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One year of British Airways lounge access with Amex Platinum …. you need to decide soon

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I wanted to gently remind everyone that time is running out if you want to apply for the American Express Platinum card in order to get the free Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Club Gold card.

The last day to apply for the Cathay Pacific Gold card will be 31st March.  However, you must have your American Express Platinum card in your hand first.  This means, realistically, that you need to apply for Amex Platinum in the next 2 weeks to be certain that you receive it before 31st March.

If you are not familiar with this offer, this is how it works.

Cathay A350-900

When you take out an American Express Platinum charge card you can apply for a Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Club Gold card, valid for one year. 

Cathay Pacific, like British Airways, is a member of the oneworld alliance.  This means that your Cathay Pacific Gold card gives you the same benefits as a British Airways Silver card when you fly with BA.

In particular:

You can use BA lounges, even when flying economy – and bring a guest

You can use the lounges of any other oneworld airline when flying with them (Qantas, Qatar, Cathay, Finnair, Royal Jordanian etc)

You can select seats on BA flights for free

You get an additional baggage allowance (BA only)

You can check-in at business class desks

The full list of benefits from a oneworld Sapphire card (which is what both BA Silver and Cathay Gold offer) can be found here.

But doesn’t Amex Platinum have a £450 fee …..?

Yes, it does.  However, the fee is refunded pro-rata when you cancel.

When you cancel, you keep the Cathay Gold card for the remainder of the 12 months for which it is valid.  You also keep the three hotel status cards for the rest of the year – Starwood Gold, Accor Platinum and Carlson (Radisson) Gold.

There is also a very lucrative sign-up bonus with Amex Platinum, although you can only get this if you have not had an Amex Gold or Amex Platinum in the last six months.  You will receive 30,000 Amex Membership Rewards points, which can be converted into 30,000 Avios or 30,000 Virgin Flying Club miles amongst other things.

This is how the maths could pan out for you:

Apply for American Express Platinum within the next 2 weeks, to guarantee that you receive your card by late March

Go online and order your Cathay Gold, Starwood Gold, Accor Platinum and Club Carlson Gold cards (last day for ordering Cathay Gold is 31st March)

Spend the £2,000 in 3 months required to trigger the 30,000 Membership Rewards points

Transfer your 30,000 points – plus the extra points from your spending – into 30,000  Avios, Virgin Flying Club miles or whatever other programme you choose

Cancel the card after three months for a pro-rata fee refund

So, for just £112, you will get ….

So, assuming you cancel the card after three months, for a net cost of just £112 (3/12th of £450):

you will have earned 30,000 Avios and

you get the equivalent of a British Airways Silver card for a year and

you get Gold status at Starwood hotels for a year and

you get Platinum status at Accor hotels for a year and

you get Gold status at Carlson (Radisson, Park Inn) hotels for a year.

Which sounds OK to me.  A lot of people who take out the card intending to cancel actually end up keeping it, because the benefits package (which includes full travel insurance, Eurostar lounge access, two Priority Pass lounge access cards, access to Fine Hotels & Resorts deals, UK Hotel Collection deals and special Platinum promotions such as the free Melia hotel night last year) is impressive.

My full review of the American Express Platinum card is here.

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 Platinum card

Comments (197)

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

  • Chris says:
    26 Feb26 February 09:33

    I’m in a real quandary about this – I don’t have any BA flights booked in the next 12 months and am flying less regularly than I used to, but do fancy being able to get into the lounges as and when I do fly… decisions decisions!

    • Mark says:
      26 Feb26 February 10:24

      Are the other benefits worth a few months of the fee anyway to you? 35,000 MR points on their own are likely to be worth in the low £100s at least, depending on how you use them.

      I have one Club redemption flight coming up where I would like to be able to reserve seats, the fee being £80 on the upper deck (A380). So for two of us, that one flight alone largely justifies it for me (not that I’d pay as much as £80 each). It doesn’t necessarily need a lot of travel to make it worthwhile.

    • Polly says:
      27 Feb27 February 09:02

      Yes but you will have the priority cards for two people, so you can use airline lounges at all airports around the wold, a v g benefit indeed, and also almost uses up the fee alone! I fly our people friendly! ryan air a lot, and the app comes in very handy !

