Most of the time, spending Membership Rewards or ThankYou points on Amazon is one of the worst redemptions you can make. Right now there’s an exception worth knowing about. Amazon is running targeted Amazon Shop with Points promotions that take up to 50% off an order when you use just a few hundred Amex points, or up to 40% off when you use as few as 125 Citi ThankYou points.
The catch is that you don’t need to, and shouldn’t, pay for the whole order with points. You use the minimum the offer asks for, put the rest on your card, and pocket the discount. Here’s how the Amex and Citi versions work, what each one is really worth once you do the math, and how to avoid the checkout mistake that burns through your points balance.
Offer terms verified October 22, 2026. These promotions are targeted, so the version you see in your Amazon account may differ from the ones below.
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Amazon Shop with Points Offers at a Glance
- Amex discount: up to 50% off, capped at $50, depending on your targeted version
- Citi discount: up to 40% off, capped at $50, depending on your targeted version
- Points required: as few as 429 Membership Rewards points or 125 ThankYou points
- Eligible cards: Amex cards that earn Membership Rewards, and Citi cards that earn ThankYou points, linked to Amazon through Shop with Points
- Not eligible: Amazon gift cards
- How the discount is calculated: before shipping, taxes and fees
- Expires: 5 p.m. PT on December 31, 2026, or earlier if Amazon hits its redemption cap
How the Amex and Citi Amazon Discounts Work
Amazon Shop with Points lets you link a rewards card to your Amazon account and use that card’s points at checkout. Normally that’s a bad trade. Membership Rewards points are worth about 0.7 cents each at Amazon, and Citi ThankYou points are worth roughly 0.8 cents each, far less than you’d typically get by transferring them to airline or hotel partners.
These promotions flip that math. Amazon gives you a percentage off the order as a reward for using points, and the discount only requires you to redeem a small minimum. A few dollars’ worth of points unlocks up to $50 off.
American Express explains on its Pay with Points at Amazon help page how a partial payment works: the full purchase is charged to your card, and you get a statement credit for the portion you covered with points. So when you use only the minimum, nearly the entire order still earns your card’s normal rewards.
One thing to understand before you shop: these offers are targeted. Holding an eligible Amex or Citi card doesn’t guarantee you’ll see a discount, and two people with the same card can see different percentages and caps. If you hold both Membership Rewards and ThankYou cards, check both.
Every Version of the Amex and Citi Offer, Compared
Here are the six versions that have been reported so far. The last column shows how much you’d need to spend on eligible items to max out the discount, and the points column shows the approximate dollar value Amazon applies for those points.
| Program | Discount | Max savings | Minimum points | Points applied as | Spend to max out |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amex Membership Rewards | 50% | $50 | 429 | about $3 | $100 |
| Amex Membership Rewards | 40% | $35 | 1,429 | about $10 | $87.50 |
| Amex Membership Rewards | 15% | $10 | 1,429 | about $10 | $66.67 |
| Citi ThankYou | 40% | $50 | 125 | about $1 | $125 |
| Citi ThankYou | 25% | $30 | 125 | about $1 | $120 |
| Citi ThankYou | 20% | $15 | 125 | about $1 | $75 |
The minimums line up neatly with Amazon’s redemption rates: 429 Membership Rewards points at 0.7 cents is $3, 1,429 points is $10, and 125 ThankYou points at 0.8 cents is $1. Your offer page will show the exact minimum, so go by that.
What Each Amazon Points Offer Is Really Worth
The discount isn’t free. Every point you spend at Amazon is a point you can’t transfer to an airline later. To compare fairly, assume your points are worth 1.5 cents each when transferred, a conservative benchmark for both Membership Rewards and ThankYou points. That’s an assumption, not a fixed value, so plug in your own number if you value points differently.
The best Amex version: 50% off up to $50
Spend $100 on eligible items and use 429 Membership Rewards points. You save $50, and the points cover about $3 of the bill. At 1.5 cents, those 429 points would be worth about $6.44 as transfers. Your net gain is roughly $46.50, which is an outstanding return on a few hundred points.
The weakest Amex version: 15% off up to $10
This is the one to think twice about. It takes 1,429 Membership Rewards points, worth about $21 at 1.5 cents, and in exchange you get up to $10 off plus about $10 applied to the order. You come out only slightly behind or roughly even, depending on how you value your points. If you have specific travel plans for your Membership Rewards, you can skip this version without missing much.
