AMEX Platinum Card Overview: Up to 175,000 Welcome Bonus, Plus $2,600 in Statement Credits!

This card quietly raised the spending requirement for the welcome bonus from $8,000 to $12,000. The welcome bonus is now as high as 175,000 points, so if the offer you end up getting is too low—only 80,000 points—then putting $12,000 of spend on it is a pretty poor value.

• AMEX Platinum application link

This offer is really good, so we've added it to our credit card welcome bonus rankings~

• U.S. credit card welcome bonus rankings (personal cards) [up to $2,000+ welcome bonus]

AMEX Platinum (Platinum Card) Overview

Benefits

• 5x MR on airfare and hotels: airfare must be purchased on the airline's website or through AMEX Travel to earn it. My guess is that as long as the charge is made directly by the airline, it should trigger 5x,
• Hilton Gold status, which includes free breakfast
• Marriott Gold status, which can get you room upgrades and high-speed internet
• Leaders Club Sterling status
• Priority Pass: cardholder + 2 guests can enter for free
• Premium airport lounges: Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs, Airspace Lounges,
• Reimbursement for Global Entry and TSA Pre fees of $85/$120
• Higher-tier status with car rentals such as Avis, Hertz, and National Car Rental

Various credits and reimbursements

Most of the reimbursements below require you to Enroll first before using them, so be sure to remember that.

• $600 annual FHR credit: $300 per half-year. You need to book through AMEX Travel or FHR and pay with this card. AMEX FHR booking and Platinum card hotel reimbursement overview. If you want to use some tricks to stock up on FHR credit, you can refer to the article on Knowledge Planet linked here; it is not suitable for public posting
• $300 entertainment credit: $25 per month. It currently only works for Peacock, Audible, SiriusXM, The New York Times, and YouTube, and is generally used for subscriptions. Requires enrollment before use
• $300 Equinox membership credit
• $209 Clear membership credit
• $200 Oura Ring credit each year: you need to buy it from the official website. You can use it to buy the third- or fourth-generation ring. You can also look for coupon codes online, and they can be stacked. Don't forget that you can go through a cashback site. Requires enrollment before use.
• $300 Lululemon credit: $75 per quarter. Works online and in stores, but only within the U.S. Only U.S. stores qualify; outlet stores are excluded. Normal in-store and online purchases can trigger it, including buying physical gift cards. However, eGift cards bought online are not reimbursable. Also, buying physical gift cards online is very likely to get the order canceled or even the address flagged. Requires enrollment before use.
• Resy restaurant credit of $100 per quarter, for a total of $400 a year in dining credits. Requires enrollment before use. Just search for restaurants on the official site and pay with your AMEX card. For other tips on buying gift cards and stockpiling credit, see the article on Knowledge Planet linked here; it is not suitable for public posting
• New Walmart+ benefit: pay monthly and the membership fee is automatically reimbursed every month; Walmart+ sign-up
• $200 airline credit: Annual airline incidental charges of $200, effectively offsetting a $250 annual fee. You can use it in the first year and again at the beginning of the second year, which means you can effectively get reimbursed twice over one year of card membership. The credit can be easily obtained by buying airline gift cards, see: AMEX airline credit analysis
• Annual Uber $200 Credit + $100 Uber One: add your Platinum Card to your Uber account, and the account will become VIP, giving you perks such as better ride options. At the same time, for the first 11 months of each year your Uber account will receive a $15 credit, and in December it will receive $35. Credits expire at the end of each month. If you pay for Uber One with this card, it will be reimbursed

AMEX card benefits

• AMEX Offers: Amazon $20 back on $20; Walmart $5 off $15; phone bill $10 off $75. Generous AMEX often sends cardholders great offers that let you earn cash back while spending. See AMEX Offers explained and AMEX Offers roundup for details
• Free ShopRunner membership: enjoy free two-day shipping from many online stores; see the official website for details
• Extended warranty: items purchased in full with an AMEX card automatically get their manufacturer's warranty extended by one year
• Free reports: some users can check their credit score for free, and you can claim one free credit report each year

