What are the benefits of American Express Platinum (The Platinum Card)?
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Why should you get the The Platinum Card from American Express?
Today I want to look at the top 10 card benefits you receive as an American Express Platinum charge cardholder (‘The Platinum Card’).
Here is the legal information we need to tell you:
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- Get 30,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £4,000 within three months
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin and other airline and hotel schemes
Other information:
- Two Priority Pass cards, each allowing two people into 1,300 airport lounges
- Elite status in four major hotel loyalty programmes
- Comprehensive travel insurance
- Annual fee: £575
This is a charge card, not a credit card. You must clear your balance in full each month. Annual fee £575.
You will receive 30,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card if you spend £4,000 within three months of signing up.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
This is the ONLY personal American Express card where you still qualify for the bonus if you already hold a British Airways American Express card.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points. This includes The Platinum Card and Preferred Rewards Gold.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held any other American Express card, including the British Airways, Marriott and Nectar cards.
If you cancel The Platinum Card at any point, you will receive a pro-rata refund of your membership fee. You will not lose your sign-up bonus.
For clarity, you can still apply for The Platinum Card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the long list of other benefits.
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with an unrivalled list of benefits for the keen traveller.
Your personal travel patterns will determine which of these is the most valuable. The key benefits are:
Full comprehensive travel insurance for you, your family and the family of up to five supplementary cardholders, subject to enrolment
Two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows the holder and a guest unlimited free access to 1,300 airport lounges
Elite status in four major hotel loyalty schemes: Marriott Bonvoy (Gold), Hilton Honors (Gold), Radisson Rewards (Gold), MeliaRewards (Gold)
Access to Eurostar lounges, irrespective of travel class
£10 per month of Addison Lee taxi credit
The top 10 benefits of American Express Platinum:
1. You receive a metal card
From April 2019, The Platinum Card is made from real metal. Don’t worry, it works find in cash machines and payment terminals.
2. You receive 30,000 Membership Rewards points for signing up
Amex Platinum comes with a very generous sign-up bonus of 30,000 Membership Rewards points. You won’t find a UK travel rewards card with a more valuable bonus.
(If the information box above shows a higher bonus, you will receive this. The box is automatically updated with the best deal available on the date you are reading this.)
You qualify for the bonus as long as you haven’t had a personal American Express Green, Gold or Platinum card, or the Amex Rewards Credit Card, in the previous 24 months.
You need to spend £4,000 within three months to receive the bonus.
You CAN still get a sign-up bonus on other American Express cards even if you can’t get one on the Platinum Card. This article looks at what American Express sign-up bonuses you are still eligible for.
3. Those 30,000 Membership Rewards points convert into Avios at 1:1 – or into MANY other airline or hotel schemes
Membership Rewards are HUGELY flexible because you can convert them into lots of different things. You aren’t stuck with Avios, Virgin Flying Club miles or whatever. You can keep them with Amex for as long as you want and only convert them when you need them.
Click here to see the full list of American Express Membership Rewards transfer partners.
4. You receive one Membership Rewards point for every £1 you spend on the card
There are a few exceptions (cash withdrawals do not earn points) but in reality virtually every £1 you spend will earn another point.
5. You receive status with many major hotel chains
Hotel status is one of the biggest benefits of the Amex Platinum card. For as long as you keep the card, you will receive the following statuses:
- Gold in Marriott Bonvoy
- Gold in Radisson Rewards
- Gold in Hilton Honors
- Gold in MeliaRewards
These will ensure that you receive extra benefits and points on every stay. Hilton Honors Gold members, for example, receive free breakfast and an upgrade.
6. You receive free travel insurance for you and your family
Another exceptional card benefit is the bundled travel insurance.
As long as you are under 70, you will receive comprehensive travel insurance. For legal reasons, you need to opt-in to the travel insurance benefit by ticking the relevant box on the application form.
Your immediate family are also covered.
To receive full coverage you need to pay for your flights and hotels on an American Express card, although it doesn’t have to be The Platinum Card. However, most ‘big stuff’ such as medical coverage is provided however you pay.
7. You are entitled to two FREE Priority Pass cards, each of which gives two people airport lounge access
Your Priority Pass gets you and a guest into 1,200 airport lounges across the world for free, including the Aspire lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5 reviewed here. You can order a second free Priority Pass card for whoever you nominate to have your free supplementary Platinum Card. This means that you can get a family of four into a lounge if you issue the 2nd card to your partner. You can see which airports have a Priority Pass lounge on their website here.
8. You get access to various other lounges too!
American Express Platinum gets you into Eurostar lounges, irrespective of your class of travel. Just wave it at the reception desk!
You also get access to Plaza Premium airport lounges (they have an excellent one in Heathrow Terminal 5), Delta airport lounges and – in the US and Hong Kong – American Express’s own chain of Centurion Lounges.
This article looks at all the UK airport lounges you can access for free with your Amex Platinum card.
9. You get £10 of Addison Lee taxi credit each month
The first £10 you spend each calendar month on Addison Lee taxis is refunded to your card account.
10. You get $200 back every time you do a onefinestay house rental, and various other travel benefits
Each and every time you book a house or apartment via onefinestay on your American Express Platinum card, you will receive a $200 credit to your account – however cheap the rental!
Other benefits include ‘Fine Hotels & Resorts’ with exclusive benefits at many top global hotels, including guaranteed free breakfast and a guaranteed 4pm check-out. This article looks at all the benefits of Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts.
You also get status with Hertz and Avis, including a very useful 4 hour grace period on Hertz rentals.
Conclusion
American Express Platinum is a very generous travel rewards card. If you travel a lot, the benefits package can easily be worth much more than the annual fee – and of course, in Year 1, you receive the big sign-up bonus of 30,000 Membership Rewards points too.
You can sign up for Amex Platinum, or find out more information, on the official website here.
Sign-up bonus and earnings rate:
- Get 30,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £4,000 within three months
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin and other airline and hotel schemes
Other information:
- Two Priority Pass cards, each allowing two people into 1,300 airport lounges
- Elite status in four major hotel loyalty programmes
- Comprehensive travel insurance
- Annual fee: £575
This is a charge card, not a credit card. You must clear your balance in full each month. Annual fee £575.
You will receive 30,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card if you spend £4,000 within three months of signing up.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
This is the ONLY personal American Express card where you still qualify for the bonus if you already hold a British Airways American Express card.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points. This includes The Platinum Card and Preferred Rewards Gold.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held any other American Express card, including the British Airways, Marriott and Nectar cards.
If you cancel The Platinum Card at any point, you will receive a pro-rata refund of your membership fee. You will not lose your sign-up bonus.
For clarity, you can still apply for The Platinum Card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the long list of other benefits.
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with an unrivalled list of benefits for the keen traveller.
Your personal travel patterns will determine which of these is the most valuable. The key benefits are:
Full comprehensive travel insurance for you, your family and the family of up to five supplementary cardholders, subject to enrolment
Two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows the holder and a guest unlimited free access to 1,300 airport lounges
Elite status in four major hotel loyalty schemes: Marriott Bonvoy (Gold), Hilton Honors (Gold), Radisson Rewards (Gold), MeliaRewards (Gold)
Access to Eurostar lounges, irrespective of travel class
£10 per month of Addison Lee taxi credit
Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points and do not consider interest rates, service levels or any impact on your credit history. By recommending credit cards on this site, I am – technically – acting as a credit broker. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a credit broker.
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