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PROGRAMME PROFILE

American Express Membership Rewards (Canada)

American Express Membership Rewards is the points currency attached to American Express cards, and this page treats the Canadian programme as its own scheme, with its own partners and terms rather than those of the US, UK or Australian versions. The official terms checked here are the American Express Membership Rewards terms for the United States, which set out how points are moved out of the programme into airline and hotel loyalty programmes. [4]

Facts checked: 18 October 2026

Key takeaways

  • Points can only be sent to a partner loyalty programme after the Rewards Account and the partner account are linked, and the partner account must belong to the cardholder or to an Additional Card Member whose card was issued at least 90 days before the link is made. [4] [5]
  • In most cases a transfer must be at least 1,000 points and in multiples of 1,000, and Amex says a transfer typically takes 48 hours to process, although some programmes post points more slowly. [4]
  • Transfers are one-way: once points reach the partner they cannot be reversed or converted back, and the partner programme's rules take over. [4] [5]

What the checked terms cover

They do not describe how points are earned on Canadian cards, which partners the Canadian programme works with, or what ratio applies to any partner; the terms state only that the transfer rate varies by partner and point to a separate rate page. [4]

For the equivalent US terms in more detail, see the US Membership Rewards profile. [4]

Linking a partner account

Before any points can move, the Rewards Account must be linked to an account in a participating airline or hotel loyalty programme. [4] [5] The partner account must be held either in the cardholder's name or in the name of an Additional Card Member on the same card account, and that Additional Card must have been issued at least 90 days before the accounts are linked. [4] The help-centre answer puts the same point more briefly: the name on the card and the name on the loyalty programme account must match for the link and the transfer to work. [5]

Amex advises checking award availability and the number of points needed before transferring, because the transfer itself cannot be undone afterwards. [5] After sending points, the member is expected to confirm in the partner account that they have arrived, then redeem them directly with the airline or hotel. [5]

Transfer amounts, timing and finality

In most cases the minimum transfer is 1,000 points and transfers must be made in multiples of 1,000. [4] Amex states that a transfer typically takes 48 hours to process, while noting that some programmes delay posting points to the partner account. [4]

Transfers are final. [4] [5] Points sent to a partner cannot be converted back into Membership Rewards points, and once transferred they are governed by the partner programme's terms, over which Amex says it has no control. [4] The same applies to a booking made with transferred miles: because a flight paid with frequent flyer miles is not charged to the card account, the insurance and other benefits that come with charging a flight to the card do not apply. [4]

Fees, caps and partner changes

Under the US terms, a member pays an excise tax offset fee of $0.0006 per point, capped at $99, on points transferred to a US airline frequent flyer programme; Amex notes the fee may be more or less than the excise tax it actually pays on an individual transfer. [4]

The terms also cover what happens when a partner leaves: if an airline loyalty programme stops participating, Amex may limit how many points can be transferred to it before participation ends, and says that limit will be at least 100,000 points. [4] Separately, if the only card product linked to a Rewards Account is a Legacy Card, the transfer option is not available at all. [4]

Exceptions and limits

  • No card account linked. If a member has no card account linked to the Rewards Account and only a checking account, use of points is limited to redeeming for deposits or transferring to a limited selection of partner loyalty programmes. [4]
  • Legacy Card only. Where the only card product linked to the Rewards Account is a Legacy Card, points transfers are excluded. [4]
  • Additional Card Members. An Additional Card Member's partner account can be linked, but only if that card was issued at least 90 days before linking, and the FAQ frames the general rule as matching the names on the card and the loyalty account. [4] [5]
  • Partner-side conditions. Minimum transfer sizes, processing times and redemption rules are described by Amex as applying "in most cases" and as varying by partner, so a specific partner's own terms decide what happens after the transfer. [4]
  • Canadian coverage.

Sources

Sources checked on 18 October 2026. The sources are the American Express Membership Rewards terms for the United States and an Amex US help-centre answer on transferring points; the Canadian, UK and Australian Membership Rewards terms are not covered here, so no Canadian partner list, transfer ratio or fee is stated on this page.

  1. Membership Rewards Program Terms and Conditions (US), checked 18 October 2026
  2. How do I transfer Membership Rewards points? (Amex US help centre), checked 18 October 2026

American Express Membership Rewards (Canada) on Flyerfolio

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