TFC answers. How to transfer American Express membership rewards points to airline and hotel loyalty programs.
Today we answer a doubt that we thought we had long since resolved with so many of our other articles published in the [...]
Today we answer a doubt that we thought we had solved long ago with so many Our other published articles on the topic of Memebership Rewards.
In this article:
The question in question pops up, almost always, when we post on our website or in various facebook groups news of award tickets booked through the use of points accumulated from daily spending and American Express card bonuses.
The best bonuses
What are Membership Rewards points, how to accumulate them and especially how not to waste them we have explained in detail. We have also devoted several articles in our TFCanswers column to explaining in detail with which companies they can be used and with which hotel chains. Instead, in this post I will focus on how to transfer points from MR to individual programs.
9 things you need to know before transferring points
- MR points never expire, or rather they don't expire until you delete all of them Amex credit cards that you have in your portfolio
- If you have multiple MR profiles. it is (almost never) possible to combine them into one account.
- If you have multiple cards that generate MR you can link them to the same MR account
- You must have an active account In the program where you want to transfer the points, even created from scratch
- The transfer is not immediate, it can take a few hours up to a couple of days, in case you can Take advantage of programs that allow you to option prize tickets.
- The transfer is final, you cannot change your mind: once you have converted the points from MR to the program of your choice, there is no option to undo the operation
- Similarly, you cannot transfer from a program points earned by flying to MR points
- Each program has a different conversion rate and this rate could change without notice
- Points from various loyalty programs have an expiration date, so don't transfer if you have no idea to use in the short to medium term
Some examples of how I have recently used MR points.
In recent times I have been using points to Save about 1,000 euros for a stay at the Ritz-Carlton in Cancun, Mexico. One of the most famous resorts in this Costa Maya resort and I broke the piggy bank to give away a Nearly 10k stay at brand new Hilton resort in Maldives Without spending even 1$.
Speaking of flying: the first class suite with Singapore Airlines, a Ticket in the best airline in the world aboard the best business cabin class.
What makes me happiest, however, is how TFC readers, after following our advice, have booked amazing stays, including honeymoons.
Linking accounts
The first thing to do is to link the Membership Rewards profile to the loyalty program where you want to transfer the points. The operation is simple: just go to the dedicated page of the Amex site, log in with your credentials and merge the two profiles. If you do not yet have the account in the program where you want to transfer the points just create it, they are all free. The operation is virtually instantaneous.
N.B. If you have multiple MR accounts, some programs, e.g. Emirates Skywards, do not allow multiple MR profiles to be linked to one account, this means you have to be careful which profile we are using and which profile to link.
If you do not remember whether the two profiles have already been linked, just see if there is a flag above the program logo, if so, the transfer can be made directly. This applies to both airlines and hotel chains.
How to transfer points
On the dedicated page you will simply enter the number of points you want to transfer, keeping in mind the different conversion rate and the minimum point denomination that each program requires. Points will be immediately deducted from the profile once the transaction is completed.
Transferring points costs nothing, but credit card credentials are required for security reasons.
The website says it takes 2 to 20 days to see the points credited, In this case it took a little more than 12 hours. I made the transfer at 9 p.m. and by 10 a.m. the next morning I had already received the credit on my profile in the Executive Club.
The system also generates a series of confirmation emails of the transactions that have taken place, just as if it were an online purchase. The timing of point credit varies even if it is the first transfer Or whether it is instead an operation that has already been done over time.
In conclusion
Membership Rewards points are an incredible currency, especially because. accumulate for free with everyday spending. Paying the electricity bill or groceries at the supermarket. Thanks to the many offers, the annual card fee is easily reset to zero and the accumulation of points THAT NEVER EXPIRE. allows you, depending on your spending levels, to treat yourself to one vacation a year or one every five years. Some prefer the Maldives and some prefer Disneyland. Each owner has his or her own goal and routine.