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

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• Occasional Ranter says:

  31 Oct31 October 15:08

  I value £100 dining credits at max £50 each, because:
  – they restrict my choice of where to eat;
  – they are generally places that price pretty punchily for what they are;
  – I have to remember which card to select on Google wallet, which I will occasionally screw up because, after all, I’ve just had a nice meal with a bottle of wine in the company of my beautiful wife;
  – sometimes Amex has to be chased for the credit.

• Occasional Ranter says:

  31 Oct31 October 15:14

  Just, overall, the theoretical value one can extract from Platinum has to be tempered by the practical experience of dealing with Amex’s ropey IT and tendency to make mistakes. Their UK customer service team are genuinely pleasant to deal with and they’re pretty generous at offering sweeteners when they do screw up, but… they do keep screwing up.

  I’ve lost count of the number of times they’ve done stuff like sent business card stuff to my accountants at the registered office despite saying they’ll send it to my home, or promising to refund to my bank account then writing to me 2 weeks later to ask for the account details, then another 2 weeks later with a cheque because their systems can’t seem to make the payment…

  If you’re self employed or even if you’re employed and time poor money rich, trying to exploit Platinum can be a poor investment.

  Right, got that off my chest. Let’s see what renewal incentive they’ll give me 😉

  • TGLoyalty says:

    31 Oct31 October 15:29

    “time poor money rich, trying to exploit Platinum”

    That’s where people are going wrong. It’s not meant to be about exploiting

    The benefits should match your life choices otherwise why have you signed up?

    • Occasional Ranter says:

      31 Oct31 October 15:33

      I’m sorry, I must be confused. It’s just that every single article ON THIS SITE about Amex Platinum is basically about how to exploit the benefits.

      But I can see this is a point you’re determined to make over and over to every poster until they come to your viewpoint, so: you’re right of course.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        31 Oct31 October 15:54

        Why share on a public forum if you don’t want a reply to the point you’re making and a different view?

        Rob sells platinum as a way to get 50k points and POTENTIALLY get all these other benefits if they work for you.

        Incidentally I have no issue with your view, waste your time and money on something that you say yourself you don’t value

        The replies are for anyone reading yours and thinking do I get this card and spend £650 then how can I get every single penny back 50k points.

        Visiting lounges you never would, visiting cities you never would or eating at places you never would. Is a waste of time.

        If you’re spending too much time trying to exploit them just bank your 50k sign up and close the card.

      • TGLoyalty says:

        31 Oct31 October 15:56

        Ha and while you were siting at home in dread all the politicans telling you to stay home were partying.

      • Maples says:

        31 Oct31 October 17:08

        The only bit of exploiting that’s routinely done and worshipped is asking for retention offer(s) when people weren’t going to cancel, or accepting the offer and then cancelling (which people say isn’t the wrong thing to be doing).

        Using the benefits by redeeming them isn’t exploiting, is it? Maybe I’m out of touch as a 25 year old graduate who’s not experienced these things, but a lot of stuff I see here really blows my mind.

        • TGLoyalty says:

          31 Oct31 October 17:46

          “When people weren’t going to cancel” nope because that’s genuine retention the exploiting is taking and cancelling the next week anyway.

          Also using the actual benefits isn’t “exploiting” the OP just meant getting full value from what’s available my point using their worlds was if It’s too much time, effort and perhaps going out of their way to make use of them because it doesn’t fit their actual lifestyle then it’s not worth it.

• ziggurat says:

  31 Oct31 October 16:22

  cool, a positive change for me – I already spend more than £400/year at these sort of places over four or more visits in a year, so it’s very close to an extra £100 of free food for me. I guess after 2025 it’ll just even out the loss of the HN credit, but money is fungible, so that’s fine.

  every possible change has people who benefit and people who don’t, so I’m not entirely sure why people have made 8 pages of comments mostly just saying “this is bad for me!”? it’s fine if it’s not good for you, no one is forcing you to pay amex £695/year for a thing that’s a net loss for you. oddly enough, lots of posters just aren’t cynical *enough* – every change Amex makes is because they think it’ll make them more money – not just this one, but every other one, including the ones you personally liked or benefitted from! presumably they think this will have higher breakage and thus be cheaper for them (it’s super unclear to me how much this even costs amex vs the restaurants) while allowing their headline ads to look more generous.

  *everyone* should do their own analysis of each card they have to see if it’s personally worthwhile for them, obviously that’s even more important when it’s the second most expensive card in the country.

  • Stu N says:

    31 Oct31 October 20:46

    This x 100.

    Thinking about it, it’s 2×100 UK credits I will definitely use and even if I only use 1 x abroad credit, that’s still £300 so I am no worse off. If I use both abroads, I am up on the previous offer.

