Amex Platinum Travel Card: lounge access just got harder to keep. Here’s what’s changing.
Two effective dates. Here’s the full before → after.
Spend Milestones (from Sept 10, 2026)
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₹1.9L milestone: 7,500 bonus points → gone. Nothing replaces it.
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₹4L milestone: 10,000 bonus points → unchanged.
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₹7L milestone: 22,500 bonus points → removed. Taj Experiences e-Gift Card bumped from ₹10,000 to ₹20,000.
- Net value: roughly a wash (~₹11,250 in points value swapped for ~₹10,000 more gift card value) — but you lose flexibility. Points worked across the MR catalog. The gift card only works at Taj, SeleQtions, and Vivanta properties.
Lounge Access (from Oct 1, 2026)
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Right now: 8 free domestic lounge visits/year (2/quarter), just for holding the card. No spend condition.
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From Oct 1: you need ₹1,00,000+ spend in the previous quarter to unlock 2 visits in the current quarter. Miss the threshold, lose lounge access that quarter.
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One-time easier bar for the transition: Oct–Dec 2026 access only needs ₹70,000 spend in Jul–Sep 2026.
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Cutoff rule to know: milestone eligibility is based on transaction posting date, not spend date — so spends posted by Sept 9 still count under old rules.
Bottom line: this card just went from “lounge access included” to “lounge access you re-earn every quarter.” If your spend on this card isn’t consistently ₹1L+/quarter, you’ll want to route more of your travel/dining spend here before Oct 1 — or reconsider whether this card is still pulling its weight in your stack.