Convert AMEX Membership Rewards points to statement credit with 50% more value

American Express has launched a new promotion that offers targeted cardholders 50% more value when redeeming Membership Rewards (MR) points for statement credit by 7 November 2023.

This works out to a rate of 1,000 MR points = S$7.20, instead of the usual S$4.80. 

You might remember  American Express ran a similar promotion back in April 2020, only that time the offer was 1,000 MR points = S$9.60. While I regret not redeeming more at that rate, I can’t say I’m a taker for this current promotion.

Redeem AMEX MR points with 50% more value

MR Points	Statement Credit
1,000	S$4.80 S$7.20

From 25 October to 7 November 2023, American Express cardholders can redeem Membership Rewards points for statement credit at an upsized rate of 1,000 MR points = S$7.20, instead of the usual S$4.80.

While cardholders must redeem a minimum of 1,000 MR points, there is no cap on the maximum number of MR points that can be converted under this campaign.

To convert MR points, login to the AMEX app or desktop portal and go to your card statement. Click on any transaction you wish to offset with points. A slider bar will appear, and if you’ve been targeted for this offer, it will reflect a rate of 1,000 MR points = S$7.20. 

If you don’t have any transactions in your account to offset, you can call up AMEX customer service and they’ll manually process statement credit for you at the upsized rate. 

Do note that you won’t be able to cash this credit balance out via cheque or bank transfer; you’ll only be able to spend it with your AMEX card.

Is it worth it?

As a reminder, MR points can be transferred to 12 different airline and hotel partners at the following ratios.

💳 Membership Rewards Transfer Partners (MR Points: Partner)
Partner	Plat Charge & Centurion	All others
	400:250	450:250
	400:250	450:250
	400:250	450:250
	400:250	450:250
	400:250	450:250
	400:250	450:250
	400:250	450:250
	400:250	450:250
	400:250	450:250
	400:250	450:250
	1,000:1,000
	1,000:1,250

If you choose to convert MR points to statement credits instead, it’s as if you’re implicitly accepting a value of:

• AMEX Platinum & Centurion: 1.15 cents per mile
• All other AMEX cards: 1.30 cents per mile

That’s probably not compelling enough for most people to bite, given how valuable MR points are.

Put it another way: you normally earn 2 MR points per S$1.60 spent on the AMEX Platinum Charge. If you cash out at the promotional rate, that’s an effective rebate of 0.9%. You might as well have used a 1.5-1.7% cashback card to spend in the first place!

Conclusion

From now till 7 November 2023, American Express cardholders can redeem Membership Rewards points for statement credit at a rate of 1,000 MR points = S$7.20, 50% more than the usual value.

If you have more MR points than you know how to spend, then I suppose you might not mind taking a value of 1.15 cents per mile. However, it’s certainly not the best use of them, and if you’re redeeming MR points for statement credit, you probably should have been using a cashback card in the first place.