American Express Membership Rewards - Points - Monetary worth?

After reading posts in here over the past few weeks about AMEX cutting cards, limits, etc., I see this article in the local news:

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Credit-Card-Rewards-Points.html

Apparently it is getting more common or frequent, so I thought about using my points for something. I don't need to convert them to airline miles as I have enough already and don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon. I figured I should get something that I may not normally splurge for, but something that really never goes 'on sale' or that I can shop around for and get it cheaper. I have thought about getting a Macbook.

What I haven't figured out is how the points convert to a dollar amount. Is 100k worth points equal to a particular dollar figure? In this case, it takes ~600 off the total which makes the Macbook affordable and I can pay the remainder as cash. What I don't know is, are my points going to subtract the same 'cash' amount off the price irregardless of the product?

Am I just nuts? :D

After reading posts in here over the past few weeks about AMEX cutting cards, limits, etc., I see this article in the local news:

http://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/Credit-Card-Rewards-Points.html

Apparently it is getting more common or frequent, so I thought about using my points for something. I don't need to convert them to airline miles as I have enough already and don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon. I figured I should get something that I may not normally splurge for, but something that really never goes 'on sale' or that I can shop around for and get it cheaper. I have thought about getting a Macbook.

What I haven't figured out is how the points convert to a dollar amount. Is 100k worth points equal to a particular dollar figure? In this case, it takes ~600 off the total which makes the Macbook affordable and I can pay the remainder as cash. What I don't know is, are my points going to subtract the same 'cash' amount off the price irregardless of the product?

Am I just nuts? :D
Buying merchandise through rewards programs has always been somewhat confusing to me as they point values can be all over the place. In alot of cases, buying the merchandise itself can be a worse value that buying gift cards.

100k points is worth $500 in Amex gift cards or $1000 in store gift cards. The caveat being that there are almost no electronics stores (and certainly not Apple) on the list of stores that has gift cards through Membership Rewards.

My wife was recently looking into using some of her Membership Rewards points to buy a new digital camera. In the end, the value of the Amex gift card would have been right at the same as the value of the camera, and of course Amex gift cards are alot more flexible.

Ya know buying gift cards with points is not gonna get u the most bang for ur buck, but if it helps make something more affordable and u want to go that route why not..i have redeemed mr points for for vacations..its not the best but eh at the time i was happy to do it to

Am I just nuts? :D
I think you are, for a few reasons.

First, it doesn't seem that you have a compelling reason to cash in right now. I'm a bit surprised by those stories, particularly since in general there is a 30 day sunset period when the account is closed. Doesn't mean that they aren't true, but something is fishy there in my book.

Second, the value for merchandise redemptions is horrible. You'd be getting six tenths of a cent for each point. That is generally a pretty bad deal.

Third, you could buy a NetBook (or other hardware) and install the Mac OS on it for way less money than you'll be spending on Mac hardware. I don't think that the premium they charge for their hardware is worthwhile.

you could buy a NetBook (or other hardware) and install the Mac OS on it for way less money than you'll be spending on Mac hardware. I don't think that the premium they charge for their hardware is worthwhile.

Sure you could, if you love to spend your life trying to make something work. Or should I say, maybe work sometimes in some ways. Trying to get a non-Apple machine to run the Mac OS is a kludgy hack at best. I would never advise anyone to do that if they were interested in any real reliability or usability. I wonder who the nut really is?
Oh yeah, one more thing, it's also illegal to run the Mac OS on a non-Apple machine.

The biggest bang for the buck (monetary conversion) is for Business or First Class international travel.

For example, for 110,000 points, you can get a $16,000 First Class ticket to Europe from the US.

That's pretty much how I use my points. Anything else seems like such a waste.

Well, I figured out so far that if one divides the number of points by 200, you get the cash price of the item. Currently, AMEX is running a 20% off sale on the site. However, this only applies to purchases made entirely in points. If one is paying part with points and part with cash, there is no 20% off. That irked me.

Since I have no use/desire for travel redemption, I'm not sure what else to use the points for. Too bad there aren't any bonus offers on points available right now.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions!