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It seems BA Amex holders CAN get the 50,000 points Amex Platinum bonus

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The American Express Platinum charge card has an astounding sign-up bonus at present – 50,000 Membership Rewards points.  These are worth 50,000 Avios, or a whole heap of other things.

Yes, there is a £450 annual fee, but this is refunded pro-rata when you cancel.  If you acheived the £2,000 spend to trigger the bonus inside 3 months and cancelled, you would get over £300 back and still have your 50,000 Avios!

Amex has made a terrible, terrible mess of explaining on their website who qualifies for this bonus.

Sometimes it says that the only people who cannot apply are those who have, or have had in the last six months, Amex Gold or Amex Green:

– eg, in large print on the main Amex Platinum page on the Amex website (scroll to bottom)

Sometimes it says that anyone with ANY Amex-issued card (BA Amex, SPG, Nectar, Gold etc) cannot apply:

– eg, in the small print on the ‘refer a friend’ website

– eg, in the small print in the ‘View Important Information’ box on the Amex Platinum web page

Up to today, I have taken the cautious approach and have used the more restrictive terms when advising people and on the ‘Credit Cards Update’ page.

I am now changing my mind and believe that the wording on the main Amex website – that only recent Amex Gold and Amex Green cardholders are blocked – is the correct version.

Why do I say this?

Well, as Keynes said, ‘when the evidence changes, I change my mind‘.  And what has caused me to change my mind is:

a) I have referred two people to Amex Platinum who already had a British Airways American Express card, and both received the 52,000 point bonus

b) a reader tweeted Amex to get clarification on this issue and was told that the main website is the correct version and that only people who have had a charge card like Gold in the last 6 months are blocked

I wouldn’t normally trust a corporate twitter person, but combined with a) I am tempted to believe it.

So, if you do not have an Amex Gold (and have not cancelled one in the last six months) and have £40,000 household income then you should consider applying for Amex Platinum.  I no longer believe that having a BA Amex is an issue.

I won’t go into the benefits of Amex Platinum, since I assume most readers would cancel it quickly after getting the bonus.  However, if you do keep it, the Starwood Gold, Accor (Sofitel, Novotel etc) Gold, Club Carlson Gold, two Priority Pass cards and the Hertz and Avis status cards have value.

The travel insurance is also comprehensive as long as you are under 70, have no pre-existing conditions and are happy to pay for your flight and hotel on an Amex card.  You can also issue supplementary cards to up to four family members or friends, who immediately get the full travel insurance as well.

If you have no BA status, you also get at least one year of Cathay Pacific Gold status, which gets you into British Airways lounges and gets you free BA seat selection.

You can apply here for Amex Platinum.

I have changed the text on the ‘Credit Card Offers’ page to reflect my revised position on qualification.  I will keep an eye out for any attempts by Amex to change their wording again!

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 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 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 card

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: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and 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

40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

American Express Business Gold

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

Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa

Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 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 Business Credit Card

1% cashback uncapped* on all your business spending (T&C apply) Read our full review

Category

American Express Membership Rewards, American Express Platinum card, British Airways American Express

Comments (23)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

  • Julian says:
    14 Jan14 January 09:31

    What about the opposite? Getting a BA card and points whilst having a plat card in the last six months.

    • Raffles says:
      14 Jan14 January 09:49

      That’s not a problem. The BA card has no restriction on any Amex charge cards you may already have. You can have a Plat or Gold and still apply for a BA Amex (or indeed SPG Amex) and still get the bonus.

      • Andy says:
        14 Jan14 January 10:34

        I am a bit confused now. I have a Amex rewards gold and assumed that I could not apply, and your statemnt in the article seems to bare this out “So, IF YOU DO NOT HAVE an Amex Gold (and have not cancelled one in the last six months) and have £40,000 household income then you should consider applying for Amex Platinum. I no longer believe that having a BA Amex is an issue.” But your reply here is that you CAN have a plat or gold card and apply.

        • louie-m says:
          14 Jan14 January 11:01

          Raffles is replying to Julian’s question about getting a BAPP with bonus Avios if you already have a Platinum or Gold card.

  • Andrew Seftel (@andrewseftel) says:
    14 Jan14 January 09:58

    Even if it doesn’t post, there’s no way the FOS would rule against the consumer in this situation.

  • David says:
    14 Jan14 January 10:39

    Raffles: if you held the Gold card and its only real usage was for Foursquare offers would you cancel the card wait six months and then apply for the Platinum for the 50,000 bonus (hypothetically assuming that the 50,000 stays)?

  • DarrenT says:
    14 Jan14 January 13:07

    Oh how I wish I’d asked Julian’s question ages ago… I’ve been sitting here waiting for the 6 months before applying for my BAPP, and I’ve only just put a huge amount on my bmi MC. :'(

  • bill says:
    14 Jan14 January 14:31

    I’ve got the BAPP amex and the amex gold rewards cards. I plan to cancel the gold card and get the platinum card 6 months later.

    If I cancel my amex gold rewards card what happens to the membership rewards points balance in the account? Does it remain accessible for a later transfer to avios or should I empty the membership rewards account ?

    • Raffles says:
      14 Jan14 January 14:49

      OK, sit down first as this is complex!

      1. If you have another MR earning card, then your MR account stays open (obviously)
      2. If you have an Amex CREDIT card (BA, SPG, Nectar) on the day you close your Gold card, you get 6 months grace on your MR account. Within those 6 months you must empty it or get another MR earning card.
      3. If you have no other Amex-issued cards at all, your MR account is closed as soon as you cancel your card and any remaining MR points lost

      Do double-check this with Amex on the phone if it matters, but this is how I understand it.

      However, the snag with 2) is that if your MR account remains open, you cannot get another sign-up bonus! You therefore need it to be emptied and closed down when you close your Gold card, even though in theory you could (as you have a BA Amex) ask for the 6 months grace.

  • Kuba says:
    14 Jan14 January 19:26

    Am I right in thinking that one could opt for the Gold Charge Card and get the 20,000 miles bonus instead while already holding the BA card?

    • James says:
      15 Jan15 January 06:49

      Yes-that is how I understand it. I’ve just hit the 20k MR bonus on the Gold Charge card and have switched to the BAPP for the 25k avios.

  • Richard says:
    14 Jan14 January 19:26

    Where do ‘additional cardholders’ stand with this? That is, if someone is an additional cardholder of a BA Amex (but has never had an account as main cardholder), can they qualify for the intro bonus if referred?

    • FlyerGill says:
      14 Jan14 January 19:51

      Yes – because the points get credited to the main cardholder so the sup doesn’t have a MR account of their own.

  • FlyerGill says:
    14 Jan14 January 19:44

    If I spend the £2000 straight away how quickly do you think I could transfer the points and cancel the card to get the max fee refund?

    • Raffles says:
      14 Jan14 January 21:07

      In theory, as long as the points go straight on then a month should be possible (if you put a £2,000 charge straight through)

This article is closed to new comments. Feel free to ask your question in the HfP forums.

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