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I'm about to earn 50,000 American Express reward points as part of their $1,000 in 3 months promotional and am still deciding what to do (I probably won't use them right away and will continue to accumulate). There's the plane ticket (10,000 points = $100 for plane tickets, but I really don't have any need for that at the moment), car rental gift certificates (I can buy an Enterprise gift certificate for the same points/price breakdown, which could be of more immediate use if my family travels to the south this summer to see some relatives), hotel points (which are far less generous), and some other options.
I'm curious to know what anyone else has used/uses their Amex reward points for? Would appreciate any and all answers!
Why do anything with them right now? Just hold onto them until you have a real use for them.
(I transfer mine to airline frequent flyer programs, but that's not the right choice for everybody.)
Thanks for answering! I do love to travel, but don't have any plans on the horizon. I'll likely hold and continue to build until I have a real need as you put it. I'm still interested in hearing what others are doing with them, though!
I'm sitting on a decent pile of Membership Rewards points, hoping to use them for future Business class international flights. In the past, I've used them for Dell gift cards a few times ($350 off take a nice chunk out of the price of a PC or laptop) as well as restaurant gift cards. Since I have a corporate Platinum card, I usually wait until there are redemption discounts for gift cards or transferring into frequent flyer programs.
The worst redemption value seems to be hotel programs last I checked.
I'm sitting on a decent pile of Membership Rewards points, hoping to use them for future Business class international flights. In the past, I've used them for Dell gift cards a few times ($350 off take a nice chunk out of the price of a PC or laptop) as well as restaurant gift cards. Since I have a corporate Platinum card, I usually wait until there are redemption discounts for gift cards or transferring into frequent flyer programs.
The worst redemption value seems to be hotel programs last I checked.
Good luck!
That's nice (I've always wanted to fly business/first class on an international flight!). The Dell/restaurant gift cards are also a good option.
Yes to the hotels being a poor redemption choice on the whole, although I saw on one site that one could redeem 50,000 points for quite a few nights (it was more than 20) at a Double Tree somewhere in China; it seems as if the hotel points have more bang for your buck on some international destinations/hotels.
In your Amex rewards program do they have a cash value of 0.006 per point? That's roughly the rate I can redeem mine for
If its not that, its something close. That would be an option if I find myself in need of hard cash. It may make more sense for me to use for some gift cards that I could resale for more on eBay, etc. to end up with a slightly higher total.
If airline miles interest you then I would wait until one of the airlines you use offers a deal on transfer. For example, not so long ago, British Airways were offering 1.4 of their miles (Avios) for every Amex point.
I don't find booking flights directly with Amex points to be the best bang for the buck.
I have also used Amex for Amazon purchases. That works too.
Amex also have other offers .... check out the rewards web page to see what is available.
I typically use mine toward Amazon purchases, or around Christmas I'll turn them in for a gift card.
How do you find out how many points you have?
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