Cashing in American Express Membership Rewards Points

15 Responses to “Cashing in American Express Membership Rewards Points”

1. 1
   The Saving Freak Says:
   November 29th, 2007 at 9:10 am

   After seeing so many bloggers switching we decided to do the same and ran into the same problem. Amex had the same result but WaMu was awful with their reward points. No more using that card ever again.

2. 2
   Michael B. Rubin Says:
   November 29th, 2007 at 9:12 am

   Although selecting rewards is fun, if you’re a number/value person, you wind up doing exactly what you appeared to have done: figuring out the true value per point of each reward under consideration (been there myself).

   So rather than choosing solely based on preference (a true reward), you base your selection on the value of the reward per point. A smart financial move to be sure, but don’t you wish each reward had roughly the same value per point? That way you could just pick the one you want. No math, no fuss.

3. 3
   HollyP Says:
   November 29th, 2007 at 11:23 am

   I love the Amex rewards store gift cards. I use my card all year long, then cash in my rewards points for gift cards that I give as holiday gifts.

   The store gift cards offer much more bang for my buck than the rewards gifts or Amex gift cards.

4. 4
   dong Says:
   November 29th, 2007 at 1:59 pm

   Nickel, i’m curious why you didn’t sign up for a new card? Therefore not have to worry about expiring points. That’s what I did a few months ago when i decided I wanted to go with the Amex Starwood program

5. 5
   SC Says:
   November 29th, 2007 at 2:17 pm

   I actually like using the points over cash back. Since I am on a strict budget this probably doesn’t make sense but I like feeling I am getting the free extras I had to cut out in order to save money. If I earned money rewards, honestly it would just go into savings or to pay off debt and wouldn’t be any fun.

   I usually choose Barnes & Noble Starbucks cards as I can sit back and know that I can get a couple free paperback books and a coffee or two and relax.

   I do have the Amex Costco card–and what I found a bit cheesy was I got a large promo booklet that talked about all the cool things I could buy with my rebate. It really is a shopaholic mentality.

6. 6
   Bill Says:
   December 1st, 2007 at 8:12 am

   Thanks for the AMEX tip a few months back. Got my 250 dollars worth of gift cards (home depot and restaurants) last week.

7. 7
   Patrick Says:
   December 20th, 2007 at 9:15 pm

   The selection of items in AmEx’s rewards program is very limited, and seems to be getting smaller by the day. I was going to order a $50 Dell Accessories GC (w/ very restrictive terms) but just today I found it has been removed.

   Their restaurant choices are for run-of-the-mill chains and their electronics choices are super-inflated. If I am redeeming these ‘free’ rewards, I would prefer some high-end restaurants or something useful like gas cards!! My girlfriend’s CITI rewards has these options.

   I ended up getting a Home Depot GC but I still have 30k points I need to use up sometime. I believe they screw around with their program during the holidays, inflating points and removing vendors.

8. 8
   Meg Says:
   January 7th, 2008 at 2:59 am

   Aw. I need to clean up my credit before I can apply for these awesome reward credit cards.

9. 9
   penelope harvey Says:
   January 27th, 2008 at 10:11 pm

   I would like to use my points to purchase an ipod. How do I do this? thanks, P harvey

10. 10
    joe Says:
    November 25th, 2008 at 6:33 pm

    i have about 350.000 points dont know what to do.
    there is nothing good to get

11. 11
    RICHARD MCBRADY Says:
    December 2nd, 2008 at 7:40 pm

    we want to use our points to give gift cards. how do you fi nd the list on the internet????????

12. 12
    david Says:
    June 8th, 2009 at 11:56 am

    I only have a little over 3700 points ( left ). I looked a couple of months ago ( about April 2009 ) to redeem them. I found a travel toothbrush ultraviolet sanitizer in my ‘price’ range and I’d have a few left over. I just checked again, the same item ‘costs’ almost 6000 points now!!!
    Moral of the story is redeem your points NOW before they raise the prices again and again and again.
    This inflation is outrageous!!!

    david

    P.S. Yes, I dumped out of this program.

13. 13
    david Says:
    June 8th, 2009 at 12:12 pm

    Wow, what a great deal. I spent only $4000 to trade those points for a Red Sox tee shirt or a Banacek-2nd Season DVD!!! My heart be still.
    Granted there are some really cool things available, IF you have thousands and thousands of points; for which you spent thouands of dollars AND a yearly fee.
    Moral of the story is redeem your points NOW before they raise the prices again and again and again.

    david

    P.S. Yes, I dumped out of this program.
    OK, that my 2-cents ( or .02 points ) worth…
    Good Luck All…

14. 14
    marlene cox Says:
    September 14th, 2009 at 2:06 pm

    What do I need to do to cash in my membership rewards points? please I need simple instructions to use my points. thank you,

15. 15
    Francis M. Gillon Says:
    May 25th, 2010 at 8:41 pm

    How do I get on the web site for reviewing rewards for points from my amex card