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Another £175 of free money for American Express Platinum cardholders

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American Express has launched another giveaway for holders of The Platinum Card.

This is presumably to convince them to keep paying the £575 annual fee for a lot of – admittedly very good – travel benefits at a time when no-one is travelling …..

It will only appear on your main card, not any supplementaries. It will not appear on Business Platinum cards.

American Express Amex Platinum card

IMPORTANT: I have the offer in the Amex app on my iPhone but it is NOT showing on the website. If you can’t see it in one spot, look in the other. Amex has confirmed to us that all cardholders will receive it.

What am I getting?

You will receive 100% cashback when you spend up to £175 (so basically £175 cashback) at:

  • Waitrose
  • Deliveroo
  • Harvey Nichols
  • Selfridges

Apart from Deliveroo, they are valid online or instore (when they reopen).

The offer runs to 18th July. This implies that it may be the last offer of its type that we see.

As a reader pointed out in the comments, it is a bit odd that Amex didn’t choose to make this ‘£30 per month for six months’. It would have done wonders for card retention.

How does the offer work?

The good news is that you don’t need to spend the £175 in one transaction, or even at the same retailer.

Each purchase you make at the above retailers will be refunded, 100%, onto your card within 2-3 days. This keeps on going until you hit the £175 cap.

Are all Platinum cardholders receiving this?

American Express says ‘Yes’. That said, I assume it won’t appear for people who are locked out of offers because they are in default or took advantage of the covid payment holidays.

If you do not see it – perhaps you are one of those people who haven’t received any offers for months due to IT issues – then I would call Amex to have it added.

Don’t forget to register before doing any spending!

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Category

American Express Platinum card

Comments (255)

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

  • Alexander says:
    19 Jan19 January 12:22

    I idiotically applied for a Plat card today, 23 months after cancelling my last MR card. I was approved automatically. Any wiggle room on the 24 month break in between holding cards?

    • meta says:
      19 Jan19 January 12:24

      Call immediately and say you’ve changed your mind. They might be able to cancel the process.

    • Dan says:
      19 Jan19 January 12:31

      Even if you cancelled now – your account would still be open right. You’d be relying on Amex to turn a blind eye…

      • meta says:
        19 Jan19 January 12:33

        I think @Alexander has a chance to stop the whole card issuance and account opening process if he calls immediately. This would then not show on the account and it wouldn’t have an impact.

      • Track says:
        19 Jan19 January 22:28

        Not sure what comments mean by ‘no dice’ but legally you have 14-day withdrawal period and the contract was cancelled it should not be counted for the purposes of future incentives.

        I actually have a confirmation of this from a supervisor at American Express CS.

    • Rob says:
      19 Jan19 January 13:19

      No – I know people who have been off by 1 day and refused a bonus.

  • Hostime says:
    19 Jan19 January 12:28

    €250 (£225) in Germany for AmEx Platinum holders to spend at Aldi, department store Ka De We, pharmacy chain DM, or electronics retailer Saturn.

    • Oli says:
      19 Jan19 January 12:48

      Can’t see that on my Business Platinum – do you have a personal one?

    • Craig says:
      19 Jan19 January 12:53

      Have very fond memories of the food hall at Ka De We whilst in Berlin when the wall was still up!

    • kitten says:
      19 Jan19 January 13:57

      Bit more useful than the “London centered luxury” offered to UK Amex cardholders.

      And German Amex cardholders were being offered 40,000 MR’s not to cancel last year whilst UK cardholders only got an offer of 20,000

      • Harry T says:
        19 Jan19 January 14:59

        I got 40k last year as a UK Plat cardholder

      • Andrew says:
        19 Jan19 January 15:29

        London-cantered? Harvey Nics stores are throughout the country, as are Waitrose and of course Deliveroo (unless in rural areas). Selfridges have stores in Manchester and Birmingham. All are available online for nationwide delivery (although Waitrose do have some delivery range restrictions).

  • Simon Barlow says:
    19 Jan19 January 13:01

    In case it helps anyone else.

    Just spoke to Brighton on chat and got the offer added to my Biz Platinum. V. happy. Thanks for the heads up on head for points!

    • Steven says:
      19 Jan19 January 21:36

      How did you get them to do this? Online just now via live chat and they are not budging. Thanks.

