Earning credit card rewards seems like a simple process, right? You make purchases with your card, then you’re awarded points. But what happens when it comes time to spend them? American Express Membership Rewards feature 20 different transfer partners, and not all of them will give you good value.

Here's a look at the best AmEx transfer partners, the value that they provide and which ones you should avoid.

The best AmEx transfer partners

Most of the time, your points will transfer over to American Express travel partners at a 1:1 ratio, meaning that one AmEx point becomes one hotel or airline point. We’ve noted exceptions below. Just keep in mind that NerdWallet currently values AmEx points at 2.8 cents each when transferred to partners, so always make sure you are getting a good value. Here are some of the best AmEx transfer partners:

Air Canada Aeroplan

Air Canada’s Aeroplan program underwent an overhaul in late 2020, doing away with fuel surcharges on flights and adding the ability to book stopovers for 5,000 points. As a member of the world’s largest airline alliance, Star Alliance, Air Canada has 25 partners where you can redeem your Aeroplan points.

Decent award pricing on saver-level seats will get you to Europe in business class for 60,000 points, making this one of AmEx’s most valuable transfer partners.

For these reasons, among others, Aeroplan points sits near the top of our NerdWallet valuations at a rate of 1.4 cents per point.

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BROWSE CARDS

ANA Mileage Club

Another member of Star Alliance, ANA is known for its generous partner award chart. Although it’s hampered by the need to book round-trip flights, you can still find your way to and from Europe in business class for a total of 88,000 miles. This is industry-leading, which is one of the reasons ANA miles are our most highly valued with a rate of 2.8 cents per point and one of the best airlines to transfer AmEx points.

Avianca Lifemiles

As the flag carrier for Colombia, Avianca Airlines is notorious for its clunky website and poor customer service. However, thanks to its generous reward redemptions, we’ve valued Lifemiles at a rate of 1.2 cents per point.

While this is lower than the value we give AmEx points, Avianca is bolstered by the fact that you can book mixed-cabin itineraries on flights. This allows you to save miles on short-haul routes so you can enjoy yourself when it really matters.

Delta Air Lines SkyMiles

Although Delta doesn’t have a ton of sweet spots, it occasionally offers flash sales that’ll give you outsized value for your SkyMiles. And unlike other airlines, you can redeem miles for basic economy flights, thus dropping the costs of your redemptions even lower. If you’re flexible, you can score deals such as Los Angeles to Orlando for as little as 15,000 miles roundtrip, making our valuation of SkyMiles 1.2 cents per point.

Top AmEx cards that earn points

American Express® Green Card

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American Express® Gold Card

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Rates & Fees

The Platinum Card® from American Express

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The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

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Rates & Fees

Annual fee

$150

$250

$695

$0

Rewards

• 3 points per dollar spent on eligible travel purchases.

• 3 points per dollar on restaurants worldwide.

• 1 point per dollar on other purchases.

Terms apply.

• 4 points per dollar spent at restaurants.

• 4 points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 in purchases per year).

• 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel.

• 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases.

Terms apply.

• 5 points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel, on up to $500,000 spent per year.

• 5 points per dollar on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.

• 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases.

Terms apply.

• 2 points per dollar on the first $50,000 in purchases each calendar year.

• 1 point per dollar on purchases above $50,000 in a calendar year.

Terms apply.

» See more options: Best American Express cards

Select benefits (see reviews for more)

• Up to $189 per year in statement credit when you use the card to pay for your Clear membership fee.

• Up to $100 per year in statement credit when you purchase LoungeBuddy passes with your card.

Terms apply.

• $120 annual dining credit (available as $10 monthly credits on purchases from select partners).

• Up to $120 a year in Uber Cash ($10 per month).

• 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel.

• 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases.

Terms apply.

• Access to more than 1,300 airport lounges worldwide, including AmEx's own Centurion Lounges and Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta).

• Credit for the application fee for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry.

• Hundreds of dollars a year in credits for travel, shopping and entertainment. These include up to $200 a year for incidental fees on an airline you choose, up to $240 for digital entertainment from select providers, and up to $200 a year for Uber. See terms for details.

Terms apply.

• Ability to earn American Express Membership Rewards points for a $0 annual fee.

• 0% intro APR on Purchases for 12 months, and then the ongoing APR of 18.49%-26.49% Variable APR .

• Terms apply.

Welcome offer

Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $3,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn 20% back on eligible travel and transit purchases made during your first 6 months of Card Membership, up to $200 back in the form of a statement credit.

Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.

Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

Earn15,000Membership Rewards® points after you spend$3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first3 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.

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All information about the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by NerdWallet. The American Express® Green Card is no longer available through NerdWallet. To view rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, see this page. To view rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page. To view rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, see this page.

Decent AmEx transfer partners

British Airways Avios

We don’t value British Airways Avios very highly — they’re worth 1 cent per point. However, British Airways uses a distance-based award chart that shines during short-haul flights.

