Card Promotions Amex Platinum Card Benefits, Offers & Discussion

Enjoy a world of travel benefits and 150,000 bonus Amex Membership Rewards Premium Ascent points...​

Learn more and apply for this card:

American Express® Platinum Card

The American Express (Amex) Platinum charge card is one of the best publicly-available cards in Australia for travel benefits.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

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What are the main benefits of this card?

1. Signup bonus: 150,000 Amex Membership Rewards Points (worth 75,000 Qantas Points, Velocity Points, Avios or Asia Miles, among other options) when you apply by 28 January 2025 and spend at least $5,000 within 3 months
2. Earn 2.25 Amex Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on everyday purchases, uncapped. You can transfer these points to 12 airline & 2 hotel programs, including Qantas Frequent Flyer.
3. Enjoy unlimited access to many airport lounges, including Virgin Australia and Priority Pass lounges
4. Gift Priority Pass membership to one additional cardholder
5. Receive complimentary elite status with hotel loyalty programs including Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy, Radisson Rewards & Accor Live Limitless
6. Complimentary international travel insurance
7. Receive a $450 annual travel credit, plus airfare discounts, $400 worth of annual dining credits, subscriptions to The Australian & Wall Street Journal, plus many more exclusive benefits!

Why we like the American Express Platinum Card

Packed full of travel perks, the American Express Platinum Card is one of the best publicly-available cards in Australia for frequent flyers.

With a $1,450 annual fee, this metal card is not for everyone. But the return on investment for the high annual fee is strong, as it comes with a lot of useful benefits! This includes an annual travel credit, dining credits and unlimited access to Virgin Australia, Delta, Lufthansa, Priority Pass, Plaza Premium and Amex Centurion airport lounges.

There are also some great hotel perks including a free annual hotel night, Accor Plus membership, Fine Hotels + Resorts benefits and complimentary elite status with Hilton, Marriott and Radisson.

For points collectors, this is one of the most lucrative cards available in Australia. You’ll earn 2.25 Amex Membership Rewards Ascent Premium points per $1 spent on eligible transactions. Points transfer to most frequent flyer programs at a 2:1 rate, although there are some exceptions (e.g. it's 3:1 to KrisFlyer and Emirates).

You can convert your Amex points to around 12 airlines including Qantas, Virgin Australia, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates and Etihad! Plus, you can transfer points to two hotel loyalty programs for even more redemption possibilities.

To sweeten the deal, new cardholders who apply by 28 January 2025 can also earn 150,000 bonus Amex Membership Rewards points when spending at least $5,000 on the card within 3 months of approval. See our card guide for the full details:

American Express® Platinum Card

The American Express (Amex) Platinum charge card is one of the best publicly-available cards in Australia for travel benefits.

www.australianfrequentflyer.com.au

AFF members are welcome to discuss this card in this thread.

 

[jackthomas]

So to sum up the recent swapping out of accor plus + platinum status with HH gold. Here's a rough comparison of hotel benefits:

Lost free breakfast.
Lost early check-in
Lost potential to upgrade to better room
Lost access to Hotel lounge

We've now been given...

HH GOLD

• Guaranteed Discount: A discounted, changeable & refundable rate is exclusively available for Hilton HHonors members. SAME
• Digital Check-In: choose your room, and customize your stay from your mobile device up to 24 hours in advance. Ehh, O.K, might be a nice gimmick? (never tried it before)
• Complimentary in-room and lobby Standard Internet access during stays at Waldorf Astoria™ Hotels & Resorts, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Curio - A Collection by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton™, Canopy™ by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels™ and Hilton Grand Vacations™ SAME
• Quick reservations and check-ins based on your room preferences
• Late check-out[SUP]2 SAME[/SUP]
• Express check-out SAME
• 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Guest stays free[SUP]3[/SUP]
• Complimentary access to fitness centers and health clubs[SUP]5 ISN'T THIS A STANDARD FOR ALL HOTELS?[/SUP]
• Two complimentary bottles of water per stay When this is listed as a perk you know there's not much hope.

There's really nothing there that's a killer perk IMO (other than late check out maybe). Of course you may value some over others, but too loose all the things that make an experience better is pretty sobering.
Not that there's anything we can do, but I hope it gives you some ammunition to negotiate a better annual fee when the time comes. At the very least I'll write them a very stern letter of disappointment!

Not sure where you got your Lost list from, as HHonors Gold includes complimentary breakfast, more than often lounge access especially in Australia, good upgrades, often more than one level depending where you stay and early check in upon request also....

 

[kaktusdigital]

Not sure where you got your Lost list from, as HHonors Gold includes complimentary breakfast, more than often lounge access especially in Australia, good upgrades, often more than one level depending where you stay and early check in upon request also....

I may be wrong, but I couldn't find anything relating to those perks you mention, I certainly hope I have missed something! Can you please send me a link to where you've seen this?

Thank you!

