American Express Membership Rewards

Program Overview

American Express cards can trace their history back 50 years. Originally only offering charge cards (which had to paid off in full each month, AmEx began offering Credit Cards in 1987, starting with the Optima Card. American Express Membership Rewards is the loyalty program for the large family of American Express credit cards. As with most credit card loyalty programs, members enjoy a flexible array of earning opportunities because virtually every dollar (or Euro) spent.

Earn Opportunities

Membership rewards makes it easy to earn points...just make qualifying purchases using your American Express Card and you'll earn 1 Membership Rewards point for each dollar spent. There are opportunites to earn much more with certain flavors of AmEx cards by making purchases through the American Express Travel Website (up to 2x) or though select partners (up to 10x). Some cards also allow you to earn points at a faster rate on airfare, gas, and grocery purchases.

Redeem Opportunities

American Express Membership Rewards offers some of the most unique redeeming opportunities, including the ability to redeem points for financial services, travel, shopping, dining, and entertainment. Cardmembers can even use points to pay local, state, and federal income tax payments, or to pay off everyday purchases on their monthly statements.

Transfer Opportunities

Membership Rewards are very easy to transfer out to other programs and partners. With over 20 airline and hotel partners, your Membership Rewards points won't be trapped. Even if you can't find one of those partners that suits your needs, you can transfer rewards into gift cards for use at over 500 merchants.

Conclusion

With an easy way to earn points with few restrictions (aside from having to use your American Express), and lots of ways to redeem and transfer points, Membership Rewards is a great program for anyone who can qualify. It is a great program to pair with any airline or hotel program that allows transfers of Membership Rewards points (a great alternative to many programs' co-branded credit cards).