American Express® Platinum Reserve Credit Card

Is Platinum Reserve discontinued? No, but you cannot apply right now

If you searched for this card and found the word "discontinued", that line is about lounges, not the card. American Express says that from 1 September 2023, Platinum Reserve holders lost access to the Centurion Lounges in Delhi and Mumbai. The card itself still exists, and existing holders keep using it.

What has changed is applications. The Amex India card page currently says: "We are temporarily pausing the acceptance of new card applications in India." CardAdvisor's change log lists the pause in the week of 27 July to 2 August 2026, and a thread on r/amexindia from August 2026 noticed Platinum Reserve and the Platinum Charge Card had stopped taking applications. This has happened before: LiveFromALounge reported in September 2025 that Amex reopened Platinum Charge and Reserve applications after a six-month pause. There is no date for when they will reopen this time.

Cards to look at while Amex is closed

No other Amex card on Monzy is open in its place, so these are our picks at a similar or lower fee, not a Reddit consensus.

• HDFC Diners Club Black Metal: the same ₹10,000 fee, with unlimited lounge access for primary and add-on members and a lower ₹8 lakh spend for the renewal waiver. Indian users already weigh Amex's Platinum Charge Card against it for domestic perks.
• HDFC Regalia Gold: ₹2,500 a year if what you mostly used Reserve for was lounges and steady rewards.
• Axis Horizon: ₹3,000 a year and 5 EDGE Miles per ₹100 on Axis Travel EDGE and direct airline websites, if you want miles that move 1:1 to most travel partners.

What ₹10,000 a year buys on Reserve

The fee is ₹10,000 plus taxes in the first year and every year after. The card earns 1 Membership Rewards point per ₹50, with no points on fuel, insurance, utilities, cash or EMI set up at the point of sale. Spends routed through the Amex Rewards Multiplier portal earn 3X.

The rest of the value is tied to spending ₹50,000 a month:

• Up to ₹12,000 a year in movie or online shopping vouchers.
• Golf access twice a month.
• Priority Pass membership with up to 2 free international lounge visits a year, charged after that.

New members who paid the fee and spent ₹30,000 in 90 days got 11,000 bonus points.

Why so many holders question the fee

The threads are mostly sceptical. Titles like "Why does Amex Platinum Reserve Credit Card exist?" and "Feeling my Amex Platinum Reserve card is not worth" set the tone. Users who prefer Amex's cheaper Platinum Travel card mostly advise against upgrading to Reserve. A minority defends it: one July 2026 reviewer says the card "gets a lot of hate online" and that it suits people who use the hotel and brand tie-ins.

On the fee waiver, the bank page still says the ₹10,000 renewal fee is waived if you spend ₹10 lakh in the previous membership year. One December 2025 Reddit reply claims Amex has stopped waiving it, so confirm with Amex before you plan around the waiver.

Our take on Platinum Reserve

If you already hold it and spend ₹50,000 every month, the vouchers alone can cover most of the fee, so keeping it can make sense. If you spend less, you are paying ₹10,000 for one point per ₹50 and two Priority Pass visits. For new applicants the question is moot until Amex reopens.

Credit Card Information Compiled by: Abhijeet Kumar | Reviewed by: Anmol Ratan Sachdeva