Amex India Membership Rewards terms · what they say and what Amex did
Amex's own terms do not support what Amex did
Amex's email cites "the Membership Rewards Terms and Conditions". Here is what those terms, and Amex's own notices, actually say about pooled points, cancelled cards and the 30 day window.
One Program Account for all your cards
Amex India's Membership Rewards terms, as published on americanexpress.com and still in force on 6 November 2026, define Linked Accounts as every Basic Card Account enrolled under the same Basic Card Member's name and billed in the same currency. Spend on all of them is combined in one Program Account. Points on a Supplementary Card accrue to the Basic Card it is issued on.
That is the structure that existed on 14 September 2026. Points were not held per card. They belonged to the Program Account. My MRCC was a Linked Account in that same Program Account, and it stayed open.
Source: Amex India Membership Rewards terms, membership-rewards-terms.pdf, as read and summarised by Arthya, 6 November 2026.
The 30 day clause, read properly
"In the event of Card cancellation or deactivation of the Membership Rewards Program (cancellation either initiated by the Cardmember or American Express), Cardmembers can redeem accrued Points within 30 days ... In case Cardmembers fail to redeem any accrued Points within the stipulated time of 30 days, all such Points shall stand forfeited."Amex India Membership Rewards terms (excerpt)
What Amex reads into it
Close any one card, and the points "associated" with it die after 30 days, even if the Program Account stays open through another card.
What it can only mean in a pooled programme
Points belong to the Program Account, not to a card. If the Program Account stays open through another enrolled card, nothing is "accrued" on the cancelled card alone. Amex's own sister programmes say this outright, see below. Where a standard form contract drafted by one side is ambiguous, Indian courts read it against the side that drafted it.
How Amex writes the same rule elsewhere
Amex has published the "keep one card, keep your points" rule in plain words in other markets. India's terms never told cardholders the opposite.
"If you cancel any of the Card Accounts but at least one remaining Card Account is still active and in good standing at that time, your Points under the same Program Account shall continue to be valid."American Express Thailand, Membership Rewards terms, clause 10.2 (source)
"If you cancel all of your Card Account(s), you must redeem any Points ... no later than 30 days after cancellation."American Express Thailand, clause 10.1: the 30 day rule applies when all cards are cancelled
That is the logic of a pooled programme. Amex India ran a pooled programme until 15 November 2026. The chat agent, applying Amex's own training, told me exactly that.
The per card change: announced, postponed, then applied early
| Date | Amex document | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| 11 Sep 2026 | Email: "Your American Express experience is evolving" | From 11 October 2026, points "maintained separately for each Card" and "can no longer be transferred between Cards" |
| 9 Oct 2026 | Email: "An important update on your American Express Card and Account experience" | Changes "will now be available from 15 November 2026, instead of 11 October 2026" |
| Nov 2026 | Consumer Experience Updates page | "Effective 15 November 2026, the point balance will be maintained at the individual Card level." "Your existing Membership Rewards points will be distributed based on the individual point balances associated with each Card." |
| 9 Nov 2026 | Email: "Important update on your Membership Rewards points balance" | Removes points "associated with your cancelled card", six days before per card balances exist |
Read the November page again: existing points will be "distributed" by card from 15 November. That is a forward looking reallocation. It cannot reach back to 14 September and carve out a balance for a card that was closed eight weeks earlier, while Amex's own agent was telling the customer the opposite.
The notice rule Amex had to follow
RBI's directions for bank-issued credit cards require 30 days' notice before card terms are changed, through all available channels. The per card rule was noticed for 11 October, then expressly deferred to 15 November. A change applied on 9 November, before its own effective date, and backwards to September, was not applied with valid notice.
Source: RBI (Commercial Banks, Credit Cards and Debit Cards: Issuance and Conduct) Directions, 2025, paragraph 79, as quoted by CardAdvisor. The earlier 2022 Master Direction carried the same principle.
Amex's word games, decoded
| Amex says | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| "Points linked to a cancelled Card" | A category that did not exist in a pooled Program Account before 15 November 2026 |
| "Due to a technical issue ... continued to reflect" | The points were in the account for 56 days, exactly as the agent said they would be |
| "Updated in accordance with the applicable Terms" | Applied a rule six days before its own start date |
| "No action is required from you" | There is nothing you can do to redeem them now. Action is required: complain. |