American Express Membership Rewards devaluation: What you need to do now
Updated: 14 Feb 2026
Written byAaron Wong
The Milelion
Devaluing the earn rate impacts your future earnings. Devaluing the burn rate impacts your future and past earnings (to the extent you still have unredeemed points in your account). This devaluation comes into effect from 23 February 2026, which means there’s still time to act. Here’s how your American Express card will change, and what you can do now.
What’s happening to Membership Rewards points?
From 23 February 2026, American Express will increase the cost of MR transfers to all eight airline partners, as summarised in the table below.
|
Conversion Ratio |
||
|
Frequent Flyer Programme |
AMEX Platinum Charge |
AMEX Platinum Reserve, AMEX Platinum Credit Card |
|
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer |
500 : 250 |
550 : 250 |
|
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles |
500 : 250 |
550 : 250 |
|
British Airways Club |
500 : 250 |
550 : 250 |
|
Emirates Skywards |
600 : 250 |
650 : 250 |
|
EVA Air Infinity MileageLands |
500 : 250 |
550 : 250 |
|
Malaysia Airlines Enrich |
500 : 250 |
550 : 250 |
|
Qantas Frequent Flyer |
500 : 250 |
550 : 250 |
|
THAI Royal Orchid Plus |
500 : 250 |
550 : 250 |
If you’re an AMEX Platinum Charge cardholder, the cost of transfers will increase by 25% (or 50% for Emirates Skywards).
If you’re an AMEX Platinum Reserve or AMEX Platinum Credit Card cardholder, the cost of transfers will increase by 22% (or 44% for Emirates Skywards).
For the avoidance of doubt, this change does not affect the AMEX Solitaire PPS Card, AMEX PPS Card, AMEX KrisFlyer Ascend or AMEX KrisFlyer Credit Card. These cards earn KrisFlyer miles, not Membership Rewards points, and will continue to keep their current rates.
There is also no change to the redemption rate for American Express’ two hotel partners, Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy.
How this devaluation affects earn rates
With the devaluation in transfer ratios between MR points and airline miles, the earn rates of the AMEX Platinum Charge, AMEX Platinum Reserve and AMEX Platinum Credit Card will all be hit.
|
Card |
Till 22 February 2026 |
From 23 February 2026 |
|
AMEX Platinum Charge |
|
|
|
AMEX Platinum Reserve & AMEX Platinum Credit Card |
|
|
For example, an AMEX Platinum Credit Card customer currently earns 2 MR points per S$1.60 spent, equivalent to 0.69 mpd. From 23 February 2026, the earn rate stays the same in terms of MR points, but because of the devaluation in transfer ratios, the effective mpd is reduced to 0.57 mpd.
American Express cards already didn’t have particularly strong earn rates to begin with, so this only makes the situation worse. In any case, I’ve never considered these good options for day-to-day spend. The main reason I keep an American Express card is for the benefits, such as Love Dining (up to 50% off restaurant and hotel dining), Chillax (1-for-1 drinks at bars) and AMEX Offers (periodic promotions offering savings at participating merchants).
Redeem points for airline miles
If you have an existing stash of points, now would be a good time to think of where to transfer them to, since any conversions made before 23 February 2026 will be honoured at the current rates.
Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer will be the natural choice for most people, but I’d encourage you to also consider alternative frequent flyer programmes, which can offer better value in some scenarios.
For example, KrisFlyer charges 112,500 miles for a one-way Business Class ticket between Singapore and Los Angeles, Seattle or San Francisco. However, EVA Air Infinity MileageLands charges 75,000 miles for the same ticket.
Likewise, KrisFlyer charges 54,500 miles for a one-way Business Class ticket between Singapore and Tokyo, while EVA Air Infinity MileageLands charges 25,000 miles.
Some other “sweet spot” redemptions you might consider include (all prices one-way):
-
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles: Singapore to Hong Kong in Economy Class for 9,000 miles
-
Cathay Pacific Asia Miles: Singapore to Europe in Business Class for 89,000 miles
-
Qatar Privilege Club*: Singapore to Hong Kong in Business Class for 22,000 miles
-
Qatar Privilege Club*: Singapore to Perth in Economy Class for 13,000 miles
-
British Airways Club: Singapore to Helsinki in Business Class for 62,500 miles
*Note: Qatar Privilege Club is not a transfer partner of American Express, but you can transfer points to British Airways Club and then convert them to Qatar Privilege Club at a 1:1 ratio with no fees
Finish your minimum spend for sign-up bonuses
If you recently signed up for an American Express card with a welcome bonus denominated in MR points, you should do whatever you can to complete the minimum spend ahead of the devaluation deadline.
Even though the official terms and conditions state that cardholders must wait 12 weeks for welcome bonuses to be fulfilled, in practice it appears that this is happening much faster- usually on the same day the minimum spend is posted.
If you’re struggling to find something to pay with your card, one possible option is to use CardUp to pay income tax, rent, insurance premiums, school fees or other bills. An admin fee of 2.35% applies (with the promo code OFF235), but this will help you earn rewards on such transactions, while progressing towards the minimum spend.
Conclusion
American Express’ decision to devalue Membership Rewards points is disappointing, though perhaps not surprising (since other countries have seen similar devaluations over the past few years). By targeting the burn rate rather than the earn rate, this change quietly erodes the value of points you’ve already earned- making inaction particularly costly.
If you’re sitting on a meaningful MR balance, you’ll definitely want to transfer your points before 23 February 2026 and lock in the current rates. Be sure to consider alternative frequent flyer programmes such as EVA Infinity MileageLands or British Airways Club, alongside the tried-and-tested KrisFlyer.
Going forward, the already-weak earn rates on American Express cards look even less compelling for everyday spend. That doesn’t rule them out completely, mind you- they tend to have generous welcome offers, and Love Dining & Chillax remain great perks.
Devaluations are part and parcel of the miles game. The key thing is to be aware of them so you can stay ahead, and not get caught out by sudden changes!
About the author
Aaron Wong
Aaron founded The Milelion to teach people how to travel better for less, with credit cards, airline and hotel loyalty programmes. With 500,000 miles flown and counting, he’s keen to debunk the myth that you can’t travel in style without breaking the bank.