An email from American Express popped up in my inbox this afternoon with the subject line: “Advance Notice | Changes to your Card Benefits”, and I was like, “Oh boy, here we go again!” This is the second time they’ve tweaked their rewards program in 2026.
To recap:
Feb-26: no manual bonus pts, new tier added
In February, they had restructured their spend-based milestone rewards program w.e.f March 09, 2026, as below:
| Rs. 1.9 lakh: | 7,500 bonus Membership Rewards points |
| Rs. 4 lakh: | 10,000 bonus Membership Rewards points |
| Rs. 7 lakh: | 22,500 bonus Membership Rewards points + a Rs. 10,000 Taj Experiences e-Gift Card |
Basically, the manual accrual of bonus points (7,500 and 15,000 points respectively in the Rs. 1.9 lakh and Rs. 4 lakh spend tiers) as well as the Taj gift card were now added to a new Rs. 7 lakh milestone tier.
Aug-26: Bonus pts reduced, Rs. 1.9 lakh tier stopped, Taj card value increased
Today’s email goes a step further with changes to the milestone rewards program w.e.f September 10, 2026 so the spend tier rewards now will be:
| Rs. 1.9 lakh: | No bonus points |
| Rs. 4 lakh: | 10,000 bonus Membership Rewards points |
| Rs. 7 lakh: | Rs. 20,000 Taj Experiences e-Gift Card. No more 22,500 bonus Membership Rewards points |
They’ve also clarified that spend milestone eligibility will be as per the date when the transaction is posted, not necessarily spend date. Eligible spends posted on or before September 09, 2026 will qualify under the current Milestone benefits, whereas eligible spends posted on or after September 10, 2026 will qualify under the revised Milestone benefits.
Conditional lounge access now based on quarterly spends
Till now, lounge access was complimentary, but it will be based on quarterly spends w.e.f October 01, 2026.
• For up to 2 complimentary domestic airport lounge visits in a calendar quarter, spend Rs. 1 lakh or more in the preceding calendar quarter
• They’ve relaxed the criteria for October-December 2026 calendar quarter, lowering the threshold eligible spend limit to Rs. 70,000 between July and September 2026
This particular move wasn’t very surprising as over the past couple of years, several other credit card issuers have also introduced spend-based lounge access on their cards.
Is the Amex Platinum Travel Card still worth it?
For many Amex Platinum Travel credit card holders, that tier of Rs. 1.9 lakhs was like a low hanging fruit, and it was reasonably possible to achieve that milestone spend. There’s a shifting of goalposts now, and bonus points accrual will require a minimum spend of Rs. 4 lakh in a membership year.
The card’s base reward point rate remains the same (1 point for every Rs. 50 on eligible spends), and so does the annual fee (Rs. 5,000 + taxes).
So is the card still worth keeping?
For me personally, the choice is easier as the card is lifetime free.
For many cardholders, however, that’s a tough question. It depends on whether they’re paying annual fees, how they foresee using this card now, and how heavily they’re into the Taj ecosystem.
Do you have an Amex Platinum Travel card? What’s your take on this latest move from American Express?
