GOOD NEWS: American Express reinstates the old rules for Platinum travel insurance

UPDATE – AUGUST 2025:  This is an old article, and the credit card information given is likely to be out of date.

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Good news.

American Express has reinstated the old Terms & Conditions for the travel insurance benefit that comes with The Platinum Card.

There was a huge outcry from Head for Points readers when we highlighted the original change last week.  To put it into perspective, the original article was read over 25,000 times on the site – this was DOUBLE the 2nd most read article last week.  It was also read by our 13,000 email subscribers.

What is the rule now?

Here is a link to the travel insurance Terms & Conditions on The Platinum Card website.

Last week, American Express changed the wording (under the definition of ‘Account’) to say that you must pay on The Platinum Card to be fully covered by the insurance.

This was bad news, because many HfP readers preferred to pay with a different American Express card.  After all:

British Airways American Express Premium Plus offers double points on BA flight bookings at ba.com, earns 1.5 Avios per £1 on all other spend and spend counts towards your 2-4-1 Avios voucher (£10,000 spend required)

Preferred Rewards Gold offers double points for airline spend and double points abroad, and earns you 10,000 bonus Membership Rewards points when you spend £15,000 per card year

Starwood Preferred Guest American Express offers double points at Marriott hotels

All of these cards are a better choice than paying with The Platinum Card which only offers 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent.

The old wording has now returned.

Look at the document now and it says that you can pay with (under the definition of ‘Account’):

“your consumer and small business cards issued by American Express in the UK, excluding corporate cards and any American Express cards issued by bank partners”

…. and still be covered.  American Express has confirmed to me that the old wording is back permanently.

How does the Amex Platinum insurance work?

As a quick reminder, for medical and other ‘big stuff’, you are covered irrespective of how you paid for your trip.

However, for claims under the categories below, you needed to have paid with a qualifying American Express card – which last week changed to just The Platinum Card:

• Cancelling, Postponing and Abandoning your Trip
• Cutting Short your Trip
• Travel Inconvenience
• Personal Belongings, Money and Travel Documents
• Purchase Protection
• Refund Protection

Thanks to everyone who complained to American Express, either directly or via social media, following our article last weekend.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – August 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 14th October 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This would convert to 80,000 Avios! The spend target is changed to £10,000 within SIX months of approval. T&C apply. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th October 2025, the sign-up bonus on the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card is doubled to 40,000 Membership Rewards points. This would convert to 40,000 Avios! The spend target is changed to £5,000 within SIX months of approval. T&C apply. Click here to apply.

The Platinum Card from American Express

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

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card

Your best beginner’s card – 40,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card

30,000 Avios and the famous annual Companion Voucher voucher 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:

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th October 2025, the sign-up bonus on The American Express Business Platinum Card is increased to 120,000 Membership Rewards points. This would convert to 120,000 Avios! The spend target is changed to £12,000 within three months of approval. T&C apply. Click here to apply.

SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th October 2025, the sign-up bonus on The American Express Business Gold Card is TRIPLED to 60,000 Membership Rewards points. This would convert to 60,000 Avios! The spend target is changed to £6,000 within three months of approval. The card remains free for the first year. T&C apply. Click here to apply.

The American Express Business Platinum Card

120,000 points when you sign-up and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review

The American Express Business Gold Card

60,000 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 0.8 Avios per £1 Read our full review

British Airways American Express Accelerating Business Card

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