What are the benefits of American Express Platinum (The Platinum Card) in the UK?
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Why should you get the The Platinum Card from American Express?
Today I want to look at the top 10 card benefits you receive as an American Express Platinum credit cardholder.
Here is the legal information we need to tell you:
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 40,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £6,000 within three months
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin Points and other airline and hotel schemes
Other information:
- Two Priority Pass cards, each allowing two people into 1,400 airport lounges
- Elite status in four major hotel loyalty programmes
- Comprehensive travel insurance
- £300 per year of restaurant credit
- £100 per year to spend at Harvey Nichols
- Annual fee: £650
Representative 704.6% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £650 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 31.0% APR variable.
You will receive 40,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card if you spend £6,000 within three months of signing up.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
This is the ONLY personal American Express card where you still qualify for the bonus if you already hold a British Airways American Express card.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points. This includes The Platinum Card and Preferred Rewards Gold.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held any other American Express card, including the British Airways, Marriott and Nectar cards.
For clarity, you can still apply for The Platinum Card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the long list of other benefits.
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with an unrivalled list of benefits for the keen traveller.
Your personal travel patterns will determine which of these is the most valuable. The key benefits are:
Full comprehensive travel insurance for you, your family and the family of your supplementary cardholder, subject to enrolment
Two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows the holder and a guest unlimited free access to 1,400 airport lounges
Elite status in four major hotel loyalty schemes: Marriott Bonvoy (Gold), Hilton Honors (Gold), Radisson Rewards (Premium), MeliaRewards (Gold)
Access to Eurostar lounges, irrespective of travel class
£150 per year to spend in over 160 UK restaurants
£150 per year to spend in over 1,200 international restaurants
£100 per year to spend at Harvey Nichols, instore or online (no minimum spend required)
£300 per year of dining credit – £150 to be spent at 150+ UK restaurants and £150 to be spent at 1,200+ restaurants outside the UK
You need a minimum personal income of £35,000 to apply for the card.
The top 10 benefits of American Express Platinum:
1. You receive a metal card
The Platinum Card is made from real metal. Don’t worry, it works fine in cash machines and payment terminals!
2. You receive 40,000 Membership Rewards points for signing up
Amex Platinum comes with a very generous sign-up bonus of 40,000 Membership Rewards points. You won’t find a UK travel rewards card with a more valuable bonus.
(If the information box above shows a higher bonus, you will receive this. The box is automatically updated with the best deal available on the date you are reading this.)
You qualify for the bonus as long as you haven’t had a personal American Express Green, Gold or Platinum card, or the Amex Rewards Credit Card (ie any card which issues Membership Rewards points) in the previous 24 months.
Importantly, you probably DO qualify for the bonus if the only Amex card you currently have is a British Airways, Marriott, Nectar or Platinum Cashback card.
You need to spend £6,000 within three months to receive the bonus (this may change if a special bonus promotion is running).
3. Those 40,000 Membership Rewards points convert into Avios at 1:1 – or into MANY other airline or hotel schemes
Membership Rewards are HUGELY flexible because you can convert them into lots of different things. You aren’t stuck with Avios, Virgin Flying Club miles or whatever. You can keep them with Amex for as long as you want and only convert them when you need them.
Click here to see the full list of American Express Membership Rewards transfer partners.
4. You receive one Membership Rewards point for every £1 you spend on the card
There are a few exceptions (cash withdrawals do not earn points) but in reality virtually every £1 you spend will earn another point.
5. You receive status with many major hotel chains
Hotel status is one of the biggest benefits of the Amex Platinum card. For as long as you keep the card, you will receive the following statuses:
- Gold in Marriott Bonvoy
- Premium in Radisson Rewards
- Gold in Hilton Honors
- Gold in MeliaRewards
These will ensure that you receive extra benefits and points on every stay. Hilton Honors Gold members, for example, receive free breakfast (or a cash credit in the US) and an upgrade.
6. You receive free travel insurance for you and your family
Another exceptional card benefit is the bundled travel insurance.
As long as you are under 70, you will receive comprehensive travel insurance. For legal reasons, you need to opt-in to the travel insurance benefit by ticking the relevant box on the application form.
Your immediate family are also covered.
To receive full coverage you need to pay for your flights and hotels on an American Express card, although it doesn’t have to be The Platinum Card. However, most ‘big stuff’ such as medical coverage is provided however you pay.
7. You are entitled to two FREE Priority Pass cards, each of which gives two people airport lounge access
Your Priority Pass gets you and a guest into 1,300 airport lounges across the world for free, including the Aspire lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5 reviewed here and the Plaza Premium lounge in Heathrow Terminal 5.
You can order a second free Priority Pass card for whoever you nominate to have your free supplementary Platinum Card. This means that you can get a family of four into a lounge if you issue the 2nd card to your partner. You can see which airports have a Priority Pass lounge on their website here.
