6 Excellent Ways to Spend 350,000 American Express Membership Rewards points

Book a holiday with the points you could earn from your Amex Platinum Business card
There are a lot of memorable experiences you could get with 350,000 Membership Rewards points.

With its high points-earning potential and huge suite of additional benefits, the American Express® Platinum Business is already the ultimate Card for business owners.

But if you’re undecided, there’s another great reason to apply for this Card now. Until 25 June 2024, new American Express Card Members can earn a massive sign-up bonus of 350,000 American Express Membership Rewards® points when you spend at least $12,000 on eligible purchases in the first 3 months1. That’s equivalent to 175,000 Qantas Points, Velocity Points or Qatar Airways Avios!

What is 350,000 American Express Membership Rewards points worth?

Firstly, what exactly can 350,000 Amex Membership Rewards points get you?

Of course, you can redeem Amex Points for rewards like Gift Cards2, credit back to your Account3, travel and online shopping. You can also transfer the points earned with your Amex Platinum Business Card to 12 different airlines, plus two hotel loyalty programs4.

Here’s the full list of airline and hotel loyalty programs that you can transfer your points to, and what you’d get for 350,000 American Express Membership Rewards points:

Partner programConversion rateWhat you get for 350,000 Membership Rewards Points
Air New Zealand Airpoints200:11,750 Airpoints Dollars
Cathay2:1175,000 Asia Miles
Emirates Skywards3:1116,667 miles
Etihad Guest2:1175,000 miles
HawaiianMiles2:1175,000 miles
Hilton Honors2:1175,000 points
Malaysia Airlines Enrich2:1175,000 points
Marriott Bonvoy3:2233,333 points
Qantas Frequent Flyer2:1175,000 points
Qatar Airways Privilege Club2:1175,000 Avios
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer3:1116,667 miles
Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus2:1175,000 miles
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club2:1175,000 points
Velocity Frequent Flyer2:1175,000 points

Experiences you could book with 350,000 Membership Rewards points

As you can see, there are a lot of different things that 350,000 Membership Rewards points could get for you or your business!

To give you some inspiration, here are six ideas using different program partners…

Fly Qatar Airways Business Class to Athens (and back)

Travel to Greece in style, flying there in Qatar Airways Business Class!

Use Amex Points to fly to Athens, Greece
Athens, Greece. Photo: Adobe Stock.

One of the programs you can transfer your American Express Membership Rewards points into is Qatar Airways Privilege Club.

It would cost 170,000 Qatar Avios + $710 in taxes & charges for a round-trip Business Class award ticket from Melbourne to Athens via Doha, flying on Qatar Airways. This includes flights in Qsuites between Melbourne and Doha.

Book Qatar Airways Qsuite by transferring Amex Points into Qatar Privilege Club
Qatar Airways Qsuite. Photo: Qatar Airways.

Business Class tickets to Bali for two

By transferring your Membership Rewards points into Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, you can access award seats across the SkyTeam alliance. This includes on Garuda Indonesia, a SkyTeam airline that flies from both Sydney and Melbourne to Bali.

Garuda offers lie-flat Business Class on its flights to and from Australia. It also often has quite good award availability, and you can book those reward seats using Virgin Atlantic points.

Garuda Indonesia A330-300 Super Diamond Business Class seats
Garuda Indonesia A330-300 Business Class. Image: Garuda.

It would cost 80,000 Virgin Atlantic points + $435 in taxes & charges for a round-trip Garuda Business Class ticket from Sydney to Bali. You could book for two people with 160,000 Virgin Atlantic points (equal to 320,000 Membership Rewards points) + $869 in taxes and charges.

Garuda SYD-DPS reward seats available to book using Virgin Points on the Virgin Atlantic website
Example of a Flying Club redemption available from Sydney to Bali. Screenshot from the Virgin Atlantic website taken on 7 March 2024.

Holiday in Hawaii

Fly to Honolulu in style in Hawaiian Airlines Business Class, where your Hawaiian holiday starts from the moment you board the plane!

Hawaiian Airlines customer service agent hands over a boarding pass
You can transfer Membership Rewards points to Hawaiian Airlines’ loyalty program. Photo: Hawaiian Airlines.

Return Business Class flights from Sydney to Honolulu start from 130,000 HawaiianMiles, equivalent to 260,000 Membership Rewards points, plus $160 in taxes and charges.

You could even transfer the remaining 115,000 Membership Rewards points to Hilton Honors or Marriott Bonvoy, and use them to book your accommodation in Hawaii. Plus, thanks to the complimentary Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy Gold status you receive as an Amex Platinum Business Card Member, you’ll be entitled to perks at your hotel including a free room upgrade if available5.

Save big on Qantas domestic Business Class

Need to fly yourself or your employees around the country, and prefer the comfort of Business Class?

You can of course transfer your Membership Rewards points to Qantas Frequent Flyer or Virgin Australia Velocity. But you might be able to get an even better deal, when redeeming for routes under 2,000 miles, using British Airways Executive Club.

