Amex Quietly Changed Where Your New Card’s Points Go

American Express has changed the terms of its Membership Rewards program so that points from a newly opened card no longer flow automatically into your existing balance. According to the updated terms, when you open a new product a new Rewards Account is created and linked to it. The change was spotted and reported by travel-points sites around October 15, and the terms indicate it took effect immediately.

The change applies only to new cards that earn Membership Rewards. Existing cards are not affected, at least for the time being, so cardholders who already pool their points do not need to do anything. Nothing about earning rates or transfer partners has been announced alongside it.

The fix is a few taps. In the Amex app or on the website, go to Manage Connections and link the new account to your existing one, after which the balances consolidate. Amex has not said why it made the change, but one widely discussed risk is that closing a card before linking its account could cause you to forfeit the points sitting on it, so link first and cancel later.

Some points writers speculate that separate accounts could eventually let Amex treat transfer partners differently by card, perhaps placing a partner behind a premium product. That is pure speculation, and Amex has confirmed nothing. For now, the practical lesson is to link any newly opened Membership Rewards card right away.

Sources: One Mile at a Time, Thrifty Traveler