Amex Platinum Charge 90k bonus - effective 30 Aug 2018

[blueythecat]

With the expiry of the recent offer, AMEX has launched a new revised 90,000 bonus points for new customers on their premium Platinum Charge Card. This offer, linked here currently does not have an expiry date.

The 90k bonus points is a pretty good deal for this card and 10k points better than the current public offer! Unfortunately there is a catch and it's a relatively large catch - that is that the card comes with a $1450 annual fee (increased recently from $1200). As a standard rule I'm not much into paying annual fees for credit cards (with the AMEX Edge and this card as the exception), so how can I justify such a large annual fee?! Well the Platinum Charge card is now a swanky metal card (say good by to the old plastic!), but that's not actually it . My actual logic on why this card is a great deal is:

• 90,000 Membership Rewards points – pretty simple really – based on my numbers I value this at $2100-$3100 (there's the annual fee covered right there!) – a little more on this later. To receive the 90k points you need to spend $3000 in 3 months of getting the card.
  
• Points can be transferred to massive variety of partners – Qantas FF, Virgin Velocity, Kris Flyer and Cathy Pacific Asia Miles and some more valuable ones via Marriot's program (AAdvantage, BA Executive Club & Alaska Miles etc) – no other (non-invite only) Australian Credit Card can boast such a range of transfer partners!
• $450 Annual Travel Credit (increased from $300) with American Express Travel – value $450 (clearly).
• The option for an additional $400 annual Travel Credit if you apply for a FREE Platinum Reserve companion card – you’ll need to ring AMEX after approval to arrange an application for this (value to me $400+)
• Unlimited Virgin Australia / Priority Pass / AMEX & Delta Lounge Access – a bit more subjective this one but, I value it at around $250 although it retails for $420! As a rule I’m not big on paying for lounge access, so it is hard for me to put a value on it. The Virgin Australia domestic lounge access speaks for itself - their quality is excellent these days and they have a good network. Once outside Australia, you have unlimited access to the Priority Pass lounge network and that is very hard to surpass! If you are prepared to pay for lounge access then this benefit would easily be worth $900+++.
• Access to AMEX Cash Backs and Small Shop Offers – I wasn’t even aware of this benefits until the last couple of years - and wow was I missing out big time!! The total value of AMEX statement credits and Shop Offers last year, for me, was $1500. That represents some pretty epic value and I was careful not to spend a cent more than I would have before! If I had I could have easily doubled or tripled that number. AFF has a really good thread covering these offers here: AMEX Statement Credits.
• Accor Plus membership is back! (worth $395+) - this includes a free nights hotel stay at a number of their resorts! I’ve really made good use of this benfit in the past!
• NRMA style roadside assistance – value about $90 (hopefully you or I never need this one!!)
• Australian Financial Review Subscription - valued at $628 (this is a new offering in the last month or so and I haven't even set it up yet).

A Quick Card Summary:

• 90,000 Membership Rewards bonus points after spending $3000 in first three months after card activation.
  
• A $450 Platinum Travel Credit each year, this can be redeemed online for airfares, car hire and hotel bookings – I’ve used these a number of times now and it has been very simple and the same price as booking directly with the airline.
  
• Complimentary access to more than 800 airport lounges in 100 countries, including Virgin Australia Lounges, Priority Pass (restaurants now included at a number of Aust. airports), Delta Skymiles and American Express own lounge network
  
• Dedicated Platinum Concierge Service to take care of travel plans, tickets or dinner reservations
• Earn up to 3 Membership Reward points per dollar – I should mention I value MR points at 2.5-.3.5c/point
  
• Transfer your points to a choice of 10 airline rewards programs:
  • Qantas Frequent Flyer, Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Air New Zealand Airpoints, THAI Royal Orchid Plus, Malaysia Airlines Enrich and Cathay Pacific Asia Miles
  • And the best bit, transfers to AAdvantage, BA Executive Club & Alaska Miles, amongst others are possible through the Marriot Hotel program (previously Starwood Preferred Guest) - this is a more advanced method and you need to ensure that it is good value for you!
• Transfer your points to leading hotel programs: Hilton HHonors, Priority Club Rewards, Marriot (formally SPG)
  
• Complimentary enrolment into elite tier of hotel partner programs including Club Carlson, Starwood Preferred, Hilton Honors and Accor (back again)
• Complimentary worldwide Travel Insurance and Purchase Protection Insurance - includes Australia's best rental car insurance (in my opinion)
  
• Great savings on First and Business Class fares with some of the worlds leading airlines through the AMEX Platinum Airline Privileges program

So as you see, you can really get some amazing value out of this card, especially with the current sign-on bonus. How to value the current AMEX offer, this is always a challenging task, but I will give it a go. Whilst putting a value on reward points is always very subjective, I personally value AMEX membership reward points at 2.5-3.5c/point. Based on this, the bonus points from the current offer are worth $2300-$3200.

