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$200 hotel credit offered with The Platinum Card® from American Express applies to prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings made via American Express Travel®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
The sleeping giant, known as American Express has been awoken. In a shot across the bow of Citi and Chase, effective October 6, 2016, American Express has made the following changes to The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express:
- Amex Platinum – Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®.
- Business Platinum Card – Earn 5X Membership Rewards Points® on Flights, and Prepaid Hotels Booked through AmexTravel.com. 1X points on other eligible purchases. Earn 1.5X points (that's an extra half point per dollar) on each eligible purchase at US construction material, hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more, on up to $2 million per Card Account per calendar year. Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus.
- Business Platinum Card cardholders will earn 35% points back when using Membership Rewards® Pay with Points through American Express Travel®
to book a flight with their selected airline. - Business Platinum Card cardholders will now earn 35% points back when using Membership Rewards® Pay with Points through American Express Travel® when booking a first or business class ticket with any airline.
With the Citi Prestige® Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve® stealing all the thunder from American Express in the premium cards category, it was clear Amex needed to do something to be able to continue competing for customers within this category. One option was to launch a new card with similar benefits to the Citi Prestige® Card and Sapphire Reserve; the other was to improve on its existing products, most likely in the Platinum family of card products. After a couple of weeks of speculation, Amex finally revealed their plans.
5X Points on Airfare with Amex Platinum
American Express has confirmed that the Amex Platinum will earn 5X points on up to $500,000 of airfare purchases per calendar year booked directly with airlines. This benefit does not extend to Business Platinum Card for purchases with airlines, but it does apply to flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com.
Prior to October 6, 2016, the Amex Platinum earned 1X on airfare purchased directly with airlines; this is a significant improvement. Furthermore, presently the most points offered by any other card for airfare purchased directly with an airline is 3X points (Chase Sapphire Reserve®), which places the Amex Platinum as the undisputed go-to card to use for airfare purchases, considering the value of American Express Membership Rewards points.
A $500 airfare purchase that would have previously only earned 500 Membership Rewards with the Amex Platinum (or 1,500 Citi ThankYou® Points with the Prestige Card or 1,500 Chase Ultimate Rewards points with the Sapphire Reserve) will now earn 2,500 Membership Rewards. If you're buying a lot of plane tickets, you need to reconsider your strategy with this increased bonus opportunity.
- Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®.
- $200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using your Platinum Card®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
- $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card® on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney+ bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
- With American Express Global Lounge Collection® eligible Card Members can enjoy access to over 1,400 airport lounges globally, including The Centurion® Lounge, Unlimited Delta Sky Club® Access when flying an eligible Delta flight, Escape Lounges, Lufthansa Lounges when flying Lufthansa Group, Plaza Premium, Priority Pass™ Select Lounges, & Additional Global Lounge Collection Partner Lounges subject to visit limitations. Lounges may have their own rules, like additional access rules and guest fees, and for Priority Pass Select, you need to enroll and there are unlimited airport lounge visits for Card Members. With Delta Sky Club Access, Card Members will receive 10 Visits to the Delta Sky Club to be used from February 1 until January 31 of the next calendar year and can unlock Unlimited Delta Sky Club Access by spending $75,000 in eligible purchases on their Card in a calendar year. To find a lounge, visit the membership section in the American Express® App or visit http://www.americanexpress.com/findalounge#/loungefinder.
- A Walmart+ membership can get you free shipping with no order minimum on eligible items shipped by Walmart. Use your Platinum Card® to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) and receive one statement credit for up to $12.95 (plus applicable taxes. Plus Ups not eligible) each month. Free Shipping excludes most Marketplace items, freight & certain location surcharges. Paramount+ Essential plan only, separate registration required.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees, such as checked bags and in-flight refreshments, are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card® Account. American Express relies on airlines to submit the correct information on airline transactions to identify incidental fee purchases. If you do not see a credit for a qualifying incidental purchase on your eligible Card after 8 weeks, simply call the number on the back of your Card. Qualifying airlines are subject to change. See terms & conditions for more details.
- $200 Uber Cash: Platinum Card® Members can ride or dine in style with $15 in Uber Cash each month, plus a bonus $20 in December after adding their Card to their Uber account. Use your Uber Cash on rides and orders in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction.
- $199 CLEAR® Plus Credit: CLEAR® Plus helps get you to your gate faster by using unique facial attributes to verify you are you at 50+ airports nationwide. Use the dedicated CLEAR Lane to confirm your identity without taking out your passport or ID - this can mean shorter lines, less waiting. Receive up to $199 in statement credits per calendar year after you pay for your CLEAR Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) with the Platinum Card®.
- Receive either a $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
- Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases in Saks Fifth Avenue stores or at saks.com on your Platinum Card®. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
- Use Global Dining Access by Resy to access premium dining experiences. Receive Priority Notify and unlock insider access to some of the world's most sought-after restaurants with Global Dining Access by Resy. Download the Resy iOS app or log into Resy.com and add your Platinum Card® to your Resy profile to take advantage of your special benefits and discover restaurants near you.
- $695 annual fee.¤
- Apply with confidence. Know if you're approved for a Card with no impact to your credit score. If you're approved and you choose to accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- Earn 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel® (up to $500,000 in purchases per calendar year).
- Earn 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®.
Improvements with the Business Platinum Card
The Business Platinum Card will now earn 5X points on airfare and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel®. The Business Platinum Card also earns 1.5X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on purchases of $5,000 or more and on eligible purchases in key business categories, subject to a cap of up to $2 million spent on these purchases each calendar year.
