Unveiled: the 2025 Amex Platinum dining and Harvey Nichols cashback changes

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

• can2 says:

  31 Oct31 October 08:01

  umm, “pseudo-cash” benefits add up to £400 annually…

  • Rob says:

    31 Oct31 October 08:05

    £450 next year

    • Tariq says:

      31 Oct31 October 08:28

      Plus, whatever replaces Harvey Nichols in H2 potentially.

    • dundj says:

      31 Oct31 October 08:38

      I think the original comment relates to the line in the article below.

      “At present, there are three key ‘pseudo cash’ benefits worth £350 per year that you get with The Platinum Card”

      Granted, at this point in time it is £350, due to £50 of HN credit no longer being available as we are in the second half of the calendar year.

      • Rob says:

        31 Oct31 October 08:49

        Exactly …. if you apply today you get £350.

        • EwanG says:

          31 Oct31 October 13:37

          Not what is written in the article though, could say “If you were accepted today, there would be… worth £350…”

    • BJ says:

      31 Oct31 October 09:10

      “benefits worth £350′ should be £400

• Amy says:

  31 Oct31 October 08:02

  Well not very exciting after all. Anyone know when the HN offer will be back having disappeared from saved offers?

• executiveclubber says:

  31 Oct31 October 08:04

  Maximum £100 every 6 months seems punitive. I usually spend more than that. Platinum getting closer to a chequebook

• can2 says:

  31 Oct31 October 08:04

  £100 dining limit is tricky in London if you go to an upscale restaurant. Previously £150 could cover a decent lunch for 2 people, now you have to pay out of pocket…

  • Dan says:

    31 Oct31 October 08:10

    There are some cheaper options and it makes a blow out ait more in the affordable category. Problem is the foreign finding credit is so limited – going to Dubai in Jan and nothing there.

  • JDB says:

    31 Oct31 October 08:12

    @can2 – you make out that the credit it somehow ‘free’ but Amex is just giving you back some of your own money as long as you spend it where they tell you.

    • EC says:

      31 Oct31 October 08:24

      Exactly. It’s not really a “benefit”. As Rob says, the overseas credit isn’t the easiest to use (outside of big cities, there aren’t many options + the FX cost of using your Amex). I say that also as someone who spends many nights outside of the UK.

    • can2 says:

      31 Oct31 October 09:16

      Of course, and I am largely fine with it — but I don’t want to spend even more in those places where I am told to spend my credit.
      And, if I stick to this strategy of mine, that means that I am limited by £100 a meal, a dramatic reduction in my “special meal” quality.
      Obviously, they have the data — they realise that with £150 credit, people stick to it, and don’t spend more. I am one of those.

      • Chris says:

        31 Oct31 October 09:38

        Last year I went to a restaurant in Tignes (only one I could find on the list in the whole of that area of the Alps, and required a 45 minute drive around the mountain to get there). A meal there for 2 cost £250. So some of us do spend well over the £150 credit.
        With the £150 credit I thought that was OK.
        With only £100 credit I don’t think I would have. After all, a really good meal in another restaurant a lot closer to our chalet would have cost £100 to £150 all in.

  • jannis says:

    31 Oct31 October 12:28

    big hooray for solo though

• Jon says:

  31 Oct31 October 08:07

  It’s only a saving if you would have gone anyway. If you’re going to just spend the cash you’re not saving anything.

  • Richard says:

    31 Oct31 October 08:13

    If, as a minimum, you are not going out for a nice lunch 2x a year , perhaps a £650 annual fee card – where all the other benefits are generally aimed at making travel nicer rather than cheaper – is not for you anyhow…

    • Chas says:

      31 Oct31 October 08:24

      There are plenty of places to go out for a nice lunch near where I live (or even better for an evening meal). But the only restaurant on the UK list near me is the Ivy, which I don’t class in that category….

      • dst87 says:

        31 Oct31 October 08:31

        Everyone always hates on The Ivy but I’m generally pretty happy every time I go to the one in Edinburgh. The place itself is lovely and the food is consistently good. It’s not excellent but it’s very pleasant and an easy place to take parents or pop to pre-theatre. Service is great, too.

        Don’t get me wrong I’d prefer an independent restaurant of which there are plenty in Edinburgh and Glasgow that easily beat The Ivy, but I still the the Ivy is solid for a chain. 🤷

        The Glasgow venue is much worse though, so there seems to be variation between restaurants.

        • Alan Smithes says:

          31 Oct31 October 08:40

          Just go to Bill’s – same owner and a lot of the food is the same just cheaper!

          Obviously not eligible for credit

        • Vit says:

          31 Oct31 October 08:42

          Agree on this one but lately we have been going to the Tattu more.

        • Harrier25 says:

          31 Oct31 October 08:52

          The Ivy is a great place for posh pre-cooked boil in the bag food.

        • Chas says:

          31 Oct31 October 09:09

          @dst87 the point I’m making is that I have plenty of nicer restaurants near me that I’d much rather go to. As JDB has previously said, the dining credits are just Amex giving you back some of the fee that you’ve paid them, but stipulating a narrow list of places where it can be spent.

          One of things that I do like about the dining credits is that they encourage me to try new places that I may not otherwise have tried (as Rob highlighted with his Paris trip last year), but that isn’t the case with the options outside of London.

        • dst87 says:

          31 Oct31 October 09:27

          @Vit I keep meaning to try Tattu again. I went shortly after it opened in Edinburgh and was very underwhelmed. I’ve heard better things more recently so… it’s on the list!