Perhaps a less subjective way is to provide some basic concrete examples, the 90k points if redeemed for Virgin Australia economy SYD-MEL flights is worth around $1800 - not a bad deal (and more than the annual fee), but this is actually a really poor use of these points. Better value would be flying Business class return on Qantas/CX/BA Australia to Europe by redeeming the points through Cathy Pacific Asia Miles. You'll need 65k points one way or 130k points return for these redemptions (with the 90k signon bonus you’ve got yourself a one-way Business class ticket to Europe and are well on your way to a return ticket!) – Qantas charge $5000+ for these flights, so not a bad deal at all! Of course for supreme value you could try your luck at a Singapore Airlines Suite – using AMEX points is the only way I’m ever seeing the inside of one of those!!!

If you add in all the other benefits in too, the total value of this offer to me is in the order of $4800-$5700!! Not a bad deal at all in my mind!!

As I started off with, if you like the sound of the Platinum Charge Card then I'd really recommend you get on the bandwagon. Any referral link from this forum, or elsewhere, should do the trick, but make sure the AMEX page that loads explicitly says 90,000 points. I always recommend printing a PDF copy of the page before beginning the process in case there are any problems later - that way you always have a record! If you'd like to use my Referral link is HERE, my sincere thanks and good luck to anyone applying! If you want some more info on this card before applying I'm happy to take questions via PM (if you prefer), no obligations whatsoever.

Footnote:
2017 & 2018 have proven to be a game changing years in the Australian credit card market place and AMEX has secured its place as the market leader (by a long way) for those of us to love to collect FF points! Since the Reserve Bank's changes to credit card interchange fees in 2017, there has been a massive cutback to the card offers provided by our big banks, leaving Amex as the market leader in this space by far! There is no better time to get on this bandwagon: Referral Link HERE

PS - Whilst applying for new credit cards offers can be really great value (and can even be addictive), please only apply for a card you can afford! No sign-on bonus, no matter how big, is worth a lifetime of debt, so please don't put points ahead of financial security!!

PPS - AMEX are also currently offering the refree (myself, if you choose to use my link) 30k bonus points for anyone that signs-up using a referral link. I'm planning a big trip away with the family late in 2019 so will be putting any referral bonus points to excellent use! My thanks to anyone whom is kind enough to use my link!!

 

[benjy]

I can't beat your very comprehensive review blueycat, so I'll just add in my card experience and brief review

Amex are offering new customers 90,000 Membership Rewards (10,000 more points than normal) if you are approved for the AMEX PLATINUM CHARGE CARD via this LINK and spend $3,000 in the first three months from card approval.

How much does it costs?
- The Charge costs $1450 per year but comes with a truck load of benefits! Worth well above the annual fee

What do I get?
- 90,000 Membership Reward points - money's worth right there! But there's more
- $450 Amex Travel Credit, to spend on Amex Travel
- Apply for the Amex Reserve Credit Card (once approved for the Charge) and receive another $400 Travel Credit (that's $850 in travel credit alone!)
- Complimentary enrolment as Elite status in selected Hotels Memberships - Hilton, Marriott, Priority Club, Shangri-La
- Complimentary Accor Plus Membership which provides automatic silver membership into Accor
- Complimentary Unlimited Priority Pass Membership (my personal favourite!) - use this membership when you visit airports and save lots! I've personally saved over $500 at airports this year
- Earn up to 3 MR points per $1 spent (at bars, cafe, restaurants) then transfer up to 10 Airlines or 2 hotel partners
- Complimentary AFR digital membership (Valued at $628!)
- Bonus points for adding supplementary cards on to your account via the phone (don't request at application, wait for the promotions)
- Various complimentary insurances, including smart phone screen insurance (handy if you drop your phone often)
- Access to Amex Platinum Concierge! Very handy if you enjoy asking others to do your ordering.

So yes, this card's annual fee can be considered high but if you use the card wisely and utilise all the membership benefits, this card is certainly worth keeping in your wallet!

