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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 (56)

  • Stewart Hughes says:

    I’ve converted mine & the wife’s to gift cards without issue plus have spent in various Ivy outlets. Plus, they are valued for one year from date of purchase.

  • rho says:

    I unintentionally triggered my dining credit in January by buying a gift card online at bob bob ricard (gift card valid for 6 months)

  • James W says:

    I assume not on the Day platinum Business card?

  • Jess says:

    Someone mentioned Bob Bob Ricard on another thread so I tried this earlier this week and received the credit within 24 hours.

  • Joe says:

    I’ve still got £60 overseas credit to use – any way for me to nab that somehow whilst staying in the UK?

  • Dragonlady says:

    Remember that they don’t allow credit to remain on the gift card when it’s used so if you don’t use the whole amount you lose the balance left ( a real scam but in their T and Cs ). I now buy the gift cards in £25 denominations for this reason.

  • Mr Phil says:

    I notice that Tim’s list doesnt include Newcastle. Since I was intending to visit there this weekend I’m concerned that it still appears on the Amex website but not on Tim’s listing. Is this just an omission or has it been removed by Amex and their website not updated?

    • Rob says:

      The Amex website is the final arbiter of what counts. Tim updates when he can but it’s not exactly a major preoccupation for him. London still shows Gordon Ramsay Park Walk for example which I can personally guarantee closed and reopened as a non-Ramsay restaurant a few weeks ago, because I was in the Greek next door last Sunday.

  • LittleNick says:

    Any recommendations in London to use the dining credit that’s a bit more casual/laid back where it would be ok to go there potentially solo?

    • Rob says:

      All of the Ivys are very casual for solo dining because they are so big (perhaps less so at Ivy Asia). Colbert and Delauney are both ‘grand cafes’ in the Viennese tradition and almost expect single diners to go there with a newspaper and hang around for hours! I had a solo breakfast in Colbert a few weeks ago actually because I had a Square Meal restaurant voucher expiring which they take.

    • Greg says:

      Little Nick. I recently used mine at Brasserie Zedel, a typical French Brasserie just off Piccadilly Circus which I would certainly class as casual / laid back.

      Extensive French menu with daily Plats du Jour at just £21.50

      • Rob says:

        That’s the problem, it’s too cheap 🙂

        I went to a high end sushi place in Madrid last month to blow my credit. Suitably expensive (€6 per sushi piece) so I ordered 12 pieces – it was only lunch – and planned to blow the rest on a glass of super-premium alcohol. Turned out their poshest wine was still only €6 for a glass!

    • slliw says:

      Gaucho at the O2 is a good call, it’s next to my workplace and they do a two-course lunch deal M-F for about £20, which includes steak and chips. I used it there on 3 occasions and each amount was tracked within a day or 2

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