      • John says:
        19 Jan19 January 22:16

        Just phoned them and they added it to my biz platinum straight away.

        • Guernsey Globetrotter says:
          20 Jan20 January 09:41

          Interesting – couldn’t get this added to a business platinum yesterday & I was (politely) quite persistent … will try again by calling Brighton today!

  • SJ says:
    19 Jan19 January 13:13

    I was literally about to call up and cancel my plat card. Happened to have a look on here first, thanks for the article and heads up!

  • Luke says:
    19 Jan19 January 13:16

    Why they don’t give offer to business Plat card members :((

    • Super Secret Stuff says:
      19 Jan19 January 20:03

      Because its not a typical place to spend business money…

    • John says:
      19 Jan19 January 21:09

      Just phoned up Brighton and they added it to my biz platinum straight away.

      • Chris H says:
        20 Jan20 January 13:00

        Hi John. When you say “phoned Brighton, do you mean the standard Amex phone number on the back of the card, or a special one for Brighton? And what approach did you make? Just – “Please can you add it?” or threaten to leave if you didn’t?
        Thanks in advance.

        • John says:
          20 Jan20 January 13:13

          Hi Chris. I just phoned the number on the back of the card. I just presumed it was Brighton.
          I just said to the lady I was phoning up to ask about the £175 offer and I hadn’t received it. The advisor said straight away “I’ll add it for you now”. I said thank you and that was it. It was added straight in to my saved offers.
          I might have been lucky with who I spoke to but just keep trying.

          • Chris H says:
            20 Jan20 January 14:11

            Just called them, and a definite NO, Not for Business Platinum card holders.
            I might call again tomorrow, but won’t hold my breath. I guess you were just lucky this time.

  • lev441 says:
    19 Jan19 January 13:37

    Wonder if Deliveroo gift cards would count…. https://deliveroouk.launchgiftcards.com/

    Was thinking about cancelling down my Platinum card but undecided what to do with my 750k MR points right now…

    • Sandgrounder says:
      19 Jan19 January 13:53

      See Mark at 10:59, doesn’t go through as Deliveroo so probably not.

      • Mark says:
        19 Jan19 January 15:26

        yep can confirm this goes through a third party agent. Have asked for a refund from deliveroo as per their gift card t&c’s . Suspect I will just use it for deliveroo all the time I keep the card, and then use whatever balance is left of the £175 after all those big macs to get a waitrose gift card before cancelling

        • lev441 says:
          19 Jan19 January 16:23

          Thanks for being the guinea pig! At least you can get a refund of the voucher.

    • Rob says:
      19 Jan19 January 15:28

      ? Get the free Amex Rewards Credit Card and your MR points are protected so you can cancel Platinum.

      • lev441 says:
        19 Jan19 January 16:21

        Debating that or leaving MR altogether so I can get the sign up on platinum business in 6 months when hopefully business is actually making some money!

  • SAM KRAUSZ says:
    19 Jan19 January 14:21

    Can this be used in John lewis or for a waitrose gift card?

    Thanks @hfp for the heads up!

    • Rob says:
      19 Jan19 January 15:26

      No and (unless you buy it in a Waitrose store) no.

      Are you really not planning on buying groceries until July?!

      • jil says:
        19 Jan19 January 18:08

        i think waitroise giftcard from store is ok, I got Waitroise giftcard (in store) from a different 70-15 offer (i think) without problem.

  • Anon says:
    19 Jan19 January 14:39

    Nothing for gold preferred cardholders? Platinum is overrated anyway. Paying £565 for practically nothing since no one is allowed to travel

    • Sandgrounder says:
      19 Jan19 January 14:45

      It’s expensive, but you only live once, why pay with a plastic card when you can use metal.

      • Rob says:
        19 Jan19 January 15:25

        It’s too heavy and falls out of your wallet if you turn it upside down. Platic cards never fall out.

        • Sandgrounder says:
          19 Jan19 January 16:54

          I never carry cash in the UK so I generally use a small cardholder with 4 card slots. It is tight enough to keep the metal card secure. I have more traditional wallets I use when travelling to cash societies, and yes, I just agree there is sometimes slippage.

        • ECR says:
          19 Jan19 January 21:37

          I agree with the analysis that a metal card although it might look nice is too heavy, I much prefer the plastic one. I hope I get an option for another plastic platinum card when it expires rather than a metal one.

