American Express India faces backlash over sudden rewards points withdrawal

American Express India has come under scrutiny following reports that the company unilaterally removed significant reward points from customer accounts linked to cancelled cards. The move, which affected lakhs of accumulated points, caught many cardholders off guard, prompting them to question the legitimacy and timing of the withdrawal.

The financial services company attributed the action to a technical issue, stating that the points removal was necessary to rectify a system error. However, customers have expressed skepticism about the explanation, particularly regarding how the company arrived at the decision to claw back rewards without prior notification or detailed communication about the specific technical problem.

The controversy centers on rewards held in pooled accounts—consolidated repositories where points from multiple cards can be accumulated. Cardholders argue that these centralized points should remain accessible regardless of individual card cancellations, especially when the rewards were earned through legitimate spending and already credited to their accounts.

The incident has raised broader concerns among Indian credit card consumers about the security and permanence of accumulated rewards benefits. Consumer advocates have suggested that such retroactive actions warrant clearer communication and potentially regulatory oversight to protect cardholder interests.

American Express India has not issued a comprehensive public statement addressing the full scope of complaints or providing a detailed timeline for resolution of the affected accounts.