Redeem Amex Membership Rewards to Cover Charges, Get 100% More Value
The American Express Membership Rewards program is one of the most popular out there. They have many cards that earn American Express Membership Rewards points, which are all pooled together into one account. American Express is known for offering big welcome bonuses, and points can be used in many different ways.
Transfers to travel partners usually yield the best value and then there’s also the option of cashing out with a Schwab brokerage account for 1.25¢ (need Amex Platinum Card for Schwab).
But now some cardholders are seeing a big added bonus when using Membership Rewards points to cover charges. Bonuses vary between 50% and 100%. Normally you redeem points for charges at just 0.6¢ each. So if you are targeted for this promotion, you can redeem for a value between 0.9¢ with the 50% bonus or 1.2¢ with the 100% bonus. 10,000 points for example, will cover a $120 charge.
Conclusion
If you have a large Membership rewards balance and don’t have any immediate travel plans, it could make sense to redeem points for purchases with the 100% bonus. Unlike the Chase ‘Pay Yourself Back’ tool, the option is available for all purchases.
Take a look at your Membership Rewards accounts and see if you see this improved redemption option. Anything less than a 100% bonus it’s probably not worth it. You should see a banner, or just take a look at the points that you need to use for covering any of the eligible charges and do your own math.
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