American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card Review: Best for Accor Lovers and Monthly Milestones

The American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card is a premium card in Amex’s lineup, placed just below the Platinum Charge Card (metal). In the past, it wasn’t very popular because it offered low rewards while charging a high annual fee.

Even after the latest update, these issues still exist, but Amex has made some changes to make the card a little more appealing. Here’s a quick look at what the Amex Platinum Reserve Credit Card offers in 2026.

Overview

Type	Premium Credit Card
Reward Rate	1% – 3%
Best for	Monthly Spends of 50K INR
USP	Accor Plus Explorer Membership

The Accor Plus Explorer membership is the USP of the Reserve Credit Card, as there are only very few cards that offer this membership, like Amex Platinum & Axis Reserve.

Joining Fees

Joining Fee	10,000 INR + GST
Welcome Benefit	11,000 Reward Points (~5,500 INR value)
Renewal Fee	10,000 INR + GST
Renewal Fee waiver	On spending 10 Lakhs
Renewal Benefit	Nil

Expecting a 10 Lakh annual spend for the renewal fee waiver on the Amex Reserve feels quite high when you look at the benefits it offers.

However, if you’re looking for a best premium credit card with good rewards and lifestyle benefits, American Express Reserve Credit Card is worth holding.

*** Best Card with Accor Plus Benefit ***

Apply through the link above to get 8,000 additional Referral Bonus points (value: 4,000 INR) after spending INR 5,000 within 90 days.

Design

The new card design looks quite good in person. However, the placement of the name slightly affects the overall look, especially if the name isn’t centered properly, unlike my card, as you can see above.

Rewards

SPEND TYPE	REWARD POINTS	REWARD RATE
Regular Spends	1 MR / 50 INR	1% – 2%
Utility, Insurance, Fuel & EMI	No Rewards	Nil

The reward rate is based on the assumption that one can get 1MR=0.50 INR easily with Marriott Points transfer but getting 1MR=1 INR isn’t easy in most circumstances unless you’re a Marriott Platinum member.

So, a 1% reward rate just like most other Amex cards, is quite a disappointment, but well, that’s why the milestone benefit exists.

Monthly Milestone

SPEND REQUIREMENT	MILESTONE BENEFIT	VOUCHER TYPE
50,000 INR	1,000 INR (2% value)	Flipkart, BookMyShow, MakeMyTrip & more

• Enrolment is mandatory to avail the benefit

While the revamped milestone benefit is better than before, life would have been much better if it was a quarterly/annual benefit.

Nevertheless, it’s a good way to earn +2% return on spends that wouldn’t earn rewards otherwise, as there are so many restrictions on other bank credit cards lately.

So if you add this, you’ll end up earning 3% return on spends (1% base + 2% milestone).

From my experience, the monthly milestone benefit is usually fulfilled within a month after you meet the spend requirement. You then get 3 months to redeem the voucher of your choice.

Reward Multiplier

Amex moved its Reward Multiplier portal from Gyftr to ShopWise (powered by Giftstacc) on 1 February 2026. So the 3X benefit on Reserve continues to work, just on a new portal now.

The new portal is better and it offers higher voucher denominations (for example, Uber vouchers up to 10,000 INR in a single transaction, against the earlier 1,000 INR cap on Gyftr), faster checkout, and fewer stock issues during sale events.

Redemptions

Marriott Bonvoy remains the most reliable route for hotel stays, especially when you redeem during off-peak dates. The 60,000 points = 5th night free benefit also helps push the value beyond 0.50 INR per MR in many cases.

For airline miles, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer and British Airways Avios are the popular choices, with the transfer ratio at 1:0.5.

Avios works well for short-haul redemptions on partner airlines like Qatar Airways and Cathay Pacific, while KrisFlyer is the go-to for premium cabin redemptions on Singapore Airlines and Star Alliance partners.

I recently redeemed Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles to fly the new Air India 787-9 Business Class from Mumbai to Frankfurt and it was totally worth it.

Memberships

Accor Plus Explorer

• Up to 30% off on dining across Asia Pacific
• Accor ALL (Accor’s loyalty programme) – Silver Status
• 20 Status Nights in Accor ALL Program to get closer to Gold or beyond
• Upto 50% off on rooms with red hot rooms sale

American Express Reserve Credit Card comes with an “ALL Accor+ Explorer” Membership as complimentary.

The primary use case of Accor Plus membership is the dining benefit with which you can get 30% off (1 to 10 diners), 10% off (11 to 20 diners), devalued from 50% recently.

Even after the trim, the dining benefit can still save a few thousand rupees per stay if you are travelling abroad with family across Accor properties. That is the primary reason most cardholders continue to value this membership.

