find the best credit card NerdWallet named Money Magazine's Best Credit Card Website of 2010
Looking for American Express Membership Rewards Points?

American Express Membership Rewards Points offer the most flexibility of all the rewards programs. You can “top off” most frequent flyer and hotel programs, supplementing your loyalty points with the airline or hotel with Membership Rewards. This can be an amazing benefit when you need points in a pinch to redeem a reward ticket for an otherwise overpriced flight. However, while most partners allow you to redeem at a one-to-one ratio, there are a number of exceptions including Delta and United. Still, though, Membership Rewards get high marks for transparency and ease of use.

Sort Method: Alphabetical Lowest APR Best Rewards

Search Term: AMERICAN EXPRESS MEMBERSHIP REWARDS POINTS

Results 1 - 4 of 4 Results per-page: 10 | 25 Page 1 of 1
American Express® Premier Rewards Gold Card
Ranks #1 out of 4 cards, sorted by estimated annual Net Rewards.
American+Express Premier+Rewards+Gold Credit Card

Net Annual Rewards
$252
of American Express Membership Rewards
Reward Rate
1.00%
Annual Fee
$0 the first year, then $175
Signing Promo
15,000 American Express Membership Rewards Bonus after spending $1,000 - in first 3 months.
(3.5/5 - 152 Votes)
Rewards Calculation: American Express Membership Rewards
Signing Promotion
($150=15,000 points)/2 yrs
$75
Estimated Annual Rewards
$21,600 * 1.22%
$264
Annual Fee, 2 yr avg
$88
Annual Rewards (Rewards less Fees)
$252
Card Details
APR, fixed
No Data

Intro APR Promotions
Purchase:
None
Transfer:
None
More Info & APR Calculator for American Express® Premier Rewards Gold Card
Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through the American Express Affiliate Program.
American Express Blue
Ranks #2 out of 4 cards, sorted by estimated annual Net Rewards.
American+Express Blue Credit Card

Net Annual Rewards
$216
of American Express Membership Rewards
Reward Rate
1.00%
Annual Fee
$0
Signing Promo
None
(3.5/5 - 17 Votes)
Rewards Calculation: American Express Membership Rewards
Signing Promotion
$0
Estimated Annual Rewards
$21,600 * 1.00%
$216
Annual Fee, 2 yr avg
$0
Annual Rewards (Rewards less Fees)
$216
Card Details
  • Earn 1 point per $1 spent on purchases
  • 3x at Bonus Mall
APR, variable*
Min APR:
15.24%
Max APR:
20.24%
Default:
27.24%
Cash Adv:
25.24%

Intro APR Promotions
Purchase:
0% for 12 mos
Transfer:
None
More Info & APR Calculator for American Express Blue
American Express Green
Ranks #3 out of 4 cards, sorted by estimated annual Net Rewards.
American+Express Green Credit Card

Net Annual Rewards
$169
of American Express Membership Rewards
Reward Rate
1.00%
Annual Fee
$0 the first year, then $95
Signing Promo
None
(3.5/5 - 18 Votes)
Rewards Calculation: American Express Membership Rewards
Signing Promotion
$0
Estimated Annual Rewards
$21,600 * 1.00%
$216
Annual Fee, 2 yr avg
$48
Annual Rewards (Rewards less Fees)
$169
Card Details
  • Earn 1 point per $1 spent on purchases
  • 3x at Bonus Mall and 2x with Amex Travel
APR, variable*
No Data

Intro APR Promotions
Purchase:
None
Transfer:
None
More Info & APR Calculator for American Express Green
American Express® Gold Card
Ranks #4 out of 4 cards, sorted by estimated annual Net Rewards.
American+Express Gold+Card Credit Card

Net Annual Rewards
$141
of American Express Membership Rewards
Reward Rate
1.00%
Annual Fee
$125
Signing Promo
10,000 American Express Membership Rewards Bonus after spending $1,000
(4.5/5 - 136 Votes)
Rewards Calculation: American Express Membership Rewards
Signing Promotion
($100=10,000 points)/2 yrs
$50
Estimated Annual Rewards
$21,600 * 1.00%
$216
Annual Fee, 2 yr avg
$125
Annual Rewards (Rewards less Fees)
$141
Card Details
APR, fixed
No Data

Intro APR Promotions
Purchase:
None
Transfer:
None
More Info & APR Calculator for American Express® Gold Card
Disclaimer: This content is not provided or commissioned by American Express. Opinions expressed here are author's alone, not those of American Express, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by American Express. This site may be compensated through the American Express Affiliate Program.

1

For more info about American Express Membership Rewards Points Credit Cards:

American Express Membership Reward Points provide a reassuring degree of transparency. Most point programs have ridiculously misleading fine print, and end up shortchanging your rewards or modifying your points program over time. Membership Rewards is the oldest and most trusted points program out there, and has won just about every accolade that exists, so you can trust that your points will not be devalued over time.

There are three tiers of Membership Rewards points. The lowest, Membership Rewards Express, is for credit cards, while the Green and Gold are plain Membership Rewards and the Platinum and Centurion get the Membership Rewards First designation. As you move up the ladder, you get more perks and even more flexibility.

The Membership Rewards tiers

Points advances (use ‘em before you earn ‘em): AmEx allows its cardholders to get an advance on their rewards points: 5,000 for Express members, 15,000 for AMR members and 60,000 for First members.

Hotel and airline “top ups.” Express points can be redeemed for hotel gift cards (like credits) from $25 to $100, at a rate of 1 cent per point. The higher tiers get to use their Membership Rewards points to supplement existing loyalty programs. For example, if you need 25,000 airline miles for a free ticket but only have 20,591, you can trade in 4,009 Membership Rewards points and your airline miles to get a free ticket. Most of the time, you can get an ideal 1:1 trade, though there are exceptions including Delta, United and Starwood.

Concierge service. If you’re a Membership Rewards First member, you get a pretty fantastic concierge service that provides a whole host of services. You can order flowers on Valentines Day if you forget (…which we definitely didn’t do…) or have them make reservations at the really nice Michelin-rated restaurant you’ve always wanted to go to.

How much is a Membership Rewards point worth?

We consider a MR point to be worth 1 cent, though depending on how you redeem you can get less or more. However, unlike with Citi ThankYou Points, you have numerous opportunities to get full value without having to jump through hoops. Transferring your points using the top up program could be worth substantially more than 1 cent, while redeeming for cash back only gets you a value of ½ cent per point. Their membership rewards are clearly displayed online – full marks for transparency.

Charge cards vs. credit cards

You probably noticed that the AmEx credit cards are all Membership Rewards Express-level cards. What are the higher-tier cards? They’re actually charge cards, which require you to pay your balance in full each month or face fees or interest rates. Charge cards also don’t have the same impact on your credit score as credit cards do. That doesn’t mean they can’t be pricey. Case in point: the AmEx Platinum is a charge card, and its annual fee is $450.

From our blog: