Get a 40,000 points (= 40,000 Avios) bonus on Amex Platinum via a special link

UPDATE – JANUARY 2025:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.  We produce a monthly directory of the top UK travel credit card offers – please click HERE or use the ‘Credit Cards’ menu above.  Thank you.

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For the next FOUR DAYS ONLY, you will receive 40,000 American Express Membership Rewards points if you apply for the American Express Platinum charge card via a special link.

These convert into 40,000 Avios, 40,000 Virgin miles, 80,000 Hilton points, 20,000 Starwood points, 120,000 Carlson points or a variety of other schemes.

If you have been thinking about getting Platinum, this is as good a time as any.  The forthcoming addition of Hilton HHonors Gold status will bring a genuine improvement to the benefits package (although there is no firm date yet for the UK roll-out).  The opening of a Priority Pass lounge in Terminal 5 at Heathrow also makes the card more useful.

This deal is being run in association with Conde Nast Traveller magazine although anyone can apply.  This is the second special offer of this sort that Amex has run in the past six months.

The special application form is here.

The first thing to remember is that, whilst the standard bonus is 30,000 points, you have always been able to increase that to 35,000 points by asking me for a refer-a-friend link.  You CANNOT use refer-a-friend in conjunction with this deal, so you should see it as an extra 5,000 points and not an extra 10,000 points.

You will receive the 40,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £2,000 within 90 days.   Membership Rewards points can be converted 1 to 1 into Avios, so you would receive 40,000 Avios points.  Click here to see what other reward programmes are Membership Rewards transfer partners.

The Platinum card comes with a £450 membership fee.  This is refunded pro-rata, rounded up to the nearest month, if you decide to cancel.

Who can apply?

You need a household income of £40,000.

The general American Express rule is that you can hold two charge cards and two credit cards at the same time.  Gold is the other widely-held charge card, the credit cards include the BA, Starwood SPG, Nectar, Costco and Harrods Amex cards.

If you have held a Gold, Green or Platinum American Express charge card in the last six months you will NOT receive the bonus.

Any American Express cards you may have which are issued by Lloyds, TSB, Barclays or MBNA will not directly impact on whether you are accepted for this card and do NOT impact whether you receive the bonus.

Note that the Platinum card is a charge card, not a credit card.  You MUST clear your balance in full at the end of each month.

Any other benefits?

Here is a summary of the substantial benefits that come with the card.

You receive travel insurance for yourself and your family as long as you are aged under 70.  You can insure five other people and their families by giving them supplementary cards on your account.  Some benefits require you to pay for your trip with an American Express card, but the core medical benefit is automatic.

You receive full car hire insurance – with no requirement to pay with your card.

You and your main supplementary cardholder will each receive a Priority Pass card.  Each card admits two people for free so a family of four is fully covered if your partner is your main Platinum supplementary cardholder.  You can access 700 airport lounges across the world for free including the new Aspire lounge in Terminal 5 and the hugely impressive Plaza Premium lounges in Heathrow T2 and T4 and No 1 Traveller lounges in Gatwick North and South and Heathrow T3.

You will also receive status in various hotel schemes:

• Gold in Starwood Preferred Guest
• Gold in Club Carlson
• Platinum in Le Club AccorHotels

Gold status in Hilton HHonors will be added at an unspecified future date – it has already been rolled out to US cardholders and Amex has announced that it is a global deal.

Other benefits include Eurostar lounge access in London, Paris, Brussels and Ebsfleet, whatever your class of travel.  You also receive lounge access when flying with Delta (any guests must pay $29).  There is also an exclusive hotel booking scheme called ‘Fine Hotels & Resorts’ which offers valuable additional benefits on your stays including a guaranteed 4pm check-out.

What do I earn per £1 spent on the card?

You receive 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on the card.  This is equivalent to 1 Avios per £1 if transferred.  This is, frankly, not great and is the reason why my Platinum card – which I have had since 1999 – remains unused in my desk most of the time.

I have written various articles on Head for Points about the value you can get from Membership Rewards points – this was the most recent and most comprehensive.

Conclusion

With a 40,000 points (=40,000 Avios) sign-up bonus, you certainly won’t lose out if you decide to give Amex Platinum a try via this offer.

If it works for your travel pattern – if you and your family use the travel insurance, if you hire cars and benefit from the car cover, if you use Eurostar or stay at Starwood / Hilton / SPG / Carlson hotels, if you usually don’t fly Business and would value the two Priority Pass cards (which admit a total of 4 people for free), if you stay in luxury hotels which you can now book via Fine Hotels & Resorts for the extra benefits – then the card has value.

If none of the above apply to you, you are paying £450 a year for a bit of Silver plastic which has an earning rate lower than many free credit cards.

The application form for the Conde Nast / Amex Platinum deal can be found here.  You have only four days to apply as the offer closes on Wednesday 18th November.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – January 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 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

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.

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

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

50,000 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

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 when you spend at least £2,000 per month.

Barclaycard Select Cashback Business Credit Card

Get 1% cashback when you spend at least £2,000 per month* Read our full review