Guide to American Express Transfer Partners

One of the most mysterious aspects of rewards travel with credit cards is figuring out how to increase rewards with transfer partners – namely hotel and flight accommodations. In most cases, transferring your rewards to travel partners offers greater redemption value than redeeming rewards for account credits, cash or gift cards. This is especially true for cardholders who have high-value redemptions, such as a premium cabin flight or a luxurious hotel stay in a remote corner of the world.

The American Express Membership Rewards program is one of the most popular rewards travel ecosystems. It offers a wide selection of transfer partners and its network includes many popular airlines and hotels. If you have an eligible Amex credit card and want to further increase your points value, consider redeeming your points through the Amex travel portal or for partner travel.

In this guide, we’ll cover all of Amex’s transfer partners, explain some of the pros and cons of transferring points, and how to maximize your rewards.

American Express Airline Partners

Amex’s airline partners typically offer transfers at a rate of 1,000 points:1,000 points (or 1:1). However, many Amex airline partners have alliances that allow you to expand your flight options and sometimes increase the value of your points.

Here is the table of Amex partner airlines with their transfer rates and estimated transfer times:

Airline Partner	Transmission ratio	Transfer time
Aer Lingus	1,000:1,000	Immediate
AeroMexico	1,000:1,600	Up to 24 hours
Airplane	1,000:1,000	Immediate
Air France/KLM Flying Blue	1,000:1,000	Immediate
ANA Mileage Club	1,000:1,000	Up to 48 hours
Avianca LifeMiles	1,000:1,000	Less than 1 hour
British Airways Executive Club	1,000:1,000	Immediate
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles	1,000:1,000	Up to 48 hours
Delta SkyMiles	1,000:1,000	Immediate
Emirates Skywards	1,000:1,000	Immediate
Etihad guest	1,000:1,000	Immediate
Flight tickets for Hawaiian Airlines	1,000:1,000	Immediate
Iberia Plus	1,000:1,000	Up to 48 hours
JetBlue TrueBlue	250:200	Immediate
Qantas Frequent Flyer	500:500	Immediate
Qatar Airways Privilege Club	1,000:1,000	Up to 48 hours
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer	1,000:1,000	Up to 24 hours
Virgin Atlantic Flight Club	1,000:1,000	Immediate

It may take some time to find the right points to find great deals, but if you’re flexible with your dates and goals, there are plenty of deals that can go well beyond the 1:1 redemption ratio. And if you’re strategic with your redemptions, the value of your Amex Membership Rewards points could be around 2.0 cents per point or more, according to Bankrate’s points and miles valuation guide.

You might think that transferring points to an airline like British Airways won’t do you much good, but you can use the British Airways Executive Club currency, called Avios, to book flights on any airline in the oneworld alliance, including American Airlines and Alaska Airlines. Unfortunately, there are significant fuel surcharges when using Avios on British Airways flights, making your points worth much less on those flights.

However, if you focus on British Airways’ partner flights, you can get significant added value thanks to the airline’s distance-based award chart.

There are a number of short-haul flights in the U.S. where you can get economy fares for as little as 6,000 points—while the same award flights on another airline for the same destinations and dates could cost 20,000 points or more. If you look for more upscale travel options, like international flights in first or business class, you can get even more for your points.

You’ll need to research these connections and understand exactly how the alliances work, but once you get the hang of it, you can get significant discounts on flights.

Should you transfer Amex points to an airline partner?

In most cases, transferring Amex points to an airline partner will be more valuable to you. Here are some pros and cons to consider when transferring points:

American Express Hotel Partners

Transferring your Amex rewards to hotel partners may not be as valuable as transferring rewards to airline partners, but it can still be a good use of your points under the right circumstances. Plus, you may find better deals and value for off-peak accommodations.

Here is a look at Amex’s hotel partners:

Hotel partner	Transmission ratio	Transfer time
Hilton Honors	1,000:2,000	Immediate
Electoral privileges	1,000:1,000	Immediate
Marriott Bonvoy	1,000:1,500	Immediate

Should you transfer Amex points to a hotel partner?

Situations where you can get more value for your Amex rewards by transferring to a hotel partner are not as common as with airline partners. Weigh the pros and cons of transferring Amex points to hotels before taking this step.

How to transfer Amex Membership Rewards points

First, keep in mind that only certain Amex credit cards offer Membership Rewards. This includes the brand’s travel credit cards, but not the cash-back credit cards.

Before you make a transfer, you must link your hotel or airline loyalty account to your Amex account. Note that the name on your loyalty account must match either your name or the name of an authorized user on your credit card account. Once your loyalty program account is linked, you can transfer your Amex points using the steps below.

1. Sign in to your American Express account and click Explore Rewards.

Go to the American Express online account management page and log in. From there, click on the rewards section of your account to proceed to the next step.

2. Select the option to transfer rewards.

Once you are in the rewards section of your account, go to the dropdown menu under “Earn and Redeem Points” and select “Transfer Points” to see a list of all available American Express transfer partners.

3. Choose an airline or hotel partner.

From here you can browse the available airline and hotel partners. Note that all partners have a set minimum and maximum number of points you can transfer. Typically you will need to transfer a minimum of 1,000 points.

4. Initiate transfer

Choose a transfer partner and start the transfer. This step can be easily completed completely online.

Although many partners say it can take up to 48 hours for a points transfer to complete, anecdotal evidence suggests that most transfers are instant. In any case, once the transfer is complete, you can log into your account and use your new loyalty points on airline tickets or hotel stays.

How to maximize the value when transferring points

If you want to get the most out of your Membership Rewards points, here are a few tips to help you do that:

• Be flexible with your travel destinations and dates to get the best deals.
• Look out for transfer bonuses through Amex offers that increase your points value by 20 to 50 percent.
• Before transferring points, make sure that award reservations are available for your desired travel date.
• Check if there are alternative booking options, such as alliances with distance-based award tables versus dynamic award fares.
• Check award pricing for business and first class fares for more luxurious travel options at lower prices.
• Be aware of additional costs such as fuel surcharges (British Airways) and federal excise taxes for transfers to US airlines (Delta SkyMiles, JetBlue TrueBlue or Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles).

The conclusion

Amex transfer partners can help you get more value for each point you earn, but you should make sure this is the case before transferring your points. You can do this by comparing the cash price of travel bookings you want to make and by checking how much flights and hotels cost (in cash or points) on the Amex travel portal.

Whatever you do, don’t transfer your points to a partner until you’re sure you can use them. Because Amex point transfers are a one-way deal, you can’t change your mind and transfer your points back to the card issuer.