What is a Membership Rewards point worth when it can no longer sit beside the points from another Amex card? That is the question American Express put to its Indian cardmembers on 11 September 2026, in a notice whose changes take effect mainly from 11 October 2026. It follows the September cut to the Platinum Travel card, and it reaches further, because it changes the programme underneath every card and not one card's milestones.
One balance becomes several
Until now, a cardmember holding more than one proprietary Amex card in India saw a single Membership Rewards balance. A Membership Rewards Credit Card earning monthly bonuses and a Platinum Reserve earning on larger spends fed the same pot, and the pot could be emptied in one transfer to an airline or hotel partner.
From 11 October 2026, points earned on each basic card are maintained separately. Someone with 30,000 points on one card and 20,000 on another holds two balances and not one balance of 50,000. Points cannot be moved between cards to consolidate them. Supplementary card spends continue to earn into the basic card they belong to.
This matters most for transfers and high-value redemptions, which need a minimum block of points. Two half-sized balances can each fall short of a redemption that the combined total would have cleared.
The MRCC fee waiver loses its middle step
The Membership Rewards Credit Card renews at ₹4,500 plus taxes. Spending ₹1.5 lakh in a card membership year waives that fee in full, and spending between ₹90,000 and ₹1,49,999 waived half of it. The half waiver goes on 11 October 2026.
What remains is a cliff. A cardmember at ₹1.4 lakh of annual spend paid ₹2,250 under the old rule and pays ₹4,500 under the new one. The card's appeal to modest spenders rested on that middle step and on the monthly bonuses, and only the bonuses survive.
Posting dates now decide the monthly bonus
The MRCC still pays 1,000 bonus points for four transactions of ₹1,500 or more in a calendar month, and another 1,000 points for ₹20,000 of spend in the month. Two mechanics change around them.
Eligibility moves to the posting date. A purchase made on the last day of a month that posts on the first day of the next counts toward the next month. The same rule applies to the Platinum Reserve and its ₹50,000 monthly milestone. Bonus points are also credited at the end of the calendar month and no longer appear when the milestone is crossed.
The practical reading: finishing a monthly milestone on the 30th is now a risk. Spends meant to count should be made with several days of the month left.
Overdue payments freeze the account's points
One clause is new in kind. If an amount is overdue when the next statement generates, the card stops earning Membership Rewards points on transactions from that statement date, and existing points cannot be redeemed. Earning and redemption resume when the overdue amount is cleared. A missed payment used to cost interest and a late fee. It now also pauses the rewards account.
Supplementary and Additional Cards
New applications for Supplementary Cards pause from 22 September 2026. Existing supplementary cards continue. Additional Cards, the second card issued in the same name to separate spends and common with Charge Cards, are withdrawn from 30 September 2026.
What we would do
Cardmembers holding two or more Amex cards should decide before 11 October 2026 whether a planned transfer or large redemption is better made from the pooled balance while it exists. Holders of only the MRCC who spend between ₹90,000 and ₹1.5 lakh a year should price the card at the full ₹4,500 and ask whether 24,000 bonus points a year still justify it. Anyone chasing monthly milestones should move the habit a week earlier in the month. Our 2026 devaluations roundup tracks where this sits against other issuers.
Sources
- American Express India: Membership Rewards Credit Card
- American Express Banking Corp. India, communication to Card Members, 11 September 2026
- Live From A Lounge: American Express Membership Rewards (India) changes coming October 11, 2026
- Card Insider: American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card changes
Frequently asked
Will Membership Rewards points still be pooled across American Express cards in India?
No. From 11 October 2026, a cardmember holding two or more proprietary American Express cards has a separate Membership Rewards balance on each card, and points cannot be moved from one card to another to consolidate them. Points earned on a supplementary card stay with its basic card.
What happens to the Amex Membership Rewards Credit Card fee waiver?
The 50% waiver of the ₹4,500 renewal fee, given for annual spends between ₹90,000 and ₹1,49,999, is removed from 11 October 2026. The full waiver at ₹1.5 lakh of annual spend remains.
Are the MRCC monthly bonus points being removed?
No. The 1,000 bonus points for four transactions of ₹1,500 or more in a calendar month and the 1,000 points for ₹20,000 of monthly spend remain. Eligibility is now judged on the date a transaction posts to the account, and bonus points are credited at the end of the calendar month.
What happens to Membership Rewards points if an Amex payment is overdue?
If an amount is overdue when the next statement generates, the card stops earning Membership Rewards points on transactions from that statement date and points cannot be redeemed. Both resume once the overdue amount is paid.
Card devaluations, reward maths, and rate changes the day they land.
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