Membership Rewards points earned will appear as “pending” in your account at the end of a billing cycle, which is after your statement closes. This means you can sometimes wait months for points to post — whether from purchases or welcome bonuses.
In their “pending” state, points are eligible to be used if you are in a hurry to use them. As long as your account is in good standing, call up Amex and ask the representative to turn pending points into posted points immediately. This may require speaking to a few different agents or a supervisor to make it happen.