This benefit may not seem like a big deal, but if you're a business owner making large purchases on your card, you just got a 50% bump in earnings for these purchases. It provides a fantastic incentive to use your Business Platinum Card on a large purchase, particularly when you wouldn't be earning a bonus on that charge.
Additionally, Business Platinum Card cardholders will earn 35% points back when paying with Membership Rewards points through American Express Travel to book an a with their selected airline. This benefit is further extended to any airline when booking a first or business class ticket. Note that Amex recently dropped this benefit from 50% to 35% and introduced a points cap of 500k (editors note: Amex has since increased this to 1 million) points per year. See our breakdown of the changes for all the details.
The 35% points back benefit is significant. A $1,000.00 ticket will now, in essence, require 65,000 Amex MR points. Keep in mind that these are paid tickets not subject to award availability limits. Furthermore, unlike awards, tickets purchased with Amex points earn miles and credit towards elite status.
- Limited Time Travel Offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases on your Business Platinum Card® within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn a $500 statement credit after you spend $2,500 on qualifying flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel with your Business Platinum Card® within the first 3 months of Card Membership. You can earn one or both of these offers. Offer ends 6/30/25.
- The American Express Global Lounge Collection® can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market as of 10/2024.
- Unlock over $1,000 in statement credits on select purchases, including tech, recruiting and wireless in the first year of membership with the Business Platinum Card®. Enrollment required.
- Fly like a pro with a $200 Airline Fee Credit. Select one qualifying airline to receive up to $200 back per year on baggage fees and other incidentals.
- NEW! Make the Business Platinum Card® work even harder for you. Hilton For Business members get up to $200 back per calendar year when you make an eligible purchase at Hilton properties across the globe. Benefit enrollment required.
- Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points for flights, prepaid hotels, and short-term rentals and prepaid flight + hotel packages booked at AmexTravel.com. 1X points on other eligible purchases.
- Earn 1.5X points (that's an extra half point per dollar) on each eligible purchase at US construction material, hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more, on up to $2 million per Card Account per calendar year. Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus.
- $199 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Use your card and get up to $199 in statement credits per calendar year on your CLEAR® Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use the Business Platinum Card®.
- $695 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- Rates & Fees
- Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers.
- Earn 1.5X Membership Rewards® points on each eligible purchase with U.S. shipping providers.
- 1.5X earning rates are subject to a cap of $2 million in purchases per calendar year.
Membership Rewards Transfer Partners
American Express has arguably the second most impressive list of airline transfer partners, behind Marriott's long list of airline transfer partners. Among the most notable are Delta, British Airways, Air Canada (Aeroplan), Air France/KLM, Singapore Airlines and Iberia. In most cases, the transfer ratio is 1:1 and there are regular transfer bonus promotions.
Cash Back Options
While we typically like to leverage transfer partners, if you're looking at cash back instead, 5% on all your airfare isn't too shabby. You can redeem Membership Rewards as cash back with a value of one cent per point. Spending $5,000.00 annually on airfare would generate 25,000 Membership Rewards, which you could convert into a statement credit of $250.
Other Amex Platinum Benefits
American Express Platinum cards are already among the best when it comes to benefits:
- Access to American Express Centurion Lounges
- Access to Delta Sky Clubs® when traveling on Delta
- Access to Plaza Premium Lounges
- Complimentary membership with Priority Pass Select
- Access to Airspace Lounges
- A $200 Airline Fee Credit for incidental airline expenses
- A $200 hotel credit on select hotels prepaid with Amex Travel
- Upgrades to Marriott Gold status and Hilton Honors Gold Status
- A $120 credit for Global Entry or the TSA Precheck program application
- Access to the Fine Hotels + Resorts® collection
- Enrollment is required for select Amex benefits.
The single place where the Platinum cards had severely fallen behind the rest of the pack was on spend. You earned 1x points on everything, and other cards were offering 2x, 3x and sometimes 5x depending on the card and type of purchase. The introduction of 5X points on airfare purchases has indeed addressed this issue, but is it enough?
Is This Improvement Enough?
The ability to earn 5X points on airfare purchases is certainly a move in the right direction for Amex, but is it enough to make the Amex Platinum card more valuable than the Prestige Card or the Sapphire Reserve? The Sapphire Reserve earns 3X points on the majority of travel and dining purchases.
If you already have an Amex Platinum, you need to seriously consider using the card for airfare purchases. However, for someone that has to pick one from these three cards, an argument can be made that the Amex Platinum is still in third place. From an earning standpoint, the lack of other types of purchases that can earn bonus points, such as with the Prestige Card or Sapphire Reserve, makes it tough to have this card come out of your wallet regularly.
Another consideration is that when purchasing airfare, the Sapphire Reserve still offers better travel insurance and protections than the complimentary coverage with the Amex Platinum. If you value those types of benefits more than bonus points earned, the increased earning potential is not likely to change which card you use.
Bottom Line
The Amex Platinum will no longer be a card you simply get or keep for its benefits. With the ability to earn 5X points on airfare purchases, there is at least one category of purchases for which this card will become the go-to card for many.
If you're making large purchases on the Business Platinum Card, the 50% earning bonus is nice as is the possibility of getting 35% back on redemptions through the Amex travel portal.
All in all some nice improvements. This won't skyrocket these cards to the top for everyone, but they are some much-needed enhancements to encourage cardmembers to use their cards. So, have you found a new favorite card with these improvements?
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees)
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