Savvy mileage collectors know the best rewards are flexible rewards. Transferable currencies, like American Express Membership Rewards, allow you to earn points for your credit card spending without locking yourself into a single travel program. Instead, you’ll have access to a plethora of travel partners when you’re ready to book: American Express allows transfers to 17 airlines and three hotel programs.
With so much versatility, there’s no excuse not to get the award you’ve always wanted. It also means you’ll have access to wider flight availability and lower prices. With select partners (and cash redemptions), it also means you won’t have to worry about blackout dates or capacity limits. These options are worth their weight in gold.
Best of all, it’s easy to earn these flexible points. Numerous American Express credit cards earn Membership Rewards points, often providing a generous welcome bonus to new cardholders and strong ongoing rewards for everyday spending.
It’s not hard to rack up a balance of 75,000, 100,000 or even 125,000 Membership Rewards points in your first year as a cardholder. Once you’ve earned them, here’s some of our favorite ways to spend them for travel from the U.S.
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How To Spend 75,000 Membership Rewards
Four Round-trip Economy Tickets to Mexico Using British Airways Avios
How does a beach getaway sound right about now? With no visas to apply for and entry with a passport allowed, Mexico is popular for a reason. You can easily reach numerous vacation spots by flying British Airways’ partners American Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
British Airways Avios is a distance-based reward program, meaning that short nonstop flights require fewer miles than longer trips. Use that to your advantage by looking for routes like San Diego to Puerto Vallarta, Dallas/Fort Worth to Cabo San Lucas or Charlotte to Cancun. Trips that clock in at 1,151 miles or less require just 9,000 Avios each way. With a balance of 75,000 Membership Rewards points, you’d have enough to cover the cost of round-trip flights for a family of four.
Two Premium Economy Round-trip Tickets to London Using Virgin Atlantic
If you’ve flown from the east coast to London before, you’ll probably agree that premium economy is the sweet spot for flying. The flight is just long enough for standard coach seats to feel cramped, but business class seems like an unnecessary splurge when you’re only flying about six hours.
Premium economy is Goldilocks’ “just right” solution. Virgin Atlantic offers nonstop premium economy flights from New York, Boston and Washington DC to the United Kingdom for 35,000 points per person on standard season dates. Because more than half of the year is considered standard season, there’s plenty of opportunity to lock in a comfortable seat at a great price.
One Round-trip Ticket to Europe on Iberia Airlines—in Business Class
Iberia offers one of the best deals around for business class flights to Europe. For 34,000 Iberia Plus Avios, you can fly one-way in business class for routes up to 4,000 miles (such as New York to Madrid). Required taxes and fees are modest, unlike other European flight awards, allowing this redemption to really shine.
Since Iberia also has a distance-based award chart, you’ll pay more points for additional flight connections. Additionally, peak dates (typically summer months and winter holidays) come at a higher price. However, this is still a great way to get to Europe. Connections within Europe start at 4,500 Avios so you can afford to head onward to cities like Porto or Seville if Madrid isn’t your final destination.
Three Round-trip Tickets to Canada Using Aeroplan Miles
Air Canada’s Aeroplan program appears complicated at first glance since awards are priced based on both zones and distance flown, but learning the ins and outs isn’t as hard as you think. Plus, there are some solid redemption values, like flying partner airlines within North America on trips 501 to 1,500 miles in distance for only 10,000 miles one-way—about 25% cheaper than other programs.
Chase French Canadian culture by choosing routes like Orlando to Montreal or plan a scenic adventure in the Canadian Rockies on routes like Denver to Calgary. These flights, and dozens of others, qualify for awards at this price point. Three round-trip tickets would only require a total of 60,000 miles transferred from Membership Rewards to Aeroplan.
How To Spend 100,000 Membership Rewards
Two Economy Round-trip Tickets to Northern South America With Avianca LifeMiles
LifeMiles stopped publishing an official award chart, but with some digging on their award search tool you’ll notice most flights have relatively consistent prices. In general, their awards are fairly priced with no fuel surcharges worldwide, and their route network is convenient when heading to Latin America. Through LifeMiles, you have access to South American flights operated by Avianca itself as well as United Airlines and Panama-based Copa Airlines.
