Rewards Rates
Current Intro Bonus
Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Key Cardholder Benefits
- Get $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings, which requires a minimum two-night stay, through American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card®. And if you fly, you can receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year after you select a qualifying airline and incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card®.
- $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card® on one or more of the following: Audible, Disney+, The Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, Peacock, SiriusXM, and The New York Times. Enrollment required.
- $155 Walmart+ Credit: Use your Platinum Card® to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) and receive a statement credit that covers the full cost each month. $12.95 plus applicable taxes. Plus Up Benefits not eligible.
- As a Platinum cardholder, you and all authorized users with a Platinum card will have access to 1,300+ airport lounges in over 500 airports around the world and 140 countries. This includes Centurion Lounges, Delta SkyClub Lounges (when flying Delta), Airspace Lounges, Escape Lounges, and Priority Pass Lounges. Enrollment Required
- $200 Airline Fee Credit: Get up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year in baggage fees and more at one select qualifying airline.
- $200 Uber Cash: 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 only.
- $300 Equinox Credit: Get up to $300 back per calendar year on an Equinox+ subscription, or any Equinox club memberships when you pay with your Platinum Card®. Enrollment required.
- $300 SoulCycle At-Home Bike Credit: Get a $300 statement credit for the purchase of a SoulCycle at-home bike with your Platinum Card®. Must charge full price of bike in one transaction, and an Equinox+ subscription is required.
- $189 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Breeze through security with CLEAR® Plus at 45+ airports nationwide and get up to $189 back per year on your membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Platinum Card®.
- Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue or saks.com using the Platinum Card. Enrollment required.
- Receive either a statement credit available every 4 years after you apply for Global Entry ($100) or a statement credit available every 4.5 years after you apply for a five-year membership through any Authorized Enrollment Provider for TSA PreCheck ($85).
- You'll be able to upgrade to Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status without meeting any stay requirements. Enrollment required.
- You'll be able to upgrade to Hilton Honors Gold Status without meeting any stay requirements. Enrollment required.
- As a Platinum Card member, you'll have access to book through Fine Hotels + Resorts with American Express Travel. When booking an eligible stay, you will receive a room upgrade upon arrival (when available), daily breakfast for two people, guaranteed 4pm late checkout, noon check-in (when available), complimentary Wi-Fi, and an experience credit valued at US$100.
- As a Platinum Card member, you'll have access to book through The Hotel Collection with American Express Travel. When booking at least a two consecutive night stay you will receive a $100 hotel credit and room upgrade upon arrival (when available).
Rewards Value
Membership Rewards Points earned with the American Express Platinum Card are worth 1 cent each when redeemed for airfare through American Express Travel.
If you want to maximize your point value, transferring your points to AMEX's airline and hotel partners is the route to take. You can also redeem your points for statement credits, gift cards, and at checkout with top retailers, but these will typically give your points less than 1 cent in value.
| Redemption Option | Average Value (in cents) |
|---|---|
| Point transfers to airline and hotel partners | 0.6 - 2 |
| Booking flights through American Express Travel | 1 |
| Booking hotels through Fine Hotels & Resorts | 1 |
| Booking other travel through American Express Travel | 0.7 |
| Paying with points at checkout | 0.7 |
| Using points for card charges (statement credit) | 0.6 |
| Redeeming points for gift cards | 0.5 - 1 |
Learn More: AMEX Points Value Calculator
Transfer Partners
Points earned with the Platinum Card can be transferred to 20 travel partners, with the majority of these partners having a 1:1 transfer ratio.
Learn More: AMEX Transfer Partners & Conversion Calculator
Annual Fees
The Platinum Card has an annual fee of $695. This is easily offset by the thousands of dollars in value the card offers between annual credits, lounge access, complimentary elite status, and much more.
Additional Cardholders
If you have family (or friends) that frequently travel, adding them as additional cardholders offers exceptional value. It will cost you $175 for up to 3 additional Platinum cards and $175 for each additional Platinum card after the first 3.
