Amex Platinum Travel Credit Card Devaluation: Why I’m Still (Reluctantly) Keeping It

American Express has officially downgraded one of its most loved cards in India – the American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card – and yes, it hurts. If you were using this card to hit that sweet ₹4 lakh milestone and enjoy almost “free” Taj or Marriott stays, the new structure feels like someone moved the goalpost halfway through the match. It stings, but guess what? I’m not ditching it yet and I will tell you why.

In this post, I’ll break down: 

• What exactly has changed

• Why I’m still continuing with it (for now)

• Who should keep it and who should move on

What Has Changed on Amex Platinum Travel Credit Card?

In simple terms: You now need to spend ₹7 lakh instead of ₹4 lakh to get roughly similar benefits. 

Spend slab (per year)	Old benefits (pre‑2026)	New benefits (from March 9, 2026)
₹1.9 lakh	15,000 MR points (7.5k auto + 7.5k on call)	7,500 MR points (auto only)
₹4 lakh	25,000 MR points + ₹10,000 Taj voucher	10,000 MR points (no Taj voucher)
₹7 lakh	– (no slab earlier)	22,500 MR points + ₹10,000 Taj voucher

Same annual fee, same brand, but a much higher spend requirement for the same ballpark value. No wonder everyone is calling this a “massive devaluation”. 

Why I’m Still Continuing With Amex Platinum Travel (and you should too)

Let’s be honest: emotionally, this card feels downgraded. But practically, there are still a few reasons why it can stay in the wallet. 

Reason 1: Guaranteed Premium Hotel nights

With Amex points, I can be sure of staying in premium properties across India and world. There are 3 ways to do it 

a. 1:1 Conversion to Marriott Bonvoy (my favorite)

The biggest reason: clean, reliable 1:1 transfer to Marriott Bonvoy. 

• 40,000 Amex MR → 40,000 Marriott points

• Marriott points can easily equal 4–5 nights at decent hotels, especially if you use the 5th-night-free feature. Or 2-3 nights at nicer resorts and city hotels if you pick premium properties

Add the ₹10,000 Taj voucher on top, and you’re effectively looking at about 6 nights in 5 star hotels. For someone who loves hotel-heavy travel (staycations, quick getaways, resort holidays), this combo is still powerful. 

b. Redeeming Amex MR Points for Taj Stays

For Taj, there are two angles: 

• Milestone Taj voucher – at ₹7 lakh annual spend, you still get a ₹10,000 Taj voucher from Amex.

• Taj vouchers via MR redemption – historically, Amex lets you redeem points for Taj vouchers at 1:2 ratio. So for 40K points of Amex, you can get Taj voucher of ₹20K.

So if you’re someone who does longer Taj stays, you’re effectively looking at ₹30,000 worth of Taj stay value, which can easily translate into 3–4 nights at mid-range Taj/Vivanta/SeleQtions properties, depending on location and season. 

For domestic leisure trips, staycations and anniversary getaways, this is still pretty solid. 

c. Postcard hotels:

Amex also runs curated experiences and voucher-based partnerships with The Postcard Hotel, a luxury boutique chain. Usually you can redeem at 1:1 ratio. So, if you love small, luxe, non-chain boutique stays, you can redeem 40K points to  get Postcard voucher worth ₹40K which is insanely good compared to generic catalogue redemptions. This is in addition to ₹10K Taj voucher. 

Reason 2: No Other Card Replicates This Exact Combo

Are there other card in India which give 4–5 nights at Taj or Marriott on less than ₹7 lakh annual spend with an annual fee around ₹5,000? This is the big question. 

Based on current products and structures, the honest answer is: not really, not as cleanly and consistently as Amex Platinum Travel. 

There are other fantastic travel cards in India now – Axis Atlas, Axis Magnus, HDFC Infinia, SBI Miles Elite, etc. – and many of them offer better value for airline miles or broad travel portals. But they either sit in a much higher fee bracket, or don’t give you Marriott/Taj value in quite the same straightforward way at this price level. 

Here are the closest contenders: 

Rival Card	Fee	Hotel Power	Why It Falls Short
HDFC Marriott	₹3k	1 Free night at Marriott + direct points	Needs promos/low-tier stays for 4-5 nights
Axis Atlas	₹5k	2 Axis points : 1 Marriott point	Great card for flights, but cant beat Amex Platinum Travel on luxury hotels ratio
HSBC Taj Cards	₹1L+	Taj overload	Wallet-killer fees

Reason 3. Total Peace of mind

With Amex, I know what I need to do: Spend 7L, get 40K points + Taj voucher.

With other cards, I will not know that – there are first spend to point conversion (usually at the range of 2-5 points every 100 rupees) and then point to partner conversion. So even if i spend 7L on other card, and somehow get 30 – 40K points, they will not give me enough hotel nights as these cards may not offer 1:1 marriott conversion. 

So if your use case is specifically: 

• “I want hotel nights, not just flights.”

• “I like Taj + Marriott as my main brands.”

• “I want a straightforward 1:1 path from card spend → Marriott points.”

Then very few cards match what Amex Platinum Travel Credit Card can do on the hotel side. 

That’s the only reason I’d say: Okay, fine, you can stay… for now. 

Who Should Keep This Card – And Who Should Move On?

A smart middle path for ditchers can be to downgrade to a cheaper Amex (like MRCC) just to keep MR + Marriott access, and move your heavy spends to a stronger Visa/Mastercard travel card. 

Final Thoughts – Is It Still Worth It?

After the devaluation, the American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card is no longer the obvious “best travel card under ₹4L spend” that it used to be. 

But if you are a hotel person (not just a flight person), love Taj and Marriott, and can hit that ₹7 lakh mark without contorting your spending, then the card can still deliver a solid mix of free nights + luxury stays, especially when paired with smart Marriott redemptions. 

For everyone else, though? It might be time to treat this as a niche, hotel-focused card rather than your primary workhorse – and seriously look at adding or switching to a more rewarding travel card that fits your actual spending pattern. 

Let me know if you are planning to continue using this card or ditch it?