One of the best award tickets I’ve ever booked wasn’t for me.
Several years ago, I used American Express Membership Rewards points to help my dad book a memorable trip to Bali and Thailand. To make that possible, I added him as an authorized user on one of my American Express cards and then transferred points to his ANA Mileage Club account.
At the time, the process was fairly easy. I added him to the card, waited for everything to connect and transferred the points when we were ready to book.
Today, that same strategy still works—but only if you plan ahead.
American Express Makes You Wait 90 Days
American Express allows you to transfer Membership Rewards points to an airline or hotel loyalty account belonging to either you or an Additional Card Member, which is AMEX’s term for an authorized user.
However, the Additional Card Member must have been on your account for at least 90 days before you can link their loyalty account and transfer points to it.
That means you can’t find an amazing award ticket for your spouse, parent or travel companion, add them to your AMEX card that afternoon and immediately transfer the points. By the time the 90-day waiting period ends, those award seats will probably be long gone.
This is also different from transferring Membership Rewards points directly to another person. American Express doesn’t allow you to transfer Membership Rewards from your account to someone else’s, even if that person is your spouse or an authorized user.
Instead, the points leave your Membership Rewards account and go directly into the authorized user’s airline or hotel loyalty account.
For example, because I’m an authorized user on one of my wife Sharon’s Membership Rewards-earning cards, she can transfer points from her Membership Rewards account to my eligible airline or hotel accounts.
American Express presumably added the 90-day restriction to prevent people from temporarily adding strangers to their cards and transferring points in exchange for money. From that perspective, the rule makes sense.
But it also means the rest of us need to think about this before we actually need the points.
Who Might You Eventually Transfer Points To?
I’m not suggesting that everyone start adding every relative and travel companion to their American Express cards.
However, it’s worth thinking about the people whose loyalty accounts you might realistically need to use someday.
For us, that could mean transferring Sharon’s Membership Rewards points into one of my airline accounts, or transferring my points into one of hers. In the past, it meant having the ability to transfer points to my dad’s ANA account when we found the flights for his trip.
Even when two people usually travel together, there are plenty of reasons an award might need to be booked on one person’s account rather than the other’s.
One person may already have miles in that program. An airline might not allow free transfers between members. There may only be enough award availability for one passenger, or you may be booking a trip for someone else entirely.
The question is how to establish that transfer option without paying an unnecessary authorized-user fee.
Don’t Pay Hundreds of Dollars Just to Transfer Points
Some American Express cards charge significant fees for premium additional cards.
For example, a paid Additional Platinum Card includes many of the premium benefits of the primary Platinum Card, such as certain lounge privileges. That may be worthwhile when the person will actually use those benefits.
But paying an annual fee of hundreds of dollars solely to transfer Membership Rewards points isn’t a great option.
Fortunately, many American Express accounts offer a no-fee additional card. Those cards don’t receive all the premium benefits, but they can still establish the Additional Card Member relationship needed for future point transfers.
Our Preferred Option Is an AMEX Business Card
If you already have an eligible American Express business card, that may be the cleanest place to add someone.
AMEX business cards such as the Business Platinum and Business Gold offer no-fee Employee Business Expense Cards. You don’t need to pay for the premium version of the employee card if your only goal is to make that person eligible for Membership Rewards transfers.
The American Express Blue Business Plus Card is another useful option. It has no annual fee, earns Membership Rewards points and allows employee cards to be added without an annual fee.
There’s another potential advantage to using a business card. Employee cards on small-business accounts generally don’t appear on the employee’s personal credit report.
That matters because authorized users on personal accounts often show up on the other person’s credit report. While being an authorized user can help someone build credit, it can also create complications when applying for new cards.
Why I’d Rather Avoid a Personal Authorized-User Account
One of the potential drawbacks of becoming an authorized user is that the account may appear on your personal credit report even though you aren’t responsible for paying the bill.
This can be particularly annoying if you’re trying to stay under Chase’s 5/24 rule.
Chase’s automated system may initially count an authorized-user account as one of your new accounts. It may be possible to explain during reconsideration that you’re only an authorized user, but that’s an extra step I’d rather avoid when there’s an easier business-card option available.
That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t use a personal AMEX card. It just means the potential credit report consequences are worth considering before adding someone.
No-Fee Personal Card Options Still Work
If you don’t have an American Express business card, look at the Membership Rewards-earning personal cards you already hold.
AMEX Gold cardholders can add additional Gold cards without an annual fee. AMEX Platinum cardholders can add a no-fee Companion Platinum Card rather than paying for a premium Additional Platinum Card.
The Companion Platinum Card doesn’t include the same collection of premium benefits as the paid Additional Platinum Card. However, if the purpose is simply to make someone eligible to receive Membership Rewards transfers after 90 days, the extra benefits aren’t the point.
Existing American Express EveryDay and EveryDay Preferred cardholders can also use those accounts to add authorized users. The EveryDay cards are no longer available to new applicants, but they remain useful for this purpose if you already have one.
In fact, this is one of the few situations where I added myself as an authorized user on one of Sharon’s cards. I didn’t need another piece of plastic to carry around. We simply wanted the flexibility to transfer her Membership Rewards points to one of my frequent flyer accounts if the right opportunity came along.
You Don’t Even Have To Give Them The Card
Adding someone as an authorized user doesn’t mean you need to let them use the account for everyday purchases.
You can add the person, activate the card if required and keep it stored somewhere safe. The purpose is to start the 90-day clock and establish the relationship with American Express.
Of course, the primary cardholder is responsible for any purchases made with an additional card, so don’t hand one over casually. But there’s no requirement that the card become part of the authorized user’s regular wallet.
Final Thoughts
American Express Membership Rewards can be extremely useful, but the program doesn’t offer much flexibility in sharing points.
You can’t transfer Membership Rewards directly to your spouse, relative or travel companion. You can only transfer points to a loyalty account that belongs to you or an eligible Additional Card Member—and that person must have been on your account for at least 90 days.
That makes this one of those credit card tasks that’s best handled before there’s an immediate reason to do it.
Think about whose airline or hotel account you might realistically need to use in the future. Then see whether you can add that person to an existing Membership Rewards card without paying another annual fee.
We didn’t know exactly when we might need this flexibility when we added each other to our AMEX cards. But when the right award appears, I’d rather have the option ready than find out we’re three months too early.
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