What changed
Every American Express India card page now carries the same notice: "We are temporarily pausing the acceptance of new card applications in India as we make planned updates to our technology platforms for domestic card issuing operations."
This is operative, not advisory. The "Apply Now" call-to-action has been removed from every Amex India card page — Platinum, Gold, Platinum Travel, Membership Rewards, SmartEarn, Platinum Reserve and the all-cards listing — and replaced with "Learn More". We counted zero Apply buttons across all of them on 30 August 2026, against four on the all-cards listing as recently as March.
Amex dates the notice nowhere. Archived copies of its own pages fix the start between 31 July and 30 August 2026: a 31 July capture of the Membership Rewards page still had an Apply button and no notice.
Who is affected
New applicants only. Nothing in the notice touches existing cardholders, and we found no accompanying change to any fee, rate or benefit — Platinum still publishes its ₹66,000 fee, Membership Rewards still shows its 4,000-point welcome gift.
All five Amex cards we track are shut to new applications: Platinum, Gold, Platinum Travel, Membership Rewards and SmartEarn.
Amex has published no reopening date, and calls the pause temporary. We are not going to guess at a restart date or at whether co-brands are in scope — Amex's wording carries no such carve-out, and anything more specific circulating elsewhere is not sourced to Amex.
What to do
If you were going to apply, you cannot, and there is nothing to wait for on a published timetable. Our apply links to Amex still resolve but no longer lead to an application form.
If you were applying for the lounge access, Axis Reserve and HDFC Infinia are the nearest unlimited-lounge alternatives still open, though both cost more in annual fee than Platinum Travel and neither carries Membership Rewards transfer partners. If you hold an Amex already, do nothing: this changes none of your terms. It does, though, arrive four weeks before Amex discontinues Reward Multiplier on 30 September, which does change what your card earns.
Sources
- American Express India — all cards listing — notice and zero Apply buttons, verified 30 August 2026
- American Express India — Platinum Card — verified 30 August 2026
- American Express India — Gold Card — verified 30 August 2026
- American Express India — Platinum Travel Credit Card — verified 30 August 2026
- American Express India — Membership Rewards Credit Card — verified 30 August 2026
- American Express India — SmartEarn Credit Card — verified 30 August 2026