Membership Rewards offers separate awards for each Ritz-Carlton location, ranging from 35,000 to 55,000 points. (Higher in Chicago and London, but these are not part of the Ritz-Carlton chain.) Each award includes this notice...

*Please Note: Travel must be completed by 4/15/2007*

...but the Restrictions for each award says...

Please remember that you must complete travel by December 31, 2007.

I asked American Express customer service about this discrepancy, and the response was evasive.

The separate First Collection offers two other Ritz-Carlton awards that are not tied to specific properties. There are no expiration dates for these awards.

April 15, 2007 is the date that Platinum and Centurion accounts migrate from Membership Rewards to Membership Rewards First. My guess is that on that date all of the existing Ritz-Carlton rewards will disappear from the standard catalog, and Ritz-Carlton rewards, in some form, will only be available to Plantinum and Centurion members. This is speculation on my part. Does anyone have any information to confirm or deny this interpretation? Has anyone come across any other rewards that appear to expire on 15 April?