How to Get Amex Points

If you are trying to figure out How to get Amex points, the good news is that the core strategy is fairly simple. American Express Membership Rewards points are easiest to build through a mix of welcome offers, bonus spending categories, business spending, shopping portals, and airline or hotel transfers when it is time to redeem.

The fastest way to build a large Membership Rewards balance is through welcome offers, while ongoing value usually comes from high-earning cards like Amex Gold, Platinum, Green, Business Gold, and Blue Business Plus. Best value usually comes from transferring to strong airline partners rather than cashing points out in weaker ways. 

So let’s figure out how to avoid spending more everywhere, but earn Amex points with the right cards, and then redeem them where they’re most profitable.

The Best Way to Get Amex Points

For most people, the best way to get Amex points is a combination of:

• a strong welcome offer,
• one or two cards with good bonus categories,
• and a strategy for transferring points to airline partners for flights. 

That matters because Membership Rewards cards do not all earn the same way. Some are best for dining and groceries, some are best for airfare and prepaid hotels, and some are best for flat-rate business spending. If you only use one card for everything, you will usually earn more slowly than necessary. 

How to Get Amex Points Fast

Welcome offers are the fastest way to build a large Membership Rewards balance quickly.

After that, the next-fastest route is to concentrate your spending in strong earning categories rather than spreading it randomly. That means using:

• Amex Gold for restaurant and U.S. supermarket spend,
• Amex Platinum for flights and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel,
• Amex Green for travel, transit, and restaurants,
• Blue Business Plus for a simple 2X on the first $50,000 in eligible purchases each calendar year,
• or Business Gold if your business naturally spends in Amex’s high-earning categories. 

The Best Amex Cards for Earning Membership Rewards

Earning Category	Amex Gold	Amex Platinum	Amex Green	Blue Business Plus	Business Gold	Business Platinum
Restaurants	4X worldwide, up to $50,000/year, then 1X	1X	3X worldwide	2X on eligible purchases, up to $50,000/year, then 1X	May earn 4X if restaurants are one of top 2 eligible spend categories, up to $150,000/year combined	1X
U.S. Supermarkets	4X up to $25,000/year, then 1X	1X	1X	2X on eligible purchases, up to $50,000/year, then 1X	1X	1X
Flights booked directly with airlines	3X	5X, up to $500,000/year	3X as travel	2X on eligible purchases, up to $50,000/year, then 1X	1X	1X
Flights booked through Amex Travel	3X	5X, up to $500,000/year	3X as travel	2X on eligible purchases, up to $50,000/year, then 1X	1X	5X
Prepaid hotels through Amex Travel	2X	5X	3X as travel	2X on eligible purchases, up to $50,000/year, then 1X	1X	5X
General travel	1X	1X	3X	2X on eligible purchases, up to $50,000/year, then 1X	May earn 4X if airfare is one of top 2 categories	1X
Transit	1X	1X	3X	2X on eligible purchases, up to $50,000/year, then 1X	May earn 4X if transit is one of top 2 categories	1X
Gas stations	1X	1X	1X	2X on eligible purchases, up to $50,000/year, then 1X	May earn 4X if gas stations are one of top 2 categories	1X
U.S. Media Advertising	1X	1X	1X	2X on eligible purchases, up to $50,000/year, then 1X	May earn 4X if advertising is one of top 2 categories	1X
Software / Cloud Providers	1X	1X	1X	2X on eligible purchases, up to $50,000/year, then 1X	May earn 4X if software/cloud is one of top 2 categories	1X
Electronics / Hardware / Shipping-related business categories	1X	1X	1X	2X on eligible purchases, up to $50,000/year, then 1X	May earn 4X if eligible category is one of top 2 categories	1X
All other eligible purchases	1X	1X	1X	2X up to $50,000/year, then 1X	1X	1X

• Best for dining and groceries: Amex Gold
• Best for flights and premium travel bookings: Amex Platinum
• Best simple flat-rate business earner: Blue Business Plus
• Best flexible business-category earner: Business Gold
• Best simple travel-and-dining card: Amex Green

Amex Gold

The American Express Gold Card remains one of the strongest ongoing earners in the Membership Rewards ecosystem. Amex says it earns:

• 4X at restaurants worldwide, on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X,
• 4X at U.S. supermarkets, on up to $25,000 per calendar year, then 1X,
• 3X on flights booked directly with airlines or on Amex Travel,
• and 2X on prepaid hotels and other eligible travel purchases booked through Amex Travel. 

