American Express Credit Card Reward Points: 7 smart ways to redeem them | Mint

Most banks give reward points to their credit cardholders for transactions in specified categories. It is one of the ways in which banks reward their cardholders for using the credit cards. Cardholders can use these reward points in various ways. Most cardholders use them to pay for purchase transactions, avail of statement credit, or purchase gift vouchers. 

However, you can also use credit card reward points for other purposes along with the options mentioned above. Did you know that American Express provides seven options to redeem credit card reward points? Let us discuss them.

Pay for online transactions with reward points

You can redeem your reward points by using them to pay for your online transactions. Once you enter your card details like card number, expiry date, CVV number, etc., in the next screen, you need to enter the OTP. On that screen, you can see a checkbox with the “Use Pay with Points” option.

Statement credit

The next option is to pay for transaction(s) in your upcoming statement through reward points. You need to log in to your dashboard. On the home page, under the “Membership Reward Points” section, you will see a “Cover Your Card Charges” link. Click the link.

On the next page, you will see the list of transactions already done. From the list, you can select the transaction(s) you want to pay with reward points. Based on the transaction amount, it will show the number of points needed to pay it. The minimum points redemption must be 1,000 points and the redemption value per point is Rs. 0.25.

If you don’t have sufficient points to cover the entire transaction, you can cover a part of it. For example, suppose you want to pay for a transaction of Rs. 1,000. You will need 4,000 reward points. However, you have 3,000 reward points only. In this case, you can pay Rs. 750 out of the total Rs. 1,000 with 3,000 reward points. The remaining Rs. 250 will be included in your monthly billing statement.

Purchase of gift vouchers

You can purchase gift vouchers of various online and offline brands using your reward points. Login to your dashboard. On the home page, under the “Membership Reward Points” section, you will see the “Explore Rewards” link. Click on the link.

On the next page, you will see the various redemption options. One of the options will be “Redeem for Insta Vouchers”. Under this section, click the “View All Insta Vouchers” button. It will show you the listing of gift vouchers of various brands. The brand categories include marketplaces (Amazon Pay, Flipkart), fashion (Myntra), food (Barbeque Nation), jewellery (Bluestone), sports (Decathlon), travel (Cleartrip), experiences (Discover Sailing), hotels (ITC Hotels), etc. and many other categories and brands within each category.

The redemption value per point will range from Rs. 0.22 to Rs. 1. For example, a Rs. 1,000 Flipkart Gift Voucher requires a redemption of 4,400 reward points. It translates into a value of Rs. 0.22 per point. The redemption of a Rs. 500 Dominos Gift Voucher requires 2,000 reward points, giving a value of Rs. 0.25 per point. The redemption of a Rs. 4,500 Discover Sailing – Goa Gift Voucher requires 4,500 reward points, giving a value of Rs. 1 per point.

Redeem under Gold Collection against gift vouchers of specified brands at a specified value

The Gold Collection is available only for Membership Rewards Credit Card (MRCC) and Gold Charge cardholders. Under this section, you can redeem your reward points against the gift vouchers of specified brands at a specified value. As discussed earlier, log in to your account and visit the Insta Vouchers section. From the “Categories” dropdown list, select “Gold Collection – 18K” or “Gold Collection – 24K”.

For example, under the Gold Collection 24K, you can redeem 24,000 reward points for the gift vouchers of the below brands as follows.

Under the Gold Collection 18K, you can redeem 18,000 reward points for the gift vouchers of the below brands as follows.

Booking flight tickets and hotel accommodation using the bank’s platform

From the American Express Travel section, you can make your travel bookings and pay with reward points. Log in to your dashboard. On the home page, under the “Membership Reward Points” section, you will see the “Explore Rewards” link. Click on the link.

On the next page, you will see the various redemption options. One of the options will be “Redeem for Travel”. Under this section, click on the “Explore Amex Travel” button. From the travel section, you can book flights, hotels, cars, etc., and pay with reward points. You need to redeem at least 1,000 reward points. If you don’t have sufficient reward points to pay for the entire transaction, you can partially pay with reward points and the remaining amount with your American Express credit card. The redemption rate is Rs. 0.30 per point for Platinum Travel Credit Card and Rs. 0.25 per point for other cards.

Transfer to airline and hotel loyalty partners

American Express has tie-ups with various airmiles and hotel loyalty partners. You can transfer your credit card reward points to these transfer partners. Login to your dashboard. On the home page, under the “Membership Reward Points” section, you will see the “Explore Rewards” link. Click on the link.

On the next page, you will see the various redemption options. One of the options will be “Transfer Points”. Under this section, click on the “View All” button. It will show you the various transfer partners and the transfer ratio. American Express has nine transfer partners, including seven airlines and two hotel partners.

The above table shows the various American Express transfer partners and the transfer ratio.

Donate to charity

If you don’t wish to use your reward points for any options discussed in the above sections, you can donate them to charity. American Express gives you the option to purchase the gift vouchers of “Points for Good”. The Points for Good website allows you to use their gift vouchers for donating it to a charitable organisation of your choice.

Login to your American Express dashboard. On the home page, under the “Membership Reward Points” section, you will see the “Explore Rewards” link. Click on the link. Under the “Redeem for Insta Vouchers” section, click the “View All Insta Vouchers” button. You will be shown the list of all brand gift vouchers. From the filter dropdown list, select “charity”, or in the “Search by brand” text box, type “Points for Good”. It will show you the various denominations of Points for Good Gift Vouchers. The redemption value will be Rs. 0.25 per reward point.

After purchasing the gift voucher, visit the Points for Good website (www.pointsforgood.org). Click on the Donate/Redeem button on the home page. If you are donating for the first time, you must create an account. If you are already registered, log in. Click on the “Redeem Voucher” tab. In the “Select Voucher” tab, select the “American Express” option. 

Enter the voucher code and pin of the Points for Good Gift Voucher that you bought from the American Express website by redeeming credit card reward points. Select the charity partner you wish to donate, the cause, and the project you wish to donate to. Click on proceed, and you are done. Voila! You have earned yourself some good Karma!

American Express reward points are versatile with multipurpose usage

We have discussed seven different ways of using American Express reward points. The most basic uses include using reward points for paying for online transactions or taking statement credit. These options give a redemption value of Rs. 0.25 per point, which is not the best value. The next option is redeeming against gift vouchers which can provide a value per point ranging between Rs. 0.22 to Rs. 1. 

The section offers you an option to redeem points for certain travel and adventurous experiences. The gold collection can enhance the redemption value of each reward point to up to Rs. 0.58. However, the gold collection access is only for MRCC and Gold Charge cardholders.

The travel section allows you to book flights, hotels, cabs, etc., with reward points at redemption value of Rs. 0.25 per point. If you have enough points, you can book a free vacation. The other option to make travel bookings is by transferring reward points to various airline and hotel loyalty partners. The redemption value per point is dynamic and usually ranges from Rs. 0.50 to Rs. 1. In some cases, users can extract an even higher value. 

Finally, if none of the above redemption options appeals to you, using the Points for Good Gift Voucher, you can always donate your points to a charity of your choice for a good cause. Thus, American Express reward points are one of the most versatile, presenting the user with various redemption options to choose from.

Gopal Gidwani is a freelance personal finance content writer with 15+ years of experience. He can be reached at LinkedIn.