The first set of changes will take effect from September 10.
The card’s existing 7,500 Membership Rewards points on annual spends of ₹1.9 lakh will be discontinued from that date. The 10,000-point milestone linked to annual spends of ₹4 lakh will remain unchanged.
The ₹7 lakh annual spending milestone is also set to change. The existing benefit of 22,500 additional Membership Rewards points will be removed from September 10.
Instead, cardholders reaching ₹7 lakh in annual spends will receive a ₹20,000 Taj Experiences e-Gift Card, compared with the existing ₹10,000 benefit.
Until September 9, the existing milestone structure will continue to apply.
Lounge access to become spend-based
From October 1, complimentary domestic airport lounge access on the card is also set to become linked to spending.
Under the revised rules, cardholders will need to spend at least ₹1 lakh in the preceding calendar quarter to qualify for up to two complimentary domestic airport lounge visits in the following quarter.
The card currently provides up to eight complimentary domestic airport lounge visits a year, capped at two visits per quarter. The new quarterly spending requirement will apply from October 1.
What will change for cardholders?
The impact will depend on how much a cardholder spends and which benefits they use.
Those spending between ₹1.9 lakh and ₹4 lakh annually will no longer receive the 7,500 Membership Rewards points currently linked to the ₹1.9 lakh milestone once the revised structure takes effect. The ₹4 lakh milestone, which offers 10,000 points, is set to remain unchanged.
The larger change will come at the ₹7 lakh spending level. Under the existing structure, reaching ₹7 lakh can earn a total of 40,000 Membership Rewards points through the milestone benefits, along with a ₹10,000 Taj Experiences e-Gift Card.
From September 10, the cardholder will instead receive 10,000 Membership Rewards points and a ₹20,000 Taj Experiences e-Gift Card.
The value of the revised benefit will therefore depend partly on whether a cardholder can use the Taj voucher.
The lounge access change will matter particularly to cardholders with lower or irregular quarterly spending.
From October 1, they will need to meet the ₹1 lakh preceding-quarter spending requirement to qualify for complimentary lounge visits in the following quarter.
What American Express said
American Express said it regularly reviews its card benefits to ensure they remain relevant to the changing needs and preferences of its cardholders.
The company said the latest changes are part of this review and involve updates to certain spend milestone benefits and the eligibility criteria for complimentary domestic airport lounge access.
The revised rules are yet to take effect. Cardholders should therefore consider the new structure, their annual and quarterly spending patterns, and how frequently they use the Taj and lounge benefits when assessing the card after the changes come into force.
