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How to Transfer American Express Membership Rewards Points to Airlines

14 minute read 13 August 2024

If you’re an American Express cardholder and you’ve been saving up Membership Rewards to find the perfect redemption, you’ll probably need to transfer your points to a partner loyalty program. That’s because transferring your points will generally get you the best value for your points. Transferring your points may require more steps than expected and may not be instant, but it’s worth it.

Here’s everything you need to know about transferring Membership Rewards points to partner loyalty programs.

Table of contents

American Express transfer partners

American Express Membership Rewards can be transferred to 21 rewards programs, including 18 airline loyalty programs and three hotel programs.

Hotel partners

Choice Privileges
Hilton Honors
Marriott Bonvoy

We’ve compiled a roundup of the best partners for maximizing your Amex points value here.

How much are Amex points worth?

Your points are another form of currency. That’s why it’s important to make sure that the trip you’re booking offers good value for your points when you use them to book travel.

How do you do this? Start by comparing the cash value of the booking you have in mind with the value of the points you plan to use.

Everyone values their points a little differently, but for most people, Membership Rewards points are worth about 1.5-2¢ points each, so you’ll want to make sure you’re getting at least that much value when you book a flight.

As an example, let’s say you’re planning a trip to Europe and considering transferring 16,250 Amex points to British Airways Executive Club for a connection in Europe. If you value your Amex points at 2¢, then the Amex points you’re using are worth $325.

Taking any additional taxes and fees into account, you can compare the ticket’s cash price to the point value. The higher the cash price (relative to the points value), the better value you’re getting from your points. On the other hand, if the flight’s cash value is less than $325 (in this example), you may be better off saving your points for a higher-value redemption.

Of course, what’s most important is whether you feel a particular redemption is worth the points, no matter what the math says.

How to transfer Amex points to travel partners

Now that we know that transferring Membership Rewards points offers outsized value, let’s walk through the process step by step.

Step 1: Log into the American Express travel portal

The first step to transferring points from Amex is linking your partner accounts with American Express. To start, log into your American Express account.

If you use this link, you’ll be taken directly to the transfer points page. Otherwise, you can access this page after logging in by navigating to Rewards & Benefits and then selecting Transfer Points in the Earn and Redeem menu.

You can also access the page within the American Express mobile app by navigating to the Membership tab, tapping the Redeem Rewards button, and selecting “transfer points”.

Step 2: Link partner accounts to American Express

After logging into your American Express account and navigating to the Transfer Points page, you can scroll down to find a list of partner programs and their transfer ratios.

If you’ve previously linked an account to your Amex account, those programs will show up first, with other partner programs appearing below them in alphabetical order. In my case, I had Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France–KLM Flying Blue, Delta SkyMiles, and Iberia Plus linked.

To link a new account, simply click the “show details” button to the right. A form will appear, prompting you to provide your partner loyalty program number. If you have multiple cardholders on your account, you’ll also need to select the cardholder that the loyalty account belongs to. Then, click continue.

You’ll be asked to verify your 3-digit credit card CSC.

You’ll also need to retrieve a one-time password from your email address on file for verification.

And that’s it! After a few seconds of processing, you should get a message that your card has been linked successfully.

You’ll also receive an email confirmation.

Step 3: Transfer your points!

Once you’ve successfully linked your partner loyalty program within your Amex account, transferring points is straightforward. On the Transfer Points page, click “show details” next to the linked account. You’ll see details of the linked account, the minimum and maximum number of points you can transfer, and the allowed increments.

Input the number of points you want to transfer and, if applicable, the target account. Click “review transfer.”

You’ll be asked to confirm the transfer details. If everything looks right, click “submit transfer”.

As with linking your loyalty account, you’ll be asked to verify your card’s 3-digit CSC and enter a one-time password that will be emailed to you.

Once that’s complete, points transfers from Amex to most programs happen almost immediately and you’ll receive a confirmation email within a few minutes.

To confirm that your points are transferred, check your partner loyalty program account to ensure the points appear when they’re supposed to. In some cases, the points might not show up right away. You can try logging out and logging back in or reloading the account after a hard refresh.

How long does an Amex points transfer take?

