Skip the Amex transfer to Fanatics. Price the jersey first.

American Express has added Fanatics as a Membership Rewards transfer partner. Frequent Miler reported the option live on November 9. Eligible U.S. cardholders can turn 1,000 points into $10 in FanCash. You don’t need the new Fanatics credit card to do it.

What would you pay for the jersey?

Say the jersey you want costs $80 on Fanatics before tax and shipping. You can cover the eligible merchandise with 8,000 points. FanCash generally leaves tax and shipping for you to pay separately, so compare the total at checkout.

If another store sells the same jersey for $64 with the same tax and delivery costs, paying cash there keeps 8,000 points in your account for $64. Spending the points would give you just 0.8 cents each. And if you’d skip the jersey at either price, you haven’t saved yourself a purchase.

What could those points do for a trip?

Consider 10,000 Amex points. They buy $100 in FanCash. Now suppose a flight you’d actually buy costs $165.60, or 10,000 airline miles plus $5.60. If you can transfer 1:1 with no transfer fee, those same points cover $160 of airfare. That’s $60 more than the merchandise credit.

Change one number and the advantage disappears. If an equally convenient flight costs $105.60 in cash, the award saves just $100 after the fee. Use the fare you’d really book. Check award space, the transfer ratio and all fees before moving points.

Our call is to skip the FanCash transfer. You can always price the jersey again when you’re ready to buy. Once Amex points become FanCash, you can’t move them back for a flight.