In certain instances, you may find it beneficial to use the American Express Membership Reward’s Pay with Points feature when booking air travel. This program allows passengers to earn frequent flier credit and book flights that otherwise don’t have award space available.

To use this feature of your American Express card, first login to your account here.

Once on the Homepage of your American Express card that has Membership Rewards, select ‘Explore Rewards’

Near the bottom of the Membership Rewards page, you will 6 different ways to use your accumulated points. Select the forth option, ‘Book Travel.’

Next click the blue ‘Explore Amex Travel’ button to be redirected to American Express Travel

Begin the process to book your travel by first clicking ‘Start Booking.’ One thing to be aware of when booking travel is that the entire booking doesn’t have to be made with points, but you must redeem at least 5,000 points.

Fill out the departure and arrival airports and dates of travel, as well as selecting “One-Way†or “Round-Trip.†Lastly, click ‘Search Flights’ to see available flights (be aware Southwest flights and low cost carriers like Spirit are not available)

With American Express and Delta’s partnership, Delta flights will usually be featured as a top result and offer a discount if the entire trip is booked with points and flown on Delta. Scroll down to see all flight options which will feature the corresponding price and amount of point required on the right side.

You may select individual departure and return flights operated by different carriers of a round trip itinerary (this may adjust the price/points required).

After you have selected your flights, you will be prompted to review your flight booking. Confirm that the flights selected are correct before proceeding.

The final screen contains 4 sections. First put in the traveler details including contact methods, TSA information, and frequent flier if applicable.

Second, you will have the ability to select seats or you can skip this step if not important.

Before completing the purchase, American Express will require you to verify your card details. If you are paying partially with points and putting the remaining balance on your credit card as a purchase, this screen will allow you to input the amount you wish to split.

On the final screen will be the flight summary, payment details, and American Express’s policies, rules, and restrictions. Check the box if you have read and agree to them and finally click ‘Book Flight.’

You will receive an email receipt to the address on file and be provided with a confirmation number if you want to access the reservation on the airlines website.

American Express Cards that Earn Membership Rewards Points: 

• See Current Credit Card Offers here.

If you’re looking to transfer Membership Rewards points, see Transfer American Express Membership Rewards to Airline Partners and Transfer American Express Membership Rewards to Hotel Partners.