  • Stephan says:
    26 Feb26 February 09:51

    I noticed that in the terms and conditions they have “You may end this Agreement at any time by calling us or writing to us with 30 days’ notice”. Seems to be only applicable to charge cards (couldn’t see it for BA premium). Does that mean that if I call them to cancel them it will take 30 days (one month extra payment) before they cancel it?

    If so could I cancel, say , now and then apply apply for the Cathay Card in 29 days?

    • Rob says:
      26 Feb26 February 10:36

      That is boiler plate stuff, I think. If there are charges outstanding when you cancel then you would have to wait until a statement was generated, ie up to 30 days.

      But, really, you need to consider the benefit of saving a few quid versus Amex deciding one day to blacklist people who take the p**s and putting you on that list.

      If anything, Amex is far more generous than the rules allow. I know plenty of people who cancel after 6 weeks or so and get the full £450 refunded.

    • Mark says:
      26 Feb26 February 10:37

      I am also holding off a little on applying for the Cathay status (I’m still working my way through the spend requirement anyway). However I wouldn’t risk trying what you are suggesting without clear precedent that they do indeed always enforce the 30 days notice, and don’t withdraw the ability to apply for new benefits in the interim….. I suspect few people will have tried and be able to confirm the latter.

      Would be useful to know about the 30 days notice in any case. If they do enforce it, presumably that means the insurance benefits will continue over that period.

  • Danny says:
    26 Feb26 February 11:00

    Probably best to double check directly with Amex whether they are still accepting enrollment applications for Marco Polo Gold before applying for a Platinum card at this late stage.
    Although the official deadline is 31 March, there is also a warning on the Amex Platinum Website that they won’t accept any enrolment applications after 15 February 2014 (which I’ve pasted below – [EDIT, deleted as it is a long piece of text and only leads to confusion! Raffles])–presumably to give Amex a safety margin to ensure they are all processed before the end of March.
    I have a UK-issued IDC card, so don’t know for sure whether the same 15 February deadline applies to regular UK cards–but it would probably be safer to check first.

    • Rob says:
      26 Feb26 February 11:23

      As I said before, it WAS 15 February. Amex had to move it because it did constitute the required notice period for a major change to card benefits.

      The UK personal card deadline is DEFINITELY 31st March. This is line from the (members only) Platinum site:

      “Effective 31 March 2014, one-year membership of the Cathay Pacific Marco Polo Club will no longer be available for new enrolments.”

      This same text was also published on everyones Amex statements last month. The application form is still online today, which it wouldn’t be if 15 February was the deadline!

      • Danny says:
        26 Feb26 February 12:53

        Ahh, I see, apologies for causing confusion–although the blame really lies with the Amex Website, as they obviously forgot to remove some of the references to a 15 Feb deadline (such as the one that I saw) from their Website.

  • Tim C says:
    26 Feb26 February 11:44

    Is there a way of getting Amex Plat when I already have Amex Gold Rewards and Amex BA Premium Plus?

    Can I upgrade the Gold to Plat and get the benefits or do I have to cancel one first?

    • Mark says:
      26 Feb26 February 11:57

      No, you can upgrade. See here:

      https://headforpoints.com/2013/12/19/15000-amex-points-for-upgrading-your-gold-to-platinum-worth-it/

      • wytco0 says:
        26 Feb26 February 13:33

        Thanks I applied but my application had been referred got an emails saying I should here within 10 days. Might make it a bit tight …

        • Mark says:
          26 Feb26 February 15:00

          I was also referred but it was resolved pretty quickly. Once you can see it on your online account you can apply for the Cathay status straight away even without having received the card. So I wouldn’t worry – assuming they approve you’ll have plenty of time.

    • Rob says:
      26 Feb26 February 11:58

      Yes. Look on the ‘Avios Promos’ page at the top of the site and there is a link on there for 15,000 points for upgrading Gold to Platinum and spending, I think, £1,000.

      • Mark says:
        26 Feb26 February 13:02

        Correct, spend requirement for the bonus is £1000 in 3 months. As noted above if you have a supplementary card holder they will automatically be upgraded as well; you shouldn’t do what I did and request one again during the upgrade process…..

