Amex transfer partners: the 20 programs Membership Rewards moves to in 2026

What Amex MR actually gets you

American Express Membership Rewards is the widest transferable currency among the premium-fee US issuers: 17 airline partners and 3 hotel partners, more than Chase UR (13), Citi TY (16), or Capital One (18). Bilt alone reaches more programs (23, mostly because it adds Hyatt, IHG, Wyndham, and Accor as hotel partners MR doesn't), but Bilt's earning model is rent-anchored through the Bilt Card 2.0 lineup (Blue / Obsidian / Palladium) which makes accumulating Bilt points at premium-MR earning rates harder for most non-renter spending. If you're paying for a Platinum, Gold, or Business Platinum, MR is the broadest list available to you.

Most ratios are 1:1, with four exceptions worth knowing before you transfer: Cathay Pacific Asia Miles 5:4 (devalued March 1, 2026), Emirates Skywards 5:4 (devalued September 2025), JetBlue TrueBlue 5:4, and Hilton Honors 1:2 (the only ratio where worse-on-paper still works out, because Hilton points value around 0.4 cpp). MR is earned on the Platinum, Gold, Green, Business Platinum, Business Gold, and Blue Business Plus cards. Counts and ratios cross-checked against Frequent Miler and Upgraded Points; our partner audit 2026-05-17.

Amex Membership Rewards transfer partners

Airlines (17)

Hotels (3)

List verified against Frequent Miler, Upgraded Points, and The Points Guy on 2026-05-17. Most recent change: Cathay devalued from 1:1 to 5:4 on March 1, 2026 (LoyaltyLobby, Frequent Miler). Both previously deferred partners (Aeromexico and Choice Privileges) are now in the Points Radar calculator as of 2026-05-17.

New to alliances? See our airline alliances explainer for an interactive map of all 60+ carriers across Star, oneworld, SkyTeam, and the independents, pre-filtered to what an Amex MR balance can reach.

Active transfer bonuses right now

Top redemptions, sorted by value per point

How to actually use Amex MR

1. Pick the partner before the destination. MR's reach is so wide that "best use" depends entirely on where you want to go and what cabin. Tokyo in First? Virgin Atlantic to ANA at 85,000 miles one-way from JFK or 72,500 from SFO/ORD (our ANA First sweet spot, last audited 2026-04-15). Europe in business? Flying Blue promo awards at 45K one-way when the monthly cycle aligns (our Flying Blue promo page). Dubai in First? Emirates at 163,500 MR one-way (130,800 Skywards × 5/4 after the September 2025 devaluation). Skywards now gates First Class awards to Silver-or-higher members since May 12, 2025 (LoyaltyLobby).
2. Confirm availability before you transfer. Transfers are permanent. Use the radar or seats.aero to verify award space on your dates, then move points. Most airline transfers post instantly to 24 hours; Aeroplan and Singapore are usually instant, BA and Flying Blue typically 24-48 hours. Hotel transfers take 1-2 business days.
3. Move only what you need. Transfer the exact booking total plus a small buffer for taxes. Orphaned partner balances are hard to use up, especially at programs you don't actively earn in.
4. Stack with active bonuses, but read the ratio first. A 20% bonus to Hilton (live now, expiring 2026-05-30 per our live transfer-bonus tracker) sounds great until you multiply: 1 MR × 1.2 (bonus) × 2 (ratio) = 2.4 Hilton points, and Hilton points value around 0.4 cpp. That's ~0.96 cpp on the MR, below-average for a transfer. A 30% bonus to Virgin Atlantic at the same time would be worth chasing harder because Virgin redemptions can clear 10 cpp.

