American Express Membership Rewards is one of the best loyalty programs, on par with the likes of Chase Ultimate Rewards, Capital One Rewards, and Citi ThankYou Rewards. With a strong portfolio of travel partners, co-branded credit cards, and plenty of options for earning and redeeming, Amex points are one of the most valuable transferable currencies you can have in your arsenal.
And unlike some loyalty programs — we’re looking at you, American Airlines AAdvantage — you’ll never have to worry about your points expiring, as long as your Membership Rewards-earning card is open and in good standing.
That said, there are a few other ways you could end up losing them that have nothing to do with expiration dates. Here’s what to watch out for, plus a few things you can do to ensure your precious Amex points stay safe.
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Reasons you could lose your Amex points
While they don’t expire, there are other ways you could end up losing your hard-earned Amex points. According to the Membership Rewards program’s terms and conditions, any of the following could cause Amex to close your account and seize your points:
Making late payments
To successfully earn and keep your Membership Rewards points, you must pay the minimum amount due (or the whole balance) by the end of your card’s statement billing period. Otherwise, you won’t be able to keep any points earned during that time.
Once you rectify the late payment situation, it’s possible to reinstate those missing points by chatting with an American Express customer service representative or by going through the “summary” tab on your online account.
A few things to note: You’ll need to pay a $35 reinstatement fee per billing period, and you can only reinstate points within 12 months for personal cards or six months for corporate accounts.
Misusing your account
If American Express ever finds that you’re trying to mess around with the points-earning mechanism — whether by cheating the system in some way, misusing your account, or engaging in fraudulent activity — your account will be closed, and your points will be lost.
The terms and conditions specify that manufacturing spending (tricking the program into awarding points for ineligible purchases) also counts as abuse. So just don’t risk it.
Amex will determine whether your account will be canceled altogether (and thus, your points forfeited) or if it will be suspended temporarily, along with your ability to earn or redeem points. Amex may also decide to revoke points as punishment, which could lead you to have a negative points balance, another cause for account closure (more on that later).
Closing your Membership Rewards points-earning card
Keep in mind that only certain American Express cards participate in the Membership Rewards program. Charge cards include:
- The Platinum Card® from American Express
- American Express® Gold Card
- American Express Green Card®
Several business credit cards are also part of the Membership Rewards program:
- The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
- American Express® Business Gold Card
- Business Green Rewards Card from American Express
- Blue Business CashTM Card
Additionally, there are two more credit cards that allow you to earn and redeem points:
- Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card
- Amex EveryDay® Credit Card
If you close one of those card accounts without redeeming or transferring your points, they will be forfeited. The key is to make sure you still have one of these cards open or to transfer points to a travel partner before canceling your card (we’ll cover both of these tips below).
In cases where the last card you have that’s connected to Membership Rewards is a corporate card, different rules apply, and you might still have access to your points for an additional 30 days. This gets extended to 90 days for New York card members who call the phone number on the back of their associated card for assistance.
Returning purchases made with points
If you decide to purchase something with Membership Rewards points but end up returning it, American Express will issue a statement credit. Unfortunately, that will result in the amount of points you earned on that purchase being deducted from your overall balance, so you could wind up losing them that way.
Having a negative points balance
If you happen to have a negative balance, any points you accrue will be counted toward that deficit first, and you won’t be able to redeem any until it’s positive again. This could happen if you’ve returned an item you purchased with points and don’t have enough to make up the difference when it’s reversed (see above).
It could also happen if Amex decides you’re not eligible to receive a points-incentive award, but there isn’t a sufficient balance in your account to deal with the reversal of points.
Earning points on ineligible purchases
While the terms and conditions don’t go into great detail on this, there’s also a chance American Express could rescind points after determining a purchase as ineligible. In that case, those points would be removed from your account.
This is also the case if you happen to be using a corporate card, and for whatever reason — perhaps the company goes bankrupt or is otherwise unable to make payments on its associated cards — Amex suspends the account. You won’t be able to earn or redeem points anymore in that scenario.
Note that there are special arrangements Amex makes for New York card members, who can still access those points for at least 90 days if they call the number on the back of the card and speak to a customer service representative.
If Amex closes your account for other reasons
In the event a cardmember is unable to make payments due to death or declaring bankruptcy, the account will be closed by American Express, and any points within it will be lost.
There are some exceptions to this, however. Points can be reinstated if Amex cancels your card by accident. If your account is closed due to inactivity, you have a chance to use those points for 90 days before they disappear completely.
