See our Advertiser Disclosure for more details. There's no doubt that the welcome offer of 100,000 Membership Rewards points from The Platinum Card® from American Express is a huge deal. 100,000 points are worth $2,200 per our valuations, and you can use them in a variety of different ways.
According to TPG's monthly valuations, Amex Membership Rewards points are worth 2 cents each, making this 100,000-point bonus worth $2,000. That is nearly three times the card's $695 annual fee (see rates and fees).
We generally value Membership Rewards points at about 2.2 cents per point, which means that a 100,000 Membership Rewards points bonus offer is worth ~$2,200, a 125,000-point bonus is worth ~$2,750, and a 150,000-point bonus is worth $3,300.
The Amex Platinum's 150,000- or 125,000-point welcome bonus through CardMatch is, quite simply, spectacular. Based on TPG's current valuation of 2 cents per Membership Rewards point, the 150,000-point welcome bonus alone is worth $3,000.
While 200K Amex points will typically only give you about $2,000 in value when you shop for flights in the Amex travel portal, you can sometimes find Business or First Class flights — that can normally cost over $10,000 — for only 200K points, when transferred to a frequent flyer program.
You can earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® Points when you spend $6,000 on purchases on the card in your first six months of card membership. If you redeem the rewards for a 1:1 value, this is worth $1,000.
Shop online or buy American Express gift cards, and 60,000 points are worth $300 (0.5 cents each point). When you book flights, upgrades, and Fine Hotels & Resorts accommodations through Amex Travel, you'll get $600 worth of value from your points.
Using the Invest with Rewards feature is simple: Log into your Amex account, click “invest with rewards”, then follow the prompts. In the end, the cash will be deposited into your Schwab brokerage account where you can then invest it or withdraw it.
A balance of 300,000 points can be used for three Upper Class return tickets with Virgin Atlantic from London to Hong Kong. Arrive relaxed and refreshed and match the energy of the city with some of your own. Alternatively, you could thank your most valued customers with an unexpected gift.
ANA Mileage Club charges just 75,000 miles for round-trip flights from the U.S. to Japan on off-peak travel dates. You can also add a free stopover to your tickets, letting you see two Japanese cities for the price of one. Even better, the airline has one of the best business class products in the sky.
Exchange 2 points for 3 Marriott Points, meaning 500,000 Membership Rewards points is worth 750,000 Marriott points to spend on travel. Redeem 70,000 points for one night at a category 8 hotel during off-peak dates, 85,000 points per night during normal dates and 100,000 points during peak times.
Is the American Express Gold Card worth the annual fee? If you make use of the card's annual credits and you spend a lot on dining and groceries, the card can be well worth the $250 fee. If you're not maximizing the credits and bonus categories, another card could be a better choice.
To redeem points for a flight, you need at least 5,000 American Express rewards points. The number of points needed can vary based on your card type and flight selections. You can only use the program once per transaction.
If you booked through Amex Travel, you'd have to pay at least 700,000 points just for a one-way flight. If you used transfer partners, you could pay as little as 50,000 points, a savings of nearly 93%.
Amex Membership Rewards points are some of the most valuable credit card rewards you can earn because they're flexible — you can redeem them for a wide variety of rewards, including travel, or cash them in for other redemption like gift cards or statement credits.
The AmEx points value when booking travel through the portal
This is simple: American Express Membership Points are worth exactly 1 cent apiece when booking travel through the issuer's portal. This math is made explicit when booking a flight or hotel while logged in. For example, a $210 flight will cost 21,000 points.
0.5 cents per point for American Express gift cards (so a $500 gift card is 100,000 points).
If used against your credit card statement, the sign-up bonus of 10,000 points with the American Express Gold card (12,000 if you use this link) could be worth as much as £54.
You can qualify for a welcome bonus of up to 75,000 points on the American Express Gold Card after spending $4,000 within the first three months of card membership. That's another 15,000 points more than the standard bonus and the highest offer we've ever seen for this card.
Membership Rewards® points have no expiration date. However, points may be forfeited as described in the program Terms and Conditions.
The Centurion® Card from American Express, sometimes referred to as the Black Card, may be the hardest credit card to get because you need a special invitation from Amex to apply and there's a high financial bar to getting the card. It's been reported the card requires a $7,500 "initiation fee" and a $2,500 annual fee.
You'll need to pay a one-time initiation fee of $10,000 on top of a $5,000 annual fee just for the privilege of having a Black Card. Plus, adding other cardholders costs an extra $2,500 each per year. In comparison, the Platinum Card's annual fee is $695 per year for many of the same services.
For these types of redemptions, most American Express cardholders get a redemption rate of 0.7 cents per point. That means 10,000 Amex points would cover $70 towards other types of travel booked through Amex Travel.