American Express is making a number of changes to its Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card benefits, effective from October 12.

Currently cardholders receive 10,000 bonus points when they spend £15,000 in their card year. Under the new system bonus points will be awarded on an incremental basis, with cardholders receiving 2,500 points when reaching £5,000, £10,000, £15,000, £20,000 and £25,000.

It means that the total bonus points on offer per card year is now 12,500, albeit with a higher expenditure threshold.

In addition bonus points will now be awarded when the cardholder hits each threshold, rather than at the end of the card year.

Note that from October 12 any eligible card spend that counted towards previous Membership Rewards points will be transferred to Gold cardholders’ new bonus schemes, with those who have spent more than £5,000 at this date awarded any applicable bonuses.

To ensure that cardholders do not receive fewer points than they would have been awarded under the previous bonus, Amex said that “If by October 12, 2022 Cardmembers [whose current membership year ends after that date] have spent at least £15,000 in their current membership year, American Express will ensure that they receive at least 10,000 bonus Membership Rewards points for that spend”.

From October cardholders will also see their free Priority Pass lounge visits double from two to four, and those who enrol in the Avis Preferred loyalty scheme will receive Preferred Plus status, which includes a complimentary single upgrade (when available), as well as a dedicated phone number for reservations and customer support.

American Express confirmed that all other Gold Card benefits “remain unchanged”, including up to £120 back each year in statement credit when ordering via the Deliveroo app or website.

The above changes coincide with an increase in the card’s annual fee, which will go up from £140 to £160, applicable to all cardholders whose membership year begins on or after October 12, 2022.

More details on the revamped card can be seen here.

Earlier this month Delta and American Express launched a new partnership enabling US customers to own a credit card made from metal from a retired B747 jumbo.

Delta and Amex launch credit cards made from a B747 aircraft

americanexpress.com