Subscribe

The Platinum Card® from American Express

Credit Card Offer from our Partner
New Welcome Offer
Learn More
using American Express's secure application
Terms & Restrictions Apply See rates & fees
Annual Fee  $550
75,000 points
Welcome Offer
$1,500 TPG Valuation*
Earn 75,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $5,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

Earning Rewards

  • 10X Earn 10x points on eligible purchases on your new Card at U.S. Gas Stations and U.S. Supermarkets, on up to $15,000 in combined purchases, during your first 6 months of Card Membership. That’s an additional 9 points on top of the 1 point you earn for these purchases.
  • 5X Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel. Starting January 1, 2021, earn 5X points on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.
  • 5X 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com.

Why We Like It

If you're looking for luxury travel benefits, you'll be hard-pressed to find a better card than The Platinum Card from American Express. You'll get hundreds of dollars in annual credits, unrivaled lounge access, elite status benefits at Hilton and Marriott, solid purchase protections and so much more. While the card does come with a steep annual fee, you can easily offset that cost by taking advantage of this card's many perks.

Top Benefits

  • Access to over 1,200 airport lounges.
  • Uber VIP status and free rides in the U.S. up to $15 each month, plus a bonus $20 in December (up to $200 in annual Uber savings)

More Information

  • Earn 75,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $5,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
  • Earn 10x points on eligible purchases on your new Card at U.S. Gas Stations and U.S. Supermarkets, on up to $15,000 in combined purchases, during your first 6 months of Card Membership. That’s an additional 9 points on top of the 1 point you earn for these purchases.
  • Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the US annually. Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member and Additional Centurion Cards only.
  • Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel. Starting January 1, 2021, earn 5X points on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.
  • 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com.
  • Enjoy complimentary access to the Global Lounge Collection, the only credit card airport lounge access program that includes proprietary lounge locations around the world.
  • Receive complimentary benefits through American Express Travel with an average total value of $550 with Fine Hotels & Resorts® program at over 1,100 properties. Learn More.
  • Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue on your Platinum Card®. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
  • $550 annual fee.
  • Terms Apply.
  • See Rates & Fees
  • See Pay Over Time APR
  • $550
  • Excellent/Good
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.

The Platinum Card from American Express Overview

The Platinum Card from American Express is one of most recommended credit cards by The Points Guy. You may also receive up to $500 in credits annually. Card members are also granted access to eligible Delta, Centurion, and Priority Pass lounges all around the world. Earning points is accelerated with 5x points on air travel purchased directly through the airline and 5x points on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel. This card earns more points the more you travel.

Card Rating*: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

*Card Rating is based on the opinion of TPG’s editors and is not influenced by the card issuer.

Who is this card for?

While you might assume, based on the hefty annual fee, that the Amex Platinum can only benefit first-class flyers, that isn’t necessarily the case. Yes, the card offers quite a few luxury benefits, but those perks can also make the travel experience easier for families, backpackers and budget travelers. Families can easily take advantage of the up to $200 annual airline-fee credit to cover the cost of additional luggage and inflight food, plus entertainment to keep kids happy while in the air. Lounge access with hot food and a clean shower can make all the difference after a backpacking trip. Hotel benefits like complimentary elite status and access to Amex’s FHR program can mean saving hundreds of dollars on room upgrades (when available), food and more when you’re traveling on a budget.

The American Express Platinum Card Welcome Bonus

Right now, the standard welcome bonus offer for the Amex Platinum is 75,000 points after you spend $5,000 in purchases in the first six months. According to TPG valuations, Amex Membership Rewards points are worth 2 cents each, which makes this 75,000-point bonus worth $1,500.

How to earn points

With the Amex Platinum, you’ll earn 5x points on airfare purchased directly with the airlines or through the Amex Travel portal (earn 5x points on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year, starting Jan. 1, 2021), plus 5x points on prepaid hotels booked through amextravel.com. Based on TPG valuations, that’s a 10% return on airfare and an excellent way to earn lots of Membership Rewards points. So if you book a lot of airline tickets, this card is worth considering for that reason alone, especially since American Express has recently added trip delay and trip cancellation insurance.

Essential Reading

New higher bonus point categories, 75k welcome offer: The Platinum Card from American Express review
Is the Amex Platinum worth the annual fee?
14 things to do when you get the Amex Platinum

Amex Membership Rewards

These are the credit cards to use to maximize your next cruise vacation
Guides
6h ago
8 reasons to keep your Amex Business Platinum card
Guides
9h ago
How to redeem American Express Membership Rewards for maximum value
Guides
11h ago

The Platinum Card® from American Express

Point Value
2.0 cents
X
There isn’t a strict mathematical formula at work here. At some point we’d like to create a system that could calculate a precise value based on award availability, fees, award levels and ease of accrual, but for now these valuations are based on a combination of how much TPG would pay to buy points if given the opportunity, and the overall value I could get from redeeming them.
|
See the full list

All The Platinum Card® from American Express Stories

Advertiser Disclosure

Many of the credit card offers that appear on the website are from credit card companies from which ThePointsGuy.com receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers. Please view our advertising policy page for more information.

Editorial Note: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.