AMEX Membership Rewards Program Downgraded

And upgrades fees for some cards.

If you have an AMEX card and have been a happy member of its Membership Rewards program, chances are you are not going to enjoy the double rewards points program any longer due to the change of its membership rewards program. I have a couple of AMEX card and one of them, the Platinum Rewards Card, is part of the Membership Rewards Program. By using this card for purchase on everything from groceries to gas, I have earned some nice rewards points, which I used to redeem gifts from AMEX. But the changes to the program that I recently learned will make it less appealing to some cardholders.

I noticed the news reported on CNNMoney.com the other day which said that AMEX will eliminate some double rewards points programs while raising annual fees on some cards $35 to $125. The reason for the overhaul is to reduce company expenses associated with the rewards program. Details about these changes could come together with the August statement.

American Express already has some cards with annual membership fees that are higher than similar cards from other issuers. Usually, I only apply for cards with no fee at all and I feel that when you have a high annual fee, the rewards better be good to justify the fee and the higher the fee, the better the rewards should be. If by raising the annual fee, AMEX still keep the rewards program the same as before, or even downgrade the program, then I don’t think it’s worth it to keep the same card. Let’s face it. Why would you want to pay more fee to less rewards? It doesn’t make too much sense, right? I couldn’t speak for others, but I were an owner of AMEX cards and were told that I would earn much less rewards with my membership rewards program but would pay a higher annual fee, I don’t think I would keep the card. There are plenty of cards out there that I can use without the high cost.

I am glad that I am not in that situation.