American Express Membership Rewards - Does anybody really use ShopAMEX?

Membership Reward Points are worth about 0.01 if you use them on gift certificates to stores, but if you turn them into cash or buy stuff with them at ShopAMEX they are devalued instantly to 0.005.

With a 50% cut, who actually uses these things to buy items?

Another case in point, USB drive 1GB flash drive fo 12,000 - ... is that? The EXACT same drives sells online for $30. At this rate your rewards are worth only 0.0025!

I feel like people should be outraged at this.:mad:

Membership Reward Points are worth about 0.01 if you use them on gift certificates to stores, but if you turn them into cash or buy stuff with them at ShopAMEX they are devalued instantly to 0.005.

With a 50% cut, who actually uses these things to buy items?

Another case in point, USB drive 1GB flash drive fo 12,000 - ... is that? The EXACT same drives sells online for $30. At this rate your rewards are worth only 0.0025!

I feel like people should be outraged at this.:mad:


Yup. It's a unfortunate situation, but there must be people who are completely misinformed about the value of their points and they look at ShopAMEX as a way to get virtually anything for "free." Not everybody with an MR account is an FT member (although we welcome them with open arms so we can educate them on the value of their points and turn them into mileage junkies):)