Although you can’t transfer Membership Rewards points directly to British Airways, you can transfer them to Qatar Airways Privilege Club. From there, simply convert your Qatar Airways Avios to British Airways Avios at a 1:1 rate.

You can easily redeem British Airways Avios for Qantas flights on the British Airways website, and routes like Perth-Melbourne are superb value. For example, it would cost 44,000 British Airways Avios + $115 in taxes and charges for a return Qantas Business Class flight from Perth to Melbourne.

Qantas Airbus A330-200 Business Class
Qantas domestic Airbus A330 Business Class. Photo: Qantas.

From one Credit Card sign-up bonus, you’d almost have enough points to book four round-trip tickets from Perth to Melbourne in Business Class. Qantas normally charges more than $3,500 for one return trip!

You could book Economy on the same route for 22,000 Avios + $115 in taxes and charges round-trip. With 350,000 Membership Rewards points (worth 175,000 Avios) at your disposal, that’s almost 8 return trips.

Fly Singapore Airlines First Class

You could transfer your Membership Rewards points to Singapore Airlines’ KrisFlyer program and use them to book a First Class flight on Singapore Airlines!

Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER First Class
Singapore Airlines Boeing 777-300ER First Class. Photo: Singapore Airlines.

It would cost 93,500 Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles (equivalent to 280,500 Membership Rewards points), plus $116 in taxes and charges, for a one-way First Saver award from Sydney to Singapore, flying on the Boeing 777-300ER.

SQ KrisFlyer First Saver award on the SYD-SIN route
Singapore Airlines First Saver availability on the Singapore Airlines website on 9 May 2024.

Unfortunately you wouldn’t quite have enough points left to return in First Class as well, but you would have enough to return to Australia in Economy Class.

Fly around the world on Oneworld airlines

It would cost 132,400 Qantas Points, plus taxes & carrier charges, to book a Oneworld Classic Flight Reward in Economy. That’s equal to 264,800 American Express Membership Rewards points.

With this ticket, you can fly around the world on any Oneworld member airlines with up to five stopovers!

Enjoy even more benefits while you travel

The sign-up bonus of 350,000 Membership Rewards points is just the beginning. While you’re enjoying your travels, you can also take advantage of the many other benefits that come with your Amex Platinum Business Card.

For example, Card Members can get access to the following airport lounges:

  • Virgin Australia Domestic Lounges (when flying Virgin Australia)
  • Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta)
  • Lufthansa Business Lounges (when flying Lufthansa)
  • All Priority Pass lounges, regardless of the airline you’re flying (one time enrollment into Priority Pass is required)
Virgin Australia Lounge, Melbourne
The Virgin Australia Lounge in Melbourne. Photo: Virgin Australia.

There’s also a host of hotel benefits, including instant Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status. Plus, you can register for complimentary Accor Plus membership, giving you a free hotel night each year, discounts at Accor hotels in the Asia-Pacific and instant Accor Live Limitless Silver status6.

And when you or anyone with an Employee Card travels, you’ll be protected by complimentary domestic and international travel insurance, underwritten by Chubb. (You can add up to 99 Employee Cards at no additional cost.) Terms, conditions and exclusions apply (such as maximum age limits, pre-existing medical conditions and cover limits). Read the American Express Platinum Business Credit Card Insurance T&Cs here.

That’s just the start of the benefits you can expect with an American Express Platinum Business Card!


* Terms & Conditions

1. 350,000 Membership Rewards Bonus Points: Offer only available to new American Express Card Members who apply by 25 June 2024, are approved and spend $12,000 on eligible purchases on their new Card in the first three (3) months from the Card approval date. Eligible purchases do not include Card fees and charges, for example annual fees, interest, late payment, cash advances, balance transfers, traveller’s cheques and foreign currency conversion. Card Members who currently hold or who have previously held any Card product issued by American Express Australia Limited in the past 18 months are ineligible for this offer. 350,000 Membership Rewards Bonus Points will be awarded to the eligible Card Member’s account 8-10 weeks after the spend criteria has been met. Subject to the Terms and Conditions of the Membership Rewards Program available at americanexpress.com/en-au/rewards/membership-rewards/terms. The American Express® Platinum Business Card has an annual fee of $1750. This advertised offer is not applicable or valid in conjunction with any other advertised or promotional offer.

2. Gift Cards: Gift Card or voucher rewards are not redeemable or exchangeable for cash or credit and are valid for a period of minimum 3 years from the date of issue, unless otherwise stated. We are not responsible if any Gift Card is lost, stolen, or destroyed, or the Gift Card is used without your permission. Membership Reward terms and conditions apply. Normal retailer gift card or voucher conditions apply, refer to the gift card or retailer website for details.

