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

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!

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – April 2025 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 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

Get 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.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 30,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

30,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard

18,000 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:

American Express Business Platinum

50,000 points when you sign-up 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 Pro Visa

10,500 points (=10,500 Avios) plus good benefits Read our full review

Capital on Tap Visa

NO annual fee, NO FX fees and points worth 1 Avios per £1 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business

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