Get A HUGE 100,000 Points With The Amex Platinum Card

American Express has just launched it’s biggest ever sign-up bonus for the Amex Platinum card. Until the 9th of January the sign-up bonus on the Amex Platinum Card has been increased from 30000 to a HUGE maximum of 100,0000 points. These 100,000 points can be redeemed for 100,000 Avios, 200,000 Hilton points or 150,000 Marriott points to name a few examples.

This blows out the water the generous open to all sign-up bonus that we saw earlier this year in April! The bonus (in a break from the norm) is split into two. You will get 75,000 membership reward points for spending £10,000 within 6 months (approx £1667 a month) and then an additional 25,000 membership reward points for retaining your card for 15 months and making a purchase (of any amount) in month 15.

If you have held or hold a personal card from American Express in the past 24 months you aren’t eligible for a sign-up bonus from an American Express card. There are two major exceptions to this:

1) British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card

You cannot of held or currently hold an Avios earning card in the last 24 months to be eligible for a sign-up bonus. You can hold another personal American Express card and still be eligible for the sign-up bonus.

2) The Platinum Card

You cannot of held or currently hold a personal Membership Reward points-earning card in the last 24 months to be eligible for a sign-up bonus. You can hold another personal American Express card and still be eligible for the sign-up bonus.

This is my experience using the points system and is not a recommendation of any financial product. There are other credit cards that can earn you travel points including IHG credit card, Tesco Credit Cards (by exchanging Clubcard points for Virgin points, hotel stays and more) & Virgin Atlantic credit card. If you use one of my referral links to an American Express card upon you being accepted I will receive points, this varies between 9,000 – 18,000 depending on the card I refer you from.

What are the 100,000 points worth?

They can be redeemed for 100,000 Avios (flights) this will give you enough points for a Business Class return (taxes + fees) will be due to Zone 5 locations including Dubai, New York & Montreal. To view all the locations and options you have see here – https://pointsuncovered.com/avios/how-many-avios-does-a-flight-cost-in-2021/

You can also use them for a varied selection of hotels
Hilton usefully provide a points explorer which will handily tell you where you can go within your budget per night in points – http://pointsexplorer.hiltonhonors.com – converting your membership reward points into Hilton would get you 200,000 points

With Marriott you can use their Points Redemption list to find out where you could travel for 150,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points (100,000 membership reward points converted into Marriott) – https://points-redemption.marriott.com/category-change – you can filter via location & sort via the amount of points required.

Thirdly you can use them for a variety of experiences
Marriott (would give you 150,000 points to spend on experiences) – https://moments.marriottbonvoy.com/
For example, this would get a package for 2 with Access to the Ambassadors’ Lounge and VIP Tickets for Manchester United currently at 55000 points.

Hilton (would give you 200,0000 points to spend on experiences) – https://experiences.hiltonhonors.com/
Past examples of packages have included things like 2 tickets to Lancashire Cricket Double Header General Admission Access for 20,000 points, a Mixology Master Class at Hilton Amsterdam for 25,000 points and Arctic Monkeys at Emirates Old Trafford – VIP Hospitality (package for 2) for 32,500 points.

Alternatively, they can be converted into Nectar points (Avios first for a better conversion rate) you’d get 134,000 Nectar points worth £670 (Sainsbury’s, eBay, Argos etc.) You could also redeem for a £500 voucher (Amazon, M&S & many more) or £450 off anything on your credit card bill among many others things. Explore all the other possibilities here – https://global.americanexpress.com/myca/intl/rewards/emea/action?request_type=un_Rewards&Face=en_GB

How do I get the 100,000 points on my Amex Platinum Card?

You need to spend £10,000 in 6 months for the initial 75,000 points bonus. That means you need to be able to put £1667 a month or £416.75 a week on your card to meet the sign-up bonus. For the extra 25,000 points you need to keep the card until month 15 and make a purchase (of any amount) in that month.

What other benefits does the Amex Platinum Card have?

The main benefits we use are…

£300 annual dining credit split into £150 for UK based restaurants and £150 for ones outside the UK. This benefits resets on January 1st every year which means you could easily get two credits in your first card membership year. You can read more about the dining credit and where you can use it here.

You will get 2 free Priority Pass memberships, one with the main Platinum card and one with your first FREE Platinum supplementary cardholder. These are valid at any airport lounge in the Priority Pass network. Each card can bring in one FREE guest, each additional guest will cost you £20. You can view what airport lounges accept Priority Pass here – https://www.prioritypass.com/

For as long as you hold the card you will also receive elevated status in various hotel programs. Gold in Hilton Honors, Gold in Marriott Bonvoy, Gold in Radisson Rewards & Gold in MeliaRewards. We talk about what benefit these statuses have here – https://pointsuncovered.com/hotels/free-hotel-elite-status-from-uk-credit-cards/

Full travel insurance: You receive travel insurance for yourself and your family as long as you are under 70. You can insure five other people and their families by giving them supplementary cards on your account. Some benefits require you to pay for your trip on a UK-issued personal American Express.