For example:
- Cost Per Year For 1 Additional Platinum Card: $175
- Cost Per Year For 2 Additional Platinum Card: $175
- Cost Per Year For 3 Additional Platinum Card: $175
- Cost Per Year For 4 Additional Platinum Card: $350
- Cost Per Year For 5 Additional Platinum Card: $525
- And so on... add $175 for each additional users
Basically, you'll get the best value when you add 3 additional cardholders as it will cost you the same amount as adding 1 additional cardholder.
Remember that additional cardholders receive their own lounge access, complimentary elite status, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit, and much more which is significantly worth more than $175 (or ~$58 when adding three additional cardholders).
Read More: American Express Platinum & Business Platinum Authorized User Benefits
AMEX Points Calculator
Use the AMEX Platinum Points Calculator to determine how many points you can earn based on the monthly or yearly spending amounts you enter.
You can calculate the cash value of the AMEX Platinum alongside up to two other credit cards from any issuer.
Any spend entered into the primary card column (the first column) will carry over to all credit card calculators on the site. This means there's no need to re-enter spend when jumping to other credit card pages on the site.
Other Ways To Earn
Outside of earning Membership Rewards points using AMEX, there's only one other way to earn additional points and that's Rakuten Rewards.
Rakuten Rewards
American Express Membership Rewards credit card holders can earn additional Membership Rewards points by using the Rakuten Rewards program which is a free-to-use online cash back portal that pays you to shop online.
The Rakuten website features thousands of retailer affiliate links and when you click on these links to make a purchase, Rakuten receives a commission. They then pay you, the user, some of that commission which is why it's no cost to use their portal.
Rakuten normally offers cash back rewards, but Membership Rewards credit card holders can opt in to receive Membership Rewards points instead. When receiving points, the rewards ratio is 1-to-1 meaning that 1% back is equal to 1X Membership Rewards points.
So if Rakuten is offering 10% cash back with a certain retailer (which they do often), this means you'll be able to earn 10X Membership Rewards points. Sounds amazing, right? That's because it is.
I've been using Rakuten Rewards as my main online shopping portal since the start of 2017. Once the ability to earn Membership Rewards Points became available, I never looked back.
You can sign up for Rakuten Rewards using our affiliate link and earn bonus Membership Rewards Points (or cash back) on your first purchase. If you're looking to get the most out of the Membership Rewards program, you don't want to ignore this program.
Is The AMEX Platinum Worth The Annual Fee?
The American Express Platinum Card features a lot of benefits that can offer you thousands of dollars in value if you're able to use them.
Primary Benefits
The first step is to figure out which unique card benefits mean the most to you and how much they are worth to you. Listed below are just a handful of the many benefits the card offers that can make it worth the annual fee.
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American Express Global Lounge Collection
This is one of the primary reasons that most pick up the Platinum Card as this benefit alone can be worth the annual fee if you frequently travel. It's a great benefit no matter which airline you fly thanks to Priority Pass Select membership ($429 in value), but it is extremely useful if you fly Delta as you'll have access to the Delta SkyClub ($545 in value).
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International Airline Program
If you frequently purchase premium, first, or business class tickets when flying internationally, this benefit can save you hundreds to thousands of dollars per ticket with ease.
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Cruises Privileges Program
This program offers $100 to $300 in credits when booking 5+ night cruises with popular cruise lines. I've used this benefit a few times and the extra credits are really nice. This is a great perk if you frequently cruise.
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Fine Hotel + Resorts
FHR offers a handful of useful benefits that provides great value such as the daily breakfast for two, room upgrade upon arrival, and $100 experience credit. There's no cap on how often you can use this benefit.
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Complimentary Hotel & Car Rental Status
The Platinum Card offers complimentary status with Marriott, Hilton, Avis, Hertz, and National. If you deal with any of these hotels or car rental chains, the small benefits that status offers could work in your favor.
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Platinum Concierge
Last, but certainly not least, is the Platinum Concierge. They're not often mentioned, but I've used the concierge to nab hard-to-get tickets as well as restaurant reservations for a few spots over the year. The value here isn't as clear as the others, but it's a benefit that can be extremely useful at the right times.