What Amex MR does not transfer to

MR's gaps are smaller than the other issuers' but they exist. MR does not reach:

• United MileagePlus directly. The workaround is Aeroplan (US-Europe business from 60K one-way on routes under 4,000 great-circle miles), Singapore, or Avianca to book United metal at partner rates.
• American AAdvantage. Citi (post-2025-07-27 reintroduction) is the only US transferable that reaches AAdvantage; MR does not. (Bilt's AAdvantage partnership ended 2024-06-24 per TPG.)
• Alaska Mileage Plan (Bilt-only).
• Turkish Airlines Miles&Smiles. Turkish is not an MR partner for US cardholders despite being widely listed elsewhere (verified against three secondary sources during our 2026-05-17 audit). Citi, Capital One, and Bilt reach Turkish.
• World of Hyatt. The biggest single gap. Hyatt is the highest-value hotel transfer in the market and only Bilt and Chase reach it. If Hyatt is core to your travel, MR alone isn't enough. For one-off Hyatt stays where you don't want a second issuer card just for that brand, paid rates at Hotels.com are the cash fallback.
• IHG One Rewards. Chase and Bilt reach IHG. MR holders use Marriott or Choice for similar mid-tier hotel needs.

Cross-referenced against every transferable currency's partner list on 2026-05-17. If Hyatt and United are central to your strategy, treat MR as a complement to Chase UR or Bilt, not a foundation.

What can go wrong

• Etihad transfers end June 30, 2026. The transferable link disappears in about six weeks (Frequent Miler, confirmed against three other tier-2 sources during our partner audit on 2026-05-17). If you've been sitting on MR for an Etihad redemption, the window is now. After June 30, the only transferable currencies reaching Etihad are Citi TY and Capital One.
• Cathay devalued in March. The 5:4 hit means a 70K Asia Miles redemption now costs 87,500 MR instead of 70K. Bilt, Capital One, and Citi still transfer to Cathay at 1:1 and should be the preferred funding source for Cathay bookings going forward.
• JetBlue at 5:4 is a value trap. TrueBlue redemptions are revenue-based (1.35 cpp per TPG May 2026 valuations). At a 5:4 ratio, you're transferring 1 MR for ~1.08 cents of JetBlue value. Almost any other partner beats this on cents-per-point. Use MR for JetBlue only when no other partner gets you there.
• Hilton's 1:2 ratio masks low point value. Don't equate "1:2" with "twice as good." Hilton points value sub-cent; the ratio bakes that in. 1 MR → 2 Hilton at 0.4 cpp lands around 0.8 cpp on the MR, the same as 1 MR → 1 Marriott at 0.8 cpp (TPG May 2026 valuations).
• High-cash-value redemptions still need trip protection. Amex Platinum's trip-cancellation cap sits at $10,000 per trip and trip-interruption at $20,000 per 12-month period (Amex Platinum trip-cancellation terms). Premium MR redemptions can clear that cancellation cap on a single ticket: a 163,500-MR Emirates First booking represents around $11,500-$15,000 of cash equivalent at retail. (Premium Global Assist coordinates emergency evacuation but doesn't carry an included dollar cap on the evacuation cost itself.) Amex Gold and Green don't include trip-cancellation or interruption coverage at all. For trips at this scale, trip insurance via World Nomads We receive a fee when you get a quote from World Nomads using this link. We do not represent World Nomads. This is not a recommendation to buy travel insurance. fills the gap above those caps.

May 2026 firsthand

One live MR bonus right now (our live transfer-bonus tracker, 2026-05-17): MR → Hilton at +20%, expiring 2026-05-30. The bonus stacks usefully with Hilton's fifth-night-free benefit, which kicks in for Silver-and-above Honors members on 5+ night standard-room award stays (Hilton Help Center; the no-fee Hilton Honors Amex auto-grants Silver, so most MR holders qualify). For status holders, the combined stack pencils to ~50% net value uplift (1.20 × 1.25 = 1.50) on a 5-night booking. Basic Honors members without Silver get just the 20% bonus.

The bigger calendar item this month is the Etihad cutoff on June 30. Etihad's First Apartment award space has been more available than usual in May (our pipeline, week of 2026-05-12), likely as a "use them or lose them" pulse from members. If you've been considering a JFK-AUH redemption, the next six weeks are the operative window.