What can your business do with Membership Rewards points?

This article is sponsored by American Express

Whilst there are a wide range of personal credit and charge cards which offer rewards on your spending, your options are smaller if you are looking for a Small Business payment card with a rewards scheme. There is very little out there, but the good news is that American Express has two rewards-earning Charge Cards:

In the last of our three articles looking at different ways that American Express can help your small business, I wanted to look at how you can earn American Express Membership Rewards® points from American Express® Business Gold® and American Express® Business Platinum® Cards, to benefit either yourself, your staff or your business.

What are Membership Rewards points?

Membership Rewards points are a global currency used by American Express to reward users of its Charge Cards and selected Credit Cards.

It is important to note that the scheme has different partners and different conversion rates in different countries. You may read, for example, that Lufthansa is a Membership Rewards partner, but this is only true if you live in Switzerland! More commonly, you may read that the conversion rate from A to B is 1:2, when for the UK card it is actually 1:1. This article refers to the UK scheme.

How do I earn Membership Rewards points?

Small business owners can earn Membership Rewards points from Business Platinum and Business Gold Cards.

The earnings rate is the same all both of the Cards – 1 point for virtually every £1 you spend on the Card.

You can also earn bonus Membership Rewards when you sign up for a Card

Most American Express Cards which earn Membership Rewards points also come with a generous sign-up bonus when you are approved for the Card and spend a certain amount.

Focusing just on the two Small Business Cards, the Cards which offer a sign-up bonus are:

American Express Business Platinum Card

You will receive 40,000 American Express Membership Rewards points when you spend £6,000 within your first three months of Cardmembership. This is a very generous incentive as long as you are confident of meeting the spending target. It offsets the majority of the £595 annual fee for the first year.

It is worth noting that the sign-up bonus on Business Platinum (40,000 points) is bigger than the bonus on the personal The Platinum Card® (30,000 points)

You CANNOT get the sign-up bonus on Business Platinum if you already have, or have had in the previous six months, a personal Gold or Platinum Card or any other Card which earns Membership Rewards points.

For clarity, you will definitely receive the sign-up bonus – assuming the restrictions above don’t apply – if you already have a British Airways, Marriott or Platinum Cashback American Express Card.

American Express Business Gold Card

You receive 20,000 American Express Membership Rewards points when you spend £3,000 within your first three months of Cardmembership.

This is a very generous incentive given that the card has no annual fee for the first year. The annual fee after the first year is £125.

You CANNOT get the sign-up bonus on Business Gold if you already have, or have had in the previous six months, a personal Gold or The Platinum Card or any other Card which earns Membership Rewards points.

For clarity, you will definitely receive the sign-up bonus – assuming the restrictions above don’t apply – if you already have a British Airways, Marriott or Platinum Cashback American Express Card.

How can I spend Membership Rewards points on travel rewards?

Some of the best Membership Rewards redemptions are for travel rewards. As a Head for Points reader, you will know how to make the most of your miles and points and so maximise the value of your Membership Rewards points.

If you are a small business owner, you can use your points to make substantial savings on your travel costs. You can really maximise the value of your frequent flyer miles if you use them to book a last-minute flight, or to book a hotel room on points at a time when a city is premium priced due to a conference or other major event.

When I attend major travel events such as ITB in Berlin or Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, which tend to sell out the entire city, I make substantial savings by redeeming for my flights and hotel.

Here are the key links to the American Express website:

• the UK Membership Rewards home page is here
• the UK airline rewards home page is here and
• the UK hotel rewards page is here

Here is a summary of the UK airline rewards and which airline grouping each airline is in.

1 Membership Rewards point gets you:

• 1 Avios (into BA or Iberia)
• 1 Asia Mile (oneworld)
• 1 Delta mile (SkyTeam)
• 1 Etihad mile (no alliance)
• 1 Emirates mile (no alliance)
• 1 Finnair mile (oneworld)
• 1 Flying Blue mile (SkyTeam)
• 1 Qantas mile (oneworld)
• 1 SAS mile (Star Alliance)
• 1 Singapore Airlines mile (Star Alliance)
• 1 Virgin Atlantic mile (no alliance)

And here are the hotel rewards with 1 Membership Rewards point getting you:

• 3 Radisson Rewards points
• 2 Hilton Honors points
• 1.5 Mariott Bonvoy points

You can transfer into Club Eurostar at the ratio of 15 Membership Rewards points to 1 Eurostar mile. I wrote an overview on Eurostar and Membership Rewards points here.

Can I transfer points to the frequent flyer accounts of my staff?

No, transfers need to be made into a frequent flyer or hotel loyalty account with the same name as the American Express Cardmember.

How else can I use my points to reward my staff?

One way of using your Membership Rewards to reward your staff is via retailer gift cards. Points can be used for gift cards for stores such as Marks & Spencer, Currys PC World, Net-A-Porter, Waterstones, Costco, Amazon, Harrods and many more.

There are a mix of options based on whether you would prefer a physical or electronic gift card.

How else can I use my points to reward myself?

There are other Membership Rewards options which you can use for your own benefit. You can link your Membership Rewards account to your Amazon account, and pay for your purchases with your points directly from the Amazon app or website. There is a similar option with other selected retailers who are part of the American Express SafeKey programme.

How can I keep track of my Membership Rewards points?

You can download the American Express® App to your smartphone, which will allow you to check your points balance – as well as see your transactions and pay your statement – at any time.

You can also check your balance on the American Express website and the Membership Rewards website.

When should I transfer my Membership Rewards points?

Unless there is a conversion bonus going on, it makes sense to keep your points in Membership Rewards until you need them. This lets you maximise your flexibility. However, in order to speed up a transfer to a travel rewards programme when you do need one, you can ‘link’ your loyalty programmes in advance.

The ‘link’ process allows Amex to confirm that your loyalty account is correct, and knocks a day or two off the time taken for your first transfer to that programme to be processed. You can do this by going into your Membership Rewards account and doing a dummy booking for the relevant programme.

Once your accounts are linked, a transfer will usually only take 2-3 days at most. I compiled a list of Membership Rewards transfer times with help from Head for Points readers.

What happens to my points if I cancel my Card?

It is important to remember that you must retain an American Express Charge Card to retain your Membership Rewards points. If you are planning to cancel your Gold, Green or Platinum Card to stop paying annual fees, you will need to empty your Membership Rewards account by spending or transferring the points.

For simplicity, it is best to empty your Membership Rewards account before cancelling the Card. Strictly speaking, according to the terms and conditions here, you have 30 days from the day you cancel the Card.

Conclusion

American Express Membership Rewards points can be very valuable to you and your small business. The key thing is that they offer FLEXIBILITY – you do not need to commit them to an airline or hotel scheme until it is time to redeem. You can avoid being caught out by scheme devaluations or changes in travel plans.

If you have a small business, the big sign-up bonuses on American Express Business Gold Card (20,000 points) and American Express Business Platinum Card (40,000 points) offer an easy way to get your collection off to a flying start.

American Express Services Europe Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.