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From 15 November, each Basic Card keeps its own Membership Rewards balance

On 6 November 2026, the American Express page Your American Express Experience is Evolving dates a set of Membership Rewards changes to 15 November 2026. This article reads the points lines, the milestone line, and the annual-fee line.

The lines below were read on 6 November 2026 from that page, the Membership Rewards programme terms, the Membership Rewards Credit Card product page, and the credit-card Most Important Terms and Conditions. The experience page does not print a publication date, and it does not print an earlier effective date. If a live copy differs, follow that copy, then the statement on the account. The pause in new Supplementary Card applications is in the 27 October note.

A separate balance on each Basic Card

The summary says that if you have two or more Basic American Express Cards, Membership Rewards points will be maintained separately for each Card. A later answer puts those points at the individual Card level rather than at the overall account level, and distributes existing points by the balance associated with each Card. The earn rate, the redemption options, and the value for Select and Redeem remain as they are. From 15 November 2026, a redemption uses the point balance on that Card. The answer on a transfer from one Card to another says the ability will be permanently discontinued effective 15 November 2026.

What the terms file still prints

The Membership Rewards programme terms, retrieved the same day from the link on the rewards page, still define Linked Accounts as every Basic Card Account enrolled under the same Basic Card Member’s name and billed in the same currency, with spending combined under one Program Account. Clause II.4 says points on any Additional or Supplementary Card automatically accrue to the Basic Card Account on which that card is issued, and that such a card cannot accrue points under an independent Program Account. The experience page does not withdraw that sentence. Its separate-balance lines are about two or more Basic Cards.

Clause III.3 says points in one Program Account cannot be transferred to, or combined with, any other Program Account. The 15 November line is the one that ends a transfer between two Cards. The file carries a PDF creation timestamp of 20 January 2026, and the definitions do not print an as-on date.

Milestones, by the date a transaction posts

Eligible spend for a milestone uses the posting date. The summary names the Platinum Reserve Credit Card, the Platinum Travel Credit Card, the Gold Card, the Membership Rewards Credit Card, and the SmartEarn Credit Card. The voucher or the bonus points are awarded at the end of the calendar month in which the milestone is reached. The page defines the transaction date as the date of the purchase, and the posting date as the date the transaction is settled with the merchant and then posted. A purchase on 30 November 2026 that posts in December counts toward December. Regular earning stays as it is.

One answer keeps the previous structure for transactions posted before 14 November 2026. A later answer keeps it for transactions posted before 15 November 2026. The page does not reconcile the 14th. From 12 to 16 November, new transactions and points may appear late. The page says that delay is not a late-payment charge, and that it does not change milestone eligibility.

An overdue Card

If a payment is still due when the next statement is generated, that Card stops earning and redeeming from that statement date until the overdue balance is paid. Existing points remain. The example is a statement on 1 November 2026 with the Minimum Amount Due unpaid, still overdue on 1 December 2026: from 1 December there is no earning and no redemption until it is paid. Redemption or transfer of existing points can continue until that next statement date. Another Card is treated separately.

Section VII of the programme terms still forfeits the points of a statement left unpaid by the due date, with reinstatement described as American Express’s own decision on payment of a fee. If a Card Account or any Linked Account is overdue or in collection, enrolment may be cancelled and the points in the Program Account forfeited immediately. Redemption stays closed until every enrolled Card Account is in good standing. The experience page does not say whether those sentences remain. Follow the live page, then the statement.

The 50 percent waiver, on the sheets that still print both bands

The experience page says the 50 percent annual-fee waiver on spends of ₹90,000 or more in a Card Membership year will not be available, effective 15 November 2026, on the Membership Rewards Credit Card. It does not name a rupee fee, and it does not reprint a ₹1,50,000 line.

The product page, retrieved on 6 November 2026, still prints both bands. The renewal fee of Rs.4,500 is 100 percent waived if spends in the immediately preceding membership year are Rs.1,50,000 and above, and 50 percent waived if those spends are Rs.90,000 to Rs.1,49,999. The page does not print a publication date.

The credit-card Most Important Terms and Conditions retrieved the same day are the update as on 31 March 2026. Footnote # prints the same two bands, after a first-year fee of ₹1,000 and on a renewal fee of ₹4,500. Until those sheets match the experience page, follow the live copies and the renewal line on the account. The order for reading a terms sheet is in how to read the MITC.

The late-payment range, in one line

Late-payment fees on the Platinum Reserve, Platinum Travel, Membership Rewards, and SmartEarn credit cards use the Total Amount Due, from ₹500 to ₹1,250, on statements generated after 15 November 2026, when nothing is paid or the payment is below the Minimum Amount Due. Charge cards are outside it. The March terms still charge 30 percent of the Minimum Payment Due, from ₹500 to ₹1,000, plus tax.

Sources

• American Express — Experience updates
• American Express — Membership Rewards terms · Rewards page
• American Express — Membership Rewards card
• American Express — Credit card MITC, 31 March 2026 · MITC page