Many of the credit card offers that appear on this site are from credit card companies from which we receive financial compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). However, the credit card information that we publish has been written and evaluated by experts who know these products inside out. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse. This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers that are on the market. See our advertising policy here where we list advertisers that we work with, and how we make money. You can also review our credit card rating methodology.
We may be compensated when you click on product links, such as credit cards, from one or more of our advertising partners. Terms apply to the offers below. See our Advertising Policy for more about our partners, how we make money, and our rating methodology. Opinions and recommendations are ours alone.
American Express Membership Rewards points are 1 of the 4 major transferable points programs. Amex has a multitude of both Membership Rewards and non-Membership Rewards-earning cards that are currently available on the market.
Similar to Chase Ultimate Rewards, Marriott Bonvoy, and Citi ThankYou Rewards, I recommend checking out Amex’s Membership Rewards cards to help get you to your next destination using miles and points. Today we’ll discuss the 10 best ways to use Amex points if you’ve collected 60,000 and are ready to travel!
The best way to take advantage of the redemptions below is to focus on Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards, as well as cards that have high welcome bonus offers. By applying for personal or business cards that align with your spending habits, you can easily collect Membership Rewards points in a hurry.
Recommended American Express Cards (Personal)
Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus offer of up to 125k (or 150k) points with the Amex Platinum. The current public offer is 80,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)
Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus offer of up to 90,000 points with the Amex Gold card. The current public offer is 60,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)
Business owner? See our list of the best Amex business credit cards.
If you’re ready to travel the world in style, you’ve come to the right place. From Asia to South America to Hawaii, Membership Rewards points will have you covered!
Amex allows you to redeem points with airline and hotel partners. Many of the airline partners (like Singapore Airlines) also partner with other transferable points programs. If you’re short on Amex points for a particular redemption, consider an airline partner that has multiple transferable point options.
Another great sweet-spot has to do with the announcement by United Airlines that they will fly the 787-10 between Newark and Los Angeles/San Francisco (LAX/SFO).
This means that you’ll be able to fly transcontinental on United’s awesome Polaris business class! Their planned schedule is as follows:
Trying United Polaris across the U.S. will set you back only 25,000 miles each way!
Hot Tip: Interested in finding out what this product has to offer? Check out our review of United Polaris 787-10 from Los Angeles to Houston!
Etihad Guest has a number of interesting redemptions, including one-way business class from the U.S. to Brussels. Similar to Virgin Atlantic, this program has different award charts for each of its partner airlines.
The Brussels award chart lists the destinations for Brussels Airlines, which are primarily in Europe. North America has 3 nonstop flights on Brussels Airlines (New York, Toronto, and Washington, D.C.). Etihad prices Brussels flights by destination, with the 3 North America stops requiring the same amount of points.
While the chart is limited in terms of North American destinations, at just 44,000 miles one-way, this redemption pairs extremely well with a cheap intra-Europe flight on a low-cost carrier to get to your final destination.
A couple notes on the Brussels Airlines Terms and Conditions:
We recommend using United, Aeroplan, or ANA for your award search. Once you locate the flight(s) you want to book, a phone call to Etihad is required. Brussels Airlines flights can be redeemed with Etihad miles by contacting the Etihad Guest Service Center at +1 877-690-0767; they’re open 24 hours a day.
Brussels Airlines serves North America with the following nonstop flights:
Singapore Airlines’ loyalty program KrisFlyer is typically known for its premium cabin redemptions (and rightfully so!). What you may not know is that KrisFlyer also has a few other high-value redemptions, including business class from the U.S. to Europe in Virgin Atlantic’s Upper Class Cabin.
Virgin Atlantic is not a member of an alliance, so Singapore Airlines has a separate chart solely for the airline. Singapore Airlines also has separate award charts for Alaska Airlines, Virgin Australia, and Star Alliance partners.
The Virgin Atlantic award chart is zoned-based with 7 zones:
The major highlight for premium cabin travelers is the low number of miles required for Upper Class. If economy is more in line with your goals, KrisFlyer prices round-trip Virgin Atlantic economy flights at just 50,000 miles.
There are 2 potential downsides to consider here:
Search for Virgin Atlantic availability on virginatlantic.com first, and then call Singapore Airlines at 213-404-0301 to book the award ticket.
Examples of Virgin Atlantic nonstop flights from London to the U.S. include:
Need help booking? Read our in-depth guide on how to book Virgin Atlantic Upper Class.
