American Express Credit Cards 2026: The Pause and the 15 Nov Changes

Which Amex card fits which need

Amex has no lifetime-free card, no card against a fixed deposit, no RuPay card for UPI and no fuel card, so some needs simply doesn't have an Amex answer. What it does well is Membership Rewards points. Rupee values depend on how you redeem: in the Gold Collection, 24,000 points buy a Taj voucher worth ₹14,000 (about ₹0.58 a point) or an Amazon or Flipkart voucher worth ₹8,000 (about ₹0.33), and 18,000 points buy a ₹9,000 Taj voucher (₹0.50).

Online shopping on a small fee: SmartEarn

SmartEarn costs ₹495 a year, waived when you spend ₹40,000 in the previous card year. It earns 1 point per ₹50, and 10 points per ₹50 at partners such as Flipkart, Uber, Myntra and Zomato, or 5 at Amazon. The bonus are capped: 500 extra points a month for the main partner group, 500 for Zomato and EaseMyTrip together and 250 for Amazon. Amex says up to 1,250 points a month on ₹7,500 of partner spend. For person who shops mostly online, this is the cheap entry.

Everyday points: Membership Rewards Credit Card

The MRCC earns 1 point per ₹50 and added two monthly bonuses: 1,000 points for 4 transactions of ₹1,500 or more, and 1,000 more for spending ₹20,000 in a calendar month (you have to enrol). A ₹20,000 month in four or more swipes gives 400 base points (₹20,000 divided by 50) plus 2,000 bonus points, so 2,400 a month or 28,800 a year (2,400 times 12). At ₹0.50 a point that is ₹14,400 (28,800 times ₹0.50), and ₹2,40,000 of yearly spend (₹20,000 times 12) clears the ₹1,50,000 full fee waiver. Fuel, insurance and utilities is not earning any points. Our MRCC review goes through it in detail.

Travel milestones: Platinum Travel

Platinum Travel charges ₹5,000 a year with no waiver, so beyond the welcome bonus it pays for itself mostly through milestones: 10,000 points at ₹4 lakh of yearly spend, redeemable on the Platinum Travel Collection, and a Taj, SeleQtions and Vivanta e-gift card of ₹20,000 at ₹7 lakh. Two domestic lounge visits a quarter now need eligible spend in the previous quarter. If you spend less than ₹4 lakh a year, then this card is not making sense.

Premium credit card: Platinum Reserve

Platinum Reserve costs ₹10,000 and gives a ₹1,000 voucher every calendar month in which you spend ₹50,000, so up to ₹12,000 a year (₹1,000 times 12), plus Accor+ Explorer, Taj Epicure and EazyDiner Prime memberships. The card page says the fee is waived on ₹10 lakh of spend; Amex's terms show an older waiver figure of ₹1.9 lakh under a previous fee structure, so better you confirm it from Amex.

Charge cards: Gold Card and Platinum Card

The Gold Card is a charge card for people who pay in full anyway. It earns 1 point per ₹50, utilities included up to 10,000 points a month, plus 1,000 bonus points for 6 transactions of ₹1,000 or more in a month. From 12 June 2025 fuel earn no points. The Platinum Card, also a charge card, is a ₹66,000 hotel and lounge product: 1 point per ₹40, access to 1,550+ lounges in the Global Lounge Collection, hotel elite tiers and a welcome gift worth up to ₹60,000 on ₹50,000 of spend in 2 months.

Amex fees and charges

Amex's charges split into two sets: one for the four credit cards and one for the two charge cards. Every fee and charge is exclusive of GST, so add 18% on top of what you sees here.

Credit cards: interest and late fee

SmartEarn, the Membership Rewards card, Platinum Travel and Platinum Reserve charge 3.5% a month (42% a year) on balances you carry. After repeated missed minimum payments, the rate goes to 3.99% a month (47.88% a year): on Platinum Travel this happens after 3 misses in 12 months, and on most other Amex credit cards after 2. Carry ₹50,000 for one month at 3.5%, the interest is ₹1,750 (3.5% of ₹50,000).

Until 15 November 2026 the late fee is 30% of the Minimum Payment Due, never less than ₹500 and never more than ₹1,000, plus taxes. On a minimum due of ₹2,000 that is ₹600 (30% of ₹2,000), and on a minimum due of ₹5,000 the 30% works out to ₹1,500, so the cap of ₹1,000 come in. On any statement generated after 15 November 2026, the fee moves to slabs based on the Total Amount Due, ranging from ₹500 to ₹1,250. Amex has not publish the slab table yet.

Charge cards: the delinquency fee

The Gold Card and Platinum Card have no interest. If the full amount due doesn't reach Amex by the due date, a delinquency fee of 5% of the unpaid balance applies, minimum ₹300 a month. Leave ₹20,000 unpaid and the fee is ₹1,000 (5% of ₹20,000), which is more costlier than a month of credit card interest on the same sum. The 15 November late fee change does not cover the charge cards.

Other charges

• Cash advance: a 3.5% fee with ₹250 as the minimum, but cash withdrawal in India is suspended for now. Overseas limits differ by card, for example US$333 every 14 days or 20% of the limit on the credit cards, US$129 on the Gold Card and US$750 on the Platinum Card.
• Foreign currency: 3.5% on every Amex card. ₹1,00,000 spent abroad costs ₹3,500 extra before GST (3.5% of ₹1,00,000).
• Fuel convenience fee: 0% at HPCL below ₹5,000, 1% at HPCL on ₹5,000 and above, 1% (minimum ₹10) at BPCL and IOCL, and 2.5% (at least ₹10) at pumps of other oil companies. A ₹3,000 fill at another company's pump cost ₹75 (2.5% of ₹3,000).
• IRCTC railway tickets: 1.8% of the value, minimum ₹10, plus payment gateway charges and GST.
• Cheque or NACH return: ₹250. Duplicate statements older than 3 months: ₹100 each.
• Over-limit transactions have been disabled since 1 October 2022, so there is no over-limit fee.

