Amex bans Membership Rewards family transfers from March …. so they must be OK now
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The question of whether you can transfer your American Express Membership Rewards points to a friend took another twist this week. January card statements contain the following text:
Effective 20 March 2014, we will be removing the ability to gift or transfer Membership Rewards points to a Membership Rewards account held by someone else. No other changes are being made to the Membership Rewards programme. You do not need to take any action, as this change will take place automatically.
Here is the story so far:
For many years, you could transfer your Membership Rewards points to another person by paying a £15 fee. There was even a page on the Amex website promoting this.
In June 2013, Amex suddenly stopped allowing people to do this. The relevant page on the Amex website disappeared.
In October 2013, I revealed a little ‘twist’. In the terms and conditions of your Amex card, it says specifically that you CAN transfer your Membership Rewards points to someone else if you are closing your account. As it is in the terms and conditions of the card, they are not allowed to remove this feature without giving formal notification.
Some Head for Points readers tried to get Amex to do a transfer. Amex tried to wriggle out of it, claiming that the terms and conditions on the Amex website were ‘out of date’ (despite being dated 2013). One person had to make a formal written complain to Amex before they allowed a transfer.
Amex has now given the required notice period, and will be removing this option as of March 20th.
It is not clear if they will – for this final few weeks – allow anyone to transfer points to another person, or if they will restrict it to people who are closing their accounts.
In any event, for the next few weeks, you can definitely cancel your Amex Gold or Amex Platinum card and transfer the Membership Rewards points to someone else. There will be a £15 fee.
Hopefully the Amex call centre will now be more amenable, and will no longer give callers the third degree for trying to do this!
If you currently hold a Gold or Platinum card, you may want to have a think about your strategy in light of this development.
Want to earn more points from credit cards? – March 2024 update
If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
15,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend Read our full review
Earning miles and points from small business cards
If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers:
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive a huge 120,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Platinum by 9th April 2024. You receive 80,000 points for spending £12,000 within 90 days and a further 40,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Gold by 9th April 2024. Remember that the card is FREE for the first year. You receive 40,000 points for spending £6,000 within 90 days and a further 20,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
American Express Business Platinum
Crazy 120,000 points bonus (to 9th April) and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
Huge 60,000 points sign-up bonus (until 9th April) and free for a year Read our full review
Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers Read our full review
For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.
Barclaycard Select Cashback credit card
2% cashback on all your business spend for 3 months (1% thereafter) and no annual fee Read our full review
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