In case of death, a personal representative or estate executor can make a one-time redemption of a card member’s points by calling 1-800-297-3276.
How to keep your Amex points
Fortunately, there are some things you can do to ensure your Amex points get used. They are worth considering, especially if you’re thinking of closing one of your premium American Express charge cards or planning an upcoming trip.
Open a new no-annual-fee card that earns Amex points
Remember that you don’t necessarily need to have any of the premium cards — like The Platinum Card, the American Express Gold Card, or the American Express Green Card, which all carry high annual fees — to earn Membership Rewards points.
If you’re more interested in simply earning points for regular purchases instead of taking advantage of premium travel perks, there’s another option: Sign up for a no-annual-fee points-earning card like the Amex EveryDay Credit Card or even a lower-annual fee card like the Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card.
That said, if you already have one of the premium points-earning cards but no longer want to pay the high annual fee, you could always open an account with one of the EveryDay Amex cards, which would keep your current stash of points safe and allow you to continue earning and redeeming them within the program.
Downgrade your card
You also have the option to downgrade your Amex card as long as it’s within the same category — from charge card to charge card or credit card to credit card. For example, you could downgrade from the Amex Platinum or Gold card to the Amex Green card and still have access to your Membership Rewards points – for a lower annual fee.
Note that you won’t be able to downgrade from a high-annual-fee charge card to any of the Amex EveryDay credit cards since they fall into a different category. That said, if you no longer want to pay the Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card’s $95 annual fee, you could downgrade to the Amex EveryDay Credit Card. That’s because the Amex EveryDay Card has no annual fee and is within the same category as the EveryDay Preferred Card.
You’ll need to call the number on the back of your card to downgrade. It’s worth asking the customer service rep on the phone if there’s a retention offer, which they might extend as an incentive to keep your current card open. If you end up downgrading your card, the process won’t affect your credit score.
When downgrading your card, remember that you won’t be eligible for any welcome offers since you’re already an existing customer. You’ll also be trading premium-level perks from the higher-annual-fee cards, like lounge access and other special benefits, for different ones that are associated with your new card.
It’s also a good idea to confirm with the rep that your points will indeed be saved, as it can get confusing with so many Amex card categories, and you could lose them if there’s a mixup on your end. As long as you go from charge card to charge card or credit card to credit card, you’re golden.
Transfer your points to a travel partner
If you’re set on closing your account, consider transferring your Membership Rewards points to one of Amex’s travel partners first. There are 18 airline and three hotel partners, each with a lucrative transfer ratio of 1:1, except where noted below:
Airlines:
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- AeroMexico Rewards (transfer ratio is 1:1.6)
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- Air France / KLM Flying Blue
- ANA Mileage Club
- Avianca LifeMiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Cathay Pacific
- Delta Air Lines
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue (transfer ratio is 2.5:2)
- Qantas Frequent Flyer
- Qatar Airways Privilege Club
- Singapore Airlines Krisflyer
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Hotels:
- Choice Privileges
- Hilton Honors (transfer ratio is 1:2)
- Marriott Bonvoy
Be aware that not all points transfers are instant — all but three loyalty programs take up to 48 hours to show up in your account. Hilton Honors transfers tend to post within 24 hours, while points moved to Avianca LifeMiles take up to 72 hours, and ANA Mileage Club’s happen within four days. So, don’t leave it to the last minute to switch them over when you’re ready to cancel a card.
Either way, transferring Amex points to its travel partners is a great way to put those points to use and save on flights and hotels. That way, you can spend more money on other parts of your trip, like renting cars, having fancy dinners out, and other epic adventures.
Redeem Amex points for travel, merchandise, and more
Amex points can be redeemed for flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and other travel elements via American Express Travel. You can also use the Pay With Points feature to redeem them for merchandise when shopping online through sites like Amazon and BestBuy, among others. Or, redeem them for gift cards at over 100 retail brands.
You could also convert Amex points to statement credits, thereby using them to erase certain eligible charges or even cash them out if you also have an American Express Rewards Checking or Business Checking account.
Summary
If you’re just getting started with points and miles, navigating all the rules between the different credit card loyalty programs can seem pretty overwhelming. But as long as you keep your Amex points-earning card account open and in good standing, you’ll never have to worry about losing your points.
And since Membership Rewards points don’t expire, you can keep using your chosen Amex charge card to rack them up and redeem them as you see fit, whether by transferring points to travel partners or cashing them in for gift cards, merchandise, or whatever else makes sense for your redemption needs.
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