Use Points To Pay Amex Bill: The Best Way To Get Added Value From Your Rewards

Paying your Amex bill with points is one of the most valuable ways to redeem American Express Membership Rewards. By using points to cover charges on your statement, you can get over 1 cent per point in value – far exceeding most other redemption options. In this article, we’ll walk through everything you need to know about using points to pay your Amex bill, including how it works, what charges are eligible, and how to maximize the value you get from this redemption option.

How Paying Your Amex Bill With Points Works

The process of using points to pay your bill is straightforward. Here are the key steps:

• First, make sure you have an eligible American Express card that earns Membership Rewards points. Most personal and business cards are eligible, but there are some exceptions.

• When your statement period closes, log in to your Amex account online or via the app You’ll see your statement balance under the “Pay Bill” section

• Click on “Pay with Points” and select how many points you want to use to cover all or part of your balance. You can pay the entire amount due or just a portion.

• Amex will deduct the points from your account and apply a statement credit to lower your bill. Each point is worth 1 cent towards your balance when redeemed this way.

• Pay any remaining balance using another payment method by the due date, The portion covered by points is paid,

It’s that easy! American Express will automatically select eligible charges on your statement to apply the statement credit towards.

What Charges Are Eligible To Pay With Points?

While most charges on your Amex card are valid for paying with points there are some exceptions

• Fees from American Express: Annual fees, late payment fees, returned payment fees, and other charges from Amex itself cannot be paid with points.

• Cash advances: Any cash advances or cash equivalents like traveler’s checks are ineligible.

• Interest charges: If you are carrying a balance and incur interest charges, these cannot be paid with points.

• Gift cards or prepaid cards: If you purchase an American Express gift card or other prepaid card, these transactions are not valid for point redemptions.

As long as a charge does not fall into one of those categories, you should be able to use Membership Rewards points towards it, including purchases, monthly subscriptions, bills, or any other eligible expenses.

Why Is Paying Your Bill With Points Valuable?

Most point redemption options with American Express offer less than 1 cent per point in value when you do the math. For example:

• Transferring points to airline partners can provide high value for award travel if redeemed wisely. However, it still averages around 0.9 to 1 cent per point by most valuations.

• Using points in the Amex Travel portal comes in at approximately 0.7 to 0.8 cents per point typically.

• Getting statement credits against travel purchases tends to return about 0.5 to 0.7 cents per point.

• Redeeming points for gift cards is usually the lowest value at 0.4 to 0.5 cents per point.

When you use points to directly pay your Amex bill, you are getting a guaranteed 1 cent per point with no fluctuations. This represents an excellent fixed value that exceeds most other options.

Depending on how you value Membership Rewards points, paying your bill with points can provide anywhere from 20% to 100% more value over other redemption choices. It’s one of the best ways to use points to maximize their worth.

Strategies To Get Even More Value From Pay With Points

If you want to squeeze every bit of value from the Pay with Points option, here are some savvy strategies to consider:

• Pay your bill when charges are higher: Using points to pay your bill when you’ve made large purchases, had a big monthly spend, or when your balance is unusually high allows your points to offset more expensive transactions.

• Use points for bills or mandatory expenses: Rather than paying for discretionary spending, try to redeem points for essential utilities, cell phone bills, insurance payments, or other necessary expenses that you have to pay anyway.

• Combine with Amex Offers for double savings: Look for Amex Offers that provide statement credits on purchases with certain merchants or in certain categories. The points discount and Amex Offer savings stack for extra value.

• Pay your bill before the due date: If you wait until the due date to pay with points, you miss out on up to a month’s worth of interest that could accrue. Pay your bill early in the cycle so your points redeem against the full balance.

• Supplement extra payments with points: Got extra cash to pay down your balance faster? Make an extra payment and then cover the remaining amount with points to pay your bill off aggressively.

The Bottom Line

Redeeming American Express Membership Rewards points to pay your Amex bill offers an easy way to use points that consistently provides the highest cent-per-point value available. While transfer partners can sometimes provide outsized value, paying your bill with points guarantees you get over 1 cent per point redeeming against real purchases. Use this option often whenever you have charges racking up to maximize the worth of your hard-earned points.