I checked my Amex Membership Rewards (MR) statement today and noticed something new. There was an entry for my Platinum card labeled “Points Accelerated.”
Normally, MR points post two statement closing dates after the points are earned. For example, if points are earned in January they appear on the January statement as pending but do not get added to your balance until the close of the February statement. This means that there could be a 1-2 month lag between when points are earned and when they post to the account.
I confirmed with an Amex agent via chat that “Points Accelerated” in a new feature for the Platninum card that awards points to an account 24-hours after payment for those purchases has been made.
Normally I pay my balance in full on the due date so points being awarded based on payment date instead of statement closing dates would credit the points to my account at most a week sooner. However, if you have a large amount of points needed for an urgent redemption, it could be a nice option to pay your balance off as soon as the statement closes and the points will be available for use 24 hours later. Just another way that I’ve noticed Amex making small improvements to the utility and transparency of the Membership Rewards program.
In Points We Trust 