Note that the membership still does not include a complimentary night stay, unlike some other Accor+ Explorer variants offered globally.

While the membership is meant for Asia Pacific only, surprisingly it also works in few other countries, like in South Africa & Egypt where I availed it few months ago. Perhaps it’s just hotel-specific when you go beyond APAC.

Taj Epicure

• 25% discount on food & beverage and Qmin 
• 20% discount on Jivas Spa & Salon
• Complimentary celebration cake (500 gms) in birthday month
• Happy Hours 1:1 at Taj Club Lounge, valid twice
• And few more vouchers

Taj Epicure Plus is the customised membership by Taj Hotels for American Express cardholders and it’s slightly better compared to what we get with ICICI Emeralde Private Metal (or) HSBC Premier.

However, just like Accor Plus, Taj Epicure also doesn’t come with the complimentary night benefit.

That said, the 20% discount on Spa and 25% off on f&b are the benefits that some Taj loyalists that I know can’t live without.

Note that you might need to order the celebration cake 1 day prior, as sometimes the hotel doesn’t have it ready the same day.

EazyDiner Prime

• 25% to 50% off at 2,000+ premium restaurants and bars across India and Dubai
• Access to “Prime only” restaurants and exclusive dining events
• 1+1 on premium drinks at select bars

EazyDiner Prime is the third complimentary membership that comes with the Amex Platinum Reserve Credit Card, worth around 3,500 INR.

The 25% to 50% guaranteed discount across partner restaurants is the main draw here, and it stacks well with the other dining benefits you already get on the card via Taj Epicure and Accor Plus Explorer.

Note that EazyDiner Prime is not auto enrolled on the card. You will have to call the Amex helpline to activate the membership, which many cardholders miss out on.

Once activated, the benefits reflect on the EazyDiner app linked to your registered mobile number.

Golf Benefit

• 2 Games per month
• Spend Requirement: 50,000 INR (two months prior)

Historically, Amex Reserve was primarily used for Golf benefit and now Amex has decided to put an end to it, literally.

Spending 2 months prior, tracking it, and booking them later is not something that one can easily do.

They could have instead simply enabled the complimentary access based on annual spend and saved cardholders from processing unnecessary calculations.

Lounge Access

ACCESS TYPE	ACCESS VIA	ACCESS LIMIT
Domestic (Primary)	Amex	12/Year (3/qtr)
International (Primary)	Priority Pass	2/Year

The international lounge access is a welcome addition on the Reserve card, but the limits are too low for the fee it commands.

That aside, Amex Reserve no longer offers access to Amex lounges in Mumbai and Delhi. Thanks to Plat Charge Cardholders who are travelling left and right, leaving no room for others to step in.

Companion Card Status

Most Amex Reserve Cardholders that I know have got it as a companion card issued as complimentary with Amex Platinum Charge Card.

However, post the refresh of Reserve card benefits, now Amex has dropped this companion card benefit on Amex Plat Charge.

To those who already hold Reserve as a companion card, it would continue as is, as long as the Plat Charge is active.

Should you apply?

Earlier, the Amex Plat Travel Card was a better choice for most users as it was lighter on the pocket and offered a stronger reward rate at lower spends. However, with the recent devaluation, the gap between the two cards has narrowed for high spenders.

For those spending 7 Lakhs and above annually on Amex, the Reserve makes more sense today than it did a year ago.

Beyond the monthly milestone vouchers, the card brings in Golf access, domestic and international lounge visits, and three lifestyle memberships (Accor+ Explorer, Taj Epicure and Eazydiner Prime) that together cover most of what a premium traveller needs.

So Amex Reserve is indeed worth applying if you’re looking for a card with premium lifestyle benefits.

How to apply?

Applying online is the quickest way to get American Express Cards in India.

Currently, one of the best sign-up offer you could get for Amex Reserve is 8,000 additional MR points (4,000 INR value) as a part of the Limited Period Offer when you apply using a referral link.

*** Best Card with Accor Plus Benefit ***

Apply through the above link above to get 8,000 additional Referral Bonus points (value: 4,000 INR) after spending INR 5,000 within 90 days.

Bottomline

• Cardexpert Rating: 4.2/5

The re-imagined American Express Platinum Reserve Credit Card is certainly better than what it used to be in the past. It is good for those who can make use of the Lifestyle benefits along with the monthly milestones.

That said, the Reserve still leaves a lot of room to grow if it wants to attract a larger segment. Amex could consider doing some small additions like adding Accor ALL as a points transfer partner, which even at 2:1 would make the card sell like hot cake.

So with the recent shifts across the Amex lineup, do you think the Platinum Reserve has finally earned a permanent spot in your wallet? share your thoughts in the comments below.