Amex Platinum : The card for Premium travel

Amex Platinum, the card made for traveller who travel often, love premium perks, and can turn its travel, lounge, hotel and dining benefits into real value.

What is this card made for?

Frequent travellers : whether you travel for business, solo, as a couple, or with family.

Why?

• Unlimited lounge access* — particularly valuable if you travel frequently or have multiple stops on one trip.
• Travel insurance for Additional Card Members* — they don’t have to be your spouse or child, and the Primary Card Member does not necessarily need to travel with them.
• $450 Travel Credit + $400 Dining Credit — these can help offset a large part of the $1,450 annual fee if you can actually use them.
• Hotel benefits — get hotel status/fast-track benefits with participating hotel partners, plus opportunities to receive a complimentary night through selected hotel programs.

How to maximise the benefits

• Travel overseas at least just twice a year : especially if your trips include multiple stops, so you can make full use of the unlimited lounge access.
• Use the card to buy your outbound travel ticket : to meet the eligibility requirements for travel insurance.
• Make use of Additional Card Members : their travel insurance benefits can apply without requiring the Primary Card Member to travel with them, subject to the card’s insurance terms.*
• Use the $450 Travel Credit every year : this reduces the effective annual fee from $1,450 to $1,000.
• Use the $400 Dining Credit every year : if you can use the full amount, the effective cost can be reduced to around $600 after both credits.
• Use the hotel benefits : take advantage of hotel fast track/status benefits and use the complimentary night benefit when staying with participating hotel partners.

Who may not suit this card?

The biggest question isn’t how much you spend or how many points you can earn.

It’s whether you will actually use the benefits.

This card may not suit you if you:

• Rarely travel and won’t use the lounge access.
• Don’t use the $450 Travel Credit each year.
• Don’t use the $400 Dining Credit enough to get meaningful value from it.
• Don’t need the travel insurance or Additional Card benefits.
• Prefer to pay a much lower annual fee rather than paying upfront for premium travel benefits you may not use.

The simple way to look at it

The $1,450 annual fee looks expensive on its own.

But if you can use the $450 Travel Credit + $400 Dining Credit, your effective cost can be around $600. Then you can look at the lounge access, travel insurance, hotel status, complimentary night and other benefits to see how much value you can actually get from the card.

• For this card, I would focus less on points earning and more on how much of the benefits you can actually use.

Want to see the full benefits?

For the latest fees, benefits, lounge access, travel insurance terms and conditions, and eligibility requirements, check the official American Express website:
View the American Express Platinum Card

Our rankings are based on our own research and calculations using publicly available information from the relevant banks. They represent our personal assessment and are not financial advice. Rewards rates, fees, caps and card conditions can change, so always check the bank’s latest terms and conditions before applying.