Good afternoon everyone, I hope your week is going well.  I was reviewing my recent American Express statements and spotted this small change: “Effective December 30, 2023, we are eliminating the option for Card Members to buy Membership Rewards points. The Membership Rewards Program Terms and Conditions will be updated to reflect this change.”  Did you even know you could buy AMEX MR Points??  I didn’t know either.  Here are some more details I learned about the change.

I found the most recent version of the Membership Rewards terms and conditions PDF that was updated in October 2023, but the file name says it was updated on September 22, 2023.  You can currently buy AMEX MR points for $25 / 1,000 points (2.5 cents per point).  In my opinion, that is not a great deal.  You can buy up to 500,000 points per card per year, in increments of 1,000 points.  There is no way to buy the points online, so you will need to call the number on the back of your AMEX MR card.

Most currently available AMEX MR cards have the 500,000 point limit, including the AMEX Platinum Cards.  If you want a good laugh, go to page 14 of the PDF and scroll down to see some unusual card names, including “Senior Gold Card from American Express”, “The American Express® Card International Dollar Card”, “Business Membership Rewards® Card”, and “Global Dollar Card – American Express® Corporate Platinum Card.”

In case you were wondering, the Canadian version of the AMEX MR program charges $3.00 CAD + tax for 100 AMEX MR Points (3 Canadian cents per point).  You cannot buy those points online either, so you will need to call.  As far as I know, there are no upcoming / announced changes to the Canadian buy AMEX MR Points program.

Have you ever bought AMEX MR Points?  If yes, are you sad to see this feature disappear later this year?  If you have any questions, please leave a comment below.  Have a great day everyone!