Maximizing Your Rewards: Unlocking the Power of Amex Points Through Apple Pay

American Express has always had a strong integration with Apple Pay, and now it is enhancing the experience by allowing eligible US cardholders to use Membership Rewards points for payment instead of their credit card balance.

The feature, known as “Use Pay with Points with Apple Pay,” is seamlessly integrated into Apple Wallet, enabling users to redeem points during a transaction as easily as they can pay with cash.

Lisa Kalhans, Executive Vice President of US Consumer Cards at American Express, expressed, “Card Members want rewards that align with their shopping and spending habits. With this launch, we are making it simpler for Card Members to utilize Membership Rewards points for their daily purchases.”

Apple’s VP of Apple Pay and Apple Wallet, Jennifer Bailey, also commented on the partnership, stating, “we are thrilled to collaborate with American Express to offer Card Members a new way to redeem rewards when using Apple Pay.”

Although this initiative may seem groundbreaking, the ability to redeem rewards using Apple Pay has been available in different forms for years. Apple initially explored loyalty and store points in 2015 with iOS 9, and Discover introduced a cash back redemption program in 2017. Apple then introduced Pay with rewards using Apple Pay in iOS 18, but it did not gain much traction.

Surprisingly, until recently, only two companies, Discover in the US and Zilch in the UK, had participated in this feature. The new partnership with AMEX will not increase this number, as Discover exited the program in April.

It was interesting that AMEX had not joined earlier, considering it was the first card to support full transaction history in Apple Wallet. An AMEX card set up with Apple Pay displayed all transactions made on the account, whether using an Apple device, the physical card, or online.

The partnership with AMEX is a timely endorsement of Apple’s payment technology, especially after some concerns about the future of pay with rewards.

How To Pay with AMEX Points with Apple Pay

To utilize the Pay with Points feature, you need an eligible American Express Membership Rewards Card and must be an AMEX cardholder in the US.

While AMEX does not specify any restrictions, the instructions suggest that the feature is limited to online Apple Pay purchases, either through a browser or in-app.

The process is straightforward. After selecting your eligible AMEX card, you can choose to “Pay in Full” or “Pay with Rewards.” You can then select the option to “Use Membership Rewards Points,” where you can see the balance of points and their dollar value.

You can redeem points for a specific dollar amount, and the transaction is as secure as a standard AMEX transaction, with no transaction information retained by Apple.