Amex Membership Rewards Canada: Earning, Transfers and Redemption

American Express Membership Rewards (Amex MR) is the points program attached to several American Express cards issued in Canada, including the Cobalt, Gold Rewards and Platinum cards. Points can be moved to airline and hotel programs, including Aeroplan, or redeemed at fixed rates for statement credits, travel, gift cards and purchases at Amazon.ca and PayPal. This page sets out the rates Amex publishes in its Membership Rewards terms; it is part of the rewards programs hub.

Amex MR at a glance

Source: Membership Rewards Terms and Conditions and the Membership Rewards program page, American Express Canada.

Cards that earn Membership Rewards points

Amex’s program page lists the personal and small business cards enrolled in Membership Rewards automatically, including the Cobalt, Gold Rewards, Platinum, Business Edge, Business Gold Rewards and Business Platinum cards. Annual fees and earn rates for the cards this site tracks:

The American Express Business Edge Card earns 3 points per $1 on eligible restaurant, food delivery, gas station, transit, electronics and office supply purchases in Canada, up to a combined 75,000 points a year at that rate, then 1 point per $1.

Welcome bonuses change often and are not listed here; the current offer is on each card’s page at americanexpress.com/en-ca. Whether a bonus is worth chasing, and the rules that limit repeat bonuses, are covered in the credit card churning guide.

How the Cobalt’s capped category works

The Cobalt earns 5 points per $1 at eligible restaurants, coffee shops, bars, stand-alone grocery stores and food delivery in Canada, up to a combined $2,500 in net purchases a month. Spending above that earns 1 point per $1, and once the month’s cap is reached, credits and returns don’t reopen it. Streaming subscriptions earn 3 points per $1 (only subscriptions with the merchants on Amex’s streaming list, and not ones bundled with another service or billed through a platform, a cable, phone or internet provider, or a car maker), and gas station and transit purchases in Canada earn 2 points per $1.

Transfer partners and ratios

Amex’s terms list these partners for Membership Rewards points earned on Canadian cards. Ratios are per 1,000 Membership Rewards points.

Source: Appendix 2 of the Membership Rewards Terms and Conditions. Amex states that partners are subject to change.

How transfers work, per Amex:

• You first connect your Membership Rewards account to an account in your own name with the partner program; points can only be transferred into an account in your name.
• Transfers to Aeroplan and Delta SkyMiles are instant once that account is registered with Amex; other transfers may take up to 5 business days.
• A transfer cannot be reversed. Transferred points fall under the partner program’s own terms, which may include an expiry date, so Amex asks members to confirm award availability with the partner before moving points. Some travel insurance included with the card may not cover a trip booked with transferred points.

The Aeroplan transfer

Aeroplan is Air Canada’s loyalty program. The Amex side of the transfer is the 1,000-to-1,000 ratio above. What Aeroplan points then buy (award pricing, partner awards and surcharges) is covered in the Aeroplan guide and the Aeroplan points value guide, since those are Aeroplan’s rules rather than Amex’s.

Membership Rewards points can also pay for flights directly at checkout on AirCanada.com through Air Canada Pay with Points, at 1,000 points = $10, with a minimum of 10 points. That route keeps the points in dollar terms instead of converting them to Aeroplan points.

Redemption options and what they pay

Amex publishes a fixed rate for each redemption type. The cents-per-point column is that rate divided out, so the options can be compared directly.

Source: Appendix 2 of the Membership Rewards Terms and Conditions; statement credits need at least 1,000 points per redemption. A statement credit from points isn’t a payment: the minimum payment is still due separately. Funds advances, fees, balance transfers, Amex cheques and travellers cheques aren’t eligible purchases for Use Points for Purchases. Points can also go to select charities, at a minimum of 1,000 points for a $10 donation.

Transfers to airline and hotel programs have no fixed cents-per-point figure, because the value depends on the award booked. A transfer returns more than the statement-credit rate only when the award it books would cost more in cash than the statement credit the same points would cover.

Buying points to top up a redemption

If a reward is slightly out of reach, Amex lets cardholders buy points at $3.00 plus tax per 100 points, for up to 25% of the points a reward requires, in blocks of 100 with a minimum purchase of 1,000 points. That price works out to 3.00 cents a point before tax, compared with 1.00 cents a point for a statement credit.

Fixed Points Travel

Under the Fixed Points Travel program, a fixed number of points covers the base ticket price of an eligible return flight, up to a maximum base ticket price for each category. The base ticket price excludes taxes, fees and carrier surcharges, which are charged to the card along with any amount above the maximum. Itineraries with premium economy or first class fares are not eligible.

Amex’s terms restrict the program from January 6, 2027: from that date it is available only for the Centurion® Card from American Express®, The Platinum Card®, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express® and The Corporate Platinum Card® from American Express® (only Corporate Platinum Cards enrolled in the program these terms govern), and only by contacting Travel & Lifestyle Services, not online. For points Quebec residents earned before that date, the terms say equivalent redemption value stays available through other redemption options. Amex says it may delay the change without notice.

The points required follow the highest class of service in the itinerary. Short haul means a flight within a province or territory or to an adjacent province, territory or U.S. state (except Alaska); long haul means a non-adjacent one (except Hawaii and Alaska). Amex counts travel between the Atlantic provinces, and from Ontario to New York or Michigan, as short haul.

The “most per point” column divides each category’s maximum base fare by its points: the highest value that redemption can reach. A cheaper fare in the same category returns less.

Source: Appendix 2 and the Fixed Points Travel section of the Membership Rewards Terms and Conditions. The short-haul popular routes Amex names are Calgary to Vancouver, Montreal to New York, Toronto to Montreal, Toronto to New York and Toronto to Ottawa.

Expiry, cancellation and losing points

• Expiry. There is no expiry or use by date on points while you stay enrolled in the program.
• Cancelling a card. If you decide to cancel your card, all points will be immediately lost. If another linked card stays open in good standing, the points are kept, but Amex’s terms say card linking is no longer available, so that only helps cards already linked. The terms suggest using points before cancelling.
• If Amex cancels the card. All points are lost immediately, whatever the reason for the cancellation.
• Missed payments. If the required monthly payment is not received on time, Amex removes the points earned in the previous month and blocks redemptions until the payments are up to date. Amex may return removed points on request, for a reinstatement fee ($20 per online request or $30 per telephone request, for each monthly reinstatement), if the request comes within 3 months of the statement showing the removal and every card is back in good standing. The points account is cancelled once a card is 3 months past due, and then the points can’t be returned.
• Sharing points. Points cannot be moved to someone else’s Membership Rewards account, and partner transfers must go to an account in your own name.

Source: Membership Rewards Terms and Conditions and the Membership Rewards program page.

Acceptance

American Express is a separate card network from Visa and Mastercard, so whether a store takes Amex is a separate question from whether it takes Visa or Mastercard. Cardholders who want rewards on every purchase sometimes carry a Visa or Mastercard as well; the cash back calculator shows what a second card would return. Amex’s site has a “See Merchants Near You” tool for checking a specific store.

Amex MR compared with other bank programs

Whether any points card beats a simple cash back card depends on spending and on how the points get used; the rewards worth-it guide works through that trade-off.

Related resources

• Aeroplan guide: how Aeroplan earning, redemption and status work
• Aeroplan points value: what an Aeroplan point buys
• RBC Avion program guide
• TD Rewards program guide
• Points vs cash back credit cards
• Best travel credit cards