American Express card changes: 2 services to go, rewards also revised | Personal Finance

American Express is revising its card benefits and support services in India, introducing changes to milestone rewards and withdrawing long-standing perks like emergency card replacements.

 

Two services will be withdrawn over the weeks, according to communications sent to cardholders. The ‘Check Your Spending Power’ facility is scheduled to end on September 16, followed by the Emergency Card Replacement service on October 8.

 

The changes are separate from a broader revision of American Express rewards, including the closure of its Reward Multiplier programme and alterations to milestone benefits on the Platinum Travel Credit Card.

 

What cardholders will lose

The ‘Check Your Spending Power’ facility is being withdrawn first. The feature allowed customers to test whether a proposed transaction was likely to be approved before actually making the purchase.

  

Its removal, however, does not mean American Express is changing its normal transaction approval process. Customers can continue to make purchases with their cards in the usual manner.

 

The second change concerns customers who need a replacement card in an emergency.

 

American Express is discontinuing its Emergency Card Replacement service from October 8. Once the facility is withdrawn, customers will still be able to request a replacement through the standard process.

 

The distinction is important for frequent travellers. American Express currently indicates that a standard replacement can take around seven to 10 business days. A customer who loses a card overseas or immediately before a trip may therefore need to make alternative payment arrangements while waiting for the replacement.

 

American Express has said that cardholders will continue to have access to its standard replacement service and applicable protection in case of a lost or stolen card.

 

Reward Multiplier is also being withdrawn

The service changes come as American Express reshapes its rewards proposition.

 

The issuer has officially confirmed that the Reward Multiplier programme will end on September 30. The programme had allowed eligible customers to earn accelerated Membership Rewards points on purchases with selected brands and through the ShopWise e-voucher platform.

 

There is, however, an important distinction. American Express says accelerated Membership Rewards points will continue to be available on eligible ShopWise purchases even after the Reward Multiplier programme ends.

 

This means customers should not interpret the change as the complete removal of accelerated rewards. Rather, one route through which additional points were earned is being discontinued.

 

Platinum Travel card also sees changes

The American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card is undergoing its own reward restructuring.

 

From September 10, cardholders will no longer receive the additional 7,500 Membership Rewards points attached to annual spending of Rs 1.9 lakh.

 

The Rs 4 lakh spending milestone, which provides 10,000 additional points, remains unchanged.

 

The Rs 7 lakh milestone is being altered more substantially. The additional 22,500 Membership Rewards points will be removed and replaced with a Taj Experiences e-Gift Card worth Rs 20,000. The existing value of this voucher is Rs 10,000.

 

Domestic airport lounge access on the card is also being made dependent on spending from October.

 

The bigger issue: benefits are becoming harder to value

For credit card users, these changes highlight a problem that goes beyond American Express: card benefits can change considerably even when the card itself remains the same.

 

A customer choosing a card based on a particular milestone reward, lounge facility or accelerated-points programme may find that the economics look different a few months later.

 

This makes it important to evaluate a credit card based on actual benefits used, rather than the maximum rewards advertised.

 

For example, the removal of 7,500 points at the Rs 1.9 lakh milestone will matter mainly to a customer who would otherwise have crossed that threshold. Similarly, replacing 22,500 points with a Rs 20,000 Taj voucher may be attractive to a cardholder who values hotel-related benefits, but less useful to someone who prefers flexible Membership Rewards points.

 

The same principle applies to lounge access. If access is linked to a minimum spending requirement, a customer who does not naturally meet that threshold should not assign the same value to the lounge benefit as someone who does.