Amex Platinum sign-up bonus is back – 30,000 Membership Rewards points (=30,000 Avios)

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I knew it couldn’t last! (Although it’s annoying it happened on the day that I reviewed the card and gave it a slating for not having a bonus ….)

After just three weeks of offering a sign-up bonus of precisely nothing, Amex has brought back a decent sign-up bonus for the American Express Platinum charge card. Click here to see the full details of the card on the American Express website.

You need to spend £2,000 in 3 months to trigger the bonus. You cannot apply if you have had a Gold, Green or Platinum Amex in the last 6 months. As I wrote in my review of the card yesterday, the benefits are good:

Cathay Pacific Gold (= BA Silver, gets you BA lounge access)
Starwood SPG Gold
Club Carlson Gold
Le Club Accorhotels Platinum
2 Priority Pass cards for lounge access when not flying BA

The fee is £450. However, it is refunded pro-rata when you cancel, so cancelling after 3 months gets you almost £350 back. You will also keep your Cathay, Starwood, Carlson and Accor statuses, although the Priority Pass cards are cancelled.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 2021 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our November 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus.

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the top current deals:

British Airways BA Amex American Express card

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways BA Premium Plus American Express Amex credit card

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers.

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending:

Barclaycard Select Cashback Credit Card

1% cashback and no annual fee Read our full review

Category

American Express Membership Rewards, American Express Platinum card

This article is closed to new posts. Discussion continues in the HfP Forums.

BP says:

27 Mar27 March 09:49

My priority pass wasn’t cancelled after I got a refund back in October!! 😀
- Rob says:
  
  27 Mar27 March 10:01
  
  Have you tried to use it since? The pass should only work when there is an active credit card linked to it, which was your Plat card. When a lounge puts the card through their scanner, it should pick up that there is no linked credit card and refuse you entry. (Or perhaps – if you don’t try to take a guest – it doesn’t check this?)
  - Alan says:
    
    27 Mar27 March 10:47
    
    Guest or not shouldn’t make a difference. My understanding is that they just report back to PP (who report back to Amex) how many people entered the lounge. If they forgot to cancel the card then I would expect Amex to bill you £15pp for the entry.
- BP says:
  
  27 Mar27 March 11:09
  
  I’ve used it three times since – with no guest. I can login to the PP website and my account is still active until 2015!
  - Alan says:
    
    27 Mar27 March 14:38
    
    Well you might get lucky, but I wouldn’t be surprised if some charges end up appearing. Some lounges take a few months to report back.
Simon12c says:

27 Mar27 March 12:45

Hi, The T&C’s on the platinum card site suggest that:

I understand I will not be eligible for any Welcome Bonus award if I hold or have held any Membership Rewards enrolled American Express Card in the past six months.
Does this mean that as a holder of a BA Amex card I will not get my 30,000 avios..?
great site – thanks.
- vindaloo says:
  
  27 Mar27 March 14:05
  
  The BA Amex earns Avios directly and not via transfer from MR. It is therefore not a “Membership Rewards enrolled American Express Card”.
  
  Raffles has posted on various occasions (most recently yesterday: https://headforpoints.com/2013/03/26/review-of-american-express-platinum-charge-card/#comment-11577) that he’s referred people who already have the BA Amex and they’ve had no trouble getting the welcome bonus (I am among them) so you should be fine.
- Rob says:
  
  27 Mar27 March 15:16
  
  No, because you do not have a card that earns Membership Rewards points! Only Plat, Gold and Green Amex cards earn these.
Kieran says:

27 Mar27 March 21:48

What the minimum amount of time you must have the card before you can cancel?
- Rob says:
  
  28 Mar28 March 09:52
  
  No minimum. I know people who have the spent the £2,000 within a couple of weeks, immediately transferred the bonus to Avios and got the full £450 back.
Raffles says:

28 Mar28 March 06:02

No minimum. Some people have cancelled so quickly (after spending the £2k) that they got the full £450 back!
jason says:

28 Mar28 March 06:45

If a get a silver card can i go on and book seats for the whole family if they are all on the same flight booking? If so is it possible to do this for a flight currently book? cheers jason
- Rob says:
  
  28 Mar28 March 09:51
  
  Yes, only 1 person on the booking needs status, and it doesn’t matter if flight is already booked.
Shaun says:

28 Mar28 March 10:38

Does anyone have any opinion on whether there is likely to be a bonus conversion from membership rewards to BA in the near future, I have been holding about 30,000 for the last 6 months on this basis.

Thanks
Shaun
- Rob says:
  
  28 Mar28 March 17:20
  
  The last one only finished a few weeks ago, but was targetted (20%, 25% or 30% bonus for those who were targetted). On that basis, I wouldn’t expect another until the Autumn, but you never know!
  - Shaun says:
    
    29 Mar29 March 10:57
    
    Ok, thanks. Is there any myth on how I make sure I am targeted? I did previously do a small initial transfer of 1000 as it was suggested somewhere that this would work?
    
    Thanks
    - Rob says:
      
      29 Mar29 March 15:48
      
      Check your marketing preferences online, make sure you are opted in to email and post. Check for EACH CARD, there is a separate form for each one.