- WikiMiles Analyzer
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Frequent Flyers Programs
- Aer Lingus AerClub
- AeroMexico Club Premier
- Aeroplan
- Air New Zealand AirPoints
- Alaska Mileage Plan
- American AAdvantage
- ANA Mileage Club
- Asiana Club
- Avianca Lifemiles
- British Airways Executive Club
- Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
- Copa ConnectMiles
- Delta Skymiles
- El Al Matmid Club
- Emirates Skywards
- Etihad Guest
- Eva Air Infinity Mileagelands
- Finnair Plus
- Flying Blue
- HawaiianMiles
-
Airlines
- Aer Lingus
- Aeroflot
- Aerolineas Argentinas
- AeroMexico
- Air Astana
- Air Canada
- Air China
- Air Europa
- Air France
- Air India
- Air Malta
- Air New Zealand
- Air Tahiti Nui
- Airlink
- Alaska Airlines
- All Nippon Airways
- American Airlines
- Asiana Airlines
- Austrian Airlines
- Avianca
- Bangkok Airways
- British Airways
- Brussels Airlines
- Cathay Pacific
- China Airlines
- China Eastern
- China Southern
- Copa Airlines
- Croatia Airlines
- Czech Airlines
- Delta
- EgyptAir
- EL AL
- Emirates
- Ethiopian Airlines
- Etihad Airways
- Eva Air
- Fiji Airways
- Finnair
- Garuda Indonesia
- GOL
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Iberia
- IcelandAir
- Japan Airlines
American Express Membership Rewards
The American Express Membership Rewards program is one of the four major credit card reward programs in the US. We refer to these four rewards programs as super-programs, as they all combine over a dozen major rewards programs into one. AmEx Membership Rewards is the original super-program. It was launched in 1991 and was initially called Membership Miles. Today, there are many ways to use the membership rewards program, but transferring points to airlines miles to redeem for travel remains the most lucrative use of these rewards. All other uses bring between half a penny to 0.7 of a penny of value (with exception of gift cards which may bring up to a penny). Airline miles can bring you at least 1.1 to 1.8 cents of value and if done right you could get as many as 5 to 10 cents of value per mile!
American Express Membership Rewards works with 18 frequent flyer programs and 3 hotel frequent guest programs.
Airline partner programs are:
AmEx Transfer Partner | Min Transfer | Transfer Ratio | Transfer Time |
1,000 | 1:1.6 | 2-10 days | |
1,000 | 1:1 | Usually instant | |
1,000 | 1:1 | Usually instant | |
1,000 | 1:1 | Usually instant | |
1,000 | 1:1 | 2-3 days | |
1,000 | 1:1 | Usually instant | |
1,000 | 1:1 | Usually instant | |
1,000 | 1:1 | 2-5 days | |
1,000 | 1:1 | Usually instant | |
1,000 | 1:1 | Usually instant | |
1,000 | 1:1 | Usually instant | |
1,000 | 1:1 | Usually instant | |
1,000 | 1:1 | Usually instant | |
1,000 | 1:1 | 1-2 days | |
250 | 1:0.8 | Usually instant | |
500 | 1:1 | Usually instant | |
1,000 | 1:1 | 1-2 days | |
1,000 | 1:1 | 1-2 days |
*Not available through any super-program
American Express tends to offer limited time bonus offers for some of these about twice a year. We have consistently observed the following offers over the past several years:
40 percent bonus for transferring to British Airways,
30 percent bonus to Virgin Atlantic,
25 percent bonus to Air France/KLM Flying Blue and to JetBlue,
15 percent bonus to Avianca.
Hotel Transfer Partners
AmEx Membership Rewards can also be transferred to 3 hotel loyalty programs. With the exception of Hilton it is a 1:1 transfer, Hilton Honors 1:2
Amex Hotel Transfer Partner | Min Transfer | Transfer Ratio (Amex > Partner) | Transfer Time |
1,000 | 1:1 | Usually Instant | |
1,000 | 1:2 | Usually Instant | |
1,000 | 1:1 | Usually Instant |
We have observed 40 percent limited time transfer bonuses for Marriott and Hilton twice annually.
Additionally, you can redeem your points through amextravel.com and their “buy travel” with points program and points are valued at penny per point when redeemed through that program. When redeeming points through Business Platinum card, American Express offers 35 percent rebate of your points up to 500,000 points per year as long as you redeem them for a pre-selected preferred airline or for any airline in business or first class.
If I had to choose the best card from American Express, I would go for The Platinum from American Express. See our article Every Road Warrior should have at least one of these in their wallet: A Review of Citi Prestige, Chase Sapphire Reserve, and Amex Platinum
for more information and analysis about the Amex Platinum card and how it stacks up against others.
Choose where you are going from and to by selecting the respective zones. There are two ways to choose your origin and destination - you can either select the zones they fall into on the map or by clicking on the bars above the map and entering the city name or airport code into the search fields.
- Choose one of the three point combination options which is applicable to you. If you don't have any miles in any airline accounts you can leave those fields blank.
- Input all of the different points you have on the credit cards you are planning to use. You can enter as many as you like. If you have multiple cards on one name from the same bank you can combine and enter the total amount of points between all of your cards.
- Enter all the miles you have in airlines frequent flyer programs on the left hand side following the airlines name.
- Once you input the information, click on the analyze button at the bottom of the page.
- The analyzer will offer you the optimal transfer combinations to explore as well as pros and cons of each.
- Review analyzer recommendations. Total number of miles is not the only consideration you should take into account. Analyzer will give you additional information about each program to make the right decision. You can also download results to a pdf and even send them to others if you like.
- Proceed to check availability with respective airlines. Do not transfer any miles until you confirm the desired option is available on the airline’s website. Note the transfer time and hold the reservation if possible before transferring any miles.
- Remember all transfers are final as you would not be able to send the points back to your credit card. If your trip is cancelled your miles will go back to the respective airline account.
- Transferring points to airline's frequent flyer programs is not the only way to obtain the award ticket. You can also redeem the points through your credit card directly by using the Book Travel option. You can find out more by checking out our Credit card reward tab on Wikimiles home page.
- WikiMiles Crew is always here to answer any questions. For an additional fee we can also assist you with the bookings. Use the Contact us section to reach out to us.
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