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Use your American Express Platinum Dining credit for an Ivy gift card

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A valuable benefit that comes with The Platinum Card from American Express is £400 of annual dining credit. It makes a big dint in the annual membership fee.

Every six months – so it resets on 1st July – you receive:

  • £100 to spend in 160+ UK restaurants
  • £100 to spend in 1,600+ international restaurants
Use your American Express Platinum dining credit for an Ivy gift card

You can spend the money over multiple visits to multiple restaurants if you wish. It doesn’t need to be spent in one go.

One of the most common questions asked in our forum is whether the £100 UK Platinum Dining credit can be used for a restaurant gift card. This is a handy way of using your credit if you don’t think you can make it to a participating restaurant before 30th June or 31st December, depending on the time of year.

If you mean ‘a restaurant gift card’ you can order online then the answer is No.

However, if you want to use your £100 of UK Platinum Dining credit for a meal to enjoy later, the most popular option is a gift card for ‘The Ivy’ group of restaurants.

You must buy ‘The Ivy’ gift cards in person to trigger the £100 Platinum dining credit. Do not buy them online because the dining credit won’t trigger.

You can learn more on the gift card website here but remember – to get the £100 Platinum Dining credit to pay out, you must buy it in a participating branch of ‘The Ivy’. Not all branches are participating.

PS. Remember that reader Tim has created an interactive map of restaurants globally where the Amex Platinum Dining credit can be used. Check it out here.

The Platinum Card from American Express

50,000 bonus points and great travel benefits – for a large fee Read our full review

Comments (62)

  • Sandgrounder says:

    Stupid question: are these cards, once purchased, valid for all restaurants in the group? Is this a way to dine at non-participating Ivy locations using the offer?

    • Adam says:

      Yes you can. They all sell gift cards to use across their restaurants, it’s just only some trigger the Amex credit. I’ve used one bought in Bath (on the Amex list) in Exeter (not on the list).

      • Sandgrounder says:

        Thanks Adam, keen to try the new Liverpool restaurant.

      • Chivvy says:

        I think that if the Exeter Ivy participated it would tip the balance for me to get the platinum card. As it currently stands, there is nowhere in Devon to use the credit so, to me, it is worthless (along with the free travel insurance that doesn’t cover my wife’s pre-existing conditions).

  • Chris says:

    Any recommendations as to where I can use the abroad dining credit for a gift card? I’m not going overseas again before the end of June.

  • Lumma says:

    A business who told suppliers that it was going to pay 2.5% less for goods already received? No thank you

    • Rob says:

      This is totally normal behaviour in business. Tesco etc do it all the time.

      • PM says:

        Totally normal behaviour to avoid spending money in such businesses.

        • Rob says:

          Day 1 behaviour for EVERY private equity backed business is write to suppliers and tell them that payment terms are now 120 days and not 30 days.

          Effectively gives you 90 days of revenue as ‘free money’ which you can immediately use to clear some of the crazy debt you took on to buy the company ….

          • Lumma says:

            As soon as private equity gets involved with restaurant chains, it’s time to walk away and find the next big thing. It’s only down hill from there on. With the Ivy being a prime example

          • The Savage Squirrel says:

            And not just with restaurants

    • Richie says:

      Haven’t they now rescinded?

  • Nick says:

    Any tips for Washington or Dallas. To do similar or prepay, for an August visit (using the Jan to June credit)

    • Anna Bh says:

      Not sure re credit but we did the pizza place on the list Shaw was great as they did a happy hour which when it was £150 we got two meals out.

  • ukpolak says:

    Read separately that if (foreign) restaurant gift cards are processed via Toastab, then it’ll appear as if spend is incurred at the resto itself.

    However has anyone had success in the US, France, Germany, Italy etc with this?

    • Michael C says:

      A couple of people in the specific Amex Dining thread reported they’d been successful doing this for the US.

      • tony says:

        Know it has been reported before, but Pocket Concierge has worked for me to move my H1 spend into H2. Booked a sushi restaurant which has a minimum charge of Y5500 pp. So £116 charge to the card and an immediate £100 credit back.

  • Andy says:

    Does this definitely still work? The terms state: ‘Excluded Transactions: Benefit excludes purchases of gift cards and vouchers,’

    • Rob says:

      How does Amex know what you bought?

    • Ben Murphy-Ryan says:

      Done multiple times at the Ivy – if you do close to Christmas there is usually an offer for a free bottle of Ivy fizz too – find they think it’s for a gift so usually gift wrap and then chuck in some crackers etc too.

  • Nick says:

    Can the voucher be used at Ivy Asia?

    • Anna Bh says:

      Can be used it any of the ivy group we used ours at the brasserie at King’s Cross.

  • Etk says:

    Does this work for Hawksmoor gift cards bought in the restaurant too? July has crept up on me so not sure we’ll make use of the credit by the end of the month

    • d4ve says:

      It has for me when I purchased gift cards from Hawksmoor Edinburgh and Air St. Like The Ivy, you need to do in person.

    • No longer Entitled says:

      I have previously purchased a gift card in a Hawksmoor restaurant and received the credit.

    • Erico1875 says:

      Hawksmoor is a fat better use than The Ivy imo
      .The Ivy in Edinburgh is terrible

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