American Express Touts Luxury Bargains
American Express is giving its Rewards members a shot at luxury goods for as few as 1,000 Rewards points…but only for 14 days.
AmEx is using the Membership Rewards Exclusives Event to launch a new overlay for Rewards, dubbed Membership Rewards Exclusives. That extension of AmEx’s flagship loyalty program lets members earn travel, entertainment and merchandise rewards, with new offers added every few weeks.
The 14-day promotion dangles a limited number of luxury goods for 1,000, 2,500 or 5,000 Rewards points. Members can redeem 5,000 points for a Mercedes-Benz Roadster worth $52,000, or a Virgin Atlantic Airways African safari package for two worth $29,000. Just 2,500 points gets a Samsung 63-inch plasma TV, and 1,000 points brings a Nikon 5.1 megapixel digital camera. Other goods include concert tickets, household appliances, jewelry and sports equipment.
The promotion runs through Oct. 30, with new goods posted daily to drive traffic to the site. Items are announced on the site each day, then made available at 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. (EST). Card members log on, then click “Redeem Now” when the item they want becomes available.
“Our Exclusives Event is a chance for card members to reward themselves with exceptional items for extremely low point levels and see what other redemption offers are available everyday through the Exclusives program,” said Membership Rewards Senior VP-General Manager Ralph Andretta in a statement. “We believe that this will encourage more card members to enroll in our Membership Rewards program.”
Meanwhile, AmEx has launched a new credit card, Clear, with an automatic rewards program that gives card holders a $25 gift card for every $2,500 charged on Clear. Card holders don’t need to enroll or mess with redemption— cards are sent to them automatically— can use Clear anywhere AmEx is accepted.
“Cardmembers will enjoy a nice surprise when they open their mailbox and find their shopping card has arrived,” said Larry Sharnak, AmEx Executive VP-General Manager of Consumer Lending Products.
