Your guide to the Amex Platinum Saks Fifth Avenue credit

Of all the premium travel cards on the market, the American Express Platinum Card® offers the most travel and lifestyle perks. It's also one of the most expensive cards out there, touting a $895 annual fee (see rates and fees).

However, you can get your money's worth by leveraging the card's airport lounge access, hotel statement credits, airline fee statement credits and a statement credit of up to $100 per calendar year (up to $50 biannually) at Saks Fifth Avenue. Enrollment is required for select benefits.

If you're like me and spend more than $100 a year at Saks Fifth Avenue, this is like a rebate on the annual fee. Even those who don't typically shop at Saks can find value in this credit, which resets every six months.

If you associate Saks Fifth Avenue with $4,000 Prada dresses, you're not wrong. However, you might be surprised to find that it also offers many other, more reasonable and affordable items.

Let's take a closer look and see what this credit has to offer.

How the Saks Fifth Avenue Amex credit works

The Saks Fifth Avenue credit is available as two statement credits of up to $50 per calendar year. Your first up to $50 statement credit is available from Jan. 1 to June 30, and your second up to $50 statement credit is available from July 1 to Dec. 31.

You need to enroll for this benefit to take effect, and you can do this through your online Amex account.

There is no minimum purchase required to trigger these statement credits, meaning you could make a purchase of $50 (or less) once every six months and not owe anything out of pocket once the credit posts to your Amex Platinum account.

To many people's surprise, Saks offers items that cost $50 or less. While the merchant's frequent sales drop the prices of all sorts of items to palatable levels, some items are always below that price point.

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There are some limits to this statement credit, though.

First, you must enroll before you can use it. You can do this from your card's benefits page.

Second, the terms state that this Amex Platinum statement credit is valid at Saks Fifth Avenue online or at locations in the U.S. and U.S. territories. It is not valid on Saks Fifth Avenue gift cards. It excludes purchases at restaurants within the store and online bill pay for Saks credit accounts.

Third, there is a $300 minimum (before taxes) for free shipping. You could choose to meet that minimum to avoid the shipping fee of $9.95. Some readers have had success by asking American Express for a goodwill credit through the store's online chat function, saying something like this:

"Saks Fifth Avenue no longer participates in ShopRunner, which used to offer free two-day shipping. Now I have to pay a $9.95 shipping fee on orders under $300, which reduces the value of the up to $50 statement credit on my Amex Platinum offered every six months. Can I request a goodwill credit in the amount of $9.95 to offset this?"

Finally, you may have to wait up to four weeks after an eligible purchase is charged to your card for a statement credit to post. That's because Saks typically won't charge your card until after your item(s) ship. This means waiting until the last minute to use this benefit could result in missing out on the statement credit due to potential shipping delays.

However, if you've made a qualifying purchase with plenty of time before the June 30 or Dec. 31 deadline, you should receive your statement credit in an average of just four days.

Related: How to maximize benefits with the American Express Platinum

Maximizing your Saks Fifth Avenue Amex credit

If you're not an avid Saks Fifth Avenue shopper, you might wonder how to best take advantage of this credit each year — especially since many items Saks sells are in the "outrageously expensive" category. Here's how to find the sweet spots and get the most out of this Amex Platinum benefit.

Know what to buy

Yes, Saks is home to $1,695 Gianvito Rossi knee-high boots and a $3,850 Givenchy bomber jacket (both a bit out of most people's price range). However, you can also find plenty of great items for under $50.

One of my favorite sunscreen primers, Unseen Sunscreen from Supergoop (an excellent travel primer if you'll be out in the sun), costs around $40 for a 3.4 fluid-ounce bottle at Saks. You can also find products from popular makeup brands such as Mac and Benefit for less than $50.

If you have kids, you can use your Saks credit for many adorable kids items, such as dresses, raincoats and shoes.

Take advantage of sales

If you watch for sales, you can score a great deal on Saks items that normally cost more than the up to $50 semiannual statement credit. The Saks website has an entire section dedicated to sale items.

Like any department store, sale items can be hit or miss, but you can find good deals if you're patient. Even if you have your eye on a sale item costing more than $50, think of your Saks credit like a $50 coupon.

You can find all items that currently cost $50 or less at this link.

Always use a shopping portal

Any time you shop online, start through a shopping portal to earn bonus points, miles or cash back on your purchase — in addition to your up to $50 Saks statement credit. There are various shopping portal aggregators that compare reward earning rates to help you decide which portal makes the most sense for you to use.

Rakuten offers anywhere from 1% to 15% cash back (or 1 to 15 American Express Membership Rewards points or Bilt Rewards Points per dollar spent) on Saks Fifth Avenue purchases, depending on current promotions.

Bottom line

Whether you're obsessed with Saks Fifth Avenue or have rarely shopped there, you should take advantage of the up to $100 annual Saks credit from your Amex Platinum card.

If you're unfamiliar with the brand, it can be overwhelming to know how to maximize the credit (especially since it's broken into two up to $50 credits each year). However, these tips can help you find the best options to use the available statement credits.

To learn more, read our full review of the Amex Platinum.

Apply here: American Express Platinum Card

For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum, click here.