3. Points for Credit: Points may be redeemed by the Basic Card Member for a credit on the Primary Card Account (the Card which your Membership Rewards points balance appears online). American Express may decline a Points for Credit request where the Card Account or Card Member’s other Accounts with American Express are not in good standing or overdue. The redemption of points for credit will be administered solely by American Express within 3 business days and cannot be reversed. Points for Credit is not available for redemption by Corporate Card Accounts and is not redeemable for cash via Credit balance refund. A minimum of 8,000 points must be redeemed at any one time.

4. Membership Rewards Points: Subject to the Terms and Conditions of the Membership Rewards program available at americanexpress.com/en-au/rewards/membership-rewards/terms .To transfer Membership Rewards points into an Airline or Frequent Guest Partner Program you must be a member of the Partner Program. Membership of the Partner Program is the Card Members responsibility and is subject to the terms and conditions of the applicable Program. A joining fee may apply. Award seats are not available on all routes. Please check availability with the Partner prior to transferring your points. Charges/levies/taxes may apply. The redemption of points will be administered solely by American Express. A minimum transfer amount applies. Points transferred to Partner Airlines are not reversible and American Express holds no responsibility for flight or accommodation availability, which may be limited. This is at the sole discretion of the Airline and Hotel Partners.

5.  Hotel Elite Status

Hilton Honors. As a Platinum Card Member you are eligible to enrol in complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status. Offer available only to Platinum Card Members and is not transferable. Full details of Gold status can be found at HiltonHonors.com/MemberBenefits and is subject to change by Hilton. Gold status benefits are subject to availability at participating hotels and resorts within the Hilton Portfolio. Once you request enrolment in Hilton Honors Gold status, American Express will share your enrolment information with Hilton. Hilton may use this information in accordance with its privacy policy available at Hilton.com/PrivacyPolicy. If you already have Hilton Honors Gold Status, you can maintain the benefit in the future because you don’t need to meet any stay requirements. You maintain Gold status without meeting otherwise required criteria only while an eligible cardholder or until American Express notifies you that the benefit is terminated. Hilton Honors™ membership, earning and redemption of Points are subject to Hilton Honors Terms & Conditions. All Hampton by Hilton™ hotels in the Republic of China are excluded from the Hilton Honors program. Visit HiltonHonors.com/Terms for more details. Effective April 2, 2018, the Earnings Style Options program, including Points and Points and Points and Miles, is no longer a valid feature of Hilton Honors. Any claims relating to the earning of Points and/or Miles under the Earnings Style Option program after April 2, 2018 are void.

Marriott Bonvoy. As an American Express Platinum Business Card Member you are eligible to enroll in complimentary Marriott Bonvoy™ Gold Elite Status. Once you request enrollment within the Marriott Bonvoy at the Gold Elite Status level, American Express will share your enrolment information with The Marriott Bonvoy™ Program (“Marriott Bonvoy™”). Marriott Bonvoy may use this information in accordance with its privacy statement available at www.marriott.com/privacy. You will maintain Gold Elite Status without meeting otherwise required Marriott Bonvoy criteria as long as you remain an eligible American Express Card Member or until American Express notifies you that the benefit is terminated. Marriott Bonvoy member benefits are subject to change, availability and certain eligibility requirements. Reservations booked through third parties and online booking sources are not eligible. For complete Marriott Bonvoy Program terms visit https://www.marriott.com/loyalty/terms/default.mi. Marriott Bonvoy program amenities may not be combined with the Fine Hotels + Resorts program. Upgrades are based upon availability and will vary by property.

6. Accor Plus Complimentary Membership. An annual Accor Plus membership is valued at AU$399, found at accorplus.com/au/benefits as at 1 August 2022. Enrolment is required to receive a complimentary Accor Plus membership. An Accor Plus membership is available only to the Primary Platinum Card Member. Membership privileges will only be granted on presentation of a valid membership card and a member must identify themselves as an Accor Plus member at time of booking. Accommodation bookings must be made through all.accor.com or accorplus.com. American Express reserves the right to instruct Accor Plus to cancel your membership if you cease to be a Platinum Card Member or your account is not in good standing. Complimentary membership is a continuing benefit of your American Express Platinum Card, however American Express reserves the right to discontinue the benefit, upon providing you with reasonable notice. Once enrolled, enrolment continues for at least 12 months. If you become ineligible for this benefit or if this benefit ends, the Accor Plus membership standard eligibility criteria will apply to you. Visit accorplus.com for full membership conditions, benefits and participating properties. Room allotment for Stay Plus complimentary night stays are limited each night per participating property and must be made by visiting and booking through all.accor.com or accorplus.com. Membership privileges are subject to exceptions listed at accorplus.com/au/benefits-exceptions.

American Express® Platinum Business Card
Earn
2.25

American Express Membership Rewards points on everyday purchases

Signup Bonus

350,000 Bonus Membership Rewards points

Apply by 05th Nov 2024

Annual Fee
$1,750 p.a. and up to 99 Employee Cards at no additional cost
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