Hot Tip:
As one of our readers mentioned on a recent award search, Singapore Airlines agents may not be able to see Virgin Atlantic availability located on ExpertFlyer, Virgin Atlantic, or Delta. Keep this in mind when using miles for this redemption.
As mentioned earlier, Etihad has an award chart for each of their 24 airline partners. American Airlines is one of those partners with particularly solid redemptions for U.S.-based travelers.
The American Airlines award chart is broken down into 8 different regions. North America includes the U.S., Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, and Bermuda, while Asia Zone 1 includes Japan, Korea, and Mongolia.
American Airlines’ chart is zone-based, meaning award flights traveling from any country in your departing zone to any country in your arriving zone will be the same. As an example: all flights from North America to Hong Kong cost 50,000 Etihad miles one-way in business class and 25,000 miles one-way in economy.
In addition to the low amount of miles required, there are a couple other highlights of an American Airlines award: one-way award travel is permitted, and a stopover is allowed as well.
As with other Etihad redemptions, taxes and surcharges are required. We recommend using the ITA Flight Matrix to determine the approximate cost of the taxes, fees, and carrier-imposed surcharges prior to booking.
British Airways and Qantas will provide the best search engine for this redemption. Similar to Brussels Airlines, a phone call to Etihad is required to book American Airlines award flights. You can contact the Etihad Guest Service Center 24 hours a day at +1 (0) 877-690-0767.
Examples of American Airlines nonstop flights to Hong Kong and China include:
Hot Tip: Need help booking? Check out our step-by-step guide on booking American Airlines business class.
Another high-value Etihad redemption to consider is Royal Air Maroc from the U.S. to Morocco. Mirroring Etihad’s other airline partners, Royal Air Maroc uses its own award chart.
The Royal Air Maroc award chart is driven by distance and class of your cabin. We suggest using Great Circle Mapper to determine the distance of your award. For U.S. to Morocco flights, use the 2001 and above portion of the award chart.
Royal Air Maroc requires a low amount of miles for both economy and business class redemptions. A couple of additional positives about this partnership include the ability to book one-way flights as well as a stopover.
When utilizing this redemption, keep in mind 3 items:
To find award availability and book a Royal Air Maroc flight, you will need to contact the Etihad Guest Service Center at +1 (0) 877-690-0767.
Royal Air Maroc has 2 nonstop flights between Morocco the U.S.:
It’s time for yet another Etihad redemption: American Airlines flights to Asia. Similar to American Airlines flights to Hong Kong and China, the airline also has nonstop flights to both Japan and Korea at competitive rates.
As a reminder, the American Airlines chart is zone-based, meaning any flight from the U.S. to either country will require the same number of miles. The highlight of this chart is that you are looking at a ~13-hour flight for only 50,000 Membership Rewards points transferred directly to Etihad!
You can head to both British Airways and Qantas to find award availability for American Airlines flights to Asia. Once you locate American Airlines award availability, call the Etihad Guest Service Center at +1 (0) 877-690-0767 to redeem miles for your award flight. Taxes, fees, and surcharges will need to be paid at the time of booking.
Examples of American Airlines flights to Japan and Korea include:
Hot Tip: We’ve also dug into the best ways you can fly to Japan using points and miles!
When I first heard about this redemption, I was extremely skeptical — less than 30,000 Membership Rewards points for a nearly 10-hour flight?!
The Czech Airlines award chart prices are based on the city you’re flying to. Most of the cities in the chart are in Europe, making it extremely easy to miss the last city on the list: Seoul.
This redemption’s obvious highlight is the price compared to other long-haul flights in business class. If economy is more your style, you’re only looking at 12,805 miles one-way to fly from Prague to Seoul!! Another positive within the Czech Airlines award chart is that one-way flights are allowed.
Even with a low mileage requirement, the chart does have a downside to consider. The taxes, fees, and surcharges are required at the time of booking, and can be substantial. Based on a recent search, business class surcharges are ~$394, while economy surcharges are $270.
Czech Airlines is a SkyTeam member, and availability can be searched on klm.com or airfrance.com. When you are ready to book your flight, call the Etihad Guest Service Center at +1 (0) 877-690-0767 to redeem your miles.
Czech Airlines flies nonstop to Seoul on the following route:
Have you ever wanted to fly ANA business class? Well, you can do so for ridiculously cheap prices using LifeMiles! You’ll fly for almost 10 hours nonstop, and it’ll only cost you 40,000 miles!
ANA flies their 787 Dreamliner, which only has business class, but it’s sure to be comfortable with lie-flat seats and delicious Japanese catering.