Points system overview

• Points Value: The average value is 1.5c/p, so 100 MR = $1.5 (Points Value & Analysis)
• Direct Redemption: Redeem travel through amextravel.com at 1c/p (without a premium card); redeem eligible flights through amextravel.com at 1.54c/p (with Business Platinum); redeem for cash in an investment account at 1.1c/p (with Schwab Platinum).
• Points Transfers: Transfer 1:1 to ANA miles (good for round-trip US-China flights and round-the-world tickets); transfer 1:1 to British Airways miles (good for China-Japan routes and short-haul domestic US redemptions); transfer 1:1 to Air Canada miles (good for US-China business class awards and infant tickets); transfer 1:1 to Delta (good for business class, and can also redeem any Delta flight at 1c/p).
• Points Features: All MR points earned by one person are pooled into a single account and can be used directly. As long as you still have at least one MR-earning card open, all MR points will remain valid; be sure to use them up before closing all of your cards. Nearly all MR-earning cards allow you to transfer MR points to airline miles or hotel points. MR points can be transferred to airline or hotel accounts in an authorized user's name.
• My Take: The most common use of MR is transferring to airline miles, mainly ANA, Air Canada, Delta, and British Airways. Delta can help cover SkyTeam options; ANA and AC can selectively cover Star Alliance options; BA can be used for some oneworld awards. Among these, ANA is especially valuable for US-China economy, business, and first class awards. AC and Delta are also good for covering domestic US flights, while BA is best for nonstop domestic US flights. Hotel transfers are a weak spot for MR, and none are really worth transferring to. As for booking hotels or flights directly through AMEX Travel, you usually only get 1 cent per point in value, so I generally do not recommend it. Cash back and gift cards also max out at only 1 cent per point. Therefore, the final valuation is 1.7c, mainly considering the broad airline partner coverage, mostly instant transfer times (ANA takes 2-3 days; others are instant), and the value of these airline miles. The weaknesses are that MR is not very useful for hotel redemptions, and direct airfare bookings do not provide strong value either.
• Detailed Analysis: Membership Rewards Guide >>

My take:

Hold for one year: if you keep this card for one year, you can get nearly $1,000 in value, which is very worthwhile for opening a card. And although the first-year annual fee looks pretty scary, the various credits basically make up for it. Also, many credits are based on the calendar year, so if you hold the card for one year, you can use them twice. On top of that, you get a full year of AMEX Offers and a range of premium perks, so it is still pretty cost-effective. This card's Purchase Protection is excellent; if something you buy gets lost, it can be reimbursed in full. For people who often lose things, this is an unusual but great card.

Long-term hold: for people who want to keep it long term, the main question is whether you can make use of the annual credits and the related premium perks, as well as the 5x on airfare and hotels. From a fee perspective, the $100 Saks credit + Uber $200 Credit + $200 airline credit + $600 FHR already more than covers the annual fee, so I personally think it's quite worthwhile.

Application:

This card is pretty easy to get; with about a year of credit history, you can usually get approved instantly. This card is a charge card.

• Different versions of the Platinum Card now conflict with one another for welcome bonuses. Here is the Platinum terms language: You may not be eligible to receive a welcome bonus if you have or have had this Card, the Platinum Card from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley or previous versions of these Cards.

• AMEX official application status check link
• For the same AMEX credit card, the public welcome bonus is generally available only once (once-per-lifetime restriction)
• You can call the reconsideration line (800-528-4800, 877-399-3083, 866-314-0237) to speed up credit card approval or request a review of a denied application.
• AMEX limits you to 4 credit cards and 10 charge cards total.
• You can apply for a total of two AMEX credit cards every 90 days, excluding charge cards.
• After you submit your application, a pop-up may appear telling you that you are not eligible for the welcome bonus. In that case, it is usually best not to continue with the application (detailed analysis)
• More about applying for AMEX credit cards

Application link