If you spend heavily on food and some airfare, this is one of the best long-term answers to how to earn more Amex points.

Amex Platinum

The Platinum Card is strongest for airfare and some Amex Travel spending. Recent coverage from The Points Guy notes 5X on flights booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel, on up to $500,000 per calendar year, plus 5X on prepaid hotels booked with Amex Travel. 

This is not the best all-purpose daily spender, but it is very strong for flight purchases if your goal is how to get Amex points for flights.

Amex Green

Amex Green is simpler and more flexible than many people expect. Amex says it earns 3X on travel, transit, and restaurants worldwide. For people who want one card that covers frequent travel categories without juggling multiple products, Green can be a very clean Membership Rewards earner. 

Blue Business Plus

Blue Business Plus is one of the easiest cards to recommend to business owners and side hustlers because it earns 2X on eligible purchases on the first $50,000 per calendar year, then 1X after that. That makes it one of the simplest flat-rate ways to get Membership Rewards points without tracking categories. 

Business Gold

Business Gold is stronger for people whose business spend maps cleanly to Amex’s bonus categories. Amex says it earns 4X points on the top two eligible categories where your business spends the most each billing cycle, from six categories, on up to $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year, then 1X after that. Those categories include U.S. media advertising, software and cloud providers, restaurants, and gas stations, among others. 

For some businesses, this is one of the best ways to get Amex points quickly without relying only on travel spending.

How to Use Amex Points for Flights

There are two main ways to use Membership Rewards points for flights.

The first is to transfer points to airline partners. Membership Rewards points can be redeemed for travel by transferring them to participating frequent-flyer and hotel loyalty programs.

For U.S. Membership Rewards cardmembers, the airline frequent-flyer programs you can transfer to directly through American Express are:

• Aer Lingus AerClub
• Aeromexico Rewards
• Air Canada Aeroplan
• ANA Mileage Club
• Avianca LifeMiles
• British Airways Club
• Cathay
• Delta SkyMiles
• Emirates Skywards
• Etihad Guest
• Iberia Club
• JetBlue TrueBlue
• Qantas Frequent Flyer
• Qatar Airways Privilege Club
• Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
• Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

How to Maximize Amex Points for Flights

The second is to use Pay with Points through Amex Travel. Amex’s official travel page says you can use points to cover all or part of a booking, and at checkout, you can choose “Use Only Points” or “Use Points + Card.” 

I’ve compiled a list of the most common search queries related to transferring Amex points to other frequent flyer programs.

1. How to Use Amex Points to Delta

Delta SkyMiles is a current Amex Membership Rewards transfer partner. Amex’s transfer pages show a 1:1 transfer ratio to Delta, and partner pages show a minimum transfer of 1,000 Membership Rewards points. Amex also says transfers to U.S. airline programs are subject to an excise tax offset fee of $0.0006 per point, up to $99. To transfer, you must first link your SkyMiles account, and Amex says the frequent-flyer account must be in your name or in the name of an additional cardmember on the linked Amex account. 

The best reason to transfer Amex points to Delta is usually to top off your SkyMiles account for a specific Delta-operated award flight you are ready to book. This is especially useful when you have already found the availability you want and need a small or medium mileage boost. I would not move Membership Rewards to Delta speculatively unless you have an immediate plan, because transfers are one-way and cannot be reversed. As a practical rule, Delta transfers are best for:

• specific domestic or international Delta-operated award flights you already found,
• topping off for a booking where you are just short of the required miles,
• or using a discount like TakeOff 15 if you also hold an eligible Delta Amex card. 

