Amex Pulls Plug on Upgrade with Points Program
American Express is pulling the plug on its Upgrade with Points program. This program first launched back in 2019, giving Membership rewards cardmembers the option to use their points for upgrades with more than 20 airlines.
However, using points this way was never a great value. The best you can do is one cent per point if you you have a premium Membership Rewards credit card. This option is not available for co-brand cards.
Needless to say, Upgrade with Points is not very popular with miles and points folks. And now American Express is ending the program in early December.
Here’s the announcement that was included in monthly statements or eligible credit cards:
Effective December 3, 2023, American Express Card Members with a Membership Rewards account will no longer have access to the Upgrade with Points program and, accordingly, will not have the option to use Membership Rewards points to place an offer on a seat upgrade for any upcoming flights.
This will not impact offers placed for a seat upgrade prior to December 3, 2023. All pending offers will still be processed and accepted or declined by the airline. This will not impact any offers that, as of December 3, 2023, have already been accepted or declined by the airline. Upgraded tickets for accepted offers will continue to be valid.
Here’s a screenshot of the bottom of this month’s statement on my American Express Platinum Card.
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A person could only use it under certain circumstances and it was a terrible deal. RIP