Overview: The Canadian American Express Membership Rewards Program
Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.
Back in February, I wrote about the "Best Canadian Credit Cards for Miles and Points, which prompted a few readers to ask me what exactly the differences are between American Express' Membership Rewards program in the US and that in Canada, so I thought I'd take a look.
You can find out all about the US program by having a look at my presentation from last year's Chicago Seminars.
For now, let's have a look at the ins and outs of the Canadian program and do a quick comparison concerning the travel partners and transfer potential of Canadian Membership Rewards points.
There are some very big differences when it comes to redemptions, including the number of partners, and the transfer ratios.
Airline and Hotel Partners
Airlines:
Air Canada, 1,000 points: 1,000 miles
Alitalia: 1,000 points: 750 miles
British Airways: 1,000 points: 1,000 Avios
Asia Miles: 1,000 points: 750 miles
Delta: 1,000 points: 750 miles
The US program has additional partners of Aeromexico, ANA, El Al, Flying Blue (Air France/KLM), Frontier, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, Singapore Airlines, Virgin America and Virgin Atlantic, though not Asia Miles, and the transfer ratios are usually 1:1 rather than 1:0.75.
Hotels:
Priority Club: 1,000 points: 800 Priority Club Points
Hilton HHonors: 1,000 points: 1,000 HHonors
Starwood Preferred Guest: 1,000 points: 500 Starpoints
The US program has additional partners of Best Western Rewards, Choice Privilege and Jumeirah. The other two differences to point out are that the transfer ratio to Priority Club is 1:1, to HHonors is 1:1.5 and that the transfer ratio to Starwood is actually worse in the US at just 3:1 rather than 2:1, so Canada has the US beat there.
The key difference is that the US program runs frequent transfer bonuses, while the Canadian one does not. This is a huge downside to the Canadian program, including the dismal 1:.75 transfer ratios.
Amex Travel
Much like the US program, Canadians can also just use their points at a set value of one cent apiece to pay for travel. In the US it's called Pay With Points, while in Canada it's just done by booking through Amex Travel. Canadians can also pay with points via the TripFlex feature where they can book travel with their carrier, agent or entity of choice and pay with their Amex card then request a statement credit. The ratio is at 1 cent per point as well.
Other Redemptions
Canadian Membership Rewards members can also use their points to pay for vouchers at restaurants, theme parks, movie theaters, and various other stores selling electronics, home & garden, business and home office equipment, clothing and other outlets, though the ratio is often well below one cent per point, so in general these are not good options for pulling a lot of value out of your points—same as in the US!
Current Bonuses
Right off the bat, you'll notice that the sign-up bonuses tend to be smaller than here in the US, so our neighbors to the north are usually out of luck on that account, plus you don't get the same lucrative spending categories that you do in the US (3x airfare and 2x gas and grocery on the personal and 2x gas and shipping on the business card).
While Canadians generally get offered lower sign-up bonuses than in the US, right now you can get the Business Gold Rewards card with 25,000 points after $3,000 in spend within 3 months. The $180 annual fee is waived the first year. The personal Gold card has a 15,000 points after $500 in spend within 3 months with the $150 annual fee also waived for the first year.
Since the Canadian Membership Rewards program has less than stellar transfer ratios to airlines, it might make the most sense to get the Canadian Starwood American Express since those points transfer at a 25% bonus to over 30 airline partners including Aeroplan, American, Delta, and US Airways.
[card card-name='Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express ' card-id='22035076' type='javascript' bullet-id='1']
TPG featured card
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| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 4X | Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year. |
| 5X | New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App. |
| 3X | Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines. |
| 2X | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com. |
| 1X | Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases. |
Pros
- Valuable dining and food-related credits
- Flexible rewards with airline and hotel transfer partners
- Multiple travel and purchase protections
- No foreign transaction fees
- Access to Amex Offers for additional savings (enrollment required)
Cons
- Not as useful for those living outside the U.S.
- Some may have trouble using Uber and other dining credits
- You may be eligible for as high as 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent at US supermarkets, on up to $25,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X points for the rest of the year.
- New! Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel stays booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App.
- Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked through AmexTravel.com, the Amex Travel App, or purchased directly from airlines.
- Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on prepaid car rentals booked through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App and cruises booked and paid through AmexTravel.com.
- Earn 1X Membership Rewards® point per dollar spent on all other eligible purchases.
- Pay It® lets you tap in the American Express® App to quickly pay for small purchase amounts throughout the month and still earn rewards the way you usually do. Plan It® gives you the option to split up big purchases into equal monthly payments with a fixed fee. You’ll know upfront exactly how much you’ll pay.
- Updated! $120 Dining Credit: Earn up to a total of $10 in statement credits monthly when you pay with the Gold Card at Grubhub (including Seamless), Buffalo Wild Wings, Five Guys, The Cheesecake Factory, and Wonder. This can be an annual savings of up to $120. Enrollment required.
- $100 Resy Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year at over 10,000 qualifying U.S. Resy restaurants after you pay for eligible purchases with the American Express® Gold Card. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- $84 Dunkin' Credit: Earn up to $7 in monthly statement credits after you pay with the American Express® Gold Card at U.S. Dunkin’ locations. Enrollment required.
- $120 Uber Cash on Gold: Enjoy up to $120 in Uber Cash annually with your Gold Card. Just add your Card to your Uber account and you'll get $10 in Uber Cash each month to use on orders and rides in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction.
- New! As an American Express® Gold Card Member, you can enjoy complimentary Hertz Five Star® Status. Enjoy benefits like skipping the counter at select locations, adding an additional driver at no additional cost*, and vehicle upgrades**. Benefit enrollment and Hertz Gold+ registration are required. *Additional drivers must meet standard rental qualifications and must be a spouse or domestic partner to qualify as complimentary. Other additional drivers subject to fees. **Benefits are subject to availability and vary by location. Additional Hertz program Terms and Conditions including age restrictions apply.
- Take advantage of a $100 credit towards eligible charges* at over 1,300 upscale hotels worldwide when you book The Hotel Collection through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel App **. *Eligible charges vary by property. **The Hotel Collection requires a two-night minimum stay.
- Book your travel through the Amex Travel App with added peace of mind – backed by American Express® service and support. Only for American Express® Card Members.
- Whenever you need us, we're here. Our Member Services team will ensure you are taken care of. From lost Card replacement to statement questions, we are available to help 24/7.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- Annual Fee is $325.
- Terms Apply.