You can take ANA’s only flight to Australia on this route:
Hot Tip: Need help booking? Check out our step-by-step guide to booking ANA business class.
Singapore Airlines has a solid redemption for United flights to Hawaii with their KrisFlyer program. The North America region includes the U.S. and Canada, but it excludes Hawaii (it’s part of the Hawaii, Central America region). All United flights from the North America region to Hawaii require the same number of points in either business class or economy.
The KrisFlyer Star Alliance award chart is zone-based with 12 zones, and prices are driven by the destination, origin, and class of service you’re flying.
One highlight of the Star Alliance chart is the ability to book one-way flights. When flying United to Hawaii, the main benefit is the fact the taxes, fees, and surcharges should be low, since United doesn’t levy fuel surcharges like other airlines.
Award availability for these flights can be found on united.com. Once you locate United award availability, search for that same flight on singaporeairlines.com and book the flight online. If the flight doesn’t show on Singapore Airlines, call Singapore Airlines‘ Houston, Los Angeles, New York, or San Francisco offices to book the award.
Examples of nonstop United flights include:
Hot Tip: Need help booking? Read our step-by-step guide on how to book United business class flights.
Another American Airlines redemption to consider with Etihad is an award flight to South America. The American Airlines award chart breaks South America into 2 zones, with 20,000 additional Etihad miles required between Zone 1 and Zone 2.
South America Zone 2 includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile (excluding Easter Island), Paraguay, and Uruguay. South America Zone 1 is combined with Central America and includes countries within the northern half of the continent.
The highlights of this redemption are threefold:
For one-way flights from the U.S., the taxes and fees will be ~$30 (based on a recent search from multiple U.S. departure cities and South American arrival cities).
Use the search engines at AA.com, britishairways.com, and qantas.com to find award availability, and then call the Etihad Guest Service Center to book your flight.
Examples of American Airlines flights to South America include:
Need help booking? Check out our step-by-step guide on booking AA business class.
| Amex Airline Transfer Partner | Min Transfer | Transfer Ratio (Amex > Partner) | Transfer Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aer Lingus | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| AeroMexico | 1,000 | 1:1.6 | 2-12 days |
| Air Canada | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| ANA | 1,000 | 1:1 | 3 days |
| Avianca LifeMiles | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost instant |
| British Airways | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Cathay Pacific | 1,000 | 1:1 | Up to 1 Week |
| Delta Air Lines | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Emirates | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Etihad Airways | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Flying Blue Air France/KLM | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Hawaiian | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Iberia | 1,000 | 1:1 | 1-3 days |
| JetBlue | 250 | 1:0.8 | Almost Instant |
| Qantas | 500 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Singapore Airlines | 1,000 | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
| Virgin Atlantic | 1,000 | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
| Amex Hotel Transfer Partner | Min Transfer | Transfer Ratio (Amex > Partner) | Transfer Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Choice Privileges | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
| Hilton Honors | 1,000 | 1:2 | Almost Instant |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 1,000 | 1:1 | Almost Instant |
American Express Membership Rewards is a program to consider if you’re looking for great award opportunities, as the value of some of these redemptions is impressive.
Earning transferable Membership Rewards points from both welcome offers and everyday spending will enable you to reach many of these destinations in style.
We’re also huge fans of collecting Membership Rewards points, because the transfer to most airlines is instant and at a 1:1 ratio. Happy redeeming!
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.
Was this page helpful?
Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Michael took his first international trip in 2013 with friends to the Bahamas. Although he didn’t travel much in his younger years, on that trip, he caught the travel bug and has been hooked ever since.
Michael first caught wind of the points and miles game in 2014 while at a bar in Washington, DC where the conversation amongst friends was quickly derailed because of an alert on a friend’s phone about a mistake fare. That’s where the love affair with points and miles began.
Travel is changing fast... Stay on top of all the points strategies, exclusive offers & pivotal news - and lock in huge savings along the way.
We respect your privacy. Please view our privacy policy here.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Disclaimer: Any comments listed below are not from the bank advertiser, nor have they been reviewed or approved by them. No responsibility will be taken by the bank advertiser for these comments.
17 comments
Peter
April 06, 2018
Thank you for writing up all the useful Etihad Guest redemptions using the MR points. You gave me several travel ideas for the coming year.
Alex Miller
April 06, 2018
So glad we could give you some fun redemption ideas – thank you for letting us know!
djibouti
April 16, 2018
KrisFlyer almost never sees Virgin Atlantic availability, so I would certainly not call it a useful transfer of member rewards if that is your goal. Their availability does *not* match delta.com or virginatlantic.com.
