Amex Membership Rewards, one of the major transferable points programs, has just added a new points transfer partner. You can now move points to Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club, potentially unlocking stays at hundreds of luxury properties, including some of the most well-regarded in the world.
Transfer Amex Points to Leaders Club at a 4:1 Ratio
The Amex Membership Rewards program in the United States has just added Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) Leaders Club as its newest transfer partner. The transfer ratio is 4:1, and you can transfer Amex points in minimum increments of 1,000 points (which would earn you 250 Leaders Club points).
This is Amex Membership Rewards’ 20th travel transfer partner and fourth hotel transfer partner. Amex is the second transferable points currency to partner with Leaders Club, after Citi ThankYou — though with Citi the transfer ratio is 5:1, so on the surface, Amex is a better deal. There are several great cards earning Amex Membership Rewards points.
What Is Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club?
Leading Hotels of the World and Leaders Club may not be familiar to everyone. Leading Hotels of the World is a collection of independent luxury hotels, with over 400 properties in 80 countries around the globe. Chances are you’re familiar with some of LHW’s properties, even if you didn’t know they were associated with the group.
You should think of Leading Hotels of the World as more of a hotel marketing group than a single hotel group. LHW doesn’t manage its hotels; rather, it markets a group of otherwise independent luxury hotels. Many properties of smaller hotel groups, such as Rocco Forte, belong to LHW.
Leading Hotels of the World is similar to Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), with which Hilton Honors has a partnership. On balance, LHW properties tend to be a bit higher end than SLH properties, as LHW includes some truly iconic properties like the Ritz Paris.
Is Transferring Amex Points to Leaders Club Worth It?
Award pricing with Leaders Club is dynamic, and you can search for award costs by logging in to your account and going through the booking process.
One notable advantage of this partnership is the ability to redeem points at independent luxury hotels that you can’t otherwise efficiently book with transferable points.
Based on searches across a wide range of properties, each Leaders Club point is worth an average of around eight cents (USD) toward the cost of a hotel stay — sometimes a bit higher, sometimes a bit lower. Factoring in the 4:1 transfer ratio from Amex Membership Rewards to Leaders Club, that translates to a potentially very respectable two cents of value per Amex point.
That said, the eight cents of value is measured against what LHW would otherwise charge, and in some cases you may find better rates elsewhere. Additionally, most of these luxury hotels belong to programs like Virtuoso, so booking through Leaders Club means giving up some perks available through those channels.
Bottom Line
The Amex Membership Rewards program has added Leading Hotels of the World Leaders Club as its newest transfer partner, with points transferring at a 4:1 ratio. Leaders Club points appear to be worth about 8 cents each toward redemptions, meaning Amex points could effectively be redeemed for around 2 cents each toward luxury hotel stays — a strong value for travelers who would otherwise consider booking these properties.
