If you’re an American Express cardholder, you may have accumulated a significant number of reward points. These points can be used to book flights and travel experiences, making it an excellent way to save money on your next luxury vacation. But many people who try to do this by themselves end up receiving poor value for their points. Why? Because they follow the wrong process.
Most people search for flights directly within the American Express Membership Rewards redemption dashboard, convert their points to a cash value and book like that. Here, we share our company secrets on how to book a basic reward flight with your American Express reward points to get the best value.
Step 1: Check Your Points Balance
First, determine how many points you have available. Do this by logging into your Amex account online or through the Amex mobile app.
- Follow this url: https://www.americanexpress.com/australia
- Click the blue ‘Log In’ button in the top right hand corner of the webpage
- Enter your user ID and password into the Log In screen. In the dropdown field, select ‘Cards – My Account’.
- If you are a new Amex card holder, you may have to create an account using the ‘New Registration’ link at the bottom of the login panel.
Log into your Amex rewards account
Check your balance
If you’re wondering how many American Express points you need for a flight, check out our article “HOW MUCH ARE AMEX MEMBERSHIP REWARDS POINTS WORTH?”
Step 2: Search for Flights
Once you know your Amex points balance it’s time to find your flight. Go to the website of the airline you wish to book through. In this example, we want to book a flight from Perth to London with Singapore Airlines, so we go to Krisflyer Rewards login: https://www.singaporeair.com/kfLogin.form. From there, we search for our desired flight.
*Note: you must also be a member of the airline’s frequent flyer program to use this method!
Search for flights
take note of the amount of reward points required to book your preferred flight
Step 3: Exchange your Amex points for frequent flyer points
Once you’ve found your desired flight and noted the points value required to book it, return to your American Express dashboard. From there, you will exchange Amex points for the airline’s frequent flyer points. Here’s how:
Select ‘Menu’ in the upper left corner > ‘Rewards’ > ‘Use Points for Travel’
On the next screen, select ‘Frequent Traveller Partners’
On the next screen, you will see a list of airline partners
Select the airline you wish to book with. In our example, it’s Singapore Airlines. So we click the blue ‘Transfer My Points’ button at the bottom of the Singapore KrisFlyer tile.
From there, complete the details of your transfer. Note the points exchange value. In our example, 2 Amex points = 1 KrisFlyer mile so we will be transferring double the amount of Amex points to KrisFlyer miles to book our flight. Enter your Amex card details, review the transfer and complete.
It’s important to note that each airline has a different speed at which it completes this points transfer. Here is a rough guide.
| Instant | Emirates |
| 1 day | Air New Zealand, Qantas, Virgin Australia, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines |
| 2 days | Malaysia Airlines |
| 5 days | Thai Airways, Virgin Atlantic |
| 7 days | Etihad |
This means you want to be quick about confirming your booking once your points have been transferred! It can be easy to miss out on your desired flight if you get tied up and aren’t able to book it before reward seats sell out.
Step 4: Make Your Booking
Periodically check your airline frequent flyer account until your points appear. Once your frequent flyer points are available, you can book your desired flight in the airline’s frequent flyer dashboard.
That’s how you achieve the best value when booking flights with your Amex points!
But what if your trip is more complex than that?
By following the steps above, you can redeem your points and book yourself a very good flight option. However, if your trip has multiple destinations, specific or complex requirements, or you want to combine points from multiple airlines, you may wish to consult our expert Travel Advisors instead of trying to figure it out yourself.
Why our clients book with us
We provide end-to-end service for all your travel needs. There are not many other travel agencies that will book your reward flights for you. We book your reward flights, your transfers, your accommodation, meeting rooms, restaurants and anything else you may require during your trip.
Because we are a full service travel agency, we have access to exclusive properties, the best deals and packages, and we have a bird’s eye view of national and international flight networks so we can select the best routes and flights for you, getting you the best value from your points.
“What you give me Jodie, is time. I have no idea what points I have in my membership accounts or the real value of them. It was so easy to call you on Friday to book my wife’s birthday holiday to Tasmania. You made it all happen in one day and your recommendations were fantastic. Thank you.” – Kevin Cooper
Ready to book your trip using Amex points? Hopefully now you understand how you can do it yourself, but if you would rather save time and engage our professional travel advisors to manage your entire holiday using your points, fill out our Book With Points form here: https://thewellconnectedtraveller.com.au/book-with-points-form/ and we’ll get the process started for you now.
