Amex, Apple team on rewards

American Express expanded its long-running partnership with Apple by allowing U.S. cardholders to redeem Membership Rewards points directly through Apple Pay at checkout, both online and in-app. The move deepens Amex’s rewards ecosystem and supports Apple’s broader push into payments and digital wallet functionality. While not a major financial catalyst on its own, the collaboration reinforces both companies’ consumer engagement strategies and could modestly strengthen Amex’s card loyalty and usage. The article also notes Amex is broadening redemption options beyond Apple, while Apple continues adding wallet features such as tap-to-share. Amex’s recent quarterly net income rose 15% year over year, helped by higher spending from Gen Z and millennials, suggesting the company has momentum even as it loses some partnerships elsewhere, such as Amazon.