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If you have an American Express credit card, you should redeem your Amex points. We show how the points can be used and what options there are.
Whether traveling, shopping or donating – there are numerous ways to use the American Express points you have accumulated. But how does this actually work in practice? We explain step by step how everyone can get the most out of their American Express credit card.
The American Express Membership Rewards Program
American Express operates a points collection system with its credit cards, the Membership Rewards program. One point is credited to the connected Membership Rewards account for every euro spent with the Amex credit card. If you want to get points even faster, you can also activate a turbo. This means you get 1.5 points per euro spent. However, the turbo also costs 15 euros per year. Anyone who has an American Express Card, a Gold Card or a Platinum Card can take part in the Membership Rewards program for free. Anyone who has a Blue Card can activate the program for 30 euros per year.
With the Platinum and Gold Cards there is usually a welcome bonus, which consists of a large number of points and is distributed to new customers. The Amex Platinum Card brings the highest bonus when you sign the contract, currently 55,000 points. However, these will only be credited to the account if the cardholder has spent 13,000 euros with the card within the first six months.
Click here for the offer at American Express
The welcome bonus gives you a large amount of points that can be redeemed. Otherwise, the most important thing is to collect! The more points there are, the more interesting the rewards and redemption options become. The points are automatically credited to the account with every transaction with the card. In addition to the main card, there are other additional cards that can also be used to collect points for the main account.
There are slightly fewer points than the welcome bonus with the Amex Gold Card, but there are still 30,000 points included. The required turnover with the card in the first six months for this card variant is 6,000 euros.
Click here for the offer at American Express
How and where can the points be redeemed?
There are various ways to redeem Amex points:
- Use the points to pay
- Redeem points for digital vouchers
- Redeem points for travel
- Transfer points to partner programs and redeem them there
- Redeem points for fundraising purposes
- Pay with bonus points
If you pay with an Amex credit card, you can make this payment later using the points you have collected; this is also possible with a partial amount. In the online card account, this works via “Pay with points”. Small drawback: Of course, payment with the Amex Card only works at the appropriate acceptance points.
By the way: The points can also be redeemed for the annual card fee for the Gold or Platinum Card – after all, the Platinum Card costs 720 euros and the Gold Card still costs 144 euros per year.
- Pay amount with Amex credit card.
- Then log into your Membership Rewards points account.
- Select the payment process that should be paid with points.
- The credit will be issued within 48 hours.
2. Redeem Amex points for vouchers
Amex offers a wide range of vouchers across everything from fashion to entertainment to travel. You can easily select the right one from the vouchers in your Membership Rewards account – the Amex points can also be redeemed for this.
3. Book trips and pay with points
American Express offers an online travel service that can be used to book flights, hotels and rental cars. These costs can also be paid proportionately with the points – but only if the purchase is also made using the Amex Card.
4. Transfer Amex points to affiliate programs
One of the best ways to get the most out of Amex points is to transfer them to airline frequent flyer programs. Of course, this makes particular sense for people who often travel by plane. Points can be converted into miles, for example, and then used for flights or upgrades. To do this, you need to link your Membership Rewards account with the respective partner program.
Not only the Amex Card is suitable for collecting miles, there are also other credit cards that are tailored to frequent flyers, such as the Eurowings credit card from Barclays. There is currently a bonus of 1,500 welcome miles for new customers within the Miles & More program. Additional miles can then be collected when using the card.
Click here for the offer at Barclays
5. Redeem points for donations
The Amex points can also be redeemed for a good cause. To do this, the user can make a donation to a project of their choice via betterplace.org and then pay this using their points account.
Frequently asked questions about redeeming Amex points
- How long are Amex points valid for? Points do not expire as long as the Membership Rewards account is active.
- Can points be transferred? Yes, Amex points can be transferred to certain affiliate programs.
- How can I check the score? The points balance can be viewed online at any time in your account or in the Amex app.
Redeeming Amex Membership Rewards points offers the chance to get even more out of your credit card. This is especially worthwhile if the card costs a high annual fee, as is the case with the Platinum and Gold Cards. It is important to always keep yourself informed about current promotions and redemption options and to redeem the points strategically – this way you can get at least part of the annual fee back.
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