Over the past year, credit card issuers have either capped or devalued some of their credit cards probably due to the COVID-19 situation or maybe because it was becoming unsustainable to have high rewards. Joining the club is American Express – starting Jan 22, 2021, the American Express Platinum Travel card will have a slight drop in its rewards along with some new redemption options.
Welcome Rewards
- Get 10000 MR points
- Redeemable for Flipkart voucher / Pay with Points (ATO) worth Rs 3000
- Earlier – Rs 3500 travel voucher
1.9 Lacs Spend Milestone
- Get 15000 MR points
- Redeemable for Flipkart voucher / Pay with Points (ATO) worth Rs 4500
- Earlier – Rs 6000 travel voucher
4 Lacs Spend Milestone
- Get 25000 MR points
- Redeemable for Flipkart voucher / Pay with Points (ATO) worth Rs 7500
- Taj voucher of Rs 10000 stays intact
- Earlier – Rs 10000 travel voucher
American Express Platinum Travel overall reward rate is concerning
Except the Taj voucher reward, the rewards have got devalued for every milestone. While Flipkart voucher redemption option is good, it is available till end of 2021. Post that, the only option is ‘Pay with Points’ on the Amex travel portal.
While the earlier reward rate (for spend milestone rewards) used to be close to 4%, the return has now dropped to 3% with the devaluation. With new cards like Axis Ace offering 2% as a regular reward and 5% on bill payments, the American Express Platinum Travel card seems to have lost its edge. Two points worth remembering here – the Plat Travel card has annual fees (not waived on spends) and also does not provide any rewards for insurance/utility payments. So, one is better off with Axis Ace (with spend waiver) rather than paying a fee for this card.
If you are looking to apply for an Amex card, then the MRCC card is a far better option and is available as First Year Free for a limited time along with reduced annual fees of Rs 1500 second year onwards. Apply through this link.