AMEX Platinum Card Membership rewards cut!

[3eef]

I got this note, nicely hidden on the back page of my eStatement today!

Basically all membership rewards points now rounded down....

At the moment they round up from $0.50 to the so you earn a point and you get the bonus, a small thing but with 100+ transactions a month it ads up over time!

OLD way

$1.50 = 2 Membership points + 1 bonus = 3 points total!

New way

$1.50 = 1 Membership point + 0 Bonus = 1 point total!

This month alone this would have cost me 102 points so 1200+ points over a year - ok not much in the grand scheme of things but seriously amex!!!

"From 1 August 2011 we are changing the way you accrue Membership Rewards points so that each purchase is rounded down to the nearest dollar then multiplied separately by the applicable earn rate to determine the number of points. Clause 4 of your Membership Rewards Terms and Conditions is replaced with "Except for promotional offers, you will accrue a designated number of points (earn rate) (as notified to you from time to time) for every one Australian dollar spent on goods and services, charged and billed on your account. Subject to these terms and conditions, points are calculated on each purchase of goods or services charged to your Card. Each purchase is rounded down to the nearest dollar then multiplied separately by each applicable earn rate to determine the number of points awarded. However, only full points will be earned. We will disregard and not accumulate a fraction of a point".

Not Happy

Is it the same for Cent?

[Homer]

Is it the same for Cent?

Not according to Centurion card services which I called just now.

Is your AMEX card an AMEX Platinum Charge card or an AMEX Platinum credit card? Or is it a co-branded card, eg an NAB Amex? Different cards have different policies around award points.

[oz_mark]

I got this note, nicely hidden on the back page of my eStatement today!

Basically all membership rewards points now rounded down....

At the moment they round up from $0.50 to the so you earn a point and you get the bonus, a small thing but with 100+ transactions a month it ads up over time!

My experience is that what they have been doing is carrying the cents forward, and then giving an extra point when all those cents add to a dollar.

"From 1 August 2011 we are changing the way you accrue Membership Rewards points so that each purchase is rounded down to the nearest dollar then multiplied separately by the applicable earn rate to determine the number of points. Clause 4 of your Membership Rewards Terms and Conditions is replaced with "Except for promotional offers, you will accrue a designated number of points (earn rate) (as notified to you from time to time) for every one Australian dollar spent on goods and services, charged and billed on your account. Subject to these terms and conditions, points are calculated on each purchase of goods or services charged to your Card. Each purchase is rounded down to the nearest dollar then multiplied separately by each applicable earn rate to determine the number of points awarded. However, only full points will be earned. We will disregard and not accumulate a fraction of a point".

For me, the real change would be that they stop accumulating the fractions of points.

(Not that this has appeared on my statements yet, but I am due for one shortly!)

[3eef]

Re-posted somehow put it on the wrong site!


I got this note, nicely hidden on the back page of my eStatement today!

Basically all membership rewards points now rounded down....

At the moment they round up from $0.50 to the so you earn a point and you get the bonus, a small thing but with 100+ transactions a month it ads up over time!

OLD way

$1.50 = 2 Membership points + 1 bonus = 3 points total!

New way

$1.50 = 1 Membership point + 0 Bonus = 1 point total!

This month alone this would have cost me 102 points so 1200+ points over a year - ok not much in the grand scheme of things but seriously amex!!!

"From 1 August 2011 we are changing the way you accrue Membership Rewards points so that each purchase is rounded down to the nearest dollar then multiplied separately by the applicable earn rate to determine the number of points. Clause 4 of your Membership Rewards Terms and Conditions is replaced with "Except for promotional offers, you will accrue a designated number of points (earn rate) (as notified to you from time to time) for every one Australian dollar spent on goods and services, charged and billed on your account. Subject to these terms and conditions, points are calculated on each purchase of goods or services charged to your Card. Each purchase is rounded down to the nearest dollar then multiplied separately by each applicable earn rate to determine the number of points awarded. However, only full points will be earned. We will disregard and not accumulate a fraction of a point".

Not Happy

Is it the same for Cent?

[3eef]

Moved to amex, sorry meant to post there. No Idea how I got it on the AA forum....

[Homer]

You haven’t explained what type of AMEX Platinum card you have. Is it an AMEX Platinum Charge card or an AMEX Platinum Credit card or a co-branded card? They are not all created equal...

[Masonic Phantom]

Not according to Centurion card services which I called just now.

Is your AMEX card an AMEX Platinum Charge card or an AMEX Platinum credit card? Or is it a co-branded card, eg an NAB Amex? Different cards have different policies around award points.

Sounds co-branded to me.....but i will have to check Plat Charge statement.

M.P.

[3eef]

Hey Homer - sorry I meant to post an update...

I have both, the credit card is as a freebie attached to the charge card.

But to provide clarity the statement above came from my Charge Card Statement issued today. So I assume this is the "higher" of the cards only exceeded by Cent.

Pi$$es me off that they would make such a change in such a way for a card that costs $900 a year, fair play if it was just the credit card.

[3eef]

Is an AU Platinum Charge Card

[Homer]

It’s odd that the guy at Centurion knew nothing about this given that, I believe, both cards have the same rewards program albeit with slightly different limits. The guy I spoke to even told me he was sitting next to the “go to girl” on rewards and she knew nothing about a change like this.