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.

 

[Mr_Orange]

Was it an auto extension by Accor?

No, we contacted them and asked for it to be extended.

 

[wsthong]

No, we contacted them and asked for it to be extended.

Contact Amex or Accor?

 

[Mr_Orange]

Contact Amex or Accor?

Accor

 

[sudoer]

Data point on the FHR forex discussion: Conrad Tokyo equated $125 USD to 18054 JPY at check-in this afternoon, roughly 2% off the mid-market rate

 

[wsthong]

Data point on the FHR forex discussion: Conrad Tokyo equated $125 USD to 18054 JPY at check-in this afternoon, roughly 2% off the mid-market rate

I think that is not too bad. 400 yen in difference

 

[sudoer]

I think that is not too bad. 400 yen in difference

Yes absolutely fine in my book. Esp given the yen was at a 32 year low against the USD on Friday.. my credit has aged well.

 

[daft009]

Data point on the FHR forex discussion: Conrad Tokyo equated $125 USD to 18054 JPY at check-in this afternoon, roughly 2% off the mid-market rate

Starting to research hotels for 1wk Tokyo for Sept 2023 and FHR. Conrad is $10k/night... WTF!

I guess I don't know how to make FHR work to my advantage

 

[sudoer]

Starting to research hotels for 1wk Tokyo for Sept 2023 and FHR. Conrad is $10k/night... WTF!

Outrageous, what room category is that? Maybe there's a function/conference on? I'm paying roughly $350pn, was booked during a 3rd night free promo.

 

[CaptainCurtis]

Starting to research hotels for 1wk Tokyo for Sept 2023 and FHR. Conrad is $10k/night... WTF!

I guess I don't know how to make FHR work to my advantage

The F1 is on 21-24 September, could be that? Although obviously not in Tokyo.

 

[daft009]

Outrageous, what room category is that? Maybe there's a function/conference on? I'm paying roughly $350pn, was booked during a 3rd night free promo.

Think I had already fainted by then
Searched via the FHR portal for 2 adults, 1 child and 1 baby 7 nights.

Let's see, plenty of time to find something. TIX booked in J on points already

 

[bernardblack]

Outrageous, what room category is that? Maybe there's a function/conference on? I'm paying roughly $350pn, was booked during a 3rd night free promo.

I think I paid a few hundred more than $350/n, but way less than $10k, back in 2019. Maybe the child and baby overflowed the standard room occupancy and it priced a suite or something?

@daft009, could you try maybe booking two connecting rooms (use the Hilton.com confirmed-connecting-rooms search) and see if that comes up more reasonable? If you can find options, you could book the same room classes through FHR then call Hilton.com and see if they can put a connecting-room request on the reservation?

It's a beautiful property, though. After staying there on our couple trip for my 40th, my wife insisted we do at least one really high-end property on our postCOVID Europe trip with the kids. So we stayed at the Waldorf-Astoria Trianon Palace in Versailles, also gorgeous. (Several other places on the trip were also very nice, but not that nice.)

 

[daft009]

I think I paid a few hundred more than $350/n, but way less than $10k, back in 2019. Maybe the child and baby overflowed the standard room occupancy and it priced a suite or something?

@daft009, could you try maybe booking two connecting rooms (use the Hilton.com confirmed-connecting-rooms search) and see if that comes up more reasonable? If you can find options, you could book the same room classes through FHR then call Hilton.com and see if they can put a connecting-room request on the reservation?

It's a beautiful property, though. After staying there on our couple trip for my 40th, my wife insisted we do at least one really high-end property on our postCOVID Europe trip with the kids. So we stayed at the Waldorf-Astoria Trianon Palace in Versailles, also gorgeous. (Several other places on the trip were also very nice, but not that nice.)

