I don't know how I let this one slipped by. American Express card used to allow redemption of points for cash for up to $300 per year. So at the end of each year I go check to see if I have enough points to get some money back. To my surprise, they now have a much better cash redemption offer -- you can directly get a cash back, in increment of $100, from your reward points. So if you have 100,000 points, you can get $500 back. Not bad at all !