American Express Membership Rewards Points

How much are Amex points worth?

Select Amex Membership Rewards Points in Finder's points calculator to quickly estimate how much the points are worth.

Finder uses an average value of 0.5 cents per 1 Membership Rewards Point. This is based on the value of redeeming a Coles gift card from the Membership Rewards website.

The same value also applies when you redeem points for shopping with David Jones, PayPal, helloworld or Webjet, with 20,000 points worth $100. Dividing 100/20,000 gives you a value of 0.5 cents per point, or $5 value for every 1,000 points.

But the value of your Membership Reward Points also depends on how you redeem Amex points and can also vary based on your card.

What can I get with 100,000 Membership Rewards points?

• Flights with Virgin Australia. If you transferred 100,000 Membership Rewards for 50,000 Velocity Points, you could fly from Sydney to Denpasar (Bali) in business class (49,500 Velocity Points one-way, plus fees and taxes).
• Flights with Singapore Airlines. Converting 100,000 Membership Rewards Points to 33,333 KrisFlyer Miles would give you enough for an upgrade from economy flexi to premium economy on a one-way flight from Melbourne to Singapore, with KrisFlyer Miles to spare (22,500 KrisFlyer Miles).
• Amex partner travel bookings. You can book $500 worth of travel through Webjet or helloworld with 100,000 Membership Rewards points.

How to earn Amex Membership Rewards Points

Earn points on your card spending

When you have an Amex Membership Rewards card, you'll automatically earn points per $1 spent on eligible transactions. This includes most everyday spending, such as supermarket or retail shopping, dining out, takeaway and petrol.

Amex cards also typically offer points for spending with government bodies, such as the Australian Taxation Office (ATO). This is rare among reward programs.

You won't earn points on cash advances, refunded purchases, credit card fees and charges or spending on gambling.

Earn more points with an introductory bonus point offer

If you don't have an American Express card and haven't had one in your name for the past 18 months, you could boost your points balance by getting an Amex card with a bonus points offer.

Amex referral bonus points

If you already have an American Express card, the Amex referral program gives you another way to earn bonus points when you refer a close friend or family member to American Express.

All you have to do is log in to your account, go to the Refer a Friend section and check what offers are available. Then share your referral link with a friend or family member. If they use the link to apply and are approved, you'll get rewarded.

What rewards can you get with Amex points?

The American Express Australia website has around 50 rewards options. So to give you an idea of how you can use points, we've broken them down into 3 key types of rewards.

Point transfers to frequent flyer or hotel loyalty programs

You can transfer Amex Membership Rewards points to partnered programs including Virgin Australia's Velocity, Asia Miles, Etihad Guest, Emirates Skywards and Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer.

Travel rewards

You can use Membership Rewards Points to pay for travel with American Express Travel, Helloworld or Webjet. If you don't have enough points to make your preferred booking, you can make up the difference with your Amex card. Some key details to keep in mind:

• Helloworld Travel. You can redeem 20,000 Membership Rewards for $100 worth of travel, including cruises, flights, accommodation and travel packages.
• Webjet. Every 20,000 Membership Rewards equals $100 value with Webjet.
• American Express Travel. The number of Amex points you need to pay for part or all of a booking will be shown when you're logged in and search for flights, hotels, car rentals, experiences and travel packages. You'll need a minimum of 1,000 Membership Rewards Points for this reward.

Shopping and gift cards

• Account credit. Redeem your Membership Rewards for credit to your American Express card account starting at $50 (10,000 points) up to $8,000 (1,600,000 points).
• Select + Pay. This service is available through the American Express app and allows you to instantly redeem points for part of a purchase you've made using your Amex card. Cash value starts from $5 per 1,000 points for the Select + Pay option, but could be slightly higher at $100 per 13,500 points in some cases.
• David Jones Shop with Points. You can redeem points directly when you shop with David Jones online. Simply select “Points” as a payment option at the online checkout and then choose how many points you’d like to redeem. With this option, you'll need to redeem a minimum of 3,000 Membership Rewards, with every 1,000 points equal to $5 value.
• PayPal with Points. If you have added your Amex card to a PayPal account, you can redeem your points for PayPal purchases at the checkout. Just select the "Membership Rewards" option once you've chosen to pay with PayPal at an eligible retailer, and every 1,000 points will give you $5 value.
• Using points for gift cards. Spend your Membership Rewards points on gift cards with partnered brands including Amazon, iTunes, Super Cheap Auto, Myer, David Jones and more. To give you an example, you can redeem 5,000 points for a $25 gift card, 10,000 points for a $50 gift card and 20,000 points for a $100 gift card at the time of writing.

How to redeem Amex Membership Rewards points

You can redeem your points in a few steps:

1. Go to the Membership Rewards section of the American Express website at: https://www.americanexpress.com/en-au/rewards/membership-rewards
2. Browse rewards and choose the one you want
3. Follow the prompts to redeem it

What's the best way to get value out of Amex Points?

