Membership Rewards Changes

[Paul]

Just got this from Amex. The QR additional is pretty pointless (pun intended) given you can transfer to BA,

The slow steady decline in value however continues its decent

We’re reaching out to update you on changes to your Membership Rewards® Programme.
Emirates Skywards
From 19 August 2024 the points transfer ratio for the Emirates Skywards loyalty programme will be changed from: “1 Membership Rewards® point = 1 Skywards mile” to “4 Membership Rewards points = 3 Skywards miles”. As continued, a minimum of 1,000 Membership Rewards points is required to transfer, increasing in increments of 500 points. A maximum limit of 999,000 points applies to each transfer to Skywards Miles.
Your Membership Rewards points will continue to be transferred to your Emirates Skywards account within 48 hours upon your request. Please visit here for more information.
Qatar Airways Privilege Club
Qatar Airways Privilege Club members can now transfer Membership Rewards points into Qatar Airways Avios at a rate of 1 Membership Rewards point equaling 1 Qatar Avios. A minimum of 500 Membership Rewards points is required to transfer, increasing in increments of 500 points. A maximum limit of 799,500 points applies to each transfer.
Your Membership Rewards points should be transferred to Qatar Airways Privilege Club instantly [upon your request], but please allow 48-hours for completion. Please visit here for terms and conditions of the Qatar Airways Privilege Club. Redeemed rewards are not refundable, exchangeable, replaceable or transferable for cash or credit.
PayPal with Points
You can now use your Membership Rewards points at checkout with PayPal. If you already have your American Express® Card in your PayPal wallet, then your Membership Rewards points will be automatically linked to your PayPal account. Otherwise, you will need to manually add your Card to your PayPal wallet to use this new benefit.
Something you should know
To enable you to pay with points at checkout with PayPal, American Express will share information with PayPal about you, such as details about your Card and your points balance. To review American Express’ Cardmember Privacy Policy and information on data sharing, please visit here.
Please know that if you do not want us to share your details with PayPal, you will have to de-link your Membership Rewards points from your PayPal wallet. Once you de-link your Membership Rewards points, you will not be able to pay with points at checkout when using PayPal.
We’re here if you have any questions – log into your American Express Account to chat with us online or call the number on the back of your Card.

[EC1]

Just got this through. What they give with one hand, they take with the other. 4 pre-bookable lounges announced. Devaluation of membership rewards in the other.

The Platinum card is getting more and more niche as an offering and less appealing

[dannyc]

That Hannah Lewis should have been a doctor instead going by her signature / handwriting.

[cats_are_best]

Devaluation of MR-Skywards transfers pretty much matches the timing for Emirates pulling the Skywards Gold benefit for UK Centurion. Emirates not seeing enough value from the Amex business?

Tbh I rarely used EK and now even less likely to, but it is yet another devaluation of Amex benefits.

[LittleNick]

Have to agree, the devaluation of MR > EK skywards has killed my dreams of using MR points on an emirates J or F flight tbh. This is very frustrating.

Does this apply to other Amex countries MR points or just the UK program? Seems UK ends up getting the short end of the stick

[FazzyBear]

The Skywards Exclusive redemptions have been getting out of hand for some time, esp with regards to Arsenal matches.

Was 12.5k points for North London Derby in the 2022/23 season and it went up to 35k last season. Even if it stays the same this season it will be the equivalent of converting 46,666 Amex points for the same ticket.

[Navara]

How much have the cash prices increased?

[Shajia]

Can someone help me with points with this new change? I have 45,000 Amex points currently. How much will this convert to with the new rules coming into effect?

[Peter K]

Can someone help me with points with this new change? I have 45,000 Amex points currently. How much will this convert to with the new rules coming into effect?

The easy way to work it out is to take the number of MR points you have, multiply by 3. Then divide that by 4.

So 45000 x 3 = 135000

135000 ÷ 4 = 33750