American Express Membership Rewards is a rewards program offered by American Express that allows cardholders to earn points in a variety of ways including credit card signup bonuses, everyday spends, and Amex offers. One of the benefits of the program is the ability to transfer Membership Rewards points to a variety of transfer partners including Delta Airlines, British Airways, and Singapore Airlines. American Express also allows to transfer points to hotels. The transfer ratio varies depending on the airline, with some partners offering a 1:1 transfer ratio and others offering a less favorable ratio. This feature allows cardholders to redeem their points and get outsized value.
Here’s the full guide!
Table of Contents
American Express Transfer Partners
Airlines:
| Airline | Transfer Ratio |
|---|---|
| AeroMexico | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 1,600 AeroMexico Club Premier points |
| Air Canada | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 1,000 Aeroplan Miles |
| Air France/KLM | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 1,000 Flying Blue Miles |
| All Nippon Airways (ANA) | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 1,000 ANA Miles |
| Asia Miles | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 1,000 Asia Miles |
| British Airways | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 1,000 Avios |
| Delta Air Lines | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 1,000 SkyMiles |
| El Al Israel Airlines | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 20 Matmid Points |
| Emirates | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 1,000 Skywards Miles |
| Etihad Airways | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 1,000 Etihad Guest Miles |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 1,000 HawaiianMiles |
| Iberia | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 1,000 Avios |
| JetBlue | 250 Membership Rewards : 200 JetBlue TrueBlue Points |
| Qantas | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 1,000 Qantas Points |
| Singapore Airlines | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 1,000 KrisFlyer Miles |
Hotels:
| Hotel | Transfer Ratio |
|---|---|
| Hilton Honors | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 1,500 Hilton Honors points |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy points |
| IHG Rewards Club | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 1,000 IHG Rewards Club points |
| Choice Privileges | 1,000 Membership Rewards : 1,000 Choice Privileges points |
Please note that the transfer ratio and partners might change over time.\
Best Airline Transfer Programs
Unlocking the full power of American Express Rewards is easy and straightforward. Here are some of the best programs to utilize to get the most out of your points.
Air Canada(Aeroplan)
I’ve written extensively about Aeroplan previously, but Air Canada’s loyalty program is extremely valuable. The program offer the ability to add a stopover for just 5,000 miles per stopover. This means if a flight from New York to Dubai would stop in Istanbul, you could explore the city for a week for just 5,000 miles. Similarly, you could stop in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Singapore on the way to Bali with Aeroplan for an additional 5,000 miles per stop!
For my upcoming trip to Milan, Jen and I could add a stopover in Brussels, but we opted for a long layover (10 hours) to explore the city.
For a full guide on Maximizing Aeroplan check here.
All Nippon Airways(ANA)
ANA offers some of the best premium cabin seats in the sky. With their newly introduced “The Suite” and “The Room” ANA has both an excellent well rounded product and manageable award redemption rates. Amex Points will go a long in helping me book some of the best business class cabins in the sky including ANA’s “The Room”
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
Cathay Pacific is the flagship carrier operating out of Hong Kong. Know for it’s excellent array of lounges in Hong Kong and their amazing cabin service, Cathay Pacific is also an American Express transfer partner. Unless you have a large stash of Alaska miles, this is the best way to book flights with Cathay Pacific.
Hotel Transfer Programs
With hotel awards charts becoming ever inflated, transferring points to hotel programs leave little room for outsized value. While you can certainly top off your account balance for a great redemption, transferring 90,000 membership rewards points for a one night stay at a high end property such as the Conrad yields significantly less value than a flight redemption.
Related Reads:
