One of the most influential cards in the American Express portfolio in India (currently paused for issuance) is the American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card. While it is not exactly a travel card, the name helps, and the product is simple. You get bonus points on spending INR 1.9 Lakhs and INR 4 Lakhs per membership year. However, if some rumours and screenshots are to be believed, this is going to change pretty soon.
American Express to add a new milestone for the full benefits
So far, the product proposition of the American Express Platinum Travel Card has been lucrative because it was simplistic. Apart from the Membership Rewards points earned on the card for spending on a day-to-day basis, the card also promised milestone benefits:
- Spend INR 1.9 Lakh within a membership year and get 15,000 bonus MR Points (7,500 auto credited and 7,500 need a call or a chat with Amex)
- Spend an additional INR 2.1 Lakh within the same membership year and get 25,000 bonus MR points and a Taj voucher worth INR 10,000. (10,000 auto credited, and the rest need a call or chat)
Now, according to various screenshots circulating on the internet, American Express is beginning to notify members of a new milestone, set at INR 7 Lakhs per membership year. This is supposed to go live effective March 2, 2026 (under the 30-day notification period rule).
- Spend INR 1.9 Lakh within a membership year and get 7,500 bonus MR Points
- Spend an additional INR 2.1 Lakh within the same membership year and get 10,000 bonus MR points
- Spend an additional INR 3 Lakh within the membership year and receive an extra 22,500 bonus MR points and an INR 10,000 Taj Voucher.
What This Means
The introduction of a new milestone will essentially require more spending to achieve the same number of Membership Reward milestone bonuses. To start, the INR 1.9 Lakh milestone will be cut in half, and you’ll receive 7,500 points instead of 15,000 points. At the INR 4 Lakh milestone, you will receive 10,000 bonus points. At an INR 7 Lakh spending, you will get the INR 10,000 Taj Voucher and a bonus of 22,500 points.
The other news is that the hard deadline for the cutover to the new milestones is March 2, 2026, at the end of the day. So, if you started your Amex Platinum Travel membership in year 3 weeks down or are midway through the year, or so on, you are still going to be subject to the new rules as of March 2/3, 2026.
Bottomline
If rumours are to be believed, the Platinum Travel card is jumping from an 8% Return on the spends made to a ~4% returns card, and it will no longer be as rewarding for low and mid-level spenders. The third milestone will be INR 7 Lakhs, a 75% increase from the current INR 4 Lakhs per annum.
What do you think of the rumoured changes to the American Express Platinum Travel card coming in a month? What is your strategy for the coming month?
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