 

[Isochronous]

I think some Hiltons in the US may charge fees to use the gym facilities, but I could be wrong

 

[jackthomas]

I may be wrong, but I couldn't find anything relating to those perks you mention, I certainly hope I have missed something! Can you please send me a link to where you've seen this?

Thank you!

• Space-available upgrade to a preferred room
• 1,000 HHonors Bonus Points per stay or a complimentary continental breakfast for you and up to one additional guest registered to the same room each day of your stay

Hilton Gold is widely claimed to be the most beneficial mid tier hotel status, although obviously its a step down from Platinum with Accor. Im now Diamond with Hilton, but when I was gold(for 2 years) I received executive lounge access on every stay within Australia and Asia, plus suites around half the time in Aus.

 

[kaktusdigital]

• Space-available upgrade to a preferred room
• 1,000 HHonors Bonus Points per stay or a complimentary continental breakfast for you and up to one additional guest registered to the same room each day of your stay

Hilton Gold is widely claimed to be the most beneficial mid tier hotel status, although obviously its a step down from Platinum with Accor. Im not Diamond with Hilton, but when I was gold(for 2 years) I received executive lounge access on every stay within Australia and Asia, plus suites around half the time in Aus.

oh i need reading glasses - Thanks for that! O.k that certainly makes things a bit better. Good to hear that upgrades and lounge access is actually obtainable.

 

[Foreigner]

Considering Amex platinum card provides access to VA domestic lounges and just one Centurion lounge in SYD, Amex could enhance benefits by adding other third party international lounges around Australia.

 

[nlagalle]

Considering Amex platinum card provides access to VA domestic lounges and just one Centurion lounge in SYD, Amex could enhance benefits by adding other third party international lounges around Australia.

I don't know of any other third party lounges around in Australia - you get the priority pass card with the amex charge card Platinum, but the only lounge in AU is in Cairns.

 

[Jaian]

Quick question: How does the Virgin lounge access work? Do I just show my Platinum card and get access, or do I need some other membership card to get in?

Also, can I bring my partner in with me (assuming we both have Virgin boarding passes)?

 

[M@rcoPolo]

Quick question: How does the Virgin lounge access work? Do I just show my Platinum card and get access, or do I need some other membership card to get in?

Also, can I bring my partner in with me (assuming we both have Virgin boarding passes)?

You need to show your AMEX Platinum (Charge) Card - note this doesn't work with any of the AMEX Platinum credit cards - and your same-day boarding pass on Virgin Australia. And yes you can bring in one guest (also flying on Virgin).

Also note this is only for Virgin DOMESTIC flights / lounges, it doesn't work when you are flying internationally.

 

[Jaian]

Cheers, exactly what I was hoping for

 

[albyd]

I travelled with my wife & kids recently and was able to get us all in with my card. She is a supp on my charge card. If they'd kicked up a fuss (too many guests), would she have been able to show her card or do they record it somewhere? I think I saw somewhere it's only a benefit for the primary card holder not the supps.

 

[Foreigner]

I travelled with my wife & kids recently and was able to get us all in with my card. She is a supp on my charge card. If they'd kicked up a fuss (too many guests), would she have been able to show her card or do they record it somewhere? I think I saw somewhere it's only a benefit for the primary card holder not the supps.

I don't think the VA brigade in the lounges are smart enough to distinguish between a primary card and the supp ones.

 

[DC3]

In any case, the primary and supplementary cards are identical in appearance, except for a different card number. Anyway, I can't see how you could tell.

 

[ma1trix]

We would always get lounge access at Adelaide airport when flying to Bali using Virgin Australia, however they have now hand balled that route over to Tiger. Contacting my concierge I was assured I would still get access to the lounge even though now flying Tiger (which is 100% owned by Virgin Australia). We shall see, but I am not holding my breath!

 

[albyd]

Thanks for the feedback guys. Agree can't tell the cards apart especially if just a matter of looking at the card and waving it through. I recall first time I used it for lounge access they swiped it and I got charged (assuming the staff member I dealt with didn't know about the arrangement with Amex). Assumed they record card numbers which are later matched up for eligibility when Virgin invoice Amex for free admissions.

 

[DC3]

Used this in the SYD lounge in January. Not swiped, just waved through, using the primary card for both of us.

 

[Haplo]

All Platinum (primary or supp) cards gets complementary Hilton Gold, which allows Virgin lounge access in under a current reciprocal agreement with Virgin.

 

[Cynicor]

The lounge access is a base benefit of this card and unrelated to Hilton Gold.

Also, Hilton Gold has nothing to do with VA access normally. There may be a temporary promo (no idea if there is) but it's not a normal perk.

 

[Haplo]

Agree main card holder always gets virgin access. However with the promo even supp holder can get lounge access if they get HH gold.

 

[mlob]

Have been looking into booking my annual trip down to stay at the Grand Hyatt Melbourne and I'm disappointed to find they have been dropped from Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts :-(