Is it worth buying American Express Membership Rewards points?

You might find yourself ready to book a flight reward, only to realise you’re still several thousand points short of your goal. Is there a way to bridge the gap quickly? With American Express Membership Rewards, there is, but it’s not publicly advertised. We’ve got all the details on how it works.

How much does it cost to buy Amex points?

In Australia, the cost to top-up your Amex points for Membership Rewards-linked cards is AU$25 for 1,000 points. That’s 2.5c per point. However, since most airlines now have a 2:1 (or even a 3:1) ratio transfer from Amex, you are effectively buying one airline point for 5.0-7.5 cents each, which is high.

We’re glad Amex offers this facility, but it’s still usually cheaper to top-up points from the airline directly, where offered. There are limited scenarios where buying Amex MR points makes sense, and that’s when you’re desperate for a quick points top-up for a redemption.

How to buy American Express Membership Rewards Points

According to internal documents sighted by Point Hacks, the only way to purchase points is to call American Express Membership Rewards on 1300 363 276. Before you call, make sure you know all of the following details:

• How many points you want to purchase (in blocks of 1,000 pts for A$25 each)
• What you want to do with the points (they need to be redeemed or transferred immediately)

Purchased points can be used for any airline or hotel transfer partner, merchandise and gift vouchers. You can’t use them for ‘Points for Travel’, ‘Points for Credit’ and ‘Cover Charges with Points’ – essentially anything that is applied as a statement credit to your account.

There is no set limit to the number of points purchased, but those points do need to be redeemed or transferred to a partner immediately while on the call. The cost is charged to your Card Account.

New to Amex? Enjoy a huge boost to your Membership Rewards balance with this offer.

How else can I buy Amex points for less?

If you’re not in such a hurry, there are ways to ‘buy’ extra points at lower costs.

1. Spend at Qantas Wine

Consider buying from Qantas Wine with bonus points offers. In the example below, you would earn 30,000 Qantas Points by spending $690 on wine. The points are usually credited in a few days.

Compare that to:

• Buying 60,000 Amex MR points for $1,500 (equivalent to 30,000 Qantas Points for Ascent Premium members).
• Topping-up 30,000 Qantas Points directly for $929 at retail price.

The Qantas Wine offer clearly comes out on top with a lower purchase price. Plus, you get a dozen bottles of wine!

2. Wait for Velocity Booster offers (e.g. 40% off)

If you need Velocity Points quickly, it could be worth buying them when there’s a 40% off offer. At the top end of the scale, you could effectively buy points at 1.4 cents each.

3. Use gift card offers at Coles or Woolworths

A cheaper way to earn bonus Velocity Points is through Flybuys offers at Coles. It’s the same for Qantas and Everyday Rewards at Woolworths.

An example of a popular offer is 2,000 bonus Flybuys points on $100 Coles Mastercard gift cards. These have a fee of $5 each to activate. You can usually get bonus points on five a week, so that’s 10,000 Flybuys Points (or 5,000 Velocity Points) for just $25 in fees. Plus, you also get the full gift card value to use.

Summing up

It’s good to still have the option to buy American Express Membership Rewards Points if you need a top-up. But because Amex’s transfer rates are not 1:1, it’s best you keep it as a ‘last resort’ option.

If you’re short of points in your account, don’t hesitate to ask for help in the Point Hacks Community, as someone might have a clever way to top-up the shortfall and save some money.