I spend an evening at Berry Bros courtesy of American Express Platinum
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When American Express relaunched its Platinum Card earlier this year, there was a page in the glossy brochure they sent out about the range of exciting free events they organise for cardmembers.
This came as a huge surprise to me (who has had a Platinum card since 1998) and other Plats I spoke with, since we had never been invited to anything of consequence.
I was obviously not alone in having this view, since Amex has suddenly pulled its finger out. It is laying on more events for cardmembers in the next 3 months than I have seen in the last decade.
The first one was three weeks ago, when about 100 of us visited the historic cellars of famous London wine merchant Berry Brothers in St James’s. A very pleasant evening was had by all, starting with a champagne reception and moving on to canapes and a tasting of a selection of Berry’s own brand wines and a (very) soft sell for their monthly ‘cellar plan’ subscription scheme.
(The most interesting aspect of all, though, is that of the 100 other people present, I knew 4 of them from various Flyertalk events! The appeal of Amex Platinum to the hard core flyer is strong.)
You need to jump on these events quickly if Amex emails you about them. Places, especially for free events, will disappear within an hour or so of the emails going out. Details of events for Platinum cardholders can be found at americanexpress.co.uk/platinum as well. For clarity, I got my place by ringing up just like everybody else!
Remember that American Express still offers excellent sign-up bonuses for both its Platinum and Gold cards, and that both currently feature in my top bonuses list on the Credit Card Offers page of the site.
Want to earn more points from credit cards? – March 2024 update
If you are looking to apply for a new credit card, here are our top recommendations based on the current sign-up bonuses.
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the best of the other deals currently available.
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
15,000 bonus points and 1.5 points for every £1 you spend 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:
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive a huge 120,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Platinum by 9th April 2024. You receive 80,000 points for spending £12,000 within 90 days and a further 40,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: You receive 60,000 Membership Rewards points if you apply for American Express Business Gold by 9th April 2024. Remember that the card is FREE for the first year. You receive 40,000 points for spending £6,000 within 90 days and a further 20,000 points if you retain the card for 14 months. Click here to apply.
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
American Express Business Platinum
Crazy 120,000 points bonus (to 9th April) and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
Huge 60,000 points sign-up bonus (until 9th April) and free for a year Read our full review
Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa
Get a 10,000 points bonus plus an extra 500 points for our readers 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
2% cashback on all your business spend for 3 months (1% thereafter) and no annual fee Read our full review
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