Another round of Amazon sitewide discounts for AMEX Membership Rewards has gone out, and this one expires on December 31! There are several versions: 15%/30%/40%/50% off, up to $15/$30/$60/$80 off. Note that the number of MR points required varies, so be sure to read the terms carefully. With the discount, it is definitely a good deal. Go save the offer to your Amazon account now!

The Citi TYP offer is also here, with up to 40% off. It varies by person, so activate it first and see what you get. It expires on December 31, 2026.

Other Chase, US Bank, and Capital One offers may also refresh, so you can try the old links below as well! I checked a few and they all told me to come back later.

Also, based on a reader suggestion, if you do not have this offer, you can try the following method:

  • Remove all AMEX/Discover credit cards saved on Amazon.
  • After removing them, do not click any offer activation links. Wait about 3 days before adding the card back.
  • Add an AMEX card that earns Membership Rewards or a Discover card.
  • Go to the Shop with Points page and finish linking the card.
  • After that, do not click any offer activation links. Wait about 3 days.
  • Visit the offer links above again.

Introduction to Shop with Points

On Amazon, you can use credit card points or cash back directly to pay. The eligible points and redemption rates are as follows:

  • Discover cash back: $1 cash back = $1 Amazon
  • Chase Ultimate Rewards: 100 Ultimate Rewards = $0.8 Amazon
  • AMEX Membership Rewards: 100 Membership Rewards = $0.7 Amazon
  • Citi ThankYou Points: 100 ThankYou Points = $0.8 Amazon

In general, you should absolutely not use points directly for purchases on Amazon. For Discover cash back, you would be better off redeeming it as a credit card statement credit first and then making the purchase, since you can still earn an extra 1% credit card cash back. Chase Ultimate Rewards can be redeemed for cash at a 100:1 rate, while redeeming for Amazon gives only 0.8, which is a terrible deal. In addition, Citi ThankYou Points, AMEX Membership Rewards, and Chase Ultimate Rewards can all be transferred to airline miles or hotel points under certain conditions, and the redemption value can be far higher than 0.8.

Of course, there are a few special situations where redemption may make sense, such as:

  • Redeeming small leftover point balances when closing a card
  • Redeeming remaining points quickly when an account is being closed
  • Using a points redemption promotion, such as $25 off $50

This article mainly introduces the current Shop with Points promotions.

Capital One Rewards has now officially joined Amazon Shop with Points. If you have one of the eligible cards shown in the image below, you can register first. Based on Amazon’s usual pattern, it should not take long before there is an offer that gives a discount for using 1 Capital One Rewards point.

Now BofA and US Bank have also joined, and the ratio is 1:1.

How to Use It

  • Select the points you want to use (AMEX Membership Rewards is used here as an example), then click Get Started.
  • After logging in, you can see the cards eligible to register for AMEX Pay With Points. If none are shown, you can register a new card yourself. Note that only AMEX cards that earn Membership Rewards can be added; cash-back cards are not eligible.
  • After adding the card, it will show your current points balance and the corresponding Amazon value.
  • After you finish adding it, select this card on the checkout page and you will be able to choose Pay With Points. You can freely adjust the redemption amount, from $0.01 up to the total price.
  • Then just click Place Your Order.

Shop with Points Promotions

The most attractive part is probably the Shop with Points promotions that appear from time to time. In the past there have been offers like $25 off $50 and $10 off $20, which are quite nice to use. After all, Amazon sells pretty much everything. See the recent offer summary at the beginning of the article for details.

Below is a list of older links that are temporarily expired. These links occasionally come back to life, so you can click them once in a while to try your luck.

This was once a bug deal. Hilton points can now be used on Amazon at 0.5 cents per point to buy anything; previously the rate was 0.2 cents per point. I strongly suspect this is a bug, so I redeemed all my points for gift cards. Hilton points are generally worth around 0.5 cents per point, and redeeming them on Amazon now easily gets you to that level. If you do not need Hilton points for hotel stays in the near future, converting them all and paying cash for Hilton stays may be even less hassle.

Usage Tips

Here are some tips for using these types of offers and getting them to work more smoothly:

  • The offer must be activated before use. If you see an offer, add it first and think later.
  • If you cannot see the offer, try first linking a credit card that can use AMEX Membership Rewards points. Then try opening it again.
  • If multiple Amazon accounts have activated the offer, you can use the Membership Rewards points from a single AMEX card to get this deal; the card does not need to be in the same name as the Amazon account. So if you really do not have a Membership Rewards card, borrow one.
  • You do not need to use the full $100 all at once; multiple orders are fine. If you cancel an order, the amount will automatically come back.
  • If you want to use the Amazon gift card balance in your account together with the 20% discount, a simple trick is to add both the item you want and a high-priced item to your cart at checkout (one that costs more than your gift card balance). Once you see the 20% discount + gift card + credit card payment at checkout, remove the high-priced item. The end result is that you can use the gift card balance plus the 20% discount.
  • Some Black Friday deals are lightning deals, where the discount is applied afterward. This 20% discount may apply to the price before the lightning deal discount, so you may end up getting something for free. For example, this Swiss Army knife.
  • These offers are generally only valid for items sold and shipped by Amazon. Most third-party gift cards can also be used with this offer. If you really do not have anything to buy, you can try: third-party gift cards

Getting Points Back

Sometimes, if you are not paying attention, you may accidentally use all your points to pay (AMEX only gives 0.7 cents per point in value). If that happens, do not panic. You can try the following ways to get the points back:

  • If you just placed the order and the points have not yet been deducted from your AMEX Membership Rewards account, cancel the order right away. Be careful not to switch to another payment method, or the points may still be deducted first and then refunded later.
  • If the points have already been deducted, you can cancel the order, return the item, or refuse the Amazon package. However, when Amazon processes the refund, it will not return the points. Instead, it will issue a statement credit based on the item amount. After you receive the refund, contact AMEX customer service (online chat is fine). The representative can remove that statement credit and restore the original points to your Membership Rewards account. If the number of points involved is small, it is probably better not to do this. Returns like this can cause Amazon a fair amount of loss.

If you are worried about accidentally using all your points, it is a good idea to remove the Membership Rewards/Ultimate Rewards/ThankYou Points payment option every time you finish using one of these offers.