Fanatics is Amex’s Newest Transfer Partner
It’s official: Fanatics is Amex’s newest transfer partner. In an announcement made yesterday, American Express and Fanatics detailed the expansion of their partnership. The first announcement was the unveiling of a new Fanatics American Express credit card. This new card earns FanCash – Fanatics’ loyalty rewards. The second part of the announcement was that Fanatics is joining Membership Rewards and that Membership Rewards will transfer to Fanatics FanCash at a ratio of 1,000 Membership Rewards = $10 Fan Cash. Images Courtesy of Fanatics and American Express.
Fanatics FanCash Value
Before you transfer your American Express Membership Rewards to Fanatics FanCash, you need to understand the value you’re getting from that transfer. FanCash is Fanatics’ loyalty currency. FanCash is redeemable for merchandise including apparel and collectibles on the Fanatics site. It can also be redeemed for Bonus Bets on Fanatics’ sports book. That last part makes Fanatics as Amex’s newest transfer partner an especially odd choice.
Fanatics FanCash can typically be redeemed on Fanatics’ site on a dollar-for-dollar basis. But technically it has no cash value and the terms for redemptions can change at any time.
While the redemption value is often dollar-for-dollar, consider that you almost never have to pay full price for a gift card from Fanatics. Discounted gift cards are readily available through a variety of retailers, oftentimes at 10%, 15% discounts or more. So if you’re transferring 1,000 Membership Rewards for $10 of FanCash, consider that you could have probably spent $9 (or less) for that same $10 to redeem on Fanatics. This means that your 1,000 Membership Rewards are now effectively worth $8-9 (what you actually would have paid).
Membership Rewards Value
We always think that the best value of any transferable points is through transfer partners. But that’s where redemption values can easily exceed the ordinary cash equivalent value (cents per point) you could get by redeeming your points directly. For example, Membership Rewards redeemed through American Express travel are typically valued at 1 cent each against hotel or airfare redemptions.
But if you transfer your Membership Rewards to an airline or hotel partner, you may be able to redeem those same points for a flight or hotel that would cost significantly more when paying cash. A general rule of thumb for the valuation of American Express Membership Rewards when transferred to a travel transfer partner is 2 cents per point, or more.
When you compare this to the value of Fanatics FanCash, it’s easy to see why this transfer wouldn’t make sense. As explained above, if 1,000 Membership Rewards are worth $8-9 max, that’s only 0.8 to 0.9 cents per point in value. You can easily get much more than that out of your Membership Rewards. Even if you decide to cash them out with a checking account and a Business Platinum card.
Fanatics is Amex’s Newest Transfer Partner: ToP Thoughts
In case you couldn’t tell, I’m not excited that Fanatics is Amex’s newest transfer partner. I’d much rather see them focus on adding more travel partners. That’s where the real outsized value lies. And even if you’re interested in spending at Fanatics, there are ways to leverage those earnings and get greater value. You can save money on Fanatics purchases by buying discounted gift cards as discussed above. You can earn bonus multipliers by buying those gift cards at retailers in bonus categories on your credit cards. For example, DoorDash sells Fanatics gift cards and often codes as dining. Also consider stacking with card offers and shopping portals to earn even more points directly with Fanatics.
What do you think about this newest addition? Let us know your thoughts in the ToP Facebook Group.
