Credit Card Offers 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.

 

[Daver6]

Is it just me, or has there been a major change of FHR & THC properties available in Bali?

I could have sworn there were previously 25-30 FHR & THC options on the island, now there's 9 FHR and 4 THC.

I booked Conrad via THC a few months ago and it's now gone, I think the Hilton was also a THC and has disappeared too.

The remaining options now are very high-end - FHR starts at $930 per night but mostly in the $1500-2000 range, and THC all start at $450-600.

For comparison my booking at Conrad was $500pn for a mid-range suite and $250pn for a base room...

Feels like a significant deval if all the 'value' FHR/THC options have left the program.

I've observed some weirdness in the past where hotels have been removed from FHR only to return a few weeks later. Hopefully it's that scenario.

 

[jbmemories]

I've observed some weirdness in the past where hotels have been removed from FHR only to return a few weeks later. Hopefully it's that scenario.

Contracts expiring with hotel brands and renewing, AMEX used to have deals regionally, but there was talks (back in 2019) of making it global. One example of such regional expirations was AUS FHR no longer had COMO Perth but the US and UK FHR still allowed booking.

 

[Daver6]

Contracts expiring with hotel brands and renewing, AMEX used to have deals regionally, but there was talks (back in 2019) of making it global. One example of such regional expirations was AUS FHR no longer had COMO Perth but the US and UK FHR still allowed booking.

Which is also ironic because COMO Perth is included in The Hotel Collection.

 

[netaddict]

Are you looking online trying to make a booking? Noticed some hotels aren't appearing online to book for FHR yet travel over the phone can book it.

 

[Daver6]

Are you looking online trying to make a booking? Noticed some hotels aren't appearing online to book for FHR yet travel over the phone can book it.

Yes. Is there a secret list of FHR hotels you can book over the phone but not online?

 

[netaddict]

Yes. Is there a secret list of FHR hotels you can book over the phone but not online?

This is the list of hotels that should be available.

Fine Hotels + Resorts® | The Hotel Collection | Amex Travel

Get Exceptional Benefits at Over 2,200 Luxury Hotels and Resorts with American Express Travel Premium Hotel Programs.

www.americanexpress.com

If a hotel isn't appearing when trying to book online I generally call and they can do it over the phone. No idea why AMEX Travel online sometimes doesn't show all hotels.

 

[Daver6]

This is the list of hotels that should be available.

Fine Hotels + Resorts® | The Hotel Collection | Amex Travel

Get Exceptional Benefits at Over 2,200 Luxury Hotels and Resorts with American Express Travel Premium Hotel Programs.

www.americanexpress.com

If a hotel isn't appearing when trying to book online I generally call and they can do it over the phone. No idea why AMEX Travel online sometimes doesn't show all hotels.

Very interesting! There not only is COMO Perth included, it has a very generous offer!

 

[SeaWolf]

Has anyone got any experience to share on how fast a points transfer to QFF occurs? I had a bit of search without any luck and was wondering what people's experiences are?
I'm just doing some planning and might need to quickly move some points over to snag an award seat.

 

[georgie23]

It happened within minutes for me
that was about a month ago

 

[andye]

Same for me but a year ago

 

[CallMeHoju]

I did one earlier today for the "new cardholder" 20k bonus points offer. Took about 2 mins for the points to come through. No new cardholder points yet though.

 

[SeaWolf]

Good to know that it's pretty much instant. Thanks everyone.

 

[_TheTraveller_]

Long shot but does anyone know whether the concierge is any good at getting difficult bookings for certain restaurants?

 

[RealtimeY]

Concierge is no longer available

 

[sudoer]

Yep as above, Concierge got nerfed in June.

I made a formal complaint to Amex as I'd used the service a few times in the preceding 12 months for restaurants and event tickets, and received the following back...

As you are aware, we have made change to the Platinum Concierge service. From 12 June 2024 onwards, Platinum Concierge service will only accommodate travel queries. Concierge services for any other queries such as, dining, experiences, and shopping will no longer be available.

There has been a shift with Card Members preferring to self-service digitally and the Amex Experiences App enables digital delivery of features and benefits.

They offered no compensation but this lost benefit will form the basis of my dance with the cancellations team in a few months.

 

[RealtimeY]

There has been a shift with Card Members preferring to self-service digitally and the Amex Experiences App enables digital delivery of features and benefits.

Good luck with that. They definitely have talking points about the Experience app ready and will educate you about it. I find this pushing of the Experiences app particularly arrogant given how much of a downgrade it is, and just how bad the app is. Even the Amex My Account page is a more personalised experience than that app.

 

[Daver6]

I've had a look at that app and it's totally pointless. You can't actually do anything useful from the app. I mean you can't even self serve.

I'm with you @sudoer. Concierge was something I often used prior to Covid. Telling you that concierge only deals with travel enquiries is also nonsense. It's just Amex Travel. What's most annoying is when you get an email response back, it's always from a no-reply email address so you're forced to call.

 

[Doctore1003]

In Paris last month, I wanted to use the dining credit and thought I'd be able to open the app and find some restaurants nearby.
Zero ability to view restaurants by proximity or display all on a map.
Had to individually check the 100+ listings
Hopeless.

 

[georgie23]

Honestly I forgot it even existed till now
Opened it up
It just seems a summary of website without any additional functionality - hardly a replacement for Concierge

 

[djkelly69]

Zero ability to view restaurants by proximity or display all on a map.

Yeah has unfortunately always been like that. Had to do the same thing in Vancouver (although with significantly less than 100 options) where you click on each option, click through to check how far away it is on Google maps, then go back to the app and look at the next one.