The best Citi version: 40% off up to $50
Spend $125 and use 125 ThankYou points, worth under $2 as transfers. You save $50 and the points cover about $1. That’s close to a pure $50 discount, and the 25% and 20% Citi versions are similarly lopsided in your favor because the points requirement is so small.
The takeaway from the math: every Citi version and the top two Amex versions are clearly worth using if you were going to buy something on Amazon anyway. Only the 15% Amex version is marginal.
How to Activate Your Amazon Shop with Points Discount
- Link your card to Shop with Points. Go to the Amazon Shop with Points page and connect an Amex card that earns Membership Rewards or a Citi card that earns ThankYou points.
- Check for your targeted offer. Look for an “activate” button on the Amex or Citi promotion page in your Amazon account. If you see one, click it. Activation is what attaches the discount to your account.
- Add eligible items to your cart. Eligible products are generally those sold by Amazon, and gift cards are excluded. Aim for a subtotal that maxes out your cap, such as $100 for the 50% Amex version.
- Lower the points amount at checkout. Amazon often defaults to applying as many points as possible. Edit the amount down to the minimum your offer requires and pay the rest with your card.
- Confirm the discount before you place the order. The savings should appear as a line item on the final checkout page. If it’s not there, don’t submit the order. Recheck the activation and the points amount.
7 Tips to Get the Most From These Amazon Deals
- Use the minimum points, never the default. This is the most common and most expensive mistake. Paying a $100 order entirely in Membership Rewards points would cost about 14,286 points instead of 429.
- Buy things you already need. Household staples, a gadget you were going to order anyway, or holiday gifts are ideal. A 50% discount on something you didn’t need is still spending.
- Time it for holiday shopping. With the offers running through December 31, 2026, you can line them up with Black Friday and holiday prices for a deeper combined discount.
- Check every card you hold. If you have both an Amex Membership Rewards card and a Citi ThankYou card, check both offers. They’re separate promotions.
- Use a card that earns well on online shopping. Because the card is still charged for most of the order, the card’s own rewards stack on top of the discount.
- Watch shipping on smaller orders. The discount is calculated before shipping, so if your order doesn’t qualify for free shipping, that cost eats into your savings. An Amazon Prime membership covers free shipping on eligible items.
- Turn off automatic points afterward. Once you’re done, check your Shop with Points settings so future orders don’t quietly drain your balance at 0.7 cents per point.
Can You Stack the Amazon Discount With Other Offers?
Sometimes. Amex Offers and Citi Merchant Offers occasionally include Amazon deals, and when they do, they may stack with a Shop with Points promotion because the card is still charged for most of the order. Read the terms of each offer before you count on it, since some card-linked offers exclude purchases made with points.
If you like stacking, our guide to Rakuten and Amex covers how to layer shopping portals with Membership Rewards earning. And if you’re looking to build up your Membership Rewards balance, the Amex Business Checking bonus currently pays 35,000 points.
Who Should Use This Offer (and Who Can Skip It)
Use it if you see the 50% or 40% Amex version, or any of the Citi versions, and you have Amazon purchases planned before the end of the year. The points cost is tiny compared with the discount.
Think twice if you’re only targeted for the 15% Amex version and you’re saving Membership Rewards for a specific award flight. The trade is close to even, so it comes down to how much you value your points.
Skip it if you’d be buying things only to use the discount. Also skip it if your points are tied up in a transfer you’re planning soon and you’re short on the balance you need.
Citi cardholders have another easy win right now too: the Caesars Rewards Citi offer pays $25 back on a qualifying Caesars stay.
Takeaway
The current Amazon Shop with Points promotions are one of the rare times using points at Amazon makes sense. Eligible Amex cardholders can save up to 50%, capped at $50, with as few as 429 Membership Rewards points, and Citi cardholders can save up to 40%, capped at $50, with just 125 ThankYou points. Both run through December 31, 2026, unless Amazon’s redemption cap is reached first.
The rules for doing it right are simple. Activate the offer first, use only the minimum points, and confirm the discount on the checkout page before you place the order.
Your move: check both promotions in your Amazon account today, even if you don’t plan to shop until the holidays, so you know which version you’re working with.
