With over 20 transfer partners at your disposal, American Express Membership Rewards® points are incredibly valuable. If you have a card like *amex platinum* or the *amex gold* that earns Amex points, a world of travel opportunities opens up for you.
And for a little while longer, you can even turn your Amex points into ultra-valuable Alaska miles by first transferring them to Hawaiian Airlines. But that workaround won't be around for long: Hawaiian will no longer be an Amex transfer partner after June 30!
Sure, many Amex cards come with high annual fees and some of the benefits are questionable, but they also come with incredibly generous welcome offers – and a longer, six-month window to earn the bonus. Add in the points you can earn from referring a friend, shopping through Rakuten, or using an Amex Offer and it's quite easy to amass a meaningful stash of points in a hurry.
Here are some of the absolute fastest ways to rack up Amex points.
1. Earn the Biggest Amex Card Welcome Offer
Don't settle for less. Most banks offer the same bonus regardless of where you apply, but not American Express. Just how many points you earn (and how much you need to spend to get them) can vary wildly depending on where you apply.
You may see a welcome offer on the Platinum Card for 80,000 points after spending $8,000 in six months, available directly with Amex or through sites like ours. But open that same page in an incognito browser and it could be more than double the points … with the same spending requirement.
Special offers through partners like Resy or CardMatch complicate things further.
It's up to you to track down the biggest bonus you can before hitting that “apply” button. And it's critical that you do: American Express only allows you to earn a welcome offer on each of their cards once per lifetime.
Whether it's applying through a friend's referral link, opening a card through CardMatch, using an incognito browser, or checking out the offers on Resy's website, be sure to exhaust all of these methods before you apply for a new Amex card.
Just know, if you're hoping to earn a big bonus and then transfer those points to Hawaiian, that's likely not an option. Even if you were able to meet the minimum spending requirement with one swipe, your new card bonus won't post to your account until a few days after your first statement is generated.
Read more: How to Make Sure You Get the Biggest Bonus You Can on Amex Cards
2. Refer a Friend
Not only can you score the best offers by applying through referral links from family and friends, you can also earn bonus points when you refer a friend to open a new Amex card.
Best of all, Amex referral bonuses post fast – generally within a day or two of your friend getting approved. This makes it the absolute best way to earn points in a hurry … and an especially useful option for anyone looking to transfer more points to Hawaiian (and then Alaska) while you still can.
The most lucrative referral offers are often found on the Amex Platinum and Gold cards, but beyond Membership Rewards points, you could earn bonus points and miles across Amex's portfolio of co-branded airline and hotel cards as well.
The best part? The link that you share doesn't require friends and family members to apply for that specific card. Rather, they are able to select the perfect card for themselves among Amex's vast personal and business card options. The flexibility makes it a lot easier for you to earn bonus points through a referral.
3. Amex Offers
With Amex Offers, American Express opens an easy way for cardholders to get cash back (or extra points) back on everyday purchases with select retailers on travel, dining, shopping, entertainment and more. Add one to your Amex card, make an eligible purchase, and get something back – it's that easy.
If you're unfamiliar with Amex Offers, you can think of them as a sort of digital coupon or rebate that you get when using your American Express card for purchases.
Although most of these offers give you cash back, you'll sometimes be targeted to earn bonus points or miles instead of a monetary statement credit. Fortunately, you won't have to wait long for your rewards to be deposited as cash back and bonus could be awarded as early as a few days after purchases post.
No matter which type of offer your American Express cards are targeted for, they can be a great way to save money or earn additional points. It's a good idea to add them to your card if you think there's even a slight chance that you'll be able to put them to use – especially as many will disappear as soon as a certain amount of cardholders have done so.
Read more: Amex Offers: The Key to Saving Money with Your American Express Cards
4. Ask for a Retention Offer
Retention offers are a great way to earn bonus points and miles for keeping your card open after you've earned that big welcome bonus. They're the banks' way of convincing you to stay on as a customer (and pay another year of annual fees) if you're thinking of canceling your card.
A lot of times, these retention offers will come with some sort of spending requirement … but not always. If you do have to spend a certain amount of money in order to get a retention bonus, you might not be able to earn the points fast enough to transfer to Hawaiian. But if you've already got a stash of Amex points sitting around, you could move those over and rest easy knowing they'll soon be replenished.
Simply call up the customer service line on the back of your card – or chat online (when logged into your account) – and let them know you're thinking about canceling your card unless there's a discount or other incentive to keep it open.
Here's an example from a recent Amex chat:
Oh, and a little tip: You can get one of these retention offers even if you aren't actually thinking about letting your card go. Critically, you have to ask for a retention offer – or at the very least, threaten to close your card. Don't expect the bank to come to you offering a bonus.
Just because you ask doesn't mean you'll get a retention offer – it varies bank by bank and from person to person. Still, it's worth asking, even if you're not seriously thinking of canceling your card. The worst they can say is no.
Who knows? You might just be able to get an offer you can't refuse.
5. Earn Amex Points Through Rakuten
Want a quick and easy way to earn more valuable Amex Membership Rewards points?
For anyone unfamiliar, Rakuten is one of the absolute best shopping portals out there – an easy way to earn extra cash back on your online shopping. But if cashback isn't your cup of tea, being able to earn Amex points is a game-changer.
And if you're new to Rakuten, it gets even better: Right now, you can earn 7,500 Amex points just for signing up and making a $25 purchase. These are some of the easiest points you'll ever earn!
If you've been using Rakuten for years and would like to start earning Amex points instead of cashback, simply click under your name and go to “Account Settings.” By default, payments will be set to be sent as a “Big Fat Check.” Instead, click on American Express to link your account.
Just know: If you switch back to earning cash rewards, you won't be able to change your mind again.
Read our guide to linking your Amex account to Rakuten
For travelers looking to add to their stash of points, linking Amex and Rakuten is a no-brainer. Best of all, there's no need to actually pay with an Amex card when using Rakuten in order to earn points. So long as your accounts are linked, you can earn Amex points no matter which card you use to pay.
In the last month, I earned 42,000 points just by taking advantage of some lucrative offers available through Rakuten!
As with Rakuten cashback, don't expect to be able to use those points immediately. They're deposited into your Amex account on the same quarterly schedule as cash payouts: Feb. 15, May 15, Aug. 15, and Nov. 15 each year. Since the next payout will be in August, well after the Amex and Hawaiian transfers end, this won't be a realistic workaround to earn additional Alaska miles.
Bottom Line
Let's be honest, what traveler wouldn't benefit from padding their balance of Amex points? If you want to add to your stash of Membership Rewards – whether you're hoping to convert them to Alaska miles or not – these are the best ways to earn Amex points in a hurry.
Good info. Will rakiten give sign up bonus points to my Hilton amex card?