How to create an Amex Platinum Covid insurance certificate before you travel

Links on Head for Points may pay us an affiliate commission. A list of partners is here.

Some countries are now insisting that you provide evidence of travel insurance for coronavirus before you will be allowed to enter the country. If travelling to such a country, it may also be required by your airline at check-in as they will face the cost of repatriating you to the UK.

If you bought a dedicated travel insurance policy then you don’t need to worry because you will have a personalised policy document. It is trickier if your coverage comes via The Platinum Card from American Express because you do not have a policy document with your name on it.

It turns out that American Express has added the ability online to generate an insurance certificate.

I thought I would write this up because, having just done this myself, I was sent on a merry-go-round between Amex and AXA before finally being told that the only way to do it was online.

How do you get an American Express travel insurance certificate?

The first step is to visit the dedicated American Express travel insurance portal which is here.

Once logged in, you will see this screen:

Click on ‘Get an insurance certificate’.

This takes you an AXA website where you need to fill in details about yourself, your card and your trip. Once you have submitted those, you are emailed the certificate immediately.

If you want to generate a second certificate in the name of your partner or anyone else covered by your policy, there is a link you can click to be taken back to the form.

The certificate comes as a PDF. You should assume that you will need to present a paper copy at the airport and immigration, not a screenshot. Make sure that you leave enough time in your planning to get it printed.

And that’s it. Once you know about the link above, it is a very fast and efficient process for Platinum cardholders.

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 Platinum card

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

Amy says:

11 Dec11 December 06:02

Which countries require this document?
- Rob says:
  
  11 Dec11 December 09:19
  
  UAE for a start, which is why I needed it.
  - Amy says:
    
    11 Dec11 December 13:35
    
    But if you book via Emirates its free?
    - Rob says:
      
      11 Dec11 December 16:41
      
      EK is 250k miles for 4 in Business one way. Lufthansa is 112k M&M miles. I will pay for a test as trade off.
      
      And, irrespective, do you want to run the risk of doing 14 days house attest in the hands of the Dubai Govt?
  - Denis says:
    
    11 Dec11 December 17:29
    
    Do they ask for this document at UAE customs?
    - Rob says:
      
      11 Dec11 December 17:37
      
      Not sure. In reality almost no one is asked for a test result or this document but the downside for not having it won’t be good.
      - Denis says:
        
        11 Dec11 December 19:50
        
        Oh well… Anyway, we are going there on Dec 25 and will have test results and Amex Plat insurance print-out beforehand.
Rosemary Leheup says:

11 Dec11 December 06:13

Biggest problem is they do not cover you if on FCO list of places not to travel and that’s pretty well everywhere!
- Ian says:
  
  11 Dec11 December 06:47
  
  You are for essential travel or business.
  - GeorgeJ says:
    
    11 Dec11 December 09:25
    
    Yes, I have travelled twice and called them up in advance to record the purpose of the trip and agree that I was covered. I then recorded the details of the call.
    Generally they have been pretty helpful though the real crunch comes if I have a claim.
  - Rosemary Leheup says:
    
    11 Dec11 December 14:51
    
    That’s interesting because when I called they just flatly said no for any reason.
Ian says:

11 Dec11 December 06:51

A couple of months ago I printed out a sheet showing cover for car hire etc. from Amex Platinum – it showed all our insurances.

I have just printed the PDF out and all it says is Travel Insurance and nothing about car hire insurance etc….

Anyone have any idea how to get that sheet?
- memesweeper says:
  
  11 Dec11 December 08:06
  
  Ditto HSBC. I’m needing a piece of paper showing I’m covered, including for an extended stay caused by illness. No luck so far…
NeilP1234 says:

11 Dec11 December 07:11

Great little article. Any thoughts on how to do same for those of us with packaged bank account travel policies. For instance I have my Travel Plus policy with my Barclays Premier account.

Neil
- Boffinboy says:
  
  11 Dec11 December 08:03
  
  Have the same question re: HSBC
Mike says:

11 Dec11 December 07:30

It would be useful if Amex started offering option for a paid for COVID 19 vaccine and a certificate to go with it. There are going to be a lot of places in 2021 that demand proof of vaccination
- Colin MacKinnon says:
  
  11 Dec11 December 07:48
  
  It’s going to be a while before a tourist will get priority access to a vaccine before the high risk groups.
  Just imagine: My holiday to …. was more important than …. ‘s life headlines.
- Andrew says:
  
  11 Dec11 December 07:54
  
  Private vaccines won’t be available for a year or so.
  - Tariq says:
    
    11 Dec11 December 09:51
    
    I wouldn’t gamble on that. Like testing, there will be many companies that are chomping at the bit to be able to provide a paid for service.
    - Andrew says:
      
      11 Dec11 December 12:08
      
      But testing is quite different to a vaccine that is government regulated in its delivery and supply and is in worldwide short supply. The manufacturers have deals in place with the world’s governments so they won’t be in a position to be offering them for sale to private companies for quite a while.
PaulW says:

11 Dec11 December 07:48

Shame it doesn’t mention the cover extends to family.
- John says:
  
  11 Dec11 December 09:16
  
  Once you generate the certificate, there’s a message saying…
  
  “To create a new certificate for another insured defined in the Terms of Insurance of your card, please click here”
  
  …so it looks like you can generate individual named certificates
  - PaulW says:
    
    11 Dec11 December 09:47
    
    Thanks!!
Alan says:

11 Dec11 December 07:58

Haha chucked at the ‘leave enough time in your planning to get it printed’ comment, that’d be about another 20s 😂

I remember needing this for a visa to travel to Oz 5y ago when working there, at that time you could still get an individual cover letter but had to phone, good they’ve automated the process.
- Andrew says:
  
  11 Dec11 December 08:49
  
  Not that many people have printers at home – I’ve always printed stuff at work, and now I’m always working from home but I don’t want the clutter of a printer so on the odd occasion I need to print something I go to Ryman’s. So I think that’s what Rob meant.
  - Rob says:
    
    11 Dec11 December 09:09
    
    Exactly.
- Ali B says:
  
  11 Dec11 December 13:12
  
  Little amuses some people
Flying Misfit says:

11 Dec11 December 08:39

Nice article… and seeing a few posts here re: HSBC. I know some consider the Premier insurance to be one of the best covers out there, but got an email on Wednesday that it is to be watered down somewhat as of 20 Jan.
- Neil says:
  
  11 Dec11 December 08:54
  
  I think an article on adequacy of Travel Insurance from packaged Bank Accounts would be worthwhile. I am sure Rob could get Barclays and HSBC to sponsor it.
  - GeorgeJ says:
    
    11 Dec11 December 09:19
    
    Good idea, the travel insurance industry is fast becoming irrelevant in the current environment.
  - Boffinboy says:
    
    12 Dec12 December 09:02
    
    Would also find this valuable, though I note Rob’s comment re: willingness to pay. I’m unsure whether the new HSBC exclusions just bring them in line with other insurers, or if it’s worse.