£400 + 40,000 POINTS: Why Amex Platinum gets you into more lounges than you think
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SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on the ‘free for a year’ American Express Preferred Rewards Gold card is increased from 20,000 Membership Rewards points to 30,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (30,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 27th May 2025, the sign-up bonus on American Express Platinum is increased from 50,000 Membership Rewards points to a huge 80,000 points. Points convert 1:1 into Avios (80,000 Avios!) and many other programmes. Some people may see even higher personalised offers. Click here to apply.
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American Express is currently running an excellent sign-up bonus of £400 of Amex Travel credit and 40,000 Membership Rewards points when you take out The Platinum Card.
The points would convert into 40,000 Avios or lots of other great travel rewards. Even better, you qualify for the bonus even if you have a British Airways American Express card as long as you meet the other criteria.
Our introductory article on the ‘£400 + 40,000 bonus Membership Rewards points’ offer is here. Remember that you can still get a pro-rata refund on the annual fee as long as you cancel by ‘late 2024’ – Amex isn’t being more specific than that.
The Platinum Card application page is here. The offer runs to 27th August.
The representative APR is 694.9% variable, including the annual fee. The representative APR on purchases is 30.0% variable.
Last week we looked at:
…. and we will cover some other features in the coming weeks.
Today I want to look at another of the key benefits of The Platinum Card from American Express – the wide range of airport lounges (and three Eurostar lounges) that you can access.
American Express has created a website featuring all of the airport lounge which you can access with The Platinum Card. You can find it here.
Let’s start with Priority Pass
Priority Pass is a network of 1,400 independent airport lounges across the world. The Priority Pass website here has a list of all of the lounges you can access – you are very likely to find one wherever you are travelling.
Your American Express Platinum card comes with two free Priority Pass cards. You, as main cardholder, receive one and your first supplementary cardholder receives one. They arrive in the post at roughly the same time as your Platinum card.
Each Priority Pass card lets you take a guest into a lounge for free. Some people don’t join the dots here – what this means is that you can get a full family of four into an airport lounge with your Priority Pass. All you need to do is make sure that your partner is your first supplementary cardholder on your Platinum account and so gets their own Priority Pass. Both adults can then guest in one child each.
Additional guest are charged at £24 each. This is automatically charged by Priority Pass to your Platinum card.
Interestingly, this package is better than any which Priority Pass sells directly. If you look at their website, you’ll see that it is impossible to buy a version which comes with unlimited free entry for both yourself and a guest. The only way to get a Priority Pass which does this is via American Express Platinum.
Priority Pass also has a deal with Pizza Express at London Gatwick’s South Terminal. This is the terminal used by British Airways. You can go to Pizza Express, show your Priority Pass and get £36 of credit (£18 x 2 people) to spend on food and drink, either to eat in or take away.
Note that, whilst other restaurants offer a £18 credit for Priority Pass cardholders, you do not qualify for these if your card is issued by American Express. Pizza Express at Gatwick is the only restaurant which you can visit.
In peak periods it can be difficult to get access to Priority Pass lounges at certain UK airports. As a trial, you can now pre-book selected UK lounges for free – click for details. At airports outside the UK you are unlikely to be refused entry.
Lounge access with Delta
If you are flying with US airline Delta, your Amex Platinum card gets you (but no guests) access to Delta SkyClub lounges.
This can be more valuable than you think because – as I found myself when flying with Delta from Atlanta to Washington DC a couple of years ago – even having a domestic First Class flight ticket with Delta does not automatically get you into their lounges. Luckily I had my American Express Platinum card with me.
This does NOT allow you to use the Virgin Clubhouse in Heathrow Terminal 3, which is Delta’s London facility – you can only use Delta-branded lounges.
Lounge access with Lufthansa
If you are flying on Lufthansa, SWISS or Austrian in Economy, you can access selected Lufthansa lounges in Europe. This includes the lounge in Heathrow Terminal 2, image above.
If you are flying in Business Class, you can access the Senator Lounge (in Heathrow this is a separate room at the back of the main lounge) which is usually reserved for Miles & More Senator members, the equivalent of British Airways Gold.