    The win for Amex is that I keep my card and keep paying them £650 a year for that.
    The restaurant I visit wins because I might choose it vs one that isn’t on the Amex offer and will spend a fair bit more than £100 or £150.
    I’m happy because I am getting a genuine £400 rebate on my fee.

    YMMV.

• Matt says:

  31 Oct31 October 16:28

  Platinum benefits are very worthwhile to me as a full-time traveller. I just got to Memphis after driving a hire car from New Mexico over last 8 days, I needed Roadside assistance twice for tows. This is after several weeks in Japan and a road trip in Australia before that. Knowing I have that level of insurance for so many flights etc is important to me. For sure the dining is very limited in many places, surprisingly so in some, such as Barcelona. The biggest issue for me is being a solo traveller and not feeling comfortable to go to a smart restaurant to take a table for one, so this limits the limited options further, but since Paris was expanded, I usually use it there, but I don’t mind the £100 per half year, because I often spend say £120-130 and then never use the balance. I’d rather pay £20-30 cash on top of the £100 credit and have it twice to benefit from the £200. Harvey Nicholls is of less value to me and I would rather see a better replacement.

  • Ian says:

    1 Nov1 November 07:13

    Since when are roadside tows included? Or are you paying and claiming back?

    Genuinely interested.

  • Laura Powell says:

    2 Nov2 November 21:09

    Like Ian, I too am genuinely interested in the hire car insurance. I’ve tried to find clarification on it but always hit a dead end.

• Lumma says:

  31 Oct31 October 16:46

  I always wonder how this works for the restaurants? Do they split the credit with Amex or do Amex fund the entire thing?

  I imagine the lower amount per six months suggests that there’s a split somewhere and the restaurants have pushed for it to try and get more of the bill that isn’t subject to the credit, seeing as most of the restaurants are £200 for 2 people destinations

  • BBbetter says:

    31 Oct31 October 17:18

    Yep, Rob has mentioned it before that they are mostly funded by merchants. Which partly explains the gap in coverage in both UK and abroad.

    • TGLoyalty says:

      31 Oct31 October 17:48

      Think he said 50:50. No way are the restaurants giving most.

      Some of the gaps are because Amex have no actual representation in these marketing’s so there’s no one local to build relationships.

      I wouldn’t be surprised if Amex is using a 3rd party to gather the list / do the deal rather than actually going out and signing them up individually.

• dundj says:

  31 Oct31 October 18:04

  I’ve spent a few minutes looking back over my spending at restaurants which are/have been on the list for dining credit. I use both the UK and Abroad credit in full each year.

  Gaucho sees most of my UK credit, though it has also been used at Hawksmoor in the past. Granted, we live in West Lothian so it is generally Edinburgh or Glasgow and my partner enjoys steak.

  Abroad, we manage to make the £10
  50 work across at least two and sometimes three meals. Hotel des Grand Boulevard was one in Paris, followed by Block House in Dusseldorf one year. Another has been Block House x2 once in Dusseldorf and once in Munich, plus the remainder in Toronto at Richmond Station which was really good. This year, we have been to Block House in Munich x2 and will use the remaining credit at Block House in Dusseldorf between Christmas and New Year.

  I think I’ve missed a year somewhere but was looking on the train and don’t have my full spreadsheet with me so checked old bookings.

  Just to say that for Block House we go during the lunch period and have the daily special which is excellent value. Not a fancy restaurant but something we both enjoy. So if you travel a lot, in the right places and something works for you, then it is possible.

  • Tariq says:

    31 Oct31 October 18:20

    Love Block House, so kitsch.

    Went to Paris for New Year a few years ago. Used the credit at Daroco Bourse one side of the New Year and at Hotel des Grand Boulevard in the next year. Got to say that I preferred Daroco – was outstanding.

    • Phantomchickenz says:

      31 Oct31 October 20:55

      Used the credit at Block House in Berlin last year, and have just been invited back in January. Might just have to pop in again for another steak!

• Jimbob says:

  31 Oct31 October 21:16

  I’m chopping up my card in disgust

  • Jimbob says:

    31 Oct31 October 21:17

    *with an angle grinder

    • BBbetter says:

      31 Oct31 October 21:45

      Oh dear. Rob guaranteed this wouldnt happen!

      • Harrier25 says:

        31 Oct31 October 22:38

        😂

• C says:

  31 Oct31 October 23:33

  Would there be further enhancements planned or is this it for the coming year?

  Any news if the trial for pre-booking lounges would extended next year?

  • Rob says:

    1 Nov1 November 08:51

    Nothing I know about.

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