With under 10 days left before American Express moves ahead with another significant devaluation to its airline transfer partners, members might be wondering whether they should transfer their Membership Rewards (MR) points.

To summarise, Emirates moves from 3:1 to 4:1, while British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Etihad, Malaysia Airlines, Qatar Airways and Virgin Atlantic move from 2:1 to 3:1.

Transfers to Qantas (for eligible cardholders) and Virgin Australia remain the same at 2:1, while Singapore Airlines also holds steady at 3:1 after being devalued more than a year ago.

While Emirates remains an aspirational redemption, it will also cost 4 Amex MR points to 1 Skywards mile from 15 Dec.

Should you transfer your Amex MR points?

The main appeal of Membership Rewards is that you usually don’t need to transfer your flexible points until you need them. But unless you’re certain you’ll only transfer points to Qantas, Virgin Australia or Singapore Airlines, you’ll be worse off by hoarding them at this stage.

So what next? Start by thinking about what trips you might want to take in the next few years. Then see if any of the suggestions fit your plans.

Three partner airlines to consider before the devaluation

1. Cathay Asia Miles

Thinking you’ll mainly travel to Asia? Consider transferring to Cathay for Asia Miles. The main benefit is improved availability on Cathay Pacific’s own flights, including from Australia to Hong Kong and beyond.

Cathay Pacific

  • 38,000 Asia Miles/76,000 MR points + fees and taxes for a Premium Economy award seat between Australia and Hong Kong, or 58,000 Asia Miles/116,000 MR points for Business Class.
  • 110,000 Asia Miles/220,000 MR points + fees and taxes for a Business Class award seat between Australia and Europe via Hong Kong.
Cathay Pacific Business Class
Cathay’s Aria Suite takes an already-solid Business Class offering to the next level.

Redemption rates on partner airlines such as Qantas can be excellent as well. For example, the Sydney-Perth-Paris flight costs only 115,000 Asia Miles + fees and taxes in Business Class, compared to 166,300 Qantas Points + fees and taxes for the exact same seat.

2. Qatar Airways Avios

Have Europe on your mind? There’s Qatar Airways Privilege Club. Apart from access to the excellent Qsuites product on most flights to Doha, there’s also the sweet 90,000 Avios redemption in Business Class between Australia and Europe. Heads up – availability isn’t always great, but seats do exist if you’re persistent enough to find them.

Qatar Airways

  • 90,000 Avios/180,000 MR points + fees and taxes for a Business Class award seat between Australia and Europe via Doha.
Travelling together in Qatar Airways Qsuite Business Class
Qsuites is one of the best-value redemptions to Europe with Qatar Airways Avios.

Garuda

Since April 2025, you can also book Garuda flights with Avios. This includes the airlines’ services from Sydney and Melbourne to Bali, both operated by Airbus A330-300s with lie-flat seats in Business Class.

  • 16,000 Avios/32,000 MR points + fees and taxes for an Economy Class award seat between Australia and Indonesia, or 40,000 Avios/80,000 MR points + fees and taxes for Business Class.

Qantas + other partner short-haul flights via The British Airways Club

Avios also has a quirk – it can be a great-value tool for booking shorter flights in Economy and Business Class. If you often fly Qantas domestic or short-haul international flights, consider booking with Avios.

You can transfer Amex Membership Rewards directly to British Airways or go via Qatar Airways. Internal Avios transfers between Qatar Airways and British Airways are at a 1:1 ratio.

Distance travelled (Qantas flights)Economy (Avios)Business (Avios)
Zone 1 (1-650 miles)
e.g. Sydney to Canberra, Gold Coast		6,000
(12,000 MR points)		12,500
(25,000 MR points)
Zone 2 (651-1,151 miles)
e.g. Brisbane to Cairns, Adelaide		9,000
(18,000 MR points)		16,500
(33,000 MR points)
Zone 3 (1,152-2,000 miles)
e.g. Perth to Melbourne, Hobart		11,000
(22,000 MR points)		22,000
(44,000 MR points)
Qantas Domestic Business Class is great value with Avios.

3. Virgin Atlantic Flying Club

For some more ‘interesting’ or unique redemptions, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club delivers solid value. There are partnerships with Air New Zealand, ANA and China Airlines, to name a few.

Air New Zealand

  • 15,000 Flying Club points/30,000 MR points + fees and taxes for a Business Class award seat between Australia and New Zealand (including Perth). Note that award seats are extremely limited in Business.

All Nippon Airways

  • 30,000 Flying Club points/60,000 MR points + fees and taxes for an Economy Class award seat between Australia and Tokyo on ANA, or 52,500 Avios/105,000 MR points + fees and taxes for Business Class.

China Airlines

  • 25,500 Flying Club points/51,000 MR points + fees and taxes for an Economy Class award seat between Australia and Taipei on China Airlines, or 47,500 Flying Club points/95,000 MR points + fees and taxes for Premium Economy Class, or 75,000 Flying Club points/150,000 MR points + fees and taxes for Business Class.

Delta

  • 65,500 Flying Club points/131,000 MR points + fees and taxes for an Economy Class award seat between Australia and the USA on Delta, or 115,000 Flying Club points/230,000 MR points + fees and taxes for Premium Economy Class, or 165,000 Flying Club points/230,000 MR points + fees and taxes for Business Class.
  • Note that Delta awards in Premium Economy and Delta One/Business are extremely limited on these trans-Pacific routes. Check for availability before transferring.

Korean Air

  • 31,500 Flying Club points/63,000 MR points + fees and taxes for an Economy Class award seat between Sydney and Incheon on Korean Air, or 85,000 Flying Club points/170,000 MR points + fees and taxes for Business Class.

Vietnam Airlines

  • 25,500 Flying Club points/51,000 MR points + fees and taxes for an Economy Class award seat between Sydney and Ho Chi Minh City on Vietnam Airlines, or 47,500 Flying Club points/95,000 MR points + fees and taxes for Premium Economy Class, or 75,000 Flying Club points/150,000 MR points + fees and taxes for Business Class.
ANA Boeing 787 Business Class between Australia and Tokyo costs just 52,500 Flying Club points + fees and taxes.

What about Velocity and Qantas?

That’s not to say that you shouldn’t transfer your points to those programs either. It’s just that it’s usually much easier to earn Qantas and Velocity Points in Australia through other means, so you should consider the international programs first for Amex Membership Rewards.

Velocity will remain a 2:1 transfer partner. During a 10%/15%/20% transfer bonus (usually in May and November), you’ll actually get more Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles by sending your Amex points to Velocity with the bonus, and then converting those points to KrisFlyer miles at the standard 1.55 to 1 rate.

Qantas remains a 2:1 transfer partner for those enrolled in Membership Rewards Ascent Premium, which includes Platinum Charge and Centurion Card Members.

All conversions from airline points/miles to Amex Membership Rewards are based on the existing 2:1 rate, which is available in Australia up to the end of 14 December 2025.


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Where should you transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points to before the devaluation? was last modified: December 5th, 2025 by Brandon Loo