        • CF Frost says:
          19 Jan19 January 21:41

          And a pain for those of us whose work requires our possessions to be scanned in an airport style machine each day.

          “You got something in there; gonna have to ask you to open your bag.”

          Cue explanation of, “it’s a credit card” and endure the inevitable witty replies.

          Now a ceramic card…

    • Andrew says:
      19 Jan19 January 15:19

      And it’s £575 actually. And worth every penny for the general fabulousness of it.

      • Harry T says:
        19 Jan19 January 15:28

        I’m starting to question whether it’s actually useful! What do you find useful about the Platinum card?

        • IanM says:
          19 Jan19 January 15:36

          Doubles for a flat head screwdriver

        • meta says:
          19 Jan19 January 15:59

          For me it’s insurance element. Two claims promptly paid within a week of claim. No questions asked, and once not even paid everything on Amex. Admittedly, it is less of incentive now. Last year, I also got 50k MR points compo after they messed up a points transfer and it took 3 months to resolve. I got way over £2k back in offers and points in the last year whereas on Gold I wouldn’t get that much for sure. When I had Gold, I only found value in purchasing flight tickets on other airlines in foreign currency (4x the points). However, most flights are with BA so it’s better to use BAPP. The few times now that I buy on other airlines I go curve.

          This is a very personal value to me. It wouldn’t apply to everyone. However, if I stop getting at least double the annual fee back, I will probably cancel the card.

        • Andrew says:
          19 Jan19 January 16:22

          For me personally in normal times, I like the product – the Priority Pass/Eurostar lounge, I like the insurance for me and the supp, I like the slightly elevated range of offers and the number of supps I can have to maximise the offers, and as I’m a bit of a snob I like to have the nicest looking product possible and the metal card I like – I spend £500 on a pair of shoes to look nice so why not on a card? Plus I’m not really a hardcore points person – don’t have a curve card to buy Premium Bonds etc so not overly bothered that the card isn’t the best way to earn points – just like an easy life and the benefits and customer service that Platinum give me is that.

          • Dan says:
            19 Jan19 January 17:05

            The demographic of the platinum card is really people who earn/spend enough to really not care that the card brings enough intrinsic benefit to cover the cost – I care about the point per pound I spend and the cost I’ve paid per point that I’ve acquired. For these people, the calculations are arbitrary.

            For me the Gold card offers the best value in the long term even beyond year 1. By spending £15k, you are getting 1.67 MR for every £1 spent and paying 0.56p for every point earned (factoring annual fee). These are numbers that I can work with due to the spending I can put through. Whereas for the Platinum, I can never justify it even with these fantastic retention offers Platinum CMs get!

            I do agree its all down to personal situation though, I only fly BA, have status so don’t need the PP, I am single so don’t value the companion voucher etc, and have the HSBC WE which has Travel Insurance.

          • Genghis says:
            19 Jan19 January 20:17

            I should be one of those that don’t care about the cost of the Plat but I’ve been brought up to be careful with money and be logical and for me the Plat has never worked.

            Even with the old £450 fee, the ongoing benefits of the insurance and PP was never worth it (have HSBC prem insurance and travel BA mainly where have status; then when I fly U2 for work, I just expense things anyway). We rarely hire cars but have paid separately for car hire insurance cover as one offs. I classify the Eurostar benefit and the hotel statuses as not ongoing benefits as they can easily be “topped up” through a quick churn. Points earning was low. Yes – the offers have been very good recently but you’ve still been paying the fee. I’d rather save the cash.

      • Harry T says:
        20 Jan20 January 08:07

        @Genghis I agree – having enough money to afford the card doesn’t mean you don’t rationalise and justify anything you choose to spend your hard earned money on.

        • Dave says:
          20 Jan20 January 08:32

          The strange thing for me is that the Plat benefits didn’t justify the fee and so even before Covid I was going to cancel but Covid has actually made in more valuable in the short term. But we had a couple of holidays booked and the lounge access and travel insurance meant we decided to keep it until renewal in October. Due to Covid and the free points and the really good amex offers I’ve actually had over £700 of free money not including the free night I had at the W as well. The insurance has been good as well and has paid out one. When this is all over though I’ll probably cancel!

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