  • Singing Dwarf says:
    26 Feb26 February 11:55

    I applied on the 18th February and was able to log in to my online Marco Polo account using the Forgotten Username/Forgotten PIN trick outlined elsewhere this morning.

    Raffles – how soon do you think it would be safe to close my Platinum card account? I don’t think that I would be taking advantage of the other perks of the card at present, but don’t want to be blacklisted by Amex 🙂

    If only there was an Amex insider, who could let us know if they were planning any benefits, like the free night at a Melia Hotel they offered last June!

    • Rob says:
      26 Feb26 February 11:57

      If your Cathay account shows as Gold then you are fine to cancel. Don’t send them the card back, though, as you will be able to flash it for Eurostar lounge access up to expiry date printed on it.

  • Adam says:
    26 Feb26 February 12:45

    if i got the misses to apply for a platinum card now – when would we expect that card to come, and how long does the Cathay godl card come?

    • Rob says:
      26 Feb26 February 12:56

      Your Amex Plat would take 7-10 days to arrive, depending on whether you are accepted immediately or not.

      The Cathay card comes from Hong Kong. My wifes took 10 days but most people find it takes up to 3 weeks. (You can, however, access your number about 5 days after applying if you want to assign seats etc.)

      You are therefore looking at 17 days (best case) to a month (worst case) from Amex Plat application to getting the Cathay card in your hand.

      • Maximus says:
        26 Feb26 February 13:31

        How can you access your number Raffles if you do not have a MP membership number?

        I applied for mine end of last week (thanks for to your referral). Though now I think I should have gone for Gold!

        PS Loving this website, I’ve become a Points junkie in a matter of weeks!

        • Rob says:
          26 Feb26 February 13:55

          Go to the Cathay website. Do ‘Forgot Username’ using the email Amex has for you. They will email your username. Then do ‘Forgot password’ using the username. You can then access your Cathay account and see a) your card number and b) if upgraded to Gold.

          Takes about 5 days after applying for Cathay for this to kick in.

  • needroos says:
    26 Feb26 February 13:00

    In a slightly different situation at my end. I have taken advantage of the Cathay Gold after signing up for the AMEX Platinum. Bonus received as well. I cant’t really think of many other benefits I would take up with the Platinum. What should I do now? Shall I recommend my partner for a Gold Card and cancel my Platinum. Or should I perhaps apply for BA Premium AMEX and then cancel Platinum? I am only holding the AMEX Plat at the moment.

    • Mark says:
      26 Feb26 February 13:08

      I’d apply for the hotel status anyway in case you find yourself any any of the three chains over the next year. I’d say recommending your partner for Gold is probably a good move (and get a supplementary card for yourself); the referral bonuses usually post pretty quickly and you can then redeem your MR points and close the Platinum.

      Bear in mind that MR points can only be exchanged for avios (and many other schemes) in multiples of 500, minimum 1000. So if that is what you are planning to do it may be worth topping up to a multiple of 500 first. Alternatively I believe they can be exchanged for Nectar points without any such restriction if you just want to use up a few otherwise orphaned points.

    • Rob says:
      26 Feb26 February 13:52

      You can do all of this. Recommend your partner for Gold – they get 22,000 points and you get 9,000. You can then either cancel Platinum (which would mean emptying your MR account) or downgrade to Gold (lets you keep your MR points whilst you decide what to do).

      Applying for a BA Amex is totally separate – Amex will still accept you and give you the bonus whether or not you have, or have just cancelled, Platinum or Gold.

      • needroos says:
        26 Feb26 February 18:44

        Thanks for clarifying that. Will look into recommending my partner for Gold!

  • Mark says:
    26 Feb26 February 13:13

    A related question… Having upgraded I now have BAPP, Gold Credit and Platinum Charge cards. I obtained the Gold Credit card before upgrading the charge card, and the upgrade doesn’t appear to have affected it.

    Does anyone know what will happen, if anything, to the Gold Credit card if I cancel the Platinum?

    Could be a useful way of holding onto the MR points….

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