Amex Reward Multiplier ends on 30 September: ShopWise is not closing with it

Source check: 11 September 2026. Announced effective date: 30 September 2026. This article distinguishes the issuer's closure notice from the separate terms for ShopWise and existing Reward Multiplier purchases.

American Express says its Reward Multiplier programme will end on 30 September 2026. That removes accelerated points from purchases with the selected direct-shopping brands covered by the programme. It does not mean Membership Rewards is ending, that all shopping bonuses disappear, or that existing points suddenly expire.

The issuer explicitly says eligible purchases through ShopWise, an independent e-voucher platform covering more than 200 brands, will continue to earn accelerated points. Regular Membership Rewards earning rates and point value do not change under this notice. Points continue not to expire while the account remains active and in good standing.

For cardholders, the practical change is a narrowing of shopping routes. Buying directly from a retailer through a tracked link and buying a prepaid voucher are different transactions, with different restrictions.

Put the deadline against the right activity

The final purchase deadline is not a promise that all outstanding bonuses will appear before closure. Existing Reward Multiplier terms normally allow up to 120 business days for fulfilment, with separate provisions for hotel and airline transactions tied to the service date.

A booking made before the deadline can therefore have a later fulfilment timeline. Eligibility still depends on tracking and the original conditions; a cancelled, returned or untracked transaction is not guaranteed a bonus simply because its date precedes closure.

ShopWise survives, with a different set of limits

The surviving route involves purchasing e-vouchers for use with participating brands. Its terms cap bonus Membership Rewards earning at 25,000 points per month.

Two Amazon voucher categories have separate purchase ceilings: INR 20,000 per month for Amazon Pay gift cards and INR 20,000 per month for Amazon Shopping vouchers, each per card account. Supplementary cards are aggregated with the main account for those limits.

Both categories carry a 1.5% convenience fee plus GST. Other voucher fees may apply, so the purchase screen and current terms matter even if a different brand previously carried no charge.

For an INR 10,000 purchase in a category carrying that 1.5% fee, the fee alone is INR 150 before GST. Whether the additional points justify the cost depends on the card, redemption value and whether the voucher will actually be used. A points multiplier is not a cash-return percentage.

The multiplier is card-specific

The ShopWise legal table does not give every customer the same earning rate.

These multipliers sit on top of the applicable card-specific earning structure. Different underlying earning denominators mean the multiplier alone cannot be used to rank all cards by rupee return.

The closure notice's "up to 5X" wording is therefore not a promise of 5X for every cardholder. Nor is it a statement that buying any voucher, in any denomination, with any American Express-branded card qualifies. ShopWise eligibility excludes co-brand and network cards; eligible corporate cards must be enrolled in Membership Rewards.

Keep evidence for purchases already made

For an existing tracked Reward Multiplier purchase, retain the order confirmation, transaction details and evidence of the eligible shopping route. Check the applicable fulfilment period rather than treating closure day as the date to declare points missing.

Returns and cancellations can affect bonuses, and cancelling the card before fulfilment can forfeit them. For travel purchases, examine the special service-date provisions instead of automatically counting from the booking date.

ShopWise uses a different timetable: bonuses normally arrive within 24-48 hours, while exceptional cases may take up to 30 days. Its terms require disputes to be raised within 210 calendar days. Those periods should not be substituted for the direct-shopping programme's fulfilment rules.

A voucher can reduce flexibility

Prepaying for a brand changes the decision. Voucher denominations, validity, redemption restrictions and the retailer's own conditions matter alongside points. Buying something that will expire unused is not a saving, even when the bonus was correctly credited.

The Amazon Pay and Amazon Shopping limits are also separate because the products are separate. Do not assume that their redemption uses are interchangeable or that unused allowance in one category can be transferred to the other.

The sensible response to the closure is to identify which shopping route produced your previous bonuses, then compare the surviving voucher route's full cost and restrictions. There is no need to treat every Amex purchase as affected in the same way.

Finally, this notice does not announce a change to card joining fees, annual fees or fee-waiver thresholds. Its scope is the Reward Multiplier shopping programme. Keeping that boundary clear prevents a specific rewards change from turning into a misleading claim that the whole card programme has been withdrawn.

Primary sources

• American Express India: rewards programme announcement.
• Official Reward Multiplier closure notice, page 1: closure date and treatment of existing purchases.
• Reward Multiplier terms and conditions, including validity through 29 September 2026 and fulfilment conditions.
• ShopWise Membership Rewards terms, including account limits, fees, fulfilment and the card-specific multiplier table.