Starting September 30, 2026, Amex cardmembers will no longer be able to earn accelerated Membership Rewards points through the program. The company informed customers by email on August 26.
If you have an Amex Platinum, Gold, or Membership Rewards card, this is one of those changes you’ll actually notice. Reward Multiplier has been an easy way to rack up extra points on purchases from Apple, Nykaa and Myntra, as well as MakeMyTrip hotel bookings through the Amex portal.
It’s been around for six years. And for anyone who has built their Amex strategy around maximising Membership Rewards points, its removal takes away one of the simplest ways to earn faster using credit cards.
What Amex Reward Multiplier did
Think of Reward Multiplier as Amex’s version of HDFC SmartBuy, ICICI iShop, or Axis Grab Deals.
You’d log in through Amex, click through to a participating merchant, and make your purchase as usual. The difference was that Amex would award bonus Membership Rewards points on top of the points your card normally earned.
The upside could be substantial. Depending on the card and merchant, Reward Multiplier offered up to 5X on Platinum cards and up to 10X on Centurion. Participating brands included Apple, Forest Essentials, Nykaa, MakeMyTrip, Tanishq, and Myntra.
The business model was fairly straightforward. Reward Multiplier was essentially an affiliate channel: merchants paid Amex for sales generated through the portal, and Amex shared some of that economics with cardmembers in the form of bonus points.
For customers, that meant an ordinary purchase could become a disproportionately large points haul. And that was the appeal: you weren’t necessarily changing what you bought. You were changing how you got there.
The deadline to earn Amex Reward Multiplier points
The deadline to remember is September 29, 2026, at 11:59 PM.
Amex says eligible purchases made by then will still earn Reward Multiplier points under the current terms. After that, the programme ends.
If you’ve been waiting to make a big purchase — a MacBook, jewellery, or a large travel booking — this is your last chance to earn the extra points through Reward Multiplier.
Just don’t leave it until the last minute. The purchase must meet the existing eligibility rules and be completed before the deadline. Starting a transaction before 11:59 PM isn’t enough.
Here is a screenshot of the notice
ShopWise is not going away
This is not a change to the Membership Rewards programme itself. Your existing points are safe, and your card’s base earn rate is untouched. What’s being removed is the direct-purchase Reward Multiplier mechanism — the ability to click through to a merchant and earn accelerated points on that transaction.
Two other channels survive, at least for now:
- ShopWise — the e-voucher platform that replaced Gyftr in February 2026 — continues to offer up to 5X Membership Rewards points on eligible voucher purchases across 200+ brands in shopping, dining, and travel.
- RewardXcelerator — remains live with accelerated points across 20+ brands.
The catch is that both work differently from simply shopping at a participating merchant. ShopWise routes you through e-vouchers rather than direct purchases, which adds friction and limits where the accelerated rate applies. For anyone who liked Reward Multiplier precisely because it was frictionless on big direct buys, that’s a meaningful downgrade dressed up as continuity.
What to do before September 30
There are three things worth doing before Reward Multiplier shuts down.
- Make planned big purchases now. If you have a large purchase coming up, use Reward Multiplier before September 29, 11:59 PM. Make sure the transaction is completed and eligible.
- Get familiar with ShopWise. It’s the main remaining option for accelerated points. If you haven’t used it yet, try it before October rather than figuring it out after Reward Multiplier is gone.
- Recheck where you spend. With Reward Multiplier ending, your Amex may no longer be the best option for every merchant. Check what HDFC SmartBuy, ICICI iShop, and Axis Grab Deals offer on the same purchase before you pay.
The direct-purchase bonus is going away. ShopWise and RewardXcelerator are still available, but for how long is anyone’s guess.
The bigger pattern
This doesn’t arrive in isolation. American Express has spent 2026 steadily trimming its India proposition. The Platinum Travel Credit Card is undergoing another significant revision from September 10 — milestone benefits cut, lounge access newly tied to a spend condition. Read against that backdrop, the Reward Multiplier shutdown looks less like a standalone tweak and more like a continued pullback from the aggressive, points-rich positioning Amex built in India over the past several years.
