ENDS TUESDAY: Get a huge 100,000 points (=100,000 Avios) with Amex Platinum

UPDATE – APRIL 2024:  This article is now out of date, but don’t worry.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.

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.

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American Express is currently running biggest ever sign-up bonus for The Platinum Card.

You must apply by Tuesday evening, however.

The standard bonus of 30,000 Membership Rewards points, which converts to 30,000 Avios, was already good.

Until Tuesday 9th January, however, you will receive up to 100,000 Membership Rewards points. This is worth 100,000 Avios (£1,000-worth on our valuation) or lots of other interesting things, as we will show below.

You should qualify for the bonus even if you have a British Airways American Express card.

You can apply for The Platinum Card here.

The card comes with some great travel benefits. It also comes with a chunky fee of £650 per year.

One upside is that you can get a pro-rata fee refund if you cancel before at least 29th February 2024 so the cost of trying it out for a few months is low.  In fact, you’d make a decent profit as long as you managed to trigger the bonus.

(At some point after 29th February 2024, the exact date to be confirmed, pro-rata fee refunds will no longer be offered on Amex credit cards. You will be tied in for the full year.)

You need a personal income of £35,000 to apply.

The bonus is paid in two parts, so you need to decide on your strategy

In a change from the usual American Express strategy, the bonus will be paid in two parts:

• you will receive 75,000 Membership Rewards points if you spend £10,000 within six months

• you will receive a further 25,000 Membership Rewards points if you retain your card for 15 months and make a single purchase in month 15

Because you can cancel the card for a pro-rata fee refund until at least 29th February 2024 and potentially for some time after that (TBC), you have three options:

• take out the card, spend £10,000 to earn 75,000 bonus Membership Rewards points, and then close it for a pro-rata fee refund by 29th February 2024

• take out the card, spend £10,000 to earn 75,000 bonus Membership Rewards points, keep the card for the full first year but cancel before the fee for Year 2 is due

• take out the card, spend £10,000 to earn 75,000 bonus Membership Rewards points and keep it for the second year, triggering the second bonus of 25,000 points in month 15

Because The Platinum Card comes with a wide range of other valuable benefits, you should make your choice based on a combination of the bonus and the value you get from the card itself.

What can you do with your 75,000 or 100,000 bonus Membership Rewards points?

You will receive 75,000 bonus Membership Rewards points as soon as you have hit £10,000 of spending, as long as you do it within six months of getting the card.

You will receive a further 25,000 bonus points if you retain your card for 15 months and make a single purchase in month 15.

Assuming you earn both parts of the bonus, you would receive 100,000 bonus American Express Membership Rewards points which convert into:

• 100,000 Avios
• 100,000 Virgin Points
• 100,000 Emirates, Etihad, Flying Blue, Asia Miles, Delta, Finnair, Qantas or SAS miles
• 66,667 Singapore Airlines miles
• 200,000 Hilton Honors points
• 150,000 Marriott Bonvoy points
• 300,000 Radisson Rewards points
• 6,667 Club Eurostar points

….. and many other non-travel rewards.  I wrote this article on the most valuable Membership Rewards redemptions. Of course, you’d also have the base points from your day-to-day spending too.

What are the benefits of American Express Platinum?

Here are the key benefits of The Platinum Card as I see them. However, for clarity, there is no ‘right’ answer about whether The Platinum Card represents good value.

It is SOLELY down to how you travel and which of the card benefits you can use.  This varies from person to person.  Most people value the Priority Pass airport lounge access cards the most, for example, but I don’t because we usually fly Business Class and my wife and I both have British Airways status anyway.

On the other hand, as non car-owning Londoners, we do disproportionately value the car hire insurance and the Fine Hotels & Resorts luxury hotel benefits. The 4pm guaranteed late check-out is a real boon if you are only away for a long weekend.  Who wants to be kicked out of their hotel at 11am on a Sunday?

I run through this in more detail below.  It is why, of all the credit and charge cards we cover on Head for Points, American Express Platinum is the one that people often find the hardest to get their head around.

What is the annual fee on The Platinum Card?

The card has an annual fee of £650.

You can cancel the card until at least 29th February 2024 for a pro-rata fee refund.  This reduces the risk considerably if you don’t find it is right for you. From some point after this date (and Amex has not yet told us when this will be – it could be weeks or it could be months), the fee will be non-refundable.

I have had one since 1999, so clearly there is real value to be had.