Avios are also interchangeable with programs from Aer Lingus, Iberia Plus and Qatar Airways. Combined, these programs have transfer partnerships with all the major transferable points currencies, making them exceedingly easy to earn.

Aer Lingus

Aer Lingus joins the group of decent transfer partners thanks to its interchangeability with other Avios programs. It also boasts the opportunity to fly from the East Coast to Dublin for 13,000 miles one way, making this sweet spot one of the most valuable for crossing the Atlantic.

Air France-KLM Flying Blue

We value Air France-KLM Flying Blue miles at 1.2 cents each thanks to their usability as a member of SkyTeam, where you’ll find flights with partners such as Delta Air Lines, Czech Airlines and Aeromexico. Notably, you can redeem 55,000 miles for a one-way flight in business class to Europe, though you’ll usually be subject to some higher-than-average fees.

Emirates Skywards

Emirates Skywards miles are ranked at a value of 0.6 cent per point. Although the airline keeps increasing fuel surcharges, it has also limited the amount of award inventory partners can access. This means that if you’re looking to book its coveted first-class seats, you’ll need to do so directly with the airline or with Qantas Airways.

Etihad Guest

Emirati airline Etihad has maintained the same partner award chart for years, meaning you can get your hands on quite a few sweet spots for redemptions. This includes options with partner American Airlines, with premium transcontinental routes that include lay-flat beds. Using Etihad miles will score you a seat on these Flagship Business routings for 25,000 miles one way.

Iberia Plus Avios

As with Aer Lingus, Qatar Airways and British Airways, Iberia’s Avios can be exchanged interchangeably between these programs. Although Iberia is not a super well-known airline, it does maintain a sweet spot in transatlantic business class by charging as little as 34,000 miles one way for a ticket.

Qantas Airways

Like other airlines, Qantas uses a distance-based award chart for flights, which means you’ll find your best value on short-haul routings. Perhaps the best use of Qantas points is flying with partner Air Tahiti Nui from Los Angeles, where a one-way ticket in economy will cost just 25,200 points.

Singapore Airlines

As a member of Star Alliance, Singapore Airlines has access to flights from carriers such as United Airlines, Air Canada, Lufthansa and Swiss. While Singapore has recently devalued its award charts, we still value its miles at 1.5 cents each thanks to its decent redemptions on partner airlines, among other reasons.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

Virgin Atlantic is another SkyTeam member. For this, we give Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points a value of 1.8 cents each. Perhaps its best sweet spot is the ability to book business class awards with ANA for 45,000 miles one way.

The worst AmEx transfer partners

AeroMexico

AmEx points transfer over to AeroMexico at a 1:1.6 ratio, meaning 1,000 AmEx points becomes 1,600 AeroMexico points. Despite this, AeroMexico has no discernible sweet spots and booking award tickets is best done over the phone.

Cathay Pacific

Embattled airline Cathay Pacific has had a rough few years, cutting its route network significantly amid various issues. Despite this, you can still use your Asia Miles to book a round-the-world ticket for good value if you’re up for the challenge.

Choice Hotels

The first hotel featured on this list, Choice Hotels makes a poor transfer partner of AmEx, especially since it partners with Citi ThankYou points to give you double the value for your points while it only transfers with AmEx at a 1:1 ratio.

Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiian Miles

We value Hawaiian Airlines miles at a solid 1.2 cents each, but still consider the airline to be a bad transfer partner. Without any good sweet spots to mention, you’ll be stuck using your AmEx points for half their value if you transfer to this airline.

Hilton Honors

AmEx points transfer to Hilton Honors points at a 1:2 ratio, so you’d think they’d be a good option — wouldn’t you? Sadly, no. We value Hilton points at just 0.5 cent per point, so you’d still be redeeming your AmEx points for just 1 cent each when transferring to Hilton. However, you can still get good value out of these transfers if you use your Hilton points exclusively for high-end hotels such as the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island, where room rates are always more than $1,000 per night.

JetBlue TrueBlue

JetBlue runs its award program on a dynamic pricing system that’s tied to the cash price of your ticket. So while we value JetBlue TrueBlue points at 1.5 cents each, you’ll basically never get more value than that as the points required for a ticket directly correlate to its cost.

Marriott Bonvoy

The last option on this list, Marriott Bonvoy points make a poor transfer partner of American Express. The hotel program recently eliminated its fixed award chart in favor of dynamic pricing, which means your hotel costs can vary dramatically based on demand. Marriott points are valued at 0.8 cent and you can transfer AmEx points over at a 1:1 ratio.

If you want to redeem your AmEx points for good value

We’ve figured out the value of many different point programs. However, airline sweet spots and easy-to-earn miles may make some AmEx transfer partners better than others.

If you’re looking for good uses of your AmEx points, keep an eye out for these best transfer partners — and be sure to avoid those that’ll give you subpar value for your points.