With so many flight options, it’s not hard to find availability in economy class to your choice of destinations. Head to northern South America (including destinations like Cartagena, Colombia or Quito, Ecuador) for 40,000 miles (or less) per person round trip. At that price, you can afford to bring a friend. If you’re feeling flush, you can even add a stopover with the miles you have leftover.
One Round-trip Business-Class Ticket to Africa Using 104,000 ANA Miles
For many people, a trip to Africa is a bucket-list item. Unfortunately, it’s also an expensive endeavor, especially if you want to fly in a lie-flat business-class seat. With ANA miles, a Membership Rewards transfer partner, you can book a round-trip ticket for 104,000 miles to anywhere on the African continent—significant savings compared to other frequent flyer programs.
Several ANA partners pass along fuel surcharges on redemptions so it’s important to choose your routing strategically. Flights on United Airlines, like the nonstop Newark to Cape Town flight, won’t have surcharges. Ethiopian Airlines also doesn’t have fuel surcharges and has an extensive route network flown by comfortable 787 Dreamliners. In some cases, you might find the cash copay worth it for the chance to fly a specific airline or add in a stopover on a unique route.
How To Spend 125,000 Membership Rewards
Four Round-trip Economy Tickets to Ireland Using Aer Lingus Avios
Another phenomenal value using Membership Rewards are tickets to Dublin booked through Aer Lingus AerClub. The program prices tickets by “zone” but costs are fair regardless of where you originate. Best of all, Aer Lingus services several airports that other airlines pass over: Hartford and Orlando, for example.
From Northeast and Midwest airports, off-peak round-trip tickets cost 26,000 miles per person. Even tickets from the Southeast or West Coast are priced competitively at 32,500 miles round trip. If you have 125,000 points stashed away, that’s enough for three or four seats.
One Week in Scandinavia for 125,000 Choice Hotel Points
Scandinavia has a reputation for being an expensive travel destination which is precisely why redeeming points is so valuable. Choice Rewards are a valuable choice here: The region has dozens of boutique properties available, many of which can be booked for 20,000 points per night or less. No matter what your intended route is, you’ll likely find something with Nordic Choice and re-think any preconceived notions about the brand.
Plan a trip with stays in city center Oslo, where there are three Ascend Hotel Collection properties priced at 20,000 points per night. Head north to Bergen where upscale hotels price at a mere 12,000 points or pop over to Stockholm to stay at the Hotel C for 16,000 points per night. One caveat: Reward nights can only be booked 100 days in advance.
One Business-Class Ticket to Australia (With a Stopover) for 120,000 Miles
Another diamond from ANA Mileage Club is a round-trip ticket to Oceania or Micronesia for 120,000 miles in business class on their own aircraft or any of their Star Alliance partners. Premium awards to this part of the world are notoriously hard to find, but traveling solo improves your odds substantially.
Another way to improve your odds of finding an available reward is by connecting through Asia. One stopover is permitted with this redemption, so you can break up the trip if your schedule allows. Take this opportunity to have two trips in one by combining Australia or New Zealand with a few days in cities like Seoul or Singapore along the way.
One Way on the World’s Longest Flight in Business Class for 111,500 KrisFlyer Miles
At 19.5 hours long, traveling from Newark to Singapore is quite the journey … one you probably don’t want to make crunched in coach. Thankfully, you can transfer Membership Rewards to Singapore Airlines Krisflyer to book the trip in business class for 111,500 miles each way. Taxes and fees are more than reasonable, adding up to only around $5.
Singapore Airlines has world-class seats and service available to business class flyers. Seats convert to fully-flat beds (a must-have for trips this long) and dining and beverage service is second to none. You can expect top-notch entertainment options on board as well. For travelers heading the opposite direction, Singapore to Newark, you may even want to make it to the airport well in advance of your flight to enjoy their signature lounge.
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Bottom Line
Transferable currencies are worth more than other travel rewards for the simple fact that they offer incredible versatility. You’re protected if a single airline devalues awards or cancels service to the destination you’re planning to visit. You also have access to numerous airline award charts to seek out the best values on each one and stretch your rewards further. With American Express Membership Rewards, no matter what your travel goal is, your points can make it a reality.
