American Express has just made an update to its Membership Rewards program, impacting how points can be pooled between accounts. Ultimately it’s not a big deal for those who are paying attention, though it is worth being aware of. I think the big question is what Amex’s motive is for this change…

Amex has many cards earning Membership Rewards points. Historically, points have all been pooled in one central account, as long as your cards are all linked to the same log-in. As flagged by Doctor Of Credit , Amex has just released an update to the terms & conditions of the Membership Rewards program.

This says that when you open a new card earning Membership Rewards points, a new rewards account will be created, and if you have multiple accounts, you can choose to link them. This seems to only apply to new cards, and not to existing cards, at least for the time being.

Effective immediately, the Program Terms and Conditions under the ‘Rewards Account Linking and Redemption Options’ section have been updated to the following:

Each Product enrolled in the Rewards Program is linked to a Rewards Account. When you open a new Product, a new Rewards Account will be created and linked to that Product.

If you have multiple Products with separate Rewards Accounts, you may choose to link some or all of your Products to the same Reward Account. Once your Products are linked to the same Rewards Account, points earned on each linked Product will be consolidated into a single points balance.

You can link your Products to the same Rewards Account by connecting your Rewards Accounts online or in the Amex App by logging in and navigating to the ‘Manage Connections’ option. Additional terms and conditions may apply when connecting your Rewards Accounts online.

You can also add or remove Products from a Rewards Account at any time by calling the number on the back of your Card.