American Express is ending Fixed Points Travel for most of its Membership Rewards cards, as reported by Prince of Travel on October 22, 2026. The American Express Cobalt, Gold Rewards, Green and Business Gold Rewards cards lose it, while Platinum and Centurion cardholders keep it, but only by phone. If you hold one of the four cards, the easiest way to turn your points into flights is going away, and transfer partners like Aeroplan become your main option.
What is Amex Fixed Points Travel?
Fixed Points Travel is a way to use Membership Rewards points on flights at a set price. A flight within a given region costs a fixed number of points, up to a fare limit, and you pay the taxes and fees.
The appeal was simple. You did not need to learn award charts, hunt for award seats or move points to an airline program. You found a flight, and your points covered it. For a lot of busy people, that was the whole point of having an Amex card.
Which cards lose Fixed Points Travel?
Four cards lose it: the American Express Cobalt, the Gold Rewards Card, the Green Card and the Business Gold Rewards Card.
That is a big group. The Cobalt is one of the most popular rewards cards around, and the Business Gold Rewards Card is a common pick for business owners who put company spending on Amex. If you are in either camp, this change hits you directly.
Two cards keep the feature: the Platinum Card and the Centurion Card. The catch is that those cardholders keep it by phone. So even at the top tier, booking gets less convenient.
Honestly, this one is a devaluation, plain and simple. A benefit that many people used is being taken off most cards, and the cards that keep it get a clunkier way to use it.
Does this mean my Amex points are worth less?
If you only used Fixed Points Travel, yes, your points just got harder to use well. If you already move points to airline partners, very little changes for you.
Here is our view. Fixed Points Travel was rarely the best use of points for a business class trip. It worked best on short or mid length economy flights where the cash fare was close to the fare limit. The big value from Membership Rewards has always come from moving points to partners like Aeroplan and booking a business class seat that would cost thousands in cash.
So the floor dropped, but the ceiling did not. What changes is the effort. People who liked the simple path now have to learn the partner route or accept weaker value.
What should I do before Fixed Points Travel ends?
If you hold one of the four cards and you have a trip coming up that fits Fixed Points Travel well, price it now. Check the end date for your card with American Express before you plan around it.
After that, the smart move is to get comfortable with transfers. A few plain rules help:
- Find the award seat first, then move your points. Transfers usually cannot be undone.
- Look at Aeroplan for business class on Air Canada and its Star Alliance partners.
- Do not move points just to have them sitting in an airline account with no plan.
If Fixed Points Travel was the main reason you hold the Platinum, you still have it, but by phone. If it was the main reason you hold a Cobalt or Business Gold Rewards Card, it is worth asking whether the card still earns its place in your wallet. For most people we think it still does, because the earning stays strong and transfers are where the real value is.
The bottom line for business owners
Your spending already earns points every month. The question is whether those points turn into economy seats or business class trips. A business owner can see how many business class trips their spending already buys, and it is often more than they think. see what your spending buys.