Get “FarmVille” Cash With Amex Rewards Points

Social gaming behemoth Zynga and American Express have just entered into a new partnership that will let users pay for Zynga goods using their American Express Membership Rewards points.
In addition to using points for game cards or virtual currency, American Express members will be able to use their points on unique and exclusive virtual goods in Zynga games like FarmVille. This is the first time that American Express has added virtual goods to its roster of member rewards. This type of partnership further dispels some of the misconceptions about marketing in the social games space.
With a recent study indicating that more than 56 million Americans are playing social games, it seems natural that financial services companies like American Express want a piece of the action.
An estimated $2.2 billion was spent on virtual goods in 2009 and that figure is no doubt already higher this year. Last year, the primary payment method for many of these micro-transactions was done via PayPal or a major credit card, but in the past eight months, that has started to change.
Facebook, the mecca of social gaming, started to heavily push Facebook Credits at the beginning of 2010. In March, Zynga added Facebook Credits as a payment option for FarmVille.
Retailers have also embraced Facebook Credits, with gift cards for the virtual currency available at chains like Walmart, Best Buy and Target. Some online retailers are even offering Facebook Credits as shopping incentives.
For American Express Membership Rewards members who are also FarmVille fans, this is pretty cool situation. After all, chances are you paid for some of FarmVille cash with your Amex card anyway (which means you earned reward points). If you can then use those rewards to get more Farm cash, that’s just gravy.