According to American Express, point transfers to Air Canada Aeroplan and Delta SkyMiles are instant, while transfers to other programs can take up to 5 business days.

In reality, most transfers from American Express happen instantly, which is a significant benefit of using Membership Rewards. From our experience, transfers from American Express to the following programs are typically completed instantly:

Aer Lingus AerClub
Air Canada Aeroplan
Air France-KLM Flying Blue
Avianca LifeMiles
British Airways Executive Club
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Delta SkyMiles
Emirates Skywards
Etihad Guest
Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles
JetBlue TrueBlue
Qantas FrequentFlyer
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
Choice Privileges
Hilton Honors
Marriott Bonvoy

Meanwhile, transfers to Iberia Plus can take up to 24 hours, and transfers to All Nippon Airways Mileage Club and Aeromexico Club Premier can take a few days.

Of course, your mileage might vary, so it’s always a good idea to put award tickets on hold, if possible, in case your point transfer doesn’t go through in time.

How to transfer Amex points to United Airlines

Unfortunately, you can’t transfer American Express points directly to United Airlines. While you could transfer American Express points to Marriott Bonvoy and then to United Airlines, this is unlikely to represent a good value. That’s because Marriott points transfer to United MileagePlus at a 3:1 ratio.

American Express partners with multiple Star Alliance partners you can use to book your United Airlines flights with Amex points. The easiest way to research your options is to use point.me’s award search tool, which lists your options to book a particular flight. You can easily and quickly compare programs and choose the one that works best for you.

How to transfer Amex points to American Airlines

American Express doesn’t partner with American Airlines, so it’s not possible to transfer Amex points directly to the AAdvantage program. While you could transfer American Express points to Marriott Bonvoy and then to American Airlines, this is unlikely to represent a good value.

If you want to book an American Airlines flight using Membership Rewards, you can transfer your Amex points to one of Membership Rewards’ Oneworld partner programs or Etihad Guest. You can then use those miles to book your American Airlines flight.

The easiest way to find out which program offers the best value when booking an American Airlines flight is to use point.me’s award search tool. It compares fares across dozens of airlines and loyalty programs with one search.

How to transfer Amex points to Southwest Airlines

American Express and Southwest Airlines aren’t partners, so you can’t directly convert Membership Rewards into Southwest Rapid Rewards points. While you could transfer your Amex points to Marriott Bonvoy and then to Southwest, you’ll only receive 1 Rapid Reward point for every 3 Marriott points, which isn’t very good value.

While using Amex points for Southwest flights might not offer the best value, there are still plenty of ways to get outsized value from your Amex points. Using an award search tool like point.me allows you to check options from hundreds of airline loyalty programs to find the best flight using points.

How to transfer Amex points to Delta Air Lines

You can transfer points from American Express to Delta SkyMiles from the Transfer Points page on the American Express rewards site. As with other American Express partners, link your account if it’s not already linked. Points can be transferred in 1,000-point increments.

The best Amex transfer partners

Air Canada Aeroplan

Air Canada’s Aeroplan is consistently one of our favorite frequent flyer programs. Its excellent partner network includes both Star Alliance carriers and airlines like Emirates. It’s also one of the easiest miles to acquire, thanks to partnerships with various programs, including American Express.

A popular Aeroplan sweet spot is booking premium rewards from North America to Europe. It’s possible to snag business class flights for as low as 60,000 points one-way. Intra-Asia flights also offer great value, with flights starting at just 20,000 points in economy or 35,000 in business class.

The program also offers several standout perks, including allowing a stopover for just 5,000 points, making it easier to explore more destinations on a single ticket. For families with infants, Aeroplan allows booking a lap infant ticket for just CA$25 or 2,500 miles.

Avios for short-haul flights

Avios is the name of the currency used by British Airways, Iberia, Finnair, Qatar Airways, and Aer Lingus. While only British Airways, Iberia, and Aer Lingus partner with Amex, Avios can be moved between accounts meaning that Amex points can be used to book Oneworld award flights with all the programs.

