American Express has been in the news quite a bit recently, particularly in credit card circles, mainly due to changes to its rewards program and devaluations such as the recent changes to the American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card.
Now, even more communication has gone out, this time to cardholders of the American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card. American Express has announced a set of changes to the card, with several updates coming into effect from 11 October 2026.
According to American Express, these changes are part of a broader technology upgrade to the American Express account experience, including a new online account interface across the Amex mobile app and website. Along with these digital upgrades, Amex is also making changes to certain Membership Rewards, annual fee waiver, Supplementary Card, and payment-related rules.
50% Annual Fee Waiver To Be Removed
One of the biggest changes for existing AmEx MRCC Credit Cardholders is the removal of the 50% annual fee waiver. Currently, cardholders are eligible for a 50% annual fee waiver when they spend ₹90,000 or more during a Card Membership year. American Express has confirmed that this benefit will no longer be available from 11 October 2026.
This could make the card less attractive for users who primarily relied on the annual spending threshold to reduce the effective cost of holding the card.
Membership Rewards Points Will Be Maintained Separately
The Membership Rewards earn rate and redemption options will remain unchanged. However, customers with multiple American Express Cards will see an important change.
If you hold two or more American Express Cards, your Membership Rewards points will now be maintained separately for each card. Points earned through Supplementary Card transactions will continue to be consolidated with the associated Basic Card.
Other Changes
- Membership Rewards Points on Overdue Payments: If the payment remains due when the next statement is generated, cardholders will not earn Membership Rewards points on transactions made from that statement date. Point redemption will also be unavailable until the outstanding balance is paid.
- Supplementary Card Applications Paused: New Supplementary Card applications will be temporarily paused from 22 September 2026. Amex has advised customers to apply before this date and complete the application by 30 September 2026.
- Up To 10 Transactions For EMI: The new digital EMI experience will allow eligible cardholders to convert up to 10 individual transactions into EMI, up from six currently. The conversion can be completed directly from the transaction view.
- Membership Rewards Redemption Through App: Cardholders will be able to redeem Membership Rewards points directly through the Amex Mobile App, including transfers to airline and hotel partners.
- Easier Statement Credit Redemption: Points redeemed as a statement credit can be applied towards the outstanding Card balance in one go, instead of selecting individual transactions.
- Refunds & Reversals: Eligible refunds and reversals received by the payment due date will be adjusted towards the Minimum Amount Due and Total Amount Due, including eligible refunds received after statement generation.
- Late Payment Fee Changes: The Late Payment Fee will now be calculated based on the Total Amount Due instead of the Minimum Amount Due, with applicable slabs ranging from ₹500 to ₹1,250.
- New Account Management Features: The updated Amex app and website will allow users to update contact details, manage domestic/overseas/online transaction settings, freeze or unfreeze their card, request a replacement card, raise disputes and request credit balance refunds.
Bottom Line
The upcoming changes make the American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card more digital and convenient to manage, but they also remove one of its useful fee-waiver benefits. The biggest takeaway for existing cardholders is simple: the 50% annual fee waiver on ₹90,000 annual spends is going away from 11 October 2026, while the core Membership Rewards earn rate, redemption options, and monthly milestone benefit remain unchanged.
Apart from this, the change to the pooling of Membership Rewards points could also have a significant impact on cardholders. Earlier, customers holding multiple American Express cards, such as the Gold Charge Card and Membership Rewards Credit Card, could pool their Membership Rewards points and redeem the combined balance as they pleased.
Under the new structure, Membership Rewards points earned on different Basic American Express Cards will be maintained separately, meaning cardholders will no longer have the same flexibility to combine points across cards.
For users who hold multiple Amex cards specifically to maximize Membership Rewards earnings and then consolidate the points for a larger redemption, this is an important change to keep in mind.