The charges we read do not list a rent or wallet-load fee; Amex's special charges are the fuel convenience fee and the IRCTC surcharge instead. Also no points on utilities on most credit cards, which hurts if your electricity bill is big.

Amex changes, 2024 to 2026, and what 15 November means

Most of Amex's changes are bunched in the last few weeks of 2026, because they come with the platform move. Here they are oldest first, with what each one change for a cardholder.

1. 1 May 2024, Platinum Reserve: the monthly voucher was set at ₹1,000 on ₹50,000 of spend in a calendar month. You need ₹6 lakh a year (₹50,000 times 12) to collect all twelve.
2. 12 June 2025, Gold Card: fuel payments stopped earning points. An older Amex rewards FAQ still shows fuel earning on the Gold Card, but the card page is newer.
3. 9 March 2026, Platinum Travel: the bonus part of milestone points began to be credited automatically, so no more calling to claim it which was a pain.
4. 1 October 2026, Platinum Travel: the 2 domestic lounge visits a quarter became spend-based, at ₹70,000 in July to September 2026 for October to December visits, and ₹1 lakh a quarter from then on.
5. 20 October 2026, Platinum Card: the complimentary Ace by Times Prime membership ended for new takers; current memberships runs till their end date.
6. 27 October 2026, all cards: new supplementary card applications paused.
7. 11 to 18 November 2026: service disruptions expected during the move to the new platform.

From 15 November 2026

• Late fee on credit cards: moves from 30% of the minimum due (₹500 to ₹1,000) to Total Amount Due slabs from ₹500 to ₹1,250, for statements generated after 15 November 2026. The top fee goes up by ₹250 (₹1,250 minus ₹1,000).
• Points kept per card: each Basic Card keeps its own Membership Rewards balance, and shifting points between cards is permanently discontinued. If you are holding two Amex cards, plan redemptions card by card wise.
• Overdue accounts: earning and redeeming points is paused for as long as a payment remains overdue beyond the next statement date.
• Milestones: counted on the posting date of each transaction, with vouchers or bonus points arriving at the close of the calendar month in which you cross it. A purchase made on the last day of a month but posted later now counts in the next month.
• MRCC fee waiver: the half-fee waiver for yearly spends between ₹90,000 and ₹1,49,999 is withdrawn, while the full waiver at ₹1,50,000 stays. Someone spending ₹1,20,000 a year will now paying the full ₹4,500 instead of ₹2,250 (half of ₹4,500).

Eligibility and applying, once Amex reopens

For now there is nothing to apply for: the pause covers every Amex India card, and there is no apply button on this page for that reason. When applications reopen, Amex normally takes them online, and only from residents of the cities it lists. The rules below are the ones on Amex's card pages as read on 5 November 2026, and they may change after the platform move.

You have to be older than 18, live in India as a resident with an Indian bank account, and have a good credit history. Self-employed applicants need a company trading for more than 12 months. The documents are a PAN card (or Form 60 where you doesn't qualify for a PAN), one recent passport-size photo and one officially valid document showing your current address: a voter ID, passport, driving licence, NPR letter, NREGA job card, or proof of possession of Aadhaar with its first 8 digits masked.

If you need a card now

Waiting have a cost if you need a card this month. Rewards cards from other banks are the closest substitutes: compare the points cards on our HDFC Bank, Axis Bank and ICICI Bank hubs, or the travel cards on our HSBC India hub. The card finder sorts options by spend, fee and income.

What the RBI's rules give every applicant

• Whoever issues your card decides on approval alone, but has to tell you the specific reasons in writing if it says no, and give a Key Fact Statement with the form.
• A card is issued only on your clear written or digital consent, never on an assumed yes; an unsolicited card that gets billed must be reversed with a penalty of twice the charges.
• A request to close your card has to be met within seven working days once you have paid up, with ₹500 a day due to you for any delay.
• Your billing cycle date can be changed at least once, to any start or close date you prefer.

Amex customer care in India

The general toll-free customer service number is 1800 419 2122. Amex also lists a number for each card, which can be quicker during the platform move:

• Platinum Reserve: 1800 419 1030
• Platinum Travel: 1800 419 2122
• Membership Rewards Credit Card: 1800 419 0167
• SmartEarn: 1800 208 1226
• Gold Card: 1800 419 1120
• Platinum Card: 1800 419 1255

Expect longer waits between 11 and 18 November 2026, when Amex has flagged service disruptions. If anything is urgent like a lost card, call early, don't wait for the week to finish. By RBI rules, a reported card has to be blocked right away and the block confirmed to you.

Keep your statements from before and after 15 November. If the new late fee, a milestone or a points balance looks wrong after the move, raise it in writing. Amex is bound to answer a billing dispute within 30 days, and with no answer or a poor one after 30 days, the RBI Ombudsman is your next stop.

Before closing any Amex card, use up the points on it. From 15 November each card holds its own balance and points can't be moved to another card, and on Platinum Travel points are forfeited within 30 days of cancellation. Note down the balance of every card before the move, it make any later query much easier.