Each £1 spent on the card will give you one membership reward point. Travel bookings made through the American Express Travel website will give you two membership reward points per £1.

Alongside this, the Platinum card also offers £50 biannual Harvey Nichols credit & Car hire insurance among other things. You can read more about the benefits here – https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/charge-cards/platinum-card

What about the annual fee?

It does have a CHUNKY £650 annual fee BUT you may find the benefits worthwhile for you, particularly in the first year if you are eligible for the sign-up bonus. Until the end of February you will be able to cancel for a pro-rata refund, past this you are unable to get a pro-rata refund due to Amex’s policy change. If you cancel you won’t lose your points either, just transfer them to whichever scheme you want before you cancel. If you kept your card for 3 months (and cancelled before the end of February) you’d receive a £487.50 refund on the annual fee. If you do want to cancel for a pro-rata refund you won’t be eligible for the extra 25,000 membership bonus in month 15 giving you a total of 75,000 points if you are able to meet the spend target.

If you are eligible for the sign-up bonus (and signed-up this year) you could look at it three ways…

1. If you want to cancel for a pro-rata refund before the end of February. If you can meet the sign-up bonus 75,000 points convert into 75,000 Avios what we value at 1p each, which equals £750, £300 dining credit this year, £300 next year & £100 Harvey Nichols credit (£50 before the end of year, £50 before July.) If you cancelled the card after 3 months you’d net outlay would be £162.50 for almost £1,500 worth of ‘cash like’ benefits excluding any other benefits including hotel statuses, lounge access etc.
   
   Even if you wanted to convert into Nectar (Avios first for a better conversion rate) you’d get 100,500 points worth £502.50. And that’d before you’ve considered the dining credit and Harvey Nichols credit…
   
2. If you are happy to lock in for a year without a pro-rata refund. If you can meet the sign-up bonus 75,000 points convert into 75,000 Avios what we value at 1p each, which equals £750, £300 dining credit this year, £300 next year & £100 Harvey Nichols credit (£50 before the end of year, £50 before July.) Your net outlay would be £650 for almost £1,500 worth of ‘cash like’ benefits. By keeping the card for a year you also have a longer time to take advantage of not only the benefits mentioned above but also the travel insurance, lounge access and hotel statuses etc.
   
   Even if you wanted to convert into Nectar (Avios first for a better conversion rate) you’d get 100,500 points worth £502.50. And that’d before you’ve considered the dining credit and Harvey Nichols credit…
   
3. If you wanted the ‘full’ sign-up bonus. If you can meet the sign-up bonus 75,000 points convert into 75,000 Avios what we value at 1p each, which equals £750, £300 dining credit this year, £300 next year, £300 year after & £300 Harvey Nichols credit (resets every Jan/July.) Then by making a purchase in month 15 25,000 points convert into 25,000 Avios what we value at 1p each, which equals £250. Your net outlay would be £1300 for almost £2,200 worth of ‘cash like’ benefits. By keeping the card for two years you also have a longer time to take advantage of not only the benefits mentioned above but also the travel insurance, lounge access and hotel statuses etc.

Will I be eligible to get the Amex Platinum Card?

There is a minimum income requirement of £35,000 for the Platinum Card. If you meet this requirement and you are a UK resident that is 18+ with no history of bad credit you have a good chance of being accepted!

Can my partner, family member or friend get one too?

Of course! There are NO limits to how many people in your household can have a card. If you got one card you could then refer your family member/friend etc for extra points (12,000 from the Platinum card.) This way the points soon stack up! If you (referred) and one other person you referred got the Platinum card and met the spending target (make sure you are both eligible) you’d have 162,000 membership reward points when pooled together (212,000 if you both kept your cards and made a purchase in month 15!) Not to mention TWO dining credits AND TWO Harvey Nichols credits!

To get a referral (you will receive 5000 extra bonus points for meeting your spend target on the Platinum Card) go here – https://pointsuncovered.com/amex-referral-link-uk/

If you don’t want to be referred or just want to read more about the Platinum card go here – https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/charge-cards/platinum-card/

The card has a representative APR of 704.6% including the annual fee. The representative APR when you make purchases on the card is 31.0%. The card is no longer a charge card and changed to a credit card late last year.

Are you tempted by the increased sign-up bonus AND increased time to hit your spend target?