AMEX UK Platinum card

One of the most coveted (and expensive) credit cards available in the UK is the Amex Platinum Charge Card.  Like the Rewards Gold Credit Card, this card earns American Express Membership Rewards points.  Unlike the Gold Credit Card, you have no pre-set spending limit but instead have to pay off your balance in full every month.

This card has an annual fee of £575 (not waived the first year) and comes with a couple perks and a few credits that help justify the annual fee. The card also has a 2.99% non-Sterling (GBP) transaction fee, like all UK-based Amex cards, which is outrageous for a premium travel card with this high of an annual fee.

I provide the information here just to give readers a vague idea if the rewards offered by the card might make sense for them to consider the card.  All information should be confirmed with the card company before applying.

Welcome Offer

The Platinum Card has a welcome bonus offer of 30 000 points after spending £4 000 in the first three months, which is the highest available of the Amex UK Membership Rewards cards currently, which makes sense.  Amex UK has a rule that you cannot earn a welcome bonus on this card if you have held a UK Amex card that earns Membership Rewards points in the past 24 months.  This means if you hold a Marriott, Nectar, or BA card, you can earn the welcome bonus.  The welcome bonus is worth £150 as cashback or £300 towards travel (or could be worth £450+ if transferred to a partner).

Earnings

The Platinum Card earns 1 point/£1 spent on most purchases.  On purchases directly with Amex Travel, the card earns 2 points/£1.  American Express points can be redeemed for cashback at a rate of 0.5 p/point, which means the card offers a minimum of 0.5% back per £1 spent.  However, using membership rewards points for cashback is almost certainly the worst use of these points.  When redeemed through the Amex Travel Portal, these same points can be used at a rate of 1 p/point.  Alternatively, the points can be transferred to 17 partners, where you can potentially get more value out of them.

Benefits

The Platinum card offers a few different benefits to help justify the annual fee.  The primary reason that many people get this card is for the lounge access perks.  The card gives you access to Amex Centurion lounges and a Priority Pass membership, so you’ll get access to at least some lounge while travelling through major airports.

The card provides you with Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold status, as well as Gold status with Radisson Rewards and Melia Rewards.   Complimentary benefits (that are on par with elite status benefits) are available as well when booking through Amex’s Fine Hotels & Resorts collection.

When booking through ‘Onefinestay’, you’ll get a $200 (just under £150) statement credit, as well as a £10/month statement credit when using Addison Lee and Tristar in the UK.  You can also get £100/year at Harvey Nichols when using your Platinum Card.

One of the more interesting and exclusive perks of using the card is access to the Amex Platinum Concierge, who can help fulfill travel and dining requests.

As a travel credit card, this card also offers substantial travel protection perks that are detailed on the Amex UK website.

Examples of using the card

The main benefit earning Amex Membership Rewards Points their flexibility.  Given the double points on travel (and the lounge passes), this card works best if you use to book travel (but not while travelling because it has a 2.99% non-sterling transaction fee).  To recoup the annual fee (with cash back rather than travel), you’d need to spend £28 000/year, ignoring the Deliveroo credit.  If you use the Deliveroo credit and lounge passes, then the annual fee is already offset. 

This card is meant as a general travel card, which is great if you don’t want to be tied to a single airline (e.g. only BA).

Card	World Traveller (£556) Total Avios (% return)	Hotel night in Oxford (£181/night)	Points values (WT/Hotel)
No rewards card	2 728 (4.9%)	2 200 MP (7.3%)	£27.28 / £13.20
Gold Card	2 728 Avios + 1 112 MR (6.9%)	2 200 MP + 181 MR (8.3%)	£43.96 / £15.91
Platinum Card	2 728 Avios + 556 MR (5.9%)	2 200 MP + 181 MR (8.3%)	£35.62 / £15.91
BA Premium Plus	4 396 (7.9%)	2 200 MP + 271 Avios (8.8%)	£43.96 / £15.91
Marriott card	2 728 Avios + 1 112 MP (6.1%)	3 506 MP (11.5%)	£33.95 / £21.04

Is this credit card right for you?

This card is best for people that want the perks of the card more than the points.  The 30 000 point welcome offer is enough for an off-peak return flight to Boston, which is a great offer for a UK-based card.  If you’re willing to pay a substantial annual fee and appreciate the extensive travel benefits (especially the lounge access perks), I definitely recommend this card for you.