Get a 50% bonus when you use Amex Membership Rewards to pay Aldi, M&S and Asda

If you have an American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points, you can get a 50% bonus when you redeem your Membership Rewards points to cover shopping at selected supermarkets.

The offer runs to 4th May. It IS targetted but the majority of people appear to have it.

This is not a great deal, but there are limited scenarios to think about it.

The standard redemption value when you redeem Membership Rewards points for statement credit is 0.45p per point.  This is rubbish, when you assume that you can get 1 airline mile per point instead.

If you were not emailed because you have turned off marketing communications from Amex, you can – once you have a qualifying charge – check on the ‘cover it with points’ website page if you are targetted and offered the enhanced rate.

How does a 50% bonus change things?

With a 50% bonus, you will receive 0.68p per point when you redeem your Membership Rewards points against purchases from:

• Aldi (in-store only)
• Asda, Asda petrol stations, asda.com
• Marks & Spencer stores, m&s.com

0.68p per point is marginally better than turning your Amex points into Avios and then into Nectar points, which gets you 0.67p to spend in Sainsbury’s, Argos or at eBay.co.uk.

You can beat this 0.68p per point redemption rate ….

Here is our list of the most valuable Membership Rewards redemptions based on our proprietary numbers.

The Amex Membership Rewards website is here if you want to look for yourself at what is available.

The following redemptions beat the 0.68p per point you would get using them at Amex Travel, if you trust our valuations:

• Avios or frequent flyer miles (0.8p to 1.5p each on a conservative basis based on 1:1)
• Club Eurostar points (0.8p each based on 15:1)
• Marriott Bonvoy points (0.75p each based on 2:3)

How does ‘cover it with points’ work?

You may never have used ‘cover it with points’, so I should explain how it works.

You make your purchase – in this case, a qualifying Aldi, Asda or M&S transaction – using your Membership Rewards-enrolled American Express card.

Once the charge has appeared online, go to your American Express account and select ‘Use points for purchases’ on your card home page:

You will see a list of recent transactions and, next to them, the number of points you need to redeem to wipe out the charge:

As you can see, I am offered the standard rate of 0.45p per point for all of the charges above.

In theory, if I had any Aldi, Asda or M&S charges, I would be offered the 50% bonus and receive 0.68p per point.

Conclusion

It is never a bad thing when a partner improves the value you can get by redeeming your points.

In this case, however, the offer of 0.68p per Membership Rewards point doesn’t move the needle for me. That said, if you’re still redeeming Membership Rewards points for Nectar credit at 0.67p per point, you will be no worse off by doing this.

Remember that you only get the enhanced rate of 0.68p per Membership Rewards point when you cover charges made at Aldi, Asda and M&S. If you got the email, check the small print over exactly what sub-brands are covered and which are not – although any in-store purchase is fine.

The offer ends on 4th May.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 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:

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.

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: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.

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.