Alight Ben, you've convinced me, how do I apply?
- Please apply via this LINK. (You receive 10,000 more points via the link than applying via website direct)
- To receive 90,000 MR points, you need to not have been an Amex customer for 18 months prior to applying, and use the card spending $3,000 within the first 3 months of card approval
- Meet Amex credit and income criteria

How long does card approval take?
- Depending on how much Amex like you, approval can be instant or up to 10 business days

If you apply via my personalised LINK, I will also receive 30,000 MR points, which will certainly come in handy for future trips.

Thank you for reading and considering applying via my post

 

[digpomi]

Great Card- Hilton Gold/Accor Plus/upto $850 travel credit/Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts+ 90000 points(for new amex card holders). I will receive 30000 points if you used my referral link below. Thanks in advance
http://amex.com.au/refer/paramdvich?XLINK=MYCP

 

[kaktusdigital]

Amex plat charge 90K bonus with me receiving 30K.

Amazing comprehensive summary by everyone above.

I can only offer some opinion on their concierge service. Recently they were exceptionally useful in organising international restaurant bookings. When you consider the time difference, language barrier and everything else that comes along these guys were real time savers. Along with that, many restaurants ask for confirmation 24 hours prior to dining - and you guessed it, AMEX concierge will handle those calls for you!

This card is expensive, but I think as others have concluded. If you travel a lot it is well worth the money.

Hilton Gold.
AccorPlus
Shangri-la Golden Circle - with reciprocal silver status on SQ.
Starwood Gold
Unlimited VA lounge access
$450 travel credit
Priority Pass card for you and a supp card holder.
Amex plat reserve application link: (for additional $400 travel credit)


Here is my link and I would be super grateful
Link to Application

 

[digpomi]

Great Card- Hilton Gold/Accor Plus/upto $850 travel credit/Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts+ 90000 points(for new amex card holders). I will receive 30000 points if you used my referral link below. Thanks in advance
http://amex.com.au/refer/paramdvich?XLINK=MYCP

 

[ChrisFlyer]

Looking at the AMEX Platinum charge card? Okay, let's start with the two elephants in the room : the $1,450 annual fee and the $100,000 minimum income requirement.

"Whaaaaaat?", I hear you say? Yes, fourteen hundred and fifty big ones, and a six figure salary! It's something that deterred me from getting the card for a couple of years, but I've finally bitten the bullet, and honestly wish I'd done so sooner, because when you look at it more closely it's actually not as pricey or restrictive as it sounds.

For starters, the $100k income rule isn't personal income, it's household income. My partner and I both work full-time, which means our combined income is in the six figures. Even though I applied for the card in my own name (not joint liability), AMEX considered my partner's income as part of the application process, so I had no problems qualifying.

Next, that $1,450 annual fee. Definitely, it's not cheap, but in return, the card comes jam-packed with travel perks that are easily worth more than the fee for those who travel (which, I imagine, is most people on this site!). Here are just some of the perks and what they're 'worth' to me:

• $450 travel credit to use on things like flights and hotels each year, taking the real 'cost' of the $1450/year card down to $1000 if you'd otherwise spend $450/year on travel.
  
• Unlimited Virgin Australia domestic lounge access with one guest when flying VA. Normally, you'd pay $750 in the first year and $420/year thereafter for a VA lounge membership, or $65 per person per lounge visit or $300/year for Velocity Silver members.
  
• Unlimited Delta Sky Club access when flying Delta. Normally, Delta charges $59USD ($76AUD) per lounge visit, so just three visits and that's $228 in value.
• Two unlimited Priority Pass memberships (each with one free guest per visit) for access to over 1,200 airport lounges around the globe when flying with any airline. In Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast, you can also swipe your Priority Pass card for $36 of food and drink credit at a range of food outlets in the terminals, or $72 if you ask them to process your purchase with 'one guest', which is free for AMEX Platinum members. That's $72 of food and drink every time you fly, which adds up very quickly... and if you give that second Priority Pass membership to your regular travel companion (e.g. your partner), they can swipe their card too for up to $72 of extra food and drink credit, for a total of $144 every time you both pass through the airport with a couple of guests in tow... that's a lot of food and coughtails! Normally, just one unlimited membership would cost about $525 per year ($1,050 of value for the two free memberships you get), and even then, that doesn't include the free additional guest, making these memberships even more valuable!
  
• Unlimited access to AMEX and Plaza Premium lounges with two guests, which includes Sydney and Melbourne (AMEX lounges), Brisbane (Plaza Premium lounge), and many places overseas, including the awesome AMEX Centurion Lounge in Hong Kong. The value of each visit varies, but is usually at least $50. Four visits and that's at least $200 in value.
  