Thanks. Will try.
Was hoping to have a sofa bed in the same room for the kids but perhaps might be hard with the room sizes in Tokyo

 

[bernardblack]

Thanks. Will try.
Was hoping to have a sofa bed in the same room for the kids but perhaps might be hard with the room sizes in Tokyo

Having honeymooned in Japan, I can tell you:

• yes, most rooms are small
• the Conrad is very much an exception; our room was close to 50sqm

 

[Pele]

Data point on the FHR forex discussion: Conrad Tokyo equated $125 USD to 18054 JPY at check-in this afternoon, roughly 2% off the mid-market rate

Checked out of the Conrad Osaka today. $USD125 came to ¥17,010 which is a fair way off the mid market rate although I noticed the rate was on my welcome letter.

I will be sending an email to Amex asking how they come up with the rates.

And in terms of the hotel: phenomenal. I would live there. Superb views, base room was 50sqm, service awesome. Previously the Conrad Tokyo was the best hotel I had ever stayed in. It has now been dethroned by its Kansai cousin.

 

[wsthong]

No, we contacted them and asked for it to be extended.

I have no luck for the Stay Plus to be extended this time. Last year they did due to COVID. Maybe AMEX refused to pay them this time.

 

[lovestotravel]

The Virgin business class discounts, should they apply to all of VA's international flights ?

Not giving any discount for Fiji Flights

 

[kangarooflyer88]

The Virgin business class discounts, should they apply to all of VA's international flights ?

Not giving any discount for Fiji Flights

I take it you are referring to the International Airline Program of AmEx Platinum which covers premium cabin (i.e. Premium Economy, BusinessFirst and First) on a number of airlines, namely:



If yes, then you need to book the travel directly through the AmEx travel website by logging in to your AmEx account. From there you should see the discount applied to the flight you are booking (generally 5%-10% off what you'd find elsewhere).

Hope that helps.

-RooFlyer88

 

[daft009]

Starting to research hotels for 1wk Tokyo for Sept 2023 and FHR. Conrad is $10k/night... WTF!

I guess I don't know how to make FHR work to my advantage

so I had a bit better look at this directly on the hilton website and yeah it seems it was giving me a 2bedroom suite for 4 pax.
Dropped it to 3 and the rates were much more reasonable.
the little one will be <2yo so it seems most hotels dont mind if we just email them separately and have him added

 

[Pele]

Checked out of the Conrad Osaka today. $USD125 came to ¥17,010 which is a fair way off the mid market rate although I noticed the rate was on my welcome letter.

I will be sending an email to Amex asking how they come up with the rates.

And in terms of the hotel: phenomenal. I would live there. Superb views, base room was 50sqm, service awesome. Previously the Conrad Tokyo was the best hotel I had ever stayed in. It has now been dethroned by its Kansai cousin.

I have spoken to Amex about how the rate is determined. The answer is that each hotel sets their own rate. This answer was provided by the hotel who were contacted by Expedia who were contacted by Amex who were contacted by me. On that basis if you think the rate is a rort then bring it up at check in/out. They also said it wasnt Amex or Expedia(the booking agent for Amex) who paid for the room credit but the hotel itself. What Sudoer mentioned way up thread about the credit being listed in local currency of each hotel would be a simple way for everybody to avoid nonsense like this.

Also dont bother with the text chat on the website. The first go at explaining the problem resulted in me having to explain that Japan is not part of China and therefore the Chinese Renminbi FX rate is not relevant to the issue. Just call them.

 

[Daver6]

I have spoken to Amex about how the rate is determined. The answer is that each hotel sets their own rate. This answer was provided by the hotel who were contacted by Expedia who were contacted by Amex who were contacted by me. On that basis if you think the rate is a rort then bring it up at check in/out. They also said it wasnt Amex or Expedia(the booking agent for Amex) who paid for the room credit but the hotel itself. What Sudoer mentioned way up thread about the credit being listed in local currency of each hotel would be a simple way for everybody to avoid nonsense like this.

Also dont bother with the text chat on the website. The first go at explaining the problem resulted in me having to explain that Japan is not part of China and therefore the Chinese Renminbi FX rate is not relevant to the issue. Just call them.

I bet that when you take this up with the hotel at check-in they'll attempt to fob it for to Amex