How I’ve Used Amex Points For Unconventional Redemptions – Forbes Advisor – Technologist

While we have definitely taken advantage of the better travel redemptions available with Membership Rewards—we have also used our points for some unconventional redemptions.

We Used Amex Points To Upgrade Our Backyard

In early 2022, we were getting ready to welcome our fourth child into the world. We were also renting a home in Florida where we had failed to grow grass in the backyard—even after a year of trying.

We decided we needed to do something with the dusty backyard (Florida is basically a sandpit)—but being a rental house we didn’t want to sink our own money into the property. I then found that we could redeem our excess Amex points for Home Depot gift cards at a decent valuation of 1 cent per point.

We decided to look up the cost of cheap artificial turf to cover up the dirt in the yard—plus the cost of turf stakes and some pavers to outline a fire pit area. We ended up redeeming about 90,000 Membership Rewards for $900 worth of Home Depot gift cards.

The project was completed shortly before our daughter was born—with no out-of-pocket costs on our end. The turf has held up well—even with four active kiddos and over half-a-dozen large neighborhood parties.

We Bought Some Fancy Tools With Membership Rewards

In addition to upgrading our backyard—there are some expenses that I just can’t seem to justify paying cash for. One of those is expensive tools.

Luckily, just like our backyard upgrade—the serviceable redemption value of Home Depot gift cards came in handy when it was time to upgrade (and add to) our tool collection.

In April of 2024 I needed to purchase a new leaf blower—our previous one only lasted a few minutes on battery and didn’t even clear off our small (turf) backyard area. I have a few tools with a 40V battery system, so I decided to buy the more expensive (and powerful) blower that used the same battery system.

I redeemed 20,000 Membership Rewards for $200 in Home Depot gift cards and quickly redeemed them in-store using the Amex app. The process was seamless and the leaf blower has been amazing.

We Bought Gift Cards for Upcoming Home Renovations

More recently—we’ve decided to jump into the housing market. With houses costing what they do—and the budget getting tighter—we know we wouldn’t have the extra cash we wanted lying around to make improvements once we moved into our new home.

We decided to cash out some of my wife’s Membership Rewards for more (you guessed it) Home Depot gift cards in anticipation of home improvements. We now have $1,000 in gift cards available for when we move in and want to make updates—without worrying about draining our bank accounts further.