• Free Hilton Honors Gold, ShangriLa Golden Circle Jade, Marriott Gold and Club Carlson Gold memberships which offer a variety of perks like room upgrades, free daily breakfast, bonus points on stays, free welcome gifts etc (varies by hotel chain). Link your ShangriLa account to Taj Hotels for free Taj InnerCircle Gold memberships too. Let's say you book with a chain that gives free brekky and you're staying with someone at the hotel - that's probably about $60/night in added value from that alone (given how much hotel breakfasts normally costs), so spend 10 nights in hotels a year and that's $600 in value, on top of any extras you might get like room upgrades, access to hotel executive lounges.
• Free Accor Plus membership, which includes a free hotel night every year and gives ongoing discounts on dining, and normally costs $395 to buy outright. I used my free night to book the Sofitel at the Gold Coast, which was otherwise selling for $400/night, so certainly got my money's worth and then some through the added discounts.

That's only a handful of the perks included with this card, and already, that's ~$3300 in value in return for your $1450 annual fee, giving you a substantial 'return' on your yearly investment!

If you want to push that even further, you can ask AMEX for a free companion Platinum Reserve credit card, which has no annual fee but includes an extra yearly $400 travel credit ($400 + the $450 you get from the Platinum Charge, so $850 in yearly travel credits instead of the usual $450).

Speaking of extra cards, you can also have up to four supplementary cardholders at no extra cost. Give those supplementary cardholders the Platinum Charge card and they'll enjoy many of the perks above like unlimited Virgin Australia, Delta and Plaza Premium lounge access, at no extra cost.

And last but not least, that leaves frequent flyer points, which you'll earn in the AMEX Membership Rewards Ascent Premium scheme.

From there, your points can be converted to 10 airlines at a 1:1 rate, including Qantas, Virgin Australia Velocity, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Malaysia Airlines Enrich, Thai Airways Royal Orchid Plus, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and Air New Zealand Airpoints. This is the only personal card in the Australian market which allows you to manually convert points to Qantas Frequent Flyer.

For starters, use my referral link and you can earn 90,000 Ascent Premium points (90,000 frequent flyer points) when you spend at least $3,000 on the card in the first three months. That's 10,000 points more than AMEX's standard offer when you apply without using a referral link.

You can also earn:

• 3 points per $1 spent at restaurants in Australia
• 2 points per $1 spent on all overseas spend, and with airlines and hotels in Australia
• 1 point per $1 spent everywhere else in Australia, except:
• 0.5 points per $1 spent with Australian government bodies, utilities, insurance companies and telcos

From April 15, the earning rate instead changes to a flat 2.5 Membership Rewards points per $1 spent, and the airline conversion rate moves to 2:1. That means you'll earn 1.125 frequent flyer points per $1 spent (1.125 KrisFlyer miles, for example) on everything but government transactions, which still provide 0.5/$1: a 12.5% boost compared to today's regular earn rate.

(Just be sure to convert any points you already have in your account before that date, to take advantage of the 1:1 transfer rate while it's available!)

I think that just about covers it, so what are you waiting for?

You can apply online today!

If you have any questions about the card, I'm also more than happy to answer them based on my experiences, either here or via PM.

I do hope you've found the summary above useful, and would greatly appreciate you applying through my referral link, which benefits us both: you get more bonus points than if you'd applied the 'normal way' (90,000 vs 80,000), and I'll earn a nice 30,000 bonus points which will come in handy for a trip to Europe I'm planning: then, when you have the card, be sure to post your own referral link here too, to begin earning your own referral bonuses!

 

[lucky777]

Thanks for posting, bluethecat.
I would like to share my 2 cents on this card.
Amex Charge Platinum Card - designed for high end frequent traveller