One of the best ways to get value from Avios is for short-haul flights in North America. While this redemption was recently devalued on British Airways, if you move your Avios to Qatar Airways, you can continue to unlock some great value for short-haul:

Flights up to 650 miles: 6,000 Avios to redeem for economy or 12,500 for domestic first class
Flights between 650 and 1,151 miles: 9,000 Avios to redeem for economy or 16,500 for domestic first class
Flights between 1,152 and 2,000 miles: 11,000 Avios to redeem for economy or 22,200 Avios for domestic first class
Flights between 2,000 and 3,000 miles: 13,000 Avios to redeem for economy and 38,750 for domestic first class

That’s not the only sweet spot with Avios. If you’re looking to book a European getaway, transatlantic business class redemptions are possible by transferring to Iberia Plus starting at 34,000 miles one way on off-peak dates.

Tips for transferring Amex points to travel partners

When you’re transferring Membership Rewards points, there are a few things you should keep in mind:

Before transferring points, you need to link the partner loyalty program to your American Express account.
The partner loyalty account must be your account or in the name of an additional card member on your Amex account.
If you’re linking an additional card member’s account, that member needs to have been added to your Amex account at least 90 days before linking their partner loyalty account.
All transfers are final. You cannot undo a transfer once points have been sent to a partner loyalty program.

Can you transfer Membership Rewards points between cards?

If you have multiple American Express cards and want to consolidate your Membership Rewards points into one account before redeeming them for a flight, you’re in luck. Amex points are tied to your overall account, not individual cards, so as long as your cards are added to a single online account, your points should already be pooled.

Frequently asked questions about transferring American Express Membership Rewards points

Should you transfer Amex points to a partner or redeem them through the American Express travel portal?

Deciding whether to transfer Amex Membership Rewards points or redeem them through the American Express Travel Portal depends on your goals and the value you seek.

Transferring points to travel partners will almost always get you better value for your points. In addition to the sweet spots mentioned above, transferring points to All Nippon (ANA) Mileage Club can get you a round-trip business class ticket to Japan for as low as 105,000 points.

Programs like Avianca LifeMiles and Flying Blue (Air France–KLM) also offer sweet spots that can provide outsized value.

Using points to book through the Amex Travel Portal might be simpler and more convenient. However, with each point worth 1¢ each towards flights (or up to 1.54¢ when booking business or first class with the Business Platinum card’s 35% points back), you get less value for your points compared to strategically transferring your points. But if you prioritize ease over maximizing value, the portal might be a good option.

Luckily, there’s a way to get the best of both worlds. Using point.me’s award search engine, you can search award space for a given route across loyalty programs and find the best redemption option for your Amex points. That means you can combine the convenience of running a simple search for your flights with the outsized value you can get from point transfers.

How long does it take to transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to a travel partner?

Most transfers from American Express to loyalty programs conveniently happen almost instantly. However, transfers to Iberia Plus can take up to 24 hours, and transfers to All Nippon Airways Mileage Club and Aeromexico Club Premier can take a few days.

Can you transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to someone else?

Unfortunately, you can’t transfer Amex Membership Rewards points directly to someone else. However, you can transfer Amex points to an authorized user’s loyalty program account.

Amex requires that the loyalty account you’re transferring points to be in your name or in the name of an additional card member in your Amex account. If you’re transferring points to an additional card member’s account, that additional card must have been added to your Amex account at least 90 days before you can transfer points.

So, while you can’t directly transfer points to another person, you can add them as an authorized user well in advance and transfer points to their qualifying airline or hotel program account.

Can you transfer points back to Amex once you have transferred them to a partner?

All Amex points transfers are final. Before you transfer your Amex points to a partner, it’s important to make sure that the flights you want to book are available. A good way to do this is by searching the route you want to book using point.me, which cross-references results from multiple programs, and then going directly to the airline website to confirm availability before transferring Amex points,

Which cards earn transferable Amex Membership Rewards points?

There are several Amex cards, including both personal and business cards, that earn transferable Amex Membership Rewards points.

Personal Cards:

Blue from American Express® Card
Amex Everyday® Preferred Credit Card
American Express® Green Card
American Express® Gold Card
The Platinum Card® from American Express

Business Cards:

The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
Business Green Rewards Card from American Express
American Express® Business Gold Card
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

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