Our expert says: What's the best way to get value out of Amex Points?

"In general, transferring your Membership Rewards points to a frequent flyer program and then redeeming the points for flights or upgrades offers the highest dollar value. Amex Points are great because you can convert them to either Qantas or Velocity Points (which covers you for international and domestic flights). But if you're not interested in flights, you can still use the points on gift cards or credit to your account. It's all about what you actually value most, at the end of the day."

Richard Whitten

Money Editor

Frequently asked questions

• Where can I transfer my Membership Rewards Points to?

  You'll see full details of the frequent flyer and partner loyalty programs you can transfer points to by logging in to your account. But as a general guide, you can typically transfer points to these programs:

  • Air New Zealand Airpoints
  • Asia Miles
  • Emirates Skywards
  • Etihad Guest
  • Hawaiian Airlines
  • Malaysia Airlines
  • Qatar Airways
  • Royal Orchid Plus
  • Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
  • Velocity
  • Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
  • Hilton Honors
  • Marriott Bonvoy

  The American Express Platinum Card and American Express Platinum Business Card also offer point transfers to Qantas Frequent Flyer.

• How does Membership Rewards compare with direct earn frequent flyer cards?

  Amex already offers some of the highest point earn rates for its Velocity and Qantas credit cards, so Amex point transfers to these programs typically wouldn't offer the most value in this situation.

  But if you're earning frequent flyer points with another airline program, Amex typically offers a transfer rate of 2:1. For example, you could transfer a minimum of 2,000 Membership Rewards Points and get 1,000 KrisFlyer Miles or Emirates Skywards Miles. This is equivalent to an earn rate of 0.5 points per $1 and is competitive with other credit cards – especially for Emirates Skywards as very few Australian credit cards offer point transfers to Skywards Miles.

• How many Amex points do I need for a free flight?

  This depends on the flight and how you redeem your points, so here are some examples:

  • 100,000 Membership Rewards Points would be enough for a flight worth $500 if you booked with helloworld or Webjet.
  • 175,500 Membership Rewards Points would get you a one-way economy flight from Melbourne to London with Singapore Airlines if you transferred the points to KrisFlyer (58,500 KrisFlyer Miles for an Economy Saver Award Ticket).
  • 142,000 Membership Rewards Points would be enough for a return business class flight from Sydney to Auckland if you transferred them to Velocity Frequent Flyer (71,000 Velocity Points plus fees and taxes for a Business Reward Seat).

Compare American Express Membership Rewards cards

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Name	Bonus points	Points per $ spent	Purchase rate p.a.	Annual fee
American Express Essential Rewards Credit Card Membership Rewards	Bonus points 60,000	Points per $ spent 1	Purchase rate p.a. 23.99%	Annual fee $108	Go to siteMore info Compare	Limited time offer: Offers 60,000 Bonus Membership Rewards Points when you spend at least $3,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months.
American Express Platinum Business Card Membership Rewards Ascent Premium	Bonus points 250,000	Points per $ spent 2.25	Purchase rate p.a. 0%	Annual fee $875 first year ($1,750 after)	Go to siteMore info Compare	Limited time offer: Get 250,000 Membership Rewards Bonus Points when you spend $12,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months. Plus, a half off annual fee in the first year. ABN holders w/ $75,000 revenue.
American Express Platinum Card Membership Rewards	Bonus points 150,000	Points per $ spent 2.25	Purchase rate p.a. 0%	Annual fee $1,450	Go to siteMore info Compare	Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards Bonus Points when you apply through the link and spend $5,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months.
American Express Business Gold Plus Card Membership Rewards Ascent	Bonus points 100,000	Points per $ spent 1.5	Purchase rate p.a. 0%	Annual fee $395	Go to siteMore info Compare	ABN holders w/ $75,000 revenue. New American Express card members can get 100,000 Membership Rewards Bonus Points when you spend $5,000 within the first 3 months. Plus, earn up to 3 points per $1 spent at Xero, Google Ads, Meta, Amazon Web Services and Dell. T&Cs apply.
American Express Explorer Credit Card Membership Rewards	Bonus points 75,000	Points per $ spent 2	Purchase rate p.a. 23.99%	Annual fee $395	Go to siteMore info Compare	Get 75,000 Membership Rewards Bonus Points and spend $4,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months.

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To make sure you get accurate and helpful information, this guide has been edited by Richard Whitten as part of our fact-checking process.

Written by

Amy Bradney-George

Journalist

Amy is an experienced journalist with over 16 years of experience, contributing to major publications like Money Magazine, The Sydney Morning Herald, and ABC News Australia. Specialising in personal finance, she frequently appeared in media outlets and on radio. Amy holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Drama from Griffith University and earned RG146 certifications in Tier 1 Generic Knowledge and Tier 2 General Advice Deposit Products, ensuring her expertise is grounded in current financial regulations. Amy was Finder's Senior Writer for Credit Cards from 2016 to 2024. See full bio

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