Credit Card Offers Amex