EXTENDED: American Express will pay you 0.675p CASH for your Membership Rewards points

American Express has extended its interesting offer for holders of the Preferred Rewards Gold credit card.

If you use your points for statement credit (ie reducing what you owe next month by redeeming points) you would usually receive a pitiful £4.50 per 1,000 points.

This new offer is worth £6.75 per 1,000 Membership Rewards points.  It isn’t amazing but it certainly isn’t dreadful.

In effect, Amex will buy your points off you for 0.675p each.

It isn’t as good as the recent 0.9p per point offer that was offered to holders of The Platinum Card.  However, at 0.675p, you might want to think about it.

What are Membership Rewards points worth?

Here is my core article on the best uses of American Express Membership Rewards points.

Here is a summary of my valuations:

0.75p – 1.5p per point (estimate, 1:1 ratio) – airline miles

1p per point (estimate, 1:3 ratio) – Radisson Rewards hotel transfers

0.75p per point (estimate, 2:3 ratio) – Marriott Bonvoy hotel transfers

0.66p per point (estimate, 1:2 ratio) – Hilton Honors hotel transfers

0.66p per point (estimate, 15:1 ratio) – Club Eurostar points transfers

0.5p per point (guaranteed, pseudo-cash) – retailer gift cards

0.5p per point (guaranteed, pseudo-cash with potential for upside) – Nectar points

0.45p per point (guaranteed, pseudo-cash) – taking Amazon credit

Read my article on the best Membership Rewards transfers to see how I justify these numbers.

As you can see, taking 0.675p in cash via this new offer sits in the middle of this range.  You could do better but, of course, your current financial position might mean that 0.675p in cash is more welcome.

Is Amex really offering 0.675p per point for statement credit?

Yes.  Go to your American Express account and select ‘Use Points for Purchases’ on your Preferred Rewards Gold home page.

You are taken to a page like this.  Select an individual transaction (click to enlarge):

As you can see, I am able to wipe out a £10.50 Gett taxi ride charge for 1,553 points.  This is 0.675p per point, so 50% higher than the standard rate.

This deal is NOT available on Platinum or Green cards.

Should I redeem my Membership Rewards points for 0.675p each?

That’s not for me to say, of course.

Based on my valuations above, I would definitely take 0.675p in cash instead of turning my American Express points into Club Eurostar, Nectar or Hilton Honors points.  It is marginal for Marriott Bonvoy.

This is NOT because these schemes are bad, but because the transfer rate is not generous enough.  I also need to reduce my Club Eurostar rate to reflect the devaluation which was announced yesterday.

The decision is a lot less clear for Avios and other airline miles.  Here are the American Express airline transfer partners, all of which are 1:1.  If used sensibly, you should get A LOT more than 0.675p per airline mile – hopefully 1p+ if you spend them wisely.

If your end goal was to use your Membership Rewards points for Avios, I would stick with that plan.  Don’t bail out for 0.675p of cash, unless your current financial situation means that it makes sense.

When does this offer end?

The offer was originally due to run until 1st October.  It will now end on 21st November.

You can only redeem credit against actual purchases, so your maximum redemption is limited to the value of purchases you make before the closing date.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – September 2023 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:

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.

SPECIAL OFFER: The sign-up bonus on the Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard is doubled to 30,000 Virgin Points if you apply by 2nd October. You receive 15,000 Virgin Points with your first purchase and a further 15,000 points if you spend £3,000 within 90 days. Apply here.

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:

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.