Here are my AmEx credit card recommendations to accumulate AmEx points (Membership Rewards) to ultimately transfer to ANA. Unfortunately there’s only one ANA Visa card directly earning ANA points available to those based in the U.S. and…it’s not great. Please note that some of these may be referral links BUT I’ll always try to make it clear if I’m aware of a better sign up offer!
As you might have seen from 6 weeks of RTW travel, the award redemption can be a biiit complicated. Collecting the points is relatively simple!
If you’re planning to use your points in the next ~1 year, I recommend one of the following heavy hitters in order of preference. You can choose based on your anticipated budget. Note: AmEx sign up bonuses are “once in a lifetime”, which many users believe/report to mean once every 7 years.
- American Express Platinum
- 80,000 AmEx points after $6,000 spend in 6 months (current best public offer: 100,000 points after $6,000 spend in 6 months)
- 5x points on travel booked directly with airlines, hotels booked through amextravel.com
- $200 annual Uber/Uber eats credit
- $240 annual Digital Entertainment credit ($20/month)
- $200 annual airline credit
- $300 annual Equinox credit
- $200 credit through Fine Hotels & Resorts® and The Hotel Collection
- AmEx Centurion Lounge access, Priority Pass access
- Marriott and Hilton Gold status
- $189 annual CLEAR credit
- $100 annual Saks Fifth Avenue credit
- Free Global Entry/TSA precheck every 4 years
- $695 annual fee
- American Express Gold/Rose Gold
- 75,000 AmEx points after $4,000 spend in 6 months (equal to current best public offer)
- 4x points on groceries ($25k max/yr), dining, 3x on travel when booked directly with airlines or via amextravel.com
- $120 annual Uber/Uber eats credit ($10/month)
- $250 annual fee
If you’ve got more than 1 year to accumulate points, these are the ones I would recommend, also in order of preference/priority:
- American Express Blue Business Plus
- 15,000 AmEx points after $3,000 spend in 3 months (equal to current best public offer)
- 2x points on everything up to $50,000/year (our go-to for any everyday spend that isn’t covered by dining/grocery/travel category bonuses)
- NO ANNUAL FEE!
- American Express Green
- 40,000 AmEx points after $2,000 spend in 6 months (equal to current best public offer)
- 3x points on dining, travel, transit
- $189 CLEAR annual credit
- $100 LoungeBuddy annual credit
- $150 annual fee
- *For those who no longer want a Platinum/Gold card but don’t have any other AmEx cards to store your points, this is a great downgrade/product change option
- American Express Everyday Preferred
- 30,000 AmEx points after $2,000 spend in 6 months (current best public offer: 15,000 AmEx points after $2,000 spend in 6 months)
- 3x points on supermarkets, 2x points on gas stations
- $95 annual fee
- American Express Everyday
- 10,000 AmEx points after $2,000 spend in 6 months (equal to current best public offer)
- 2x points on supermarkets
- NO ANNUAL FEE! (nice downgrade/product option from the Everyday Preferred)
If you’ve got a business and/or are a big spender, the following cards may fit in your card portfolio (disclaimer: I haven’t held these cards…yet). The sign up bonuses can nicely pad your points stash but a longer term hold will depend on your individual utility and spending habits. Here they are for your convenience, though!
- American Express Business Platinum
- 120,000 points after $15,000 spend in 3 months (current public offer)
- 5x points on flights/hotels booked through amextravel.com
- 1.5x points on certain business spending categories, and on purchases of $5,000 or more
- Numerous statement credits from Dell, Indeed, Adobe, internet
- Some similar benefits to the personal AmEx Platinum card
- Booking through amextravel.com and with AmEx points nets a 35% refund of points spent
- $695 annual fee
- American Express Business Gold
- 70,000 points after $10,000 spend in 3 months (current public offer)
- 4x points in top 2 business spending categories per billing cycle, up to $150,000 each year. 1x points thereafter.
- Booking through amextravel.com and with AmEx points nets a 25% refund of points spent
- $295 annual fee
- American Express Business Green
- 25,000 points after $3,000 spend in 3 months (current public offer)
- 2x points on flights/hotels booked on amextravel.com
- $95 annual fee
American Express is usually pretty good about offering retention bonuses/incentives so it’s always a good idea to contact them when you see your annual fee post. Sometimes it’s an annual fee refund, sometimes it’s tens of thousands of points to keep your card for another year or to spend a certain amount. In my experience, they haven’t offered bonuses on the same card for two consecutive years, but YMMV (your mileage may vary). You can even use the Chat option now instead of calling them, which is amazing! Who wants to talk to customer service, anyway?
Feel free to let me know if you have any questions once you’ve read through these. I’m always happy to have some minmaxing discourse.