Annual Credits
After you've figured out how much the unique benefits mean to you, you'll then need to focus on the $1,400+ in annual credits The Platinum Card offers.
Just to recap, the $1,400+ in credits consist of:
- $300 Equinox Credit
- $300 SoulCycle At-Home Bike Credit
- $240 Digital Entertainment Credit
- $200 Airline Fee Credit
- $200 Hotel Credit
- $200 Uber Credit
- $179 CLEAR Plus Credit
- $155 Walmart+ Credit
- $100 Saks Fifth Credit
These credits should be treated like a big coupon book of savings. It's easily possible that you will not use all of these credits and that is okay.
Remember that it is about the overall value. For some (like myself) the main card benefits may be all you need to make the card worth it meaning that the annual credits are just a bonus to help add more value to the card.
Additional Cardholders
If you plan on adding additional Platinum Cards to your account for authorized users, you'll want to factor that in as well as it will cost extra. You can add up to 3 additional Platinum Cards for $175 (total) and every additional Platinum Card after that will cost you $175 each.
Additional Cardholders will receive most of the same benefits as the Primary Cardholder minus the annual credits. Each additional Platinum cardholder will receive:
- The ability to earn points faster for the Primary cardholder
- Their own $100 Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit
- Access to American Express Global Lounge Collection
- Hotel & rental car elite status benefits
- Access to Fine Hotels & Resorts
- Access to the Cruises Privileges Program
- Ability to book flights using the International Airline Program
- ...and much more
If you're adding authorized users that travel, even if only a few times per year, they should easily be able to squeeze value out of the card. Adding 3 people for $175 is a fantastic deal (personally adding additional users beyond 3 for $175 each is still a deal).
You can check out the full list of benefits in our AMEX Platinum & Business Platinum Additional Card Fee Benefits guide.
Earning Rate Comparison
Want to know how The Platinum Card earning rates stack up against other Membership Rewards credit cards? The table below lists out the earning rates per $1 spent for all credit card partners so you can see where it stands.
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FAQ
How many points do you earn with The Platinum Card?
The Platinum Card earns 5X Membership Rewards points for every dollar spent on airfare booked direct and airfare booked through AMEX Travel (on up to $500,000 in purchases), 5X points for every dollar spent on prepaid hotel bookings through AMEX Travel, and 1X point for every dollar spent on all other purchases.
What is the current offer for The Platinum Card?
Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Is The American Express Platinum Card worth it?
If you're a frequent traveler looking for elite travel benefits the card is worth picking up. Extensive lounge access, complimentary elite status, over $500 in annual credits, and the long list of other benefits easily outweighs the fee.
Is The American Express Platinum the best credit card?
There is no 'best credit card' since everyone have different opinions on what is considered 'best'. With that being said, the American Express Platinum Card is one of the best credit cards for frequent travelers and is a great card to pick up if you enjoy the Membership Rewards program.
Which is better, the American Express Gold or Platinum card?
Both cards are in entirely different categories. The American Express Gold Card focuses on dining and supermarket while the American Express Platinum Card focuses on elite travel benefits such as lounge access and complimentary status with popular hotel chains. Personally, I recommend having both, but you'll want to pick up the card(s) that work best for you.
Does authorized users of The AMEX Platinum Card also receive benefits?
Yes! Authorized users with Platinum Cards will receive the majority of the benefits offered on the card. This includes the extensive lounge access, complimentary elite status, the $100 statement credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, and much more.
We've run the calculations for you and here are our top picks for best credit cards of 2023:
- Best premium card for unlimited miles: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card.
- Best for flexible travel rewards: Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card.
- Best for everyday spend and travel: Citi Premier® Card.
- Best cash back card for groceries: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express.
- Best for dining and supermarkets: American Express® Gold Card
- Best for business travel rewards: Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
- Best cash back business card: Capital One Spark Cash Plus
Our Credit Card Rewards calculator can help you find the perfect card and offers based on your monthly and yearly spending habits. Simply enter your spend amounts into our tool and let us do the work for you!
