Amex Double Rewards: Earn 2X Points and Double Your Value

During the Covid-19 crisis, American Express India has added value for select cardmembers by launching a three-month promotion called “Double Rewards” on the Platinum Charge card. The promotion enhances both points earned and the value of points when redeemed.

With this promotion you can earn twice the points on selected categories and also receive twice the value when using points to offset card charges. Details follow below.

Amex Double Rewards Offer

• Offer period: 21 April – 20 July 2020 (three months)
• Eligible cards: Amex Platinum Charge card (current indication)
• Maximum cap: There is no cap on the number of points you can earn under this promotion
• Offer terms and conditions: Refer to Amex for full T&C

Earn Double the Points

The promotion awards 2X points on selected spend categories, including online shopping, groceries, healthcare and daily essentials. Additionally, fuel transactions earn an extra 1 point per INR 100 spent. The effective points breakdown is:

• Fuel spends: 2 points per INR 100 (approx. 1% value)
• Domestic spends in select categories: 5 points per INR 100 (approx. 2.5% value)
• International spends: 15 points per INR 100 (approx. 7.5% value)

Under normal circumstances the Amex Platinum Charge card has an estimated reward rate of about 1.25%. During this promotion, the minimum effective reward rate doubles to around 2.5% for eligible domestic categories. International spends offer a higher points rate, though foreign transaction markups will reduce net benefit.

Enjoy Double the Value

In addition to earning double points, redemption value for statement credit redemptions is doubled for the promotion. Normally one Membership Rewards (MR) point is worth approximately 0.25 INR (25 paise) when redeemed for statement credit; during this offer that value becomes roughly 0.50 INR (50 paise) per MR point.

That increase in redemption value makes it significantly easier to achieve an effective 2.5% reward rate even if you do not intend to use points for travel bookings.

Bottomline

It is encouraging to see American Express respond with a meaningful benefit for Platinum cardmembers during the pandemic. While this offer currently targets a specific card cohort, it demonstrates a willingness to support customers and may be a precursor to broader benefits for other cardholders.

So far, a few issuers have introduced pandemic-era promotions—Citi announced doubled rewards on select debit cards and Amex has launched this Platinum promotion. Time will tell whether additional issuers follow with comparable offers.

If you received the Amex Double Rewards offer, feel free to share your experience in the comments.

Thanks to contributors who shared details of the offer.