GOOD NEWS: American Express reinstates the old rules for Platinum travel insurance
Links on Head for Points may support the site by paying a commission. See here for all partner links.
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.
Want to earn more points from credit cards? – November 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 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 January 2025, the sign-up bonus on ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold is increased to 30,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 30,000 Avios. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 14th January 2025, the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card from American Express is increased to 80,000 Membership Rewards points. This converts into 80,000 Avios! The spend requirement is changed to £10,000 in six months for this offer. 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
Huge 80,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review
Virgin Atlantic Reward+ Mastercard
30,000 bonus points (TO 18 NOVEMBER) 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 9th December 2024, there are EXCLUSIVE sign-up offers for our readers on the two Capital on Tap small business Visa cards. You can earn 20,000 points on the Business Rewards card and 30,000 points on the new Pro card. Click here to apply.
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
30,000 points (TO 9TH DECEMBER) plus good benefits Read our full review
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
20,000 points (ONLY TO 9TH DECEMBER) 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
Comments (169)