Michael McHugh
April 16, 2018
You are correct dijbouti in that Virgin Atlantic availability shown on Singapore Airlines site is limited relative to the Virgin Atlantic and Delta search engines. We recommend searching for Virgin Atlantic availability on Virgin Atlantic or Delta, and then calling Singapore Airlines to book your award ticket.
djibouti
April 17, 2018
I wish that worked, but it doesn’t. Multiple days, some with multiple seats on both EF, VS and DL sites. I called and spoke to about a dozen different agents, tried escalations, and everything. They simply cannot see them.
One agent one time found a seat way out in the future (December) and added it to my booking to prove to me that it’s not an IT glitch. They apparently just have incredibly restricted access.
djibouti
April 19, 2018
No, you can’t book it. I’ve tried with a dozen agents for multiple travel dates, they never see Virgin Atlantic availability.
Michael McHugh
April 25, 2018
This is news to us then. The Virgin Atlantic award chart clearly states flights can be booked with Singapore Airlines miles. If you are having difficulty locating availability, consider using Expert Flyer to search for award flights.
djibouti
April 25, 2018
Sorry Michael, but to clarify: I was looking at multiple dates, some with multiple seats on multiple flights, found with ExpertFlyer and confirmed available on delta.com (in fact, I eventually booked one with Delta). About 10 Singapore agents weren’t able to find the availability even when given the flight numbers and reminded that it was “G” inventory. Don’t know what to tell you… I agree that it *should* be available, and one agent proved to me that it wasn’t an IT glitch by finding a seat way out in December and adding it to my itinerary, but she couldn’t see any of the dozens of dates before then. *shrug*
Michael McHugh
April 26, 2018
We really appreciate you letting us know this info. I was unaware that Singapore agents do not see Virgin Atlantic award space even when the award space is shown on ExpertFlyer and Delta. I’ll update the article to reflect this. Thank you again!
Gareth
April 30, 2019
Hello Michael,
Firstly, thank you for all the helpful advice, it’s interesting and I certainly appreciate it. I have a bunch of Amex miles and want to go back to Hong Kong, I’m intrigued by your advice on the Etihad / American Airlines, but having called Etihad and speaking to American Airlines, I am lost as to HOW I’m able to obtain a ticket for 50k miles round trip? I’d relish the thought of you providing a step by step procedure if at all possible… I live in Atlanta, but I can fly from anywhere to Hong Kong if I have to….. Thanks indeed, and cheers for all your GREAT advice!
Stephen Au
May 04, 2019
Hey Gareth,
It can be difficult to book tickets with points. We have a step-by-step procedure for doing so in this article. The steps you follow will change depending on what points you use.
/best-ways-to-fly-to-hong-kong-with-points
Good luck!
David k.
December 22, 2019
I’ve been looking for this info for a while, so thanks. Any thoughts on point program swaps for Montreal or New York to Australia? I used to use Aeroplan for business when it was 90k then 110k and recently I think it was as high as 130/150. I’ve been trying to figure out the next long haul point swaps for Amex.
Jarrod West
December 28, 2019
Hi David,
Right now, as far as Amex transfer partners go, the best/cheapest options are still Aeroplan and Avianca. Alaska Miles can be a real sweet spot here if you happen to have a stash of those!
H
February 18, 2020
Hi!
Thanks for this useful information.
I am currently looking to travel from London to Bogota.
I have 55k British airways miles, 90k Virgin Atlantic miles and 100k American Express MR.
The dates I am looking at are departing London on 26th March and returning on 12th April.
Any idea how I could get the best value? I have tried looking at AA via BA website, Delta by calling Virgin. Seems like I would need a minimum of 55k to 65k miles plus taxes of c£370.
I could get a return cash ticket for c£500 for this route and dates currently.
Any help / advise appreciated
Jarrod West
March 10, 2020
Hi H,
If you are able to get a round-trip ticket for 500 then that might be your best option, and you can save those points for another flight that charges fewer fees.
If you’re looking for tailored advice on how to best maximize your points and miles, I recommend AuPacs booking service – which is run by one of our authors, Stephen.
Peter M Probasco
June 12, 2020
Do any automobile rental firms accept American Gold card points for a car rental?
Jarrod West
June 13, 2020
Hi Peter,
Not directly. But you can use your Amex Membership Rewards points for auto rentals through the Amex travel portal.
Thanks for reading!
Any thoughts or questions? Comment below!
Email needed if you'd like comment updates. It will NOT be published.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.