Great card for frequent travellers, this card comes with below benefit.
1, Received 90k premium ascent rewards points when you apply and spent $3,000 within first 3 months of card membership;
2, Receive up to $850 travel credit P.A*, this is best to spend on domestic flight (e.g, Qantas or Virgin), as airfare on amex travel is exactly the same as it is on Qantas or Virgin website;
3, 2 x complimentary membership to Priority pass, just this benefit alone is worth over au$1,000 (Cost per Priority pass prestige membership is us$399 P.A).
4, Receive complimentary Gold (or equivilent level) membership for top range hotel chain, car rental & golf membership. E.g., Starwood gold member, shangri-la Jade member, hilton gold member etc;
5, Up to 3 points per dollar spent;
6, Complimentary travel insurance when you use this credit to book return flight of your trip;
7, Purchase protection insurance;
8, Complimentary Virgin Australia for your and one of your guest every time you travel with Virgin Australia;
9, As a platinum charge card holder, you could also get Amex reserve card for free which means you will get additional $400 travel credit as a reserve card holder;
10, Complimentary accor plus membership, worth $395, this membership offer a free night stay within accor group;
11, Complimentary AFR digital subscription valued at $628 per year.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could apply this card using this refer link, https://idap-e3.americanexpress.com...RID=j:i:n:g:h:5:a:Y:c-1531880056441-281574963
You will receive 90k points and I will receive 30k points as referral, this would help to make my family Euro trip dream come much sooner!
Annual fee is $1450, but if you balance all above benefit it is well worth the annual fee. This card may not suit every one, but would be a fantastic card to have if you are frequent traveller. I am happy to answer all related queries regarding all amex card!

*To obtain $850 travel credit, you also need to apply for Amex reserve credit card. As a platinum charge card holder you will be able to get reserve for free (no annual fee) and this card comes with $400 travel credit P.A.

 

[daft009]

So the highest earning Amex (without needing an invite from Amex) is the platinum!

With lots of awesome travel perks.
Perks you don't think you need till you start using them and then you go... Why did I wait so long to get this card.. that's exactly how I felt, hands down the best card around in my opinion.

Gone was paying for breakfast at Sydney airport on day trips intestate. Gone was waiting to pick up a rental car upon arrival, now it's waiting for me with a bay listed.. Just subtle things that save time and money is where this card shines.

If you use my link you'll get 90k bonus points if you're new to amex and I'll get 30k as a referral bonus.

Even if you do not qualify for the sign on bonus it would be great if you could please use any of the links shared here to help one of us out!

Platinum Charge

Apply via my referral link for the American Express® Platinum Card & you could be rewarded with a welcome bonus. T&Cs apply

amex.com.au

 

[digpomi]

The Go to Card for All Amex Spend. Great Travel Benefits(including Hilton Gold). The annual fee is almost covered by the $850 in travel credits(including Platinum Reserve Credit) + Accor Plus free hotel night. I have enjoyed the Australian financial review subscription and it even provides vehicle breakdown service which saves me $100 in RAC membership.

Platinum Charge

Apply via my referral link for the American Express® Platinum Card & you could be rewarded with a welcome bonus. T&Cs apply

amex.com.au

 

[lucky777]

Thanks for posting, bluethecat.
I would like to share my 2 cents on this card.
Amex Charge Platinum Card - designed for high end frequent traveller

Great card for frequent travellers, this card comes with below benefit.
1, Received 90k premium ascent rewards points when you apply and spent $3,000 within first 3 months of card membership;
2, Receive up to $850 travel credit P.A*, this is best to spend on domestic flight (e.g, Qantas or Virgin), as airfare on amex travel is exactly the same as it is on Qantas or Virgin website;
3, 2 x complimentary membership to Priority pass, just this benefit alone is worth over au$1,000 (Cost per Priority pass prestige membership is us$399 P.A).
4, Receive complimentary Gold (or equivilent level) membership for top range hotel chain, car rental & golf membership. E.g., Starwood gold member, shangri-la Jade member, hilton gold member etc;
5, Up to 3 points per dollar spent;
6, Complimentary travel insurance when you use this credit to book return flight of your trip;
7, Purchase protection insurance;
8, Complimentary Virgin Australia for your and one of your guest every time you travel with Virgin Australia;
9, As a platinum charge card holder, you could also get Amex reserve card for free which means you will get additional $400 travel credit as a reserve card holder;
10, Complimentary accor plus membership, worth $395, this membership offer a free night stay within accor group;
11, Complimentary AFR digital subscription valued at $628 per year.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could apply this card using this refer link, Platinum Charge
You will receive 90k points and I will receive 45k points as referral, this would help to make my family Euro trip dream come much sooner!
Annual fee is $1450, but if you balance all above benefit it is well worth the annual fee. This card may not suit every one, but would be a fantastic card to have if you are frequent traveller. I am happy to answer all related queries regarding all amex card!

*To obtain $850 travel credit, you also need to apply for Amex reserve credit card. As a platinum charge card holder you will be able to get reserve for free (no annual fee) and this card comes with $400 travel credit P.A.