Amex Membership Rewards Devaluation 2025

Last week, reports started emerging that American Express would be devaluing its program significantly. As of today, we have the official details, and there are some notable changes on the horizon.

At Flight Hacks we’re big fans of American Express Membership Rewards. It’s by far the best flexible rewards program in Australia (at least in our opinion) and even after these changes, it will probably remain that way.

Here’s what’s changing from 15 December 2025.

For starters, Thai Royal Orchid will no longer be a transfer partner. That’s unfortunate, as the program offered some very good-value redemptions for Australians. Transfer rates to most airlines will increase significantly, here's what you can expect:

Emirates will be hardest hit, with transfers changing from 3:1 to 4:1.

Singapore Airlines will remain at 3:1, but keep in mind that both Singapore KrisFlyer and Emirates Skywards already devalued not long ago from 2:1 to 3:1.

All other Membership Rewards options such as other transfer partners (Air New Zealand, Qantas, Velocity, Hilton and Marriott), Pay with Points, gift cards, Cover Your Charges with points, and Points for Credit remain unchanged.

What Are the Effective Earn Rates Going Forward?

These changes are significant and mean those using Membership Rewards-earning cards will need to save longer to reach the awards they want.

Effective earn rates at a 3:1 transfer ratio:

• Centurion earn rate: 2.5 MR per $1 = ~0.83 airline points per $1 spent
• Platinum earn rate: 2.25 MR per $1 = 0.75 airline points per $1 spent
• Explorer earn rate: 2 MR per $1 = ~0.66 airline points per $1 spent

Effective earn rates at a 4:1 transfer ratio:

• Centurion earn rate: 2.5 MR per $1 = 0.625 airline points per $1 spent
• Platinum earn rate: 2.25 MR per $1 = 0.5625 airline points per $1 spent
• Explorer earn rate: 2 MR per $1 = 0.5 airline points per $1 spent

Going forward, these changes from 2:1 to 3:1 equate to a 50% increase in Membership Rewards points required to get the same number of airline miles.

Why Are These Changes Happening?

American Express hasn’t given an official reason, so we can only speculate. Here’s my view.

The main driver is likely the weak Australian dollar. Most points are purchased in USD, with the exception of Velocity and Qantas. Even if Amex buys at favourable rates, costs would have risen sharply in AUD terms.

Compared with the US and UK, Australian Membership Rewards cards actually earn more points per $1 when you factor in FX. That’s at least true if we look at base earn rates in the US and don’t factor in their travel, dining and business multipliers.

A US Amex Platinum earns 1 MR per US$1. A UK Amex Platinum earns 1 MR per £1. An Australian Platinum Card earns 2.25 MR per AU$1. When you factor in transfer rates of 1:1 in the US/UK vs 2:1 for most partners in Australia, Aussie cards have been more generous.

On a direct comparison, a US Platinum Card earns the equivalent of ~0.652 MR per AU$1, and the UK Amex Platinum earns ~0.485 MR per AU$1. Based on a base earn rate of 1 point per unit of currency, the Aussie card still comes out ahead. Of course, this changes once you include boosted earn rates on the US card, such as 5x on travel.

This brings the international programs more in line with each other.

A New Addition to the Program

From 15 December, Amex will add a new transfer partner. It’s an odd choice, and I’d be surprised if many people transfer their MR points, but Everyday Rewards will make a debut. The transfer rate will be 5 MR points to 4 EDR points.

Using Amex Points to cover charges equates to a value of $0.005 per 1MR so it doesn't actually make financial sense to transfer Membership Rewards to EDR as the value per 1MR is only $0.004 when you use EDR points to get shopping vouchers.

It’s a curious move for a premium program with a strong travel focus. A better addition would have been Air Canada Aeroplan in Australia, which is what members are actually asking for.

Summing Up

The overall value proposition of Membership Rewards is still better than other programs in Australia, but it’s now only marginally better. When you compare the earn rates of Qantas and Velocity cards, many people will start to see those as the simpler path. High spenders and business owners will still see meaningful rewards with MR, because their spend allows them to accumulate at scale.

The biggest winners will be Qantas Frequent Flyer and Velocity as I would expect more people flock to direct earn cards due to the competitive earn rates when compared to Membership Rewards.