Here are the American Express Platinum core benefits (for me)

Here are the key card benefits to me.  As you read on, you will probably say to yourself that you would value some of these at nothing.  That’s fine.  You may value some of the benefits that I never use.  As I said, there is no right or wrong decision about whether Platinum works for you.

Full travel insurance:

You receive travel insurance for yourself and your family as long as you are under 70.  You can insure one other family group by giving one member of that family a supplementary card on your account.  Some benefits require you to pay for your trip with an American Express card (any UK personal Amex card, not necessarily Platinum) but the core medical benefit is automatic.  My family relies on this as our core family travel policy and do not pay for any other cover.  Amex has recently increased the number of pre-existing conditions and sporting activities which are covered (good news – constipation is now OK!). If you have a pre-existing condition which is not listed then you would not be covered for any incident which involved that condition.

Car hire insurance:

You receive full car hire insurance.  As we live in London and don’t own a car, this is very useful for us as we hire 3-4 times per year.

Airport lounge access via Priority Pass:

You and your main supplementary cardholder will each receive a Priority Pass card.  This gets the cardholder plus a guest into 1,300 airport lounges across the world for free, including the Aspire lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5 reviewed here, the Plaza Premium lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5 and multiple other lounges at London Heathrow and London Gatwick, as well as most other major UK and international airports.

As you get two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows a free guest, you can get a family of four into a lounge.

You can also get into Amex’s own network of high quality ‘Centurion’ airport lounges for free.  These are primarily in the US but are rolling out globally – new ones opened in Hong Kong and Melbourne recently.  The first UK Centurion lounge, at Heathrow Terminal 3, is now open and we like it.

I do not personally use the Priority Pass benefit as I have British Airways status and our long-haul travel is always in Business Class.  That said, we do occasionally find ourselves at airports where BA does not provide lounge access. 

Obviously if you do not have airline status then this benefit has substantial value.

Hotel status:

You will also receive permanent – for as long as you hold your Platinum card – status in various hotel schemes:

• Gold in Hilton Honors
• Gold in Marriott Bonvoy
• Premium in Radisson Rewards
• Gold in MeliaRewards

I value these cards highly and usually plan my stays around hotels which will give me additional status benefits.

Eurostar and Delta lounge access:

Other benefits include Eurostar lounge access in London, Brussels and Paris whatever your class of travel.  You also receive lounge access when flying with Delta and, at selected airports including Heathrow, Lufthansa / SWISS / Austrian.

I do value the Eurostar benefit because I tend to travel Standard Premier which gets the business class seat but without lounge access.  No guests are allowed although your partner can come in if they have a supplementary Platinum card on your account.  At quiet times they will unofficially allow children in.

Exclusive events:

American Express offers an exclusive events programme.  This is a mix of free events and special paid events with top restaurants or shows.  Now that I have a couple of kids my ability to nip off to every free party I get invited to is much reduced, but I have attended a few good evenings over the years I have held my Platinum card.

The value here obviously varies massively.  Would you be interested, for example, in joining a private meal hosted personally by a high-profile chef in their flagship restaurant even if the cost was higher than a standard meal in the same venue?  Would you be interested in the best seats in the house for a high profile concert, with a private drinks reception beforehand for Platinum guests, if the cost was higher than a standard top-priced ticket (which sold out months ago)?  Some would be keen, some wouldn’t.

The Platinum events programme is now easier to book as an app is now available.

Exclusive benefits at luxury hotels:

There is an exclusive hotel booking scheme called ‘Fine Hotels & Resorts’ which offers valuable additional benefits on your stays.  If you are a regular visitor at five star hotels then you can recoup your entire membership fee via FHR bookings.

I wrote more about Fine Hotels & Resorts here – for me, the guaranteed 4pm check-out on every stay is invaluable, especially for weekend breaks.  We use this benefit whenever I must have a 4pm check-out, which can make a real difference on a short break or if you have an evening flight home.

£100 per year of Harvey Nichols credit:

You receive £50 credit to spend at Harvey Nichols, either instore or online, between January and June and a further £50 for July to December.

There is no minimum spend. If you buy exactly £50 of items, or spend exactly £50 in the restaurants, it is genuinely free.

It’s basically £100 of free money as long as you buy the sort of things that Harvey Nichols sell.

