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The American Express Membership Rewards Excise Fee Was Waived in 2020
During the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, Amex dropped their Excise Fee for transferring American Express Membership Rewards points to a US airline, namely Delta, Hawaiian Airlines, and JetBlue.
Unfortunately, we’re now in 2021 and I’ve confirmed that Amex has reactivated this fee.
How Does the Excise Fee on Membership Rewards Transfers to Domestic Airlines Work?
Amex charges an excise tax offset fee of $0.0006 per point (with a maximum fee of $99 per transaction).
On 100,000 points, for example, you’d owe $60 in excise fees.
Should you Pay the Excise Fee with Points?
While you can pay the fee with points, you’d be quite unwise to do so with Amex giving you just half a cent per point to use them this way.
Thoughts?
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