Amex Platinum makes a permanent increase to its sign-up bonus – now 40,000 points

The bumper 100,000 points American Express Platinum sign-up bonus ended last night, and today the deal has returned to normal.

Except, there is a ‘new normal’.

The standard sign-up bonus has increased from 30,000 Membership Rewards to 40,000 Membership Rewards points.

You could qualify for this bonus even if you have a British Airways American Express card.

The minimum spend required to trigger the bonus is now £6,000 in your first three months. It was previously £4,000 in three months.

The representative APR is 704.6% variable, including the annual fee.  The representative APR on purchases is 31.0% variable.

Can you still get a pro-rata fee refund?

The policy on this is a little blurred, to put it mildly.

Until 29th February 2024 you can definitely cancel any American Express credit card and receive a pro-rata fee refund for unused months.

Ignore the letter than American Express sent you last year giving a date in late 2023. This deadline was quietly extended.

Amex’s current position is that it will remove pro-rata fee refunds at some point after 29th February. I haven’t been given any date and it’s possible that dates may differ based on the cards you have. It could be days, weeks or months after 29th February when it actually happens.

To add to the confusion, you won’t find what I’ve just told you on the Amex website. You need to trust us!

Would The Platinum Card still make sense without a pro-rata fee refund?

With the new 40,000 Membership Rewards points bonus (which converts to 40,000 Avios amongst other things), yes. Even if you have no intention of keeping the card beyond the first year, and even if pro-rata fee refunds do go away, you’d still get value for your £650.

In terms of hard ‘pseudo cash’ benefits, in year 1 you’d get:

• 40,000 Membership Rewards points (converts to 40,000 Avios) – which I’d value at £400 if you know how maximise your airline miles

• £150 UK dining credit to use by 31st December

• £150 international dining credit to use by 31st December

• £100 of Harvey Nichols credit to use by 31st December (£50 by 30th June, £50 after 1st July)

….. plus whatever value you place on the other core benefits:

• the two Priority Pass airport lounge passes (valid for a group of four for unlimited visits)
• Hilton Honors Gold status
• Melia Rewards Gold status
• Marriott Bonvoy Gold status
• Radisson Rewards Premium status
• Eurostar lounge access
• the Fine Hotels & Resorts hotel booking scheme
• the travel insurance etc etc

What we DON’T know is if the £300 of dining credits and the £50 per half-year of Harvey Nichols credit will roll over into 2025. If they did, you’d be able to claim another £350 of credits in early 2025 before your renewal came due.

(Amex needs to make a statement soon about the dining and Harvey Nichols credits for 2025, since it is now a factor that people will consider when deciding whether or not to apply.)

Our full review of The Platinum Card is here if you want to see the full list of benefits.

You can apply here.

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.

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Want to earn more points from credit cards? – January 2024 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:

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.

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:

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending.