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Our site may earn compensation when a customer clicks on a link, when an application is approved, or when an account is opened with our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. While we don't cover all available credit cards, our editorial team creates and maintains all of the analysis of these cards, and our content is not influenced nor subject to review by any credit card company, bank or partner prior to (or after) publication. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.
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How long do American Express Membership Rewards take to transfer?
Rachel Craft is a travel writer at TPG. She's excited about introducing more people to the world of points & miles and helping fellow travel newbies make the most of their points.
also contributed to this story
October 7, 2024 • 10 min read
The cards we feature here are from partners who compensate us when you are approved through our site, and this may impact how or where these products appear. We don't cover all available credit cards, but our analysis, reviews, and opinions are entirely from our editorial team. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information.Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.
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Quick summary
Flexible loyalty points can be transferred to a wide range of airline and hotel partners, with most transfers processing instantly or within 48 hours.
The program offers 17 airline and three hotel partners, covering all major airline alliances for broad travel options.
Transfers are generally irreversible, so planning ahead and confirming award availability is crucial before moving points.
There are excise fees for transferring points to U.S. airlines, but transfers to foreign programs can help minimize these costs.
What to consider
Transfer times can vary by partner and are based on personal experience, so actual processing may differ.
Award availability may change while waiting for points to transfer, and transferred points cannot be reversed.
An excise fee applies when transferring to U.S. airlines, capped at a certain amount per transaction.
What you'll miss from the article
A detailed chart of transfer times for each partner and practical tips to avoid common pitfalls when moving points.
Generated by AI with support from our editorial team.
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
American Express Membership Rewards points are one of the most useful flexible loyalty currencies out there. Not to mention, they’re fairly easy to earn if you have cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card in your wallet.
While this isn't your only redemption option, you’ll generally get the most value from your points by transferring them to a travel partner. The program offers 17 airline and three hotel transfer partners, including at least one useful option in each of the major alliances — SkyTeam, Star Alliance and Oneworld. All but three of Amex's partners have a 1:1 transfer ratio.
Transfer times vary by partner, so the TPG team routinely performs tests for each one. Not leaving yourself enough time to transfer points from your Membership Rewards account to your desired program could leave you high and dry. Your experiences may vary, but here’s what we found.
American Express Membership Rewards transfer times
Program
Ratio
Transfer time
Aer Lingus AerClub
1:1
Instant
Aeromexico Rewards
1:1.6
Instant
Air Canada Aeroplan
1:1
Instant
Air France-KLM Flying Blue
1:1
Instant
ANA Mileage Club
1:1
48 hours
Avianca LifeMiles
1:1
Instant
British Airways Executive Club
1:1
Instant
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
1:1
Instant
Delta SkyMiles
1:1
Instant
Emirates Skywards
1:1
Instant
Etihad Guest
1:1
Instant
Iberia Plus
1:1
Instant
JetBlue TrueBlue
1.25:1
Instant
Qantas Frequent Flyer
1:1
Instant
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
1:1
Instant
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
1:1
Instant
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
1:1
Instant
Choice Privileges
1:1
Instant
Hilton Honors
1:2
Instant
Marriott Bonvoy
1:1
Instant
Note that the times listed above represent our personal experiences and shouldn’t be taken as hard-and-fast rules. However, other users have reported a similar timeline when transferring points from Membership Rewards. Your transfers may be faster or slower, but you can use these times as guidelines when planning your trips. Instant transfers are obviously always preferred, and Amex does a good job of making that happen compared with competitors like Citi ThankYou Rewards.
Things to consider before transferring Membership Rewards points
ERIC ROSEN/THE POINTS GUY
The greatest risk when transferring points is that award availability can change while you’re waiting for points to show up in your account. Transfers are irreversible, so in the worst-case scenario, you’ll be stuck with thousands of points in a program you have little use for beyond your originally intended award ticket or hotel stay. Here are a few tips to help you avoid that situation:
Make sure the name on your Amex credit card matches the name on your loyalty program account exactly.
Link all your transfer partner accounts to your Membership Rewards account now to prevent delays when you need to make a quick transfer.
Put your award reservation on hold before transferring (if possible). Very few programs allow you to do this, but those that do make things much easier.
Choose flights that have more than one available award seat in case someone else books before your miles show up. Use tools like ExpertFlyer (owned by TPG’s parent company, Red Ventures) to find out how many award seats are available on a flight. You can also do a single search for three or four passengers — that way, you can determine precisely how many seats are available.
If your original flights have disappeared, don’t panic. Remember that award availability changes frequently and can increase dramatically as you approach your departure date. Check regularly, and be ready to act quickly when seats do open up.
Can you transfer Membership Rewards points to someone else’s account?
FG TRADE/GETTY IMAGES
Unlike Chase Ultimate Rewards and Citi ThankYou Rewards, American Express doesn’t allow transferring Membership Rewards points to other accounts, even for family members living under the same roof. However, there is a workaround for this: Add them as authorized users.
Although you won’t be able to transfer points to another Amex account, you can transfer points to someone else’s travel loyalty account by adding them as an authorized user. American Express allows authorized users to be added to all of its Membership Rewards-earning cards. You can add practically anyone as an authorized user on your account — even if you don’t share the same address — but you will be responsible for their spending.
The American Express Platinum Card® charges $195 per year to add authorized users to an account (see rates and fees). In addition to being able to transfer points to their loyalty accounts, authorized users receive all of the card’s benefits, such as lounge access and hotel elite status. However, if the benefits don’t matter and all you want is the ability to transfer points, you can add Gold Card authorized users to your Platinum account for no fee (see rates and fees).
On the American Express® Gold Card, the first five authorized users are free to add, and additional ones cost $35 each (see rates and fees). The American Express® Green Card charges $40 per year for each authorized user.
The information for the Amex Green Card has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Is there a fee for transferring Membership Rewards points?
American Express charges an excise fee of 0.06 cents per point (capped at $99) when you transfer points to a U.S. airline. For example, if you transfer 30,000 Membership Rewards points to Delta Air Lines, you’ll need to pay an $18 fee. This is in addition to any taxes and fees you may be charged by the airline when redeeming your miles.
You have a few strong options for earning Membership Rewards points on a variety of common spending categories like groceries, dining and travel. These cards are also offering sizable welcome bonuses that could give your Membership Rewards account a major boost:
American Express Gold Card: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards Points after spending $8,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.
American Express Green Card: Earn 40,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $3,000 on eligible purchases on your new card in your first six months of card membership.
American Express Platinum Card: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $12,000 on eligible purchases on your new card in your first six months of card membership. Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.
American Express Membership Rewards points transfer instantly for the vast majority of partners. Even the laggards only take 48 hours at most to transfer, which is significantly better than some other programs. Just keep in mind that the transfer times listed above are based on what we saw and may vary from one person to another.
With the large variety of Membership Rewards transfer partners, it’s tough to pick out just a few of the best options. Some sweet spots include transferring 50,000 Membership Rewards points to Air France-KLM Flying Blue to fly to Europe in business class on off-peak dates. Transferring to Choice Privileges for award stays starting at 8,000 points will also get you terrific value. Check out our guide on redeeming Amex points for maximum value for all of the best-value transfers.
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum Card, click here. For rates and fees of the Amex Gold Card, click here.
Comments
By commenting, you agree to our Community Guidelines to help create a positive space for conversation. The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser, our partners, or The Points Guy (“TPG”). They have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any of these parties. All responses are submitted by individual contributors, and neither the bank advertiser, our partners, nor TPG are responsible for ensuring that all posts and/or questions are answered.
