UPDATES:
  • Transfer Amex Membership Points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points and get a 30% bonus through June 14, 2023. 
  • Transfer Amex Membership Points to LifeMiles and get a 15% bonus through May 31, 2023. 
  • Transfer Amex Membership Points to Air France KLM Flying Blue points and get a 25% bonus through May 22, 2023. 

Membership Rewards (MR) is the rewards points program you earn with American Express Cards. The best way to get the best value from your MR points is to transfer them to loyalty programs that partner with American Express. Your MR points are worth so much more when redeeming them this way. The way it works is you transfer your MR points to a frequent flyer airline for miles at a 1:1 ratio, and you then can use those miles to redeem for a flight that the cash price costs more than 1 cent per mile. 

To transfer your MR points to frequent flyer programs, you need to have one of the American Express Cards that earn the MR points and can directly transfer those points to Amex partners.

Transfer Amex MR Points to Iberia Plus For Iberia Business Class
Table of Contents  [show/hide]

    Amex Airline Transfer Partners



    Amex Hotel Transfer Partners



    Amex Membership Rewards Points Transfer Ratio, Transfer Time & Transfer Fee

    Below is how long Amex MR points typically take to transfer based on the miles and points community data points.

    Please note that Amex charges a small federal exercise tax fee of 0.06 cents per 1,000 points when you transfer MR points to US frequent flyer programs such as Delta Air Lines, JetBlue, and Hawaiian Airlines fee is capped at $99. Amex also offers you to pay that exercise tax fee using your MR points, but don't do it as that's not a good use of your MR points.

    The minimum MR points Amex requires for the transfer is 1, except for the JetBlue program. See the chart below:

    Amex Membership Rewards Points
    Transfer Partners

    Transfer Ratio
    (Min. 1,000 MR Points)

    Transfer Time

    Transfer Fee

    Airline Transfer PartnerMin. MR Points: Airline Miles
    Aer Lingus AerClub1000:1000InstantNone
    AeroMexico Club Premier1000:1000~4 daysNone
    Air Canada Aeroplan1000:1000InstantNone
    Air France KLM Flying Blue1000:1000InstantNone
    Alitalia MileMiglia1000:1000InstantNone
    ANA Mileage Club1000:1000~3 daysNone
    Avianca LifeMiles1000:1000InstantNone
    British Airways Executive Club1000:1000InstantNone
    Cathay Pacific Asia Miles1000:1000InstantNone
    Delta Air Lines SkyMiles1000:1000Instant0.06 cents per
    1,000 points.
    $99 max. 
    Emirates Skywards1000:1000InstantNone
    Etihad Airways Guest1000:1000InstantNone
    Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles1000:1000Instant0.06 cents per
    1,000 points.
    $99 max. 
    Iberia Plus1000:1000InstantNone
    JetBlue TrueBlue 250:200Instant0.15 cents per
    250 points.
    $99 max. 
    Qantas Frequent Flyer1000:1000InstantNone
    Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer1000:1000~2 daysNone
    Virgin Atlantic Flying Club1000:1000InstantNone
    Hotel Transfer PartnerMin. MR Points: Hotel Points
    CHOICE Privileges1000:1000InstantNone
    HILTON Honors1000:2000InstantNone
    MARRIOTT Bonvoy1000:1000~2 daysNone

    Amex Charges Federal Exercise Fee To Transfer Points
    To US Frequent Flyer Programs

    Which Amex Credit Card Earns Membership Rewards Points?

    The following American Express Credit Cards earn Membership Rewards (MR) points. Earned MR points can be transferred directly to an airline or a hotel loyalty program that has a partnership with American Express:
    Editor's Note: American Express EveryDay Credit Card is a no annual fee credit card. It can earn MR points that can directly transfer to Amex airline and hotel partners. It is also a great card to keep your MR points alive if you need to cancel all your Amex MR points earned credit cards that have an annual fee. 

    How To Transfer Amex Membership Rewards Points To Partners?

    It is essential to know that transferring Amex MR points to partners is a one-way street, and you cannot move points back to Amex once the transfer is finalized.

    Performing Amex MR points to partners transfer online or on the pho is possible. For online:
    • Sign in to your American Express credit card account. 
    • On the right-hand side, click on Explore Rewards. 
    • You should see a menu tab in the middle of the page that says Transfer Points. (See screenshot below). Click on it. 
    • Amex should take you to the transfer points page. Click on View All to see all participating loyalty programs. 
    • Select the loyalty program that you want to transfer. If it is your first time moving MR points to a specific loyalty program, Amex will first ask you to link your loyalty program.  
    • Follow the web interface to indicate how many points you want to transfer. Simply follow the prompts to finalize the transfer. 
    Remember Amex does charge a small federal exercise tax fee of 0.06 cents per 1,000 points when you transfer MR points to US frequent flyer programs such as Delta Air Lines, JetBlue and Hawaiian Airlines. The fee is capped at $99. Amex also offers you to pay that exercise tax fee using your MR points, but don't do it as that's not a good use of your MR points.

    How To Transfer Amex Memberhip Rewards Points To Partners?


    Should You Transfer Amex Membership Rewards Points To Airline & Hotel Partners?

