Complete List of American Express Membership Rewards Points Airline and Hotel Transfer Partners & Bonus [2023]

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 Partner	Min. MR Points: Airline Miles
Aer Lingus AerClub	1000:1000	Instant	None
AeroMexico Club Premier	1000:1000	~4 days	None
Air Canada Aeroplan	1000:1000	Instant	None
Air France KLM Flying Blue	1000:1000	Instant	None
Alitalia MileMiglia	1000:1000	Instant	None
ANA Mileage Club	1000:1000	~3 days	None
Avianca LifeMiles	1000:1000	Instant	None
British Airways Executive Club	1000:1000	Instant	None
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles	1000:1000	Instant	None
Delta Air Lines SkyMiles	1000:1000	Instant	0.06 cents per 1,000 points. $99 max.
Emirates Skywards	1000:1000	Instant	None
Etihad Airways Guest	1000:1000	Instant	None
Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles	1000:1000	Instant	0.06 cents per 1,000 points. $99 max.
Iberia Plus	1000:1000	Instant	None
JetBlue TrueBlue	250:200	Instant	0.15 cents per 250 points. $99 max.
Qantas Frequent Flyer	1000:1000	Instant	None
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer	1000:1000	~2 days	None
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club	1000:1000	Instant	None
Hotel Transfer Partner	Min. MR Points: Hotel Points
CHOICE Privileges	1000:1000	Instant	None
HILTON Honors	1000:2000	Instant	None
MARRIOTT Bonvoy	1000:1000	~2 days	None

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:

• American Express Platinum Card
• American Express Gold Card
• American Express Green Card
• American Express EveryDay Credit Card
• American Express EveryDay Preferred Credit Card
• American Express Business Plus Credit Card
• American Express Business Platinum Card
• American Express Business Gold Card

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.

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 Club	25%	September 30, 2022
	40%	May 15, 2022
	40%	September 30, 2021
	40%	October 1, 2019
AeroMexico Club Premier	20%	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 Aeroplan	15%	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 Blue	25%	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 MilleMiglia	40%	December 13, 2016
	25%	October 31, 2016
Avianca LifeMiles	15% (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 Club	25%	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 Guest	20%	July 30, 2022
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles	20% (targeted)	Expired
	10-30% (targeted)	March 2019
	10-30% (targeted)	September 2018
Emirates Skywards	25%	November 22, 2018
Etihad Guest	20%	June 15, 2016
Choice Hotels Privileges	25%	September 30, 2022
Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles	20%	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 Honors	30%	April 30, 2023
	30%	September 30, 2022
	30%	March 31, 2022
	30%	October 31, 2021
	40%	June 15, 2021
	40%	October 31, 2020
Iberia Plus	40%	September 30, 2021
	40%	October 1, 2019
	40%	November 15, 2018
	50%	December 16, 2016
	25%	December 31, 2015
JetBlue TrueBlue	40%	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 Bonvoy	20%	September 30, 2022
	25%	May 31, 2022
	30%	October 31, 2021
	40%	June 15, 2021
	40%	October 31, 2020
Qantas Frequent Flyer	20%	September 30, 2022
	20%	September 30, 2021
	20%	June 30, 2019
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer	20%	Expired
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club	30%	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

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