Amex Adds Leaders Club as a Transfer Partner

American Express just added The Leading Hotels of the World's Leaders Club as a Membership Rewards transfer partner. The transfer ratio is 4:1 — every 1,000 Membership Rewards points becomes 250 Leaders Club points.

Leading Hotels of the World isn't a chain. It's a marketing collection of more than 400 independently owned luxury properties across 80 countries, which is why so few of them show up in the big loyalty programs.

Award pricing is dynamic and varies by property and date, but Leaders Club points are consistently worth about eight cents each toward LHW rates. That means you'll get roughly two cents per Membership Rewards point after the transfer ratio.

Amex Platinum and Business Platinum cardholders also get complimentary Leaders Club Sterling status, which includes daily breakfast for two, early check-in and late checkout where available, and up to five pre-arrival upgrades a year.

Andrew's Take

This is the strongest hotel transfer option Amex has ever offered, and it's not close. Membership Rewards has been stuck with three hotel partners that mostly waste your points. Leaders Club puts iconic independent properties — the Ritz Paris is in the collection — within reach of a normal points balance.