Last year American Express ran aggressive promotions starting January 2019, but the same pace hasn’t continued this year. Still, Amex has launched a new limited-time offer that awards 2X Membership Rewards points on education-related spends during early 2020. Below are the key details of the promotion.
Offer Details
- Offer: Earn 2X reward points on education spends (2 Reward Points per every Rs.50 spent).
- Validity: 1st February 2020 – 31st March 2020.
- Maximum Bonus: Up to 5,000 bonus points.
- Eligible Cards: Offer applies to select American Express cards that received targeted communication.
- Fulfilment: Bonus points to be credited by 30th June 2020.
Five thousand bonus Membership Rewards points are generally worth at least Rs.2,500–2,900, depending on how you redeem them; in some redemption scenarios their value can be even higher. Because redemption value varies by option, consider your usual redemption path when evaluating the true benefit of the bonus.
On its own this isn’t a blockbuster offer, but it effectively raises the reward rate on education-related expenses and can help you reach thresholds for other card benefits such as monthly vouchers or statement credits if you hold premium Amex products. Increased spend activity on Amex cards has also tended to generate more targeted offers over time.
Bottomline
The promotion is a useful perk for cardholders with sizeable education expenses, but a stronger multiplier (3X or 5X) and a higher cap (for example 10,000–20,000 bonus points) would have been more compelling given that education spending often involves larger amounts. For some users, competing offers from other issuers with higher multipliers on education spends may deliver better value depending on eligibility and redemption preferences.
What do you think of Amex’s 2X points offer on education spends? Share your thoughts in the comments below.