Amex Resy Credit Will Require Eligible Resy Restaurants

Amex Resy Credit Will Require Eligible Resy Restaurants

American Express is making an unfavorable change to its Resy Credit benefit. Cardholders are now seeing notices on their Platinum and Gold card statements advising that, beginning August 1, 2026, restaurants and other food and beverage establishments must be specifically marked as eligible for the Resy Credit in order to qualify.

Previously, any restaurant listed on Resy would generally qualify for the credit. Going forward, that will no longer be the case. The change appears to coincide with a new indicator within the Resy app and website that labels participating restaurants with a message stating: “This venue currently qualifies for the Resy Credit, a benefit for select American Express® Card Members.”

What Is Changing?

Here’s the full text of the notice:

Update to the Resy Credit Benefit

Effective August 1, 2026, U.S. restaurants and other food and beverage establishments (e.g., wineries, cafes) must be indicated as eligible for the Resy Credit on the Resy website or the Resy app at the time of purchase to qualify for the benefit.

Qualifying restaurants and other food and beverage establishments will be indicated as eligible on their booking page on the Resy website or the Resy app and are subject to change at any time.”

Why This Matters

This appears to be a significant restriction of the Resy Credit benefit.

Since the credit launched, cardholders could generally use it at any restaurant that was available through Resy. Starting August 1, American Express will maintain a separate list of eligible establishments, and only those specifically marked with “This venue qualifies for the Resy Credit” will trigger the benefit.

The new labeling system gives American Express greater control over which restaurants qualify, and will most certainly reduce the number of eligible establishments.

If you regularly use your Resy Credits, you’ll now need to verify eligibility before making a purchase rather than simply checking whether a restaurant is listed on Resy.

Guru’s Wrap-up

This is a devaluation of the Resy Credit benefit. For many cardholders, one of the best aspects of the benefit was its simplicity, even if selection is not great if you’re not in one of the big cities. If a restaurant was on Resy, you could generally expect the credit to work.

Starting August 1, you’ll need to pay much closer attention.

Hopefully American Express keeps most existing restaurants eligible, but the new language gives them the ability to narrow the list of qualifying merchants in the future.

HT: r/amex