£150 per year of UK dining credit:

This is a new benefit added in July 2022 which is guaranteed to run until at least the end of 2024. You receive £150 credit per year to spend in 150+ restaurants across the UK. The benefit resets on 1st January each year.

There is no minimum spend and you can earn the credit across multiple meals at different restaurants if you wish.

Again, it’s basically £150 of free money if you regularly spend in higher end UK restaurants.

£150 per year of international dining credit:

This is another new benefit added in July 2022. You will receive £150 credit per year to spend in 1,200+ restaurants outside the UK. The benefit resets on 1st January each year.

This is less of a slam-dunk benefit as it requires you to be travelling to a city where you can use your credit and finding a suitable restaurant. It’s not difficult to use though.

You can find full details of the two new Amex Platinum dining benefits here.

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

You receive 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent on the card.  1 Membership Rewards point is equivalent to 1 Avios or other airline mile per £1 if you choose to transfer them.  Spending with American Express Travel, booked and paid for online, earns 2 points per £1.

To be honest, many people who have the card focus their spending elsewhere – in order, for example, to trigger the 2-4-1 voucher on the British Airways American Express card.

Can I get the sign-up bonus if I have a British Airways American Express card?

Yes.  The rule is that you will not receive a sign-up bonus if you have held a card which earns Membership Rewards points (ie a Platinum, Gold or Green American Express card, or the Amex Rewards credit card) in the 24 months before you apply.

You WILL receive the sign-up bonus if you have a Corporate or Business American Express Green, Gold or Platinum card via your job and you receive Membership Rewards points from it.  Only PERSONAL cards impact on whether you qualify.

For clarity, you will definitely receive the sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card if you already have a BA Amex, Nectar Amex, Marriott Bonvoy Amex or Amex Cashback Amex. None of these earn Membership Rewards points.

You will also definitely receive the bonus if you are currently a supplementary cardholder on someone else’s Amex Gold or Platinum card.  As far as Amex is concerned, that card belongs to the primary cardholder and does not make you an ‘existing cardholder’.

What is the target spend to receive the bonus?

In normal times, you need to spend £4,000 within 90 days to receive a bonus of 30,000 points.

During this promotion, you need to spend £10,000 within SIX months to receive a bonus of 75,000 points.

The spend target does not include the annual fee.

To receive the second part of the bonus – a further 25,000 Membership Rewards points – you need to keep The Platinum Card for 15 months and make a single purchase in your 15th month.

Conclusion

This is, easily, the best sign-up offer we’ve ever seen for Amex Platinum.

You should look at it as two separate offers:

• you can get a bonus of 75,000 points if you can spend £10,000 in six months and are only interested in keeping the card for a year (remember that pro-rata fee refunds end at some point after 29th February 2024) or

• you can get a bonus of 100,000 points if you can spend £10,000 in six months and keep the card for a second year

You would get £1,500 of value in your first year

Even if you ignore all of the other card benefits (travel insurance, Priority Pass, Fine Hotels & Resorts, Hilton / Marriott / Melia / Radisson hotel status, Eurostar lounge access etc), you are getting in your first year:

• 75,000 Membership Rewards points, which we’d value at £750 if used for Avios or other airline miles

• £150 of Harvey Nichols credit (£50 in £50 in H1 2024, £50 in H2 2024, £50 in H1 2025 if you use it in early January before your renewal)

• £600 of dining credit (£150 UK for 2024, £150 International for 2024, £150 UK for 2025, £150 International for 2025 – obviously the latter two require you to spend the money in very early January 2025 before your renewal)

Even if you don’t qualify, perhaps your partner or another family member would qualify. You could get a supplementary card issued in your name which would allow you to earn the hotel status and Priority Pass benefits, as well as letting you run up the target spend. You could then use the Membership Rewards points in a way which benefitted yourself, although they can only be transferred to accounts in the name of the main cardholder.

Long term, whether or not the fee on The Platinum Card represents value for money long-term depends on how many of the card benefits you will use, although you can cancel for a pro-rata fee refund at any point.

In the short term, you should focus on whether you could spend £10,000 in six months to unlock a bonus of 75,000 Membership Rewards points, plus a further 25,000 points if you keep the card for the second year. You’d also have your Harvey Nichols and dining credit on top.

The application form for Amex Platinum can be found here. The offer ends on Tuesday 9th January 2024.

Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points. The site discusses products offered by lenders but is not a lender itself. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as an independent credit broker.

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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:

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.

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.

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.