2. How to Use Amex Points to United

Direct transfer? No. United MileagePlus is not a direct Amex Membership Rewards transfer partner, so you generally cannot send Membership Rewards points straight into United. The best practical workaround is usually Air Canada Aeroplan or Avianca LifeMiles, because both are Amex transfer partners and both can be used for many United-operated flights through Star Alliance. Amex’s partner materials show 1,000 Membership Rewards points = 1,000 Aeroplan points and 1,000 Membership Rewards points = 1,000 Avianca LifeMiles. Amex’s terms also say that in most cases transfers require at least 1,000 points, and points transfers are one-way only. 

Best workaround #1: Aeroplan

Aeroplan is usually the cleaner option if your goal is a United-operated flight. Air Canada says Aeroplan has partnerships with 50+ airlines, and its reward chart says partner rewards are based on the actual distance flown, with a partner booking fee applying on itineraries that include a partner airline. That makes Aeroplan especially useful for:

• short-haul United flights where distance-based pricing can stay reasonable,
• U.S.–Canada flights on United or Air Canada,
• and long-haul Star Alliance itineraries when you find better pricing or routing than you see in cash fares. 

Best workaround #2: LifeMiles

LifeMiles is another good indirect route because Avianca says you can redeem LifeMiles across Star Alliance partner airlines. In practice, LifeMiles is often best when you want to book United-operated saver space and you want to avoid transferring directly into a program you do not normally use. It is usually strongest for:

• United domestic saver awards,
• one-way long-haul Star Alliance flights,
• and travelers who already understand Star Alliance partner award availability. 

3. How to Use Amex Points to American Airlines

Direct transfer? No. American Airlines AAdvantage is not a direct Amex Membership Rewards transfer partner. The best indirect route is usually through Avios, especially the British Airways Club, because Amex transfers to British Airways at 1:1, and British Airways says you can use Avios on oneworld partner airlines. British Airways’ Amex partner page shows a minimum transfer of 1,000 Membership Rewards points and says transfers are typically instant. American itself confirms that both American Airlines and British Airways are oneworld members. 

Best use cases:

Using Avios is usually best for short, nonstop American Airlines flights, where distance-based or segment-based pricing can make more sense than using a larger U.S. airline mileage balance. This is usually the sweet spot for:

• short domestic nonstop AA flights,
• Caribbean or near-international flights on American,
• and routes where cash prices are high but the distance is still relatively short. British Airways says Avios can be used on oneworld partner flights, and American confirms that American and its oneworld partners allow earning and redeeming across the alliance. 

A second Avios-based route can also work through Qatar Airways Privilege Club, since Qatar also uses Avios and is a oneworld member, but for most U.S.-based readers British Airways is the more familiar and straightforward example. Amex’s Qatar partner pages show a transfer path exists, though the minimums can vary by market, so it is smart to verify the live U.S. transfer screen before moving points. 

4. How to Use Amex Points to Alaska Airlines

Direct transfer? No. Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan / Atmos Rewards is not a direct Amex Membership Rewards transfer partner. And there is an important update here: Amex officially ended transfers to HawaiianMiles on June 30, 2025, so the old “Amex to Hawaiian, then Hawaiian to Alaska” workaround is no longer available. 

The most practical workaround is again Avios. Alaska says it is part of the oneworld Alliance, and Qatar Airways specifically says Privilege Club members can fly with Alaska Airlines using Avios. That makes Avios the most straightforward indirect path for many Alaska-operated flights. British Airways can also be useful because it allows Avios redemptions on oneworld partners. 

Best use cases:

Indirect Amex-to-Avios routing for Alaska flights is usually strongest for:

• short nonstop Alaska Airlines flights on routes where cash fares are expensive,
• West Coast hops,
• and select partner or oneworld routings where Alaska is the operating carrier. Because Alaska is now firmly inside oneworld, Avios-based redemptions are usually the cleanest “Amex to Alaska flight” workaround even though they are not a direct Amex-to-Alaska transfer. 

Bottom Line

If you want a simple answer to how to get Amex points, start with the basics:

• open a strong Membership Rewards card with a good welcome offer,
• use the right card for the right spending category,
• add a flat-rate earner like Blue Business Plus if you can,
• and use transfer partners strategically for flights. 

If you want the shortest possible answer to the transfer questions:

• Delta: yes, direct transfer. 
• United: no direct transfer. 
• American Airlines: no direct transfer. 
• Alaska Airlines: no direct transfer.