock massive value. This is exactly why people rave about travel rewards cards instead of cash-back cards—your points can go so much further when you transfer.

American Express lets you transfer Membership Rewards points to 16 airline partners and 2 hotel partners, usually at a 1:1 ratio. For example, moving 20,000 Amex points to Delta instantly becomes 20,000 Delta SkyMiles, which you can then use to book flights directly on Delta’s site. A few partners do transfer at different ratios, which I’ll note below.

Heads up: If you transfer to a U.S. airline, Amex charges a small airline tax offset fee.

Of course, not every transfer is a good deal. Sometimes you’ll find better value by booking through the Amex Travel Portal. But certain programs—like Flying Blue (Air France/KLM)—offer sweet spots where your points can stretch two or even three times further than cashing out or booking through the portal.

Airline Transfer Partners:

Aer Lingus, AerClub
Aeromexico Rewards: 1,000 American Express Membership Rewards = 1,600 AeroMexico Rewards Points
Air Canada Aeroplan
Air France-KLM Flying Blue
ANA Mileage Club
Avianca Lifemiles
British Airways Executive Club
Cathay Pacific
Delta Skymiles®
Emirates Skywards®
Ethiad Guest
Hawaiian Miles®
Iberia Plus
JetBlue TrueBlue®: 250 American Express Membership Rewards = 200 JetBlue TrueBlue® Points
Qantas Frequent Flyer
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Hotel Transfer Partners:

Choice Privileges®
Hilton Honors: 1,000 American Express Membership Rewards = 2,000 Hilton Honors Points
Marriott Bonvoy®

Book Delta Flights For Less Points

Delta Airlines flights: These can be booked in several different ways with American Express Membership Rewards® points:

You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards® points to Delta Air Lines at a 1:1 ratio, though a small excise tax applies. While convenient, this isn’t always the best redemption option since Delta often requires more SkyMiles for the same flight than its SkyTeam partners. For example, you could transfer 50,000 Membership Rewards® points to Delta to book a Phoenix–Paris flight on January 12, 2026, for 50,000 SkyMiles plus about $6 in taxes and fees.

You can also transfer American Express Membership Rewards® points to Air France–KLM Flying Blue to book the very same Delta-operated flights. This option often requires fewer points, and there’s no excise tax to transfer—though you’ll usually pay slightly higher taxes and fees when booking through Flying Blue. For example, the same Phoenix–Paris flight can be booked by transferring just 25,000 Membership Rewards® points to Flying Blue—half the points required by Delta—plus $98 in taxes and fees. This can be an excellent strategy for Europe travel, especially for families, since Air France offers a 25% discount on points bookings for children ages 2–11.

If you’re looking for more flexibility when booking Delta flights, you can also transfer your American Express Membership Rewards® points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. For example, one option lets you book the exact same Delta flight for 15,000 Virgin Atlantic points plus $158 in taxes and fees. Alternatively, you might find flights that require more points—like 41,000 Virgin Atlantic points—but with lower fees (around $6). Just keep in mind those options often involve a layover instead of flying direct.

Other Airline “Sweet Spots”

Transfer your American Express Membership Rewards® points to British Airways Avios to book domestic U.S. flights on American Airlines.
Transfer your points to Air Canada Aeroplan and book domestic U.S. flights on United Airlines.
Transfer your points to ANA Mileage Club for Star Alliance bookings. These must be round-trip, but with as little as 100,000 points, you could score a business class ticket to Europe.

Hotel Transfer Partners:

You can transfer your American Express Membership Rewards® to a Choice Privileges®, Hilton Honors, and Marriott Bonvoy®. For more info on Hilton sweet spot redemptions, check out this post here.

Bottom Line

Whether you’re booking flights through the Amex Travel portal or transferring points to airline and hotel partners, Membership Rewards® give you the flexibility to travel more and spend less!

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Best Ways to Redeem American Express Membership Rewards®