You can find out more about the Lufthansa / American Express lounge access partnership in this HfP article. No guests are allowed, although if your partner has a supplementary Platinum card on your account then clearly they can come in with you.
Lounge access with Eurostar
Away from the airport, American Express Platinum also gets you access to all Eurostar Business Premier Lounges.
The Paris lounge is particularly pleasant – see our review of the Eurostar Paris lounge here. A cocktail bar has also been added to the lounge at London St Pancras (see above, it’s closed in the morning!) – our most recent review of the Eurostar lounge at London St Pancras is here. We also have a review of the Eurostar lounge in Brussels here.
This benefit can be a money saver. With lounge access provided by your Platinum card, there is arguably little benefit in splashing out for a Business Premier ticket. Standard Premier offers exactly the same seat – albeit with a lower quality meal – and American Express handles lounge access for you.
Lounge access is for the cardmember only and no guests are permitted. Your partner could join you if they have a supplementary Platinum card on your account.
The benefit is not valid on Eurostar trips which do not start or end in the UK since the lounges are all behind passport control.
American Express Centurion lounges, inc Heathrow
American Express is rolling out its own network of airport lounges. Despite being called Centurion Lounges, they are accessible by anyone with a Platinum or Centurion American Express card. You are allowed two free guests.
The first Centurion Lounge in Europe opened at Heathrow Terminal 3. It is impressive – click here for our Heathrow Centurion Lounge review which was recently updated. A photo is above.
You can find out where other Centurion Lounge are (mainly the US and Hong Kong) in this HfP article.
Other American Express-branded lounges
American Express also operates some other lounges globally. Full details are here.
They are, confusingly, also branded as ‘Centurion’ but are not done to the same quality. You can find these in Stockholm, Mumbai, Delhi, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Melbourne, Mexico City, Monterrey and Sydney. There are plans to upgrade some of these and merge them into the main ‘Centurion’ brand.
Conclusion
As you can see, American Express Platinum cardholders get a wide range of airport and rail lounge benefits. There is a lot more too it than just a Priority Pass.
You can see the full ‘American Express Global Lounge Collection ‘ on this special website.
If you want to learn more about the current special ‘£400 + 40,000 points’ bonus on The Platinum Card, our core article on the deal is here.
You can apply for The Platinum Card here.
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 80,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £10,000 within six months
- This is a special offer which runs to 27th May 2025
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios and Virgin Points
- You can also convert to other airlines, Eurostar and hotel schemes
Other information:
- Two Priority Pass cards, each allowing two people into 1,400 airport lounges
- Elite status in four major hotel loyalty programmes
- Comprehensive travel insurance
- £400 per year of restaurant credit (T&C apply)
- £50 per half year of Harvey Nichols credit (ends June 2025)
- Annual fee: £650
Representative 694.9% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £650 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 30.0% APR variable.
You will receive 80,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card if you spend £10,000 within six months of signing up.
This is a special offer which runs to 27th May 2025. The standard bonus is 50,000 Membership Rewards points.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Points or other airlines (usually at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
This is the ONLY personal American Express card where you still qualify for the bonus if you already hold a British Airways American Express card.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points. This includes The Platinum Card and Preferred Rewards Gold.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held any other American Express card, including the British Airways, Marriott and Nectar cards.
For clarity, you can still apply for The Platinum Card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the long list of other benefits.
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with an unrivalled list of benefits for the keen traveller.
Your personal travel patterns will determine which of these is the most valuable. The key benefits are:
Full comprehensive travel insurance for you, your family and the family of your supplementary cardholder, subject to enrolment
Two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows the holder and a guest unlimited free access to 1,400 airport lounges
Elite status in four major hotel loyalty schemes: Marriott Bonvoy (Gold), Hilton Honors (Gold), Radisson Rewards (Premium), MeliaRewards (Gold)
Access to Eurostar lounges, irrespective of travel class
£200 per year to spend in over 170 UK restaurants (£100 per half year)
£200 per year to spend in over 1,500 international restaurants (£100 per half year)
£50 to spend at Harvey Nichols, instore or online (£50 per half year, this benefit ends on 30th June 2025)
You need a minimum personal income of £35,000 to apply for the card.
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