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Amex food news: no more Moevenpick Cafe access in Berlin, Platinum Dining adds Thailand

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News in brief for American Express cardholders:

No more access to the Moevenpick Cafe in Berlin

American Express Platinum comes with two Priority Pass cards for airport lounge access, one for you and one for your supplementary cardholder. Each admits two people to one of 1,400 participating airport lounges, so a family of four is covered.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold comes with a Priority Pass loaded with four free entries.

Priority Pass has an additional feature, which allows you to eat at selected airport restaurants worldwide and receive £18 or equivalent per person off your bill. Whilst this feature is available to anyone who gets their Priority Pass from HSBC Premier or another bank, it is not available if your Priority Pass comes from American Express.

(If you DO have a Priority Pass from anyone except American Express, this article shows the UK airport restaurants where you can eat for free.)

But there were two exceptions ….

Oddly, there were two airport restaurants which American Express-issued Priority Pass cards COULD access:

  • Pizza Express in London Gatwick’s South terminal
  • Moevenpick Cafe in Berlin Brandenburg

This list is about to halve.

From 1st February, anyone with an Amex-issued Priority Pass will NOT get a €23 cash credit at the Moevenpick Cafe in Berlin.

There is, however, an airport lounge now available via Priority Pass in Berlin as we covered here. You can access the Tegel lounge, opposite Gate B17.

The Pizza Express deal in Gatwick South remains. You will get an £18 discount per person if you show your Amex-issued Priority Pass. The number of £18 credits you are allowed depends on the guesting rules attached to your Priority Pass.

Thanks to Richard for this.

Moevenpick Cafe Berlin Airport Priority Pass

Thailand returns to American Express Platinum Dining

Last week we highlighted that registration is now open for the 2024-2026 iteration of the American Express Platinum dining programme. Our article is here.

You will receive:

  • £200 per year to spend at participating UK restaurants, with a maximum credit of £100 every six months
  • £200 per year to spend at participating restaurants outside the UK, with a maximum credit of £100 every six months

Some readers were frustrated that Thailand appeared to have been removed from the list of participating countries for 2025. This appears to have been an IT glitch, however, because it is back, with restaurants in Bangkok and Phuket now available.

Belgium, Finland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Sweden are still missing from the 2024 list. Let’s see if they also make a late return.

The list of participating restaurants is here.

You can learn more about the benefits of The Platinum Card from American Express in this article.


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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – February 2025 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:

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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.

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

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The Platinum Card from American Express

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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:

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Capital on Tap Pro Visa

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Comments (46)

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

  • Go197 says:

    Not only is Thailand back on the list, there are lots of new options.

    A few old favourites have gone, but there are many more to choose from now.

    • Go197 says:

      I retract my earlier enthusiasm. Some great, casual places have gone and now the range is overwhelmingly of the formal (snobbish), Michelin-starred variety. I can think of several of you who love that sort of thing, but it’s not my cup of boba. Also harder to not blow way beyond £100 in places like that. I can see how that suits Amex, of course.

      • Go197 says:

        Actually I was the right the first time. It’s much improved and there is a good selection.

        There are also lots of special offers, such as complimentary desserts and drinks.

        And if you really want informal they’ve added the Cheesecake Factory!

  • KindaStolen says:

    The Movenpick cafe staff hated Priority Pass customers as you had to tell them you had a card before they started ringing up items. The poor guy before me got a right ticking off by a cashier who was, even by German standards, very stern. I got away with a more muted reminder from my cashier. Many of the reviews on Google talk about the same issues with the staff.

    Was a good deal though, being able to get 46 euros of value from a regular cafe, walked away with several bottles of coke, muffins and prepacked sandwiches.

    • BBbetter says:

      If that’s happening often, shouldn’t they be asking customers before taking orders? Isn’t it the restaurant’s fault to have a different workflow for PP customers?

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

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