# Amex Platinum Travel Devalued Again: Milestones Cut, Lounge Access Spend-Based

> American Express is cutting Spend Milestone bonus points on the Platinum Travel Card again and linking lounge access to quarterly spend from September 2026.

- Source: https://www.creditkeeda.com/news/amex-platinum-travel-september-2026-devaluation
- Publisher: Creditkeeda
- Section: News
- Author: Creditkeeda
- Published: 2026-08-10
- Last updated: 2026-08-10
- Tags: amex, american-express, platinum-travel-credit-card, membership-rewards, credit-cards, rewards

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American Express has informed Platinum Travel Credit Card members about another round of cuts to the card’s Spend Milestone benefits and airport lounge access.

The revised Spend Milestone benefits will take effect from **10 September 2026**, while the new lounge access rules will apply from **1 October 2026**.

This is the second devaluation of the American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card in 2026. Amex had already revised the milestone structure in March, and the latest changes now remove most of the remaining bonus Membership Rewards points from the card.

Amex has clarified that regular Membership Rewards earning on eligible purchases will continue unchanged. The revisions affect only Spend Milestone bonuses and lounge access.

## Revised Spend Milestone Benefits From 10 September

| Spend Milestone | Until 9 September 2026 | From 10 September 2026 |
| --- | --- | --- |
| ₹1.9 lakh | 7,500 bonus MR points | No additional bonus points |
| ₹4 lakh | 10,000 bonus MR points | 10,000 bonus MR points |
| ₹7 lakh | 22,500 bonus MR points + ₹10,000 Taj Experiences e-Gift Card | ₹20,000 Taj Experiences e-Gift Card only |

The ₹1.9 lakh milestone **loses its bonus points completely**.

At ₹7 lakh, cardmembers currently receive **22,500 bonus Membership Rewards points plus a ₹10,000 Taj Experiences e-Gift Card**. From 10 September, the points disappear, and the Taj voucher increases to ₹20,000.

The ₹4 lakh milestone remains unchanged at 10,000 bonus Membership Rewards points.

Eligibility will be based on the **transaction posting date**. Eligible spends posted on or before 9 September 2026 will qualify under the current structure, while transactions posted from 10 September onwards will fall under the revised benefits.

## Lounge Access Will Now Require Quarterly Spending

From **1 October 2026**, complimentary domestic airport lounge access will also become spend-based.

Cardmembers will need at least **₹1,00,000 in eligible spend during the preceding calendar quarter** to receive up to two complimentary domestic lounge visits in the next quarter.

As a one-time transition rule, lounge access for **October to December 2026** will require at least **₹70,000 in eligible spend between July and September 2026**.

## How Platinum Travel Has Changed in 2026

The card had already been devalued on **9 March 2026**.

At that time, Amex cut the ₹1.9 lakh milestone from 15,000 MR points to 7,500 points and reduced the ₹4 lakh milestone from 25,000 MR points plus a Taj voucher to just 10,000 MR points.

It also introduced a new ₹7 lakh milestone with 22,500 MR points and a ₹10,000 Taj Experiences e-Gift Card.

Here is the full progression:

| Spend Milestone | Before March 2026 | From 9 March 2026 | From 10 September 2026 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ₹1.9 lakh | 15,000 MR points | 7,500 MR points | No bonus points |
| ₹4 lakh | 25,000 MR points + Taj voucher | 10,000 MR points | 10,000 MR points |
| ₹7 lakh | No milestone | 22,500 MR points + ₹10,000 Taj e-Gift Card | ₹20,000 Taj e-Gift Card only |

There is no real way to sugarcoat what has happened here. **Platinum Travel has been brutally devalued in the space of just a few months.**

The card’s appeal was built around milestone rewards. That was the main reason to route ₹4 lakh or more of annual spending through it despite the relatively modest regular earning rate.

That proposition has now been dismantled in two rounds of cuts.

The ₹1.9 lakh milestone is effectively gone. The ₹4 lakh milestone is a fraction of what it used to be. And the ₹7 lakh milestone, introduced only in March, has already lost its 22,500-point bonus.

The increase in the Taj Experiences e-Gift Card from ₹10,000 to ₹20,000 does little to offset the loss of 22,500 Membership Rewards points. For cardholders who know how to extract good value from MR points, this is still a significant downgrade.

The new quarterly spending requirement for domestic lounge access only makes the proposition weaker.

For rewards-focused users, the card is now **close to dead**.

Someone considering Platinum Travel after 10 September 2026 will find it increasingly difficult to justify putting ₹4 lakh or ₹7 lakh of annual spend on the card when that spending could potentially generate much better value elsewhere.

For a card that was once one of the easiest American Express products to recommend for milestone-driven rewards, this is a major fall.

## What Cardholders Should Keep in Mind

Regular Membership Rewards earning on eligible spends remains unchanged.

Anyone close to completing a milestone before the cut-off should pay particular attention to the **posting date**, not just the purchase date.

Transactions posted on or before **9 September 2026** will qualify under the existing benefits. Transactions posted from **10 September 2026** onwards will fall under the new structure.