8. You get access to various other lounges too!
American Express Platinum gets you into Eurostar lounges, irrespective of your class of travel. Just wave it at the reception desk! Here’s our latest review of the Eurostar Business Premier lounge at London St Pancras.
You can also get access to selected Lufthansa lounges, including the one in Heathrow Terminal 2, if flying on Lufthansa, SWISS or Austrian.
This article looks at all the UK airport lounges you can access for free with your Amex Platinum card.
9. You get £300 of restaurant dining credit each year
Yes, American Express will give you £300 per year to spend in restaurants! The credit is split into two chunks – £150 to spend at around 160 UK restaurants and £150 to spend at around 1,400 international restaurants.
No minimum spend is required (spend under £150 and you get 100% of your spending reimbursed) and you can spend your £150 over multiple visits if you wish.
This credit resets on 1st January so you can claim it twice – for a total of £600 – during your first year of membership.
10. You get £100 per year to spend at Harvey Nichols
You receive £100 per year (£50 to spend between January and June and £50 to spend between July and December) of Harvey Nichols credit. You can spend this online or instore.
There is no minimum spend. Go into a store and spend exactly £50 and Amex will reimburse the full amount.
Other benefits of The Platinum Card include ‘Fine Hotels & Resorts’ with exclusive benefits at many top global hotels, including guaranteed free breakfast and a guaranteed 4pm check-out. This article looks at all the benefits of Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts.
You also get status with Hertz and Avis, including a very useful 4 hour grace period on Hertz rentals.
Conclusion
American Express Platinum is a very generous travel rewards card. If you travel a lot, the benefits package can easily be worth much more than the annual fee – and of course, in Year 1, you receive the big sign-up bonus of 40,000 Membership Rewards points too.
You can sign up for Amex Platinum, or find out more information, on the official website here.
Sign-up bonus and earn rate:
- Get 40,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend £6,000 within three months
- Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per £1 spent
- Points transfer at 1:1 into Avios, Virgin Points and other airline and hotel schemes
Other information:
- Two Priority Pass cards, each allowing two people into 1,400 airport lounges
- Elite status in four major hotel loyalty programmes
- Comprehensive travel insurance
- £300 per year of restaurant credit
- £100 per year to spend at Harvey Nichols
- Annual fee: £650
Representative 704.6% APR variable based on an assumed £1,200 credit limit and £650 annual fee. Interest rate on purchases 31.0% APR variable.
You will receive 40,000 American Express Membership Rewards points as a sign-up bonus on The Platinum Card if you spend £6,000 within three months of signing up.
Membership Rewards points are hugely flexible. You can transfer them into Avios, Virgin Flying Club or other airlines (at 1:1) or into various hotels schemes, into Club Eurostar or use them for shopping vouchers.
This is the ONLY personal American Express card where you still qualify for the bonus if you already hold a British Airways American Express card.
To qualify for the bonus, you must NOT, currently or in the previous 24 months, have held any other personal American Express card which earns Membership Rewards points. This includes The Platinum Card and Preferred Rewards Gold.
You are OK if you had a supplementary card on someone else’s American Express account.
You are OK if, currently or in the previous 24 months, you have held any other American Express card, including the British Airways, Marriott and Nectar cards.
For clarity, you can still apply for The Platinum Card even if you do not qualify for the bonus. You would still benefit from the long list of other benefits.
The Platinum Card from American Express comes with an unrivalled list of benefits for the keen traveller.
Your personal travel patterns will determine which of these is the most valuable. The key benefits are:
Full comprehensive travel insurance for you, your family and the family of your supplementary cardholder, subject to enrolment
Two Priority Pass cards, each of which allows the holder and a guest unlimited free access to 1,400 airport lounges
Elite status in four major hotel loyalty schemes: Marriott Bonvoy (Gold), Hilton Honors (Gold), Radisson Rewards (Premium), MeliaRewards (Gold)
Access to Eurostar lounges, irrespective of travel class
£150 per year to spend in over 160 UK restaurants
£150 per year to spend in over 1,200 international restaurants
£100 per year to spend at Harvey Nichols, instore or online (no minimum spend required)
£300 per year of dining credit – £150 to be spent at 150+ UK restaurants and £150 to be spent at 1,200+ restaurants outside the UK
You need a minimum personal income of £35,000 to apply for the card.
Disclaimer: Head for Points is a journalistic website. Nothing here should be construed as financial advice, and it is your own responsibility to ensure that any product is right for your circumstances. Recommendations are based primarily on the ability to earn miles and points. The site discusses products offered by lenders but is not a lender itself. Robert Burgess, trading as Head for Points, is regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as an independent credit broker.
