You know that pile of Amex Membership Rewards points sitting in your account like forgotten leftovers in the back of the fridge? American Express just made them dramatically easier to use. On iOS 18 and iPadOS 18, Amex cardmembers can now redeem points directly inside the Apple Pay checkout sheet — no app-switching, no post-purchase scavenger hunt through your statement. Points apply in real time, at a better rate than the old method.
How It Works at Checkout
Redeeming points now takes exactly as long as confirming any other Apple Pay purchase.
- At checkout, tap your eligible Amex card in Apple Pay (Platinum, Gold, or Green)
- A “Membership Rewards” option appears in the payment sheet alongside your points balance
- Apply all or part of your points to the purchase; 10,000 points equals $70, or 0.7 cents per point
- Confirm with Face ID or Touch ID — done
The old flow felt like filing a minor insurance claim. You paid with your card, opened the Amex app or website, scrolled through posted charges, selected one, then redeemed in 1,000-point increments at 0.6 cents each. That entire ritual now collapses into a single tap at checkout. It’s the difference between streaming a song and ordering the CD from a catalog.
Points used for statement credits typically yield around 0.6 cents each, according to NerdWallet — making the Apple Pay integration’s 0.7-cent rate a meaningful, if modest, upgrade for everyday spending.
Good Deal or Just Good Enough?
The math works for convenience seekers, but points maximizers should keep their spreadsheets open.
If you track transfer partner sweet spots the way fantasy football managers track waiver wires, this feature wasn’t built for you. Bankrate and NerdWallet both note that airline and hotel transfer partners can push Amex points to 1.5 or even 2.0-plus cents per point. The 0.7-cent Apple Pay rate is for the cardholder whose points have been quietly collecting dust — not the one engineering business-class redemptions to Tokyo.
Apple Pay just became a loyalty redemption interface, not merely a payment method — and every competing issuer noticed.
Exact launch timing remains unclear from both Apple and Amex. The practical calculus, though, is straightforward: if friction-free spending beats maximum optimization for you, your points just became the easiest currency in your pocket. If you’re still hunting 2-cent redemptions on Lufthansa, carry on. For everyone else, the checkout screen now does what the Amex app never made simple enough. If you’re concerned about paying too much through suboptimal rewards strategies, it’s worth weighing whether this convenience-first rate fits your spending habits.
