How to monitor transfer partner devaluations

What is the difference between a transfer-ratio change and an award-chart change?

A transfer ratio is the rate at which points leave the bank programme and arrive in the partner currency. It sits with the bank: a change there alters the number of bank points every redemption in that currency costs, whether or not the airline has touched its own prices. American Express describes transfers as moving Membership Rewards points into participating frequent flyer or hotel loyalty programmes, with the transferred points then governed by the partner programme's terms. [5]

An award-chart change sits with the partner. It alters the number of partner points a specific award costs, so it bites hardest on the routes and cabins you actually book, while leaving the transfer rate untouched.

Keep the two apart for a practical reason: a single blended "devaluation" number hides which document moved, and only one of the two is fixed by the party you are transferring from. It also tells you which set of pages to re-read first when a trip you are planning suddenly looks more expensive.

How do you run a transfer-partner monitoring routine?

1. List the routes you actually use. For each one, note the bank programme, the partner programme and the specific loyalty account you would transfer into. American Express requires the Rewards Account to be linked to the partner programme account, and that partner account must be held by you or by an Additional Card Member linked to your Rewards Account. [5]
2. Confirm the account is already eligible. Where an Additional Card Member's partner account is used, American Express requires that Additional Card to have been issued at least 90 days before the accounts are linked. [5] A route that fails this test is a planning problem, not a devaluation.
3. Fix a schedule and stick to it. A quarterly pass, plus one immediately before any transfer you are about to make, catches most published movements in time to act on them.
4. Re-read the source pages on each pass. Open the bank's transfer page and the partner's award pages, and record the current wording or figure with the date you saw it.
5. Compare with your previous record. A difference is a prompt to read the surrounding conditions and exceptions again, not a conclusion on its own.
6. Re-check immediately before transferring. American Express advises checking availability and the number of points needed before completing a transfer, because the transfer is final. [5]

What should a monitoring record contain?

A record is only useful if it is dated and if it copies the published wording rather than your reading of it. A five-field entry is enough.

When a transfer is made, add the date and the rate that applied on that date to the same entry. Because all transfers are final and cannot be reversed, that note is the only record of what the points cost you. [5]

Limits and exceptions

• Published changes only. The routine reads official pages, so it shows a change once the programme has published it; it cannot anticipate a change that has not appeared in those pages.
• Award space is not an award chart. An award search returning no seats is a statement about availability on that route, not about the price of an award. American Express treats availability and the number of points needed as two separate things to confirm before a transfer [5], and the monitoring log should keep them in separate fields.
• No undo. All points transfers are final and cannot be reversed, so a ratio or chart change discovered afterwards applies to points that have already left the bank account. [5]
• Name matching. The name on the Card and the name on the selected loyalty programme account must be the same for the accounts to link and the transfer to succeed, so a mismatched name blocks a transfer regardless of the price. [5]
• Market. These conditions are those published by American Express for its United States Membership Rewards programme; other bank programmes set their own linking rules and their own transfer terms. [5]

Frequently asked questions

Can a Membership Rewards transfer to a partner programme be reversed?

No. American Express states that all points transfers are final and cannot be reversed, and that customers should check availability and the number of points required before completing a transfer. [5]

Whose name has to be on the partner account?

The name on the Card and the name on the selected loyalty programme account must match for the accounts to be linked and the transfer to go through. [5] The partner account must be held by you or by an Additional Card Member linked to your Rewards Account. [5]

How long must an Additional Card be open before linking its partner account?

American Express requires the Additional Card to have been issued at least 90 days before the Rewards Account is linked to that Additional Card Member's partner programme account. [5]

Which terms apply once the points arrive with the airline or hotel?

The transferred points are subject to the terms and conditions of the partner loyalty programme, and are then redeemed directly with that airline or hotel. [5]

Related pages

See the transfer partner master directory for where each bank currency can be sent, and the definition of points devaluation for what counts as one. Before booking anything found through this routine, work through the airline promotion terms checklist, and browse the full glossary of frequent flyer terms.

Sources

Sources accessed on 18 October 2026. Airline and hotel award charts, and bank currencies other than American Express Membership Rewards, are not described here.

1. American Express customer service: How do I transfer Membership Rewards points?, checked 18 October 2026