If you are an American Express cardholder of a card that earns Membership Rewards Points, you can Pay With Points for your travel. Amex has made things a bit complicated in that the number of points required depends on the type of travel you are booking and sometimes, the type of card you have. IMO, there are clearly times where it is ok to pay with Amex points and other times not so much. Also know, you should NEVER use your Amex points to pay for other purchases such as for merchandise, on Amazon, Ticketmaster, etc. The redemption you are getting if you use your points for items such as these is far less than 1:1. Use the pay with points feature as I outline below….
Where you should use Amex Pay With Points?
Flights-When booking flights and paying with points on Amex Travel, one Membership Rewards point equals $0.01 incremental ticket value on travel. For example, 20,000 points can be redeemed for a $200 airline ticket. However, if you have a American Express Business Platinum, you can get 35% Membership Rewards points back when you use the Pay with Points feature for all or part of a flight with the airline “you select” or when you purchase a business or first class ticket. The selected airline will be “the qualifying airline” with respect to this 35% back benefit and the $200 Airline Fee Credit. Note, this rebate bonus used to be 50% and was reduced on June 1, 2017.
Fine Hotels And Resorts (if you have an Amex Platinum or Biz Platinum)-When booking a Fine Hotel And Resort on Amex Travel, one Membership Rewards point equals $0.01 incremental ticket value on the purchase. For example, 50,000 points can be redeemed for a $500 hotel night.
Upgrade Your Flights With Points-members have the option to use Membership Rewards points, or a combination of points and dollars, to place offers on airline seat upgrades in first, business, or premium economy class on over 20 participating airlines. You can view all participating airlines here.
NYC Taxis-When you use your Membership Rewards points for your fare in New York City taxis, you redeem at 1 cent per point. Who knew!
Where you should NOT use Amex Pay With Points?
Anything not listed above so for example, other Hotels, cars, etc.-When booking other travel and paying with points on Amex Travel, the value of your Membership Rewards points decreases. For example, for hotels, one Membership Rewards point equals $0.007 incremental ticket value on travel. For example, 20,000 points can be redeemed for a $140 hotel stay. (Compare that with the above items where 20K points got you a $200 item).