        • dst87 says:

          31 Oct31 October 09:29

          @Chas it’s a fair point. If my husband and I are eating out together (which we tend to do frequently) we prefer local / independent places. We probably visit London once a year, so trying somewhere new there is easy. Locally though, I have enough visits to The Ivy or Hawksmoore with friends or family where I’m not choosing the venue that I consider the UK credit to be as good as cash.

        • GM says:

          31 Oct31 October 11:30

          And it’s handy if you haven’t used the credit and can pop in to buy a gift card before the deadline! It essentially extended some of mine, and a friend and I had a pleasant meal later. Overpriced, etc, but nothing in particular to complain about. And would definitely bring the parents – easy to find something even for picky types on the menu.

        • Polly says:

          31 Oct31 October 18:02

          We are happy to use the two Ivy’s close to us, Cobham and Guildford. Both very nicely laid out, and the set menu does us just fine, a few times a year…

        • John says:

          31 Oct31 October 22:21

          I have offers for Bills on my cards…

  • dst87 says:

    31 Oct31 October 08:14

    If you eat out regularly anyway then I’d say it’s as good as cash. Even in Scotland I’m likely to go to The Ivy or Hawksmoore a couple of times a year at least.

    If you don’t otherwise dine out then… yeah it’s not useful.

• Simon says:

  31 Oct31 October 08:09

  Perhaps a better outcome than expected (feared?). Coincidentally I was planning on calling Amex today to discuss downgrade options – will likely still do so and see what they say.

• e14 says:

  31 Oct31 October 08:09

  Not happy with the division of the dining credit £150 was easy to spend once abroad, maybe I’ll adjust my travel to match the offer 🤣

  You will receive £200 annually to spend in the UK each year, with a maximum of £100 every six months. You will also receive £200 to spend abroad each year, with a maximum of £100 to spend every six months.

• supergraeme says:

  31 Oct31 October 08:09

  I’m really curious how you struggle to use the overseas restaurant credit. When I’ve struggled (but never failed!) it’s because I/my partner might not have the card at the right time, but we’ve always found a way. It helps that we only do leisure travel I suppose.

  • JDB says:

    31 Oct31 October 08:17

    @supergraeme – it’s quite easy to struggle to use the overseas credit – it just depends where you travel. My wife finally managed to spend hers last year on 22 Dec, this year don’t think it will be spent although she is abroad a lot. Lots of lacunae. A few places, eg South of France has restaurants on the list which are just not somewhere that one would wish to eat, even with the money off.

    • The real Swiss Tony says:

      31 Oct31 October 08:30

      I’ll add my +1 to this, so you’re certainly not alone. And that’s despite probably making 10-12 overseas trips each year to a range of places for a mix of business and leisure. I would have just managed it this year, but splitting those credits into two makes it harder to get value…

  • Rob says:

    31 Oct31 October 08:23

    This is my life:

    *travel for work and 99% its on my own, so I’m faced with spending £150 in a smart restaurant on my own, when I could sit and work in the hotel bar instead

    *travel with family, in which case I’ve got two kids with me who would cause the bill to hit £400 and wouldn’t enjoy it anyway

    I had literally one night away this year with my wife but without the kids.

    My plan was to use it in New York last week, where £150 in a semi-smart restaurant dining alone is very easy and normal, but the trip was pulled.

    • buchanan101 says:

      31 Oct31 October 08:47

      Skiing in Ellmau last year by myself, took two trips to a Kitz restaurant to use the credit plus some. Doesn’t all have to be used at once…

      Also used it in NYC which made a ridiculously priced meal an OK priced one

    • Alan says:

      8 Nov8 November 07:47

      Although you don’t have to spend it all in one go 😉 This year I managed to spend both UK and abroad credit in roughly £30-40 chunks when travelling myself (and the remainder when out with friends where it only gave a part discount on my bit but I was treating them anyway).

  • Ken says:

    31 Oct31 October 08:56

    Here’s my trips last 2 years

    Spain – nothing in northern spain, ok if you go to Madrid I believe.
    Denmark – nothing
    Norway nothing
    Ireland nothing
    Portugal nothing
    Italy – has a thin sprinkling across the country.
    Would have meant an hours drive each way to use it.
    Belgium – used it !

    A night outs not all about the food, but there’s an element of “we must go to the Ivy, as we have a voucher “

    • Paul says:

      31 Oct31 October 09:37

      Italy thin sprinkling and at eyewaterinw prices. Verona was around £200 a head without drinks. I used mine at Harry’s bar in Venice for a very small lunch tiny Bellini and still had to find around £50.

    • meta says:

      31 Oct31 October 09:47

      Let alone that it doesn’t cover large parts of Europe (Greece, Portugal, Croatia, etc. as some of most popular ones), South America, Africa and also large parts of Asia.

      Even in Japan with Pocket Concierge the £100 credit has only a few restaurants where that would enough for a meal for 1 person.

      This is designed to entice you to spend more with Amex partner restaurants.

      • Kevin C says:

        31 Oct31 October 10:53

        My son and his two friends used mine and my wife’s pocket concierge credits this year which meant a budget of £50 a person booked at under a week’s notice. There were quite a few places to choose from. They had a particularly successful trip to a yakitori restaurant.

        I agree it can be a challenge to use the international credit.

  • Tubbs says:

    31 Oct31 October 09:16

    How about a trip to Las Vegas, a place that has a huge range of upscale dining options. There is one AMEX option in the entire city, Bazaar Meat at Sahara. A highly rated restaurant but not a particularly convenient location, and not a great option for non-carnivores!

    • LittleNick says:

      31 Oct31 October 09:30

      I used my overseas dining credit last year at Bazaar Meat, very good food but very expensive. The £150 only made a dent in the bill for two of us but was a nice experience

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