    It is crucial to remember that you cannot transfer loyalty program points back to American Express once the transfer is complete. While transferring Amex Membership Rewards points to loyalty programs provides the best points value in return, transferring MR points to hotel points is often worse than transferring MR points to airline miles. Airline miles result in the best return value of your Amex points.

    The rule of thumb is to transfer only if you know you will use those miles. Use these as a guideline to help to make a decision:
    • Search and confirm the award availability of the flight that you want. 
    • Understand how that mileage program works, such as how to book, mileage expiration policy, and award cancellation/change policy if you have to cancel. 
    • If you cancel, will you be able to use those miles later on? 

    Generally speaking, the speculative transfer can negatively impact you because you are stuck with a particular airline's frequent flyer miles and cannot use those miles. Airlines can devalue their award chart, and so can hotels, and most programs have policies in place that those unused points can be expired.

    From time to time, American Express offers transfer bonuses that can be lucrative for me to perform the transfer speculatively; however, the rule of thumb still applies: I only transfer if I will use those miles. For example, Aeromexico Club Premier is one of the worst mileage programs. Their award booking site needs to be more extensive with search functionality and almost impossible to use. Their award booking call center is also a nightmare to deal with. So, in the end, I don't care when Amex offers any transfer bonus to Aeromexico Club Premier.

    For what is worth, I have many favorite Amex transfer airline partners such as Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France KLM Flying Blue, Avianca LifeMiles, British Airways Executive Club, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Delta Air Lines SkyMiles, Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles, Iberia Plus, JetBlue TrueBlue, Qantas Frequent Flyer, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

    Regarding hotel partners, I only transfer MR points to participating hotel partners when I need to top off my hotel's rewards account for a memorable award night stay somewhere in the world.

    Amex Membership Rewards Points Current & Past Transfer Bonus History

    Below is the chart for Amex MR points current and past transfer bonuses. These bonus histories are for reference purposes only, so you have an idea of when the next transfer bonus is. There's no guarantee the transfer bonus will return, but it's worth waiting it out if you have the flexibility.

    Amex Transfer Partners

    Transfer Bonus

    Offer End Date

    Aer Lingus Aer Club25%September 30, 2022
    40%May 15, 2022
    40%September 30, 2021
    40%October 1, 2019
    AeroMexico Club Premier20%September 30, 2022
    20%February 15, 2022
    25%September 30, 2021
    25%February 14, 2019
    25%November 30, 2018
    20%March 6, 2015
    Air Canada Aeroplan15%September 30, 2022
    20%September 30, 2021
    20% (targeted)May 2019
    20% (targeted)November 2018
    10-20% (targeted)December 2, 2017
    Air France KLM Flying Blue25%May 22, 2023
    25%December 7, 2022
    25%September 30, 2022
    25%June 15, 2022
    25%November 30, 2021
    25%September 30, 2021
    30% (offer by AF link)August 15, 2021
    25%April 29, 2019
    25%June 15, 2018
    Alitalia MilleMiglia40%December 13, 2016
    25%October 31, 2016
    Avianca LifeMiles15% (offer by LifeMiles)May 31, 2023
    15%December 7, 2022
    15%September 30, 2022
    15%May 31, 2022
    15%September 30, 2021
    15%April 1, 2019
    British Airways Executive Club25%September 30, 2022
    40%May 15, 2022
    40%September 30, 2021
    40%October 1, 2019
    40%November 15, 2018
    40%September 17, 2017
    50%October 10, 2016
    40% January 31, 2015
    Etihad Airways Guest20%July 30, 2022
    Cathay Pacific Asia Miles 20% (targeted)Expired
    10-30% (targeted)March 2019
    10-30% (targeted)September 2018
    Emirates Skywards25%November 22, 2018
    Etihad Guest20%June 15, 2016
    Choice Hotels Privileges25%September 30, 2022
    Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles20%January 31, 2023
    20%September 30, 2022
    20%March 22, 2022
    25%September 30, 2021
    25%June 30, 2021
    25%June 26, 2018
    25%June 21, 2017
    25%June 21, 2016
    25%December 21, 2015
    20%June 23, 2014
    HILTON Honors30%April 30, 2023
    30%September 30, 2022
    30%March 31, 2022
    30%October 31, 2021
    40%June 15, 2021
    40%October 31, 2020
    Iberia Plus40%September 30, 2021
    40%October 1, 2019
    40%November 15, 2018
    50%December 16, 2016
    25%December 31, 2015
    JetBlue TrueBlue40% June 2019
    25%October 1, 2018
    10-30% (targeted)March 25, 2018
    25%November 30, 2017
    25%May 31, 2017
    25%September 15, 2014
    MARRIOTT Bonvoy20%September 30, 2022
    25%May 31, 2022
    30%October 31, 2021
    40%June 15, 2021
    40%October 31, 2020
    Qantas Frequent Flyer20%September 30, 2022
    20%September 30, 2021
    20%June 30, 2019
    Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer20%Expired
    Virgin Atlantic Flying Club30%June 14, 2023
    30%December 29, 2022
    30%September 30, 2022
    30%March 31, 2022
    30%September 30, 2021
    30%July 1, 2019
    10-30% (targeted)November 2018
    30%September 12, 2018
    30%November 30, 2017
    30%May 22, 2017
    30%May 31, 2016
    25%April 30, 2015
    35%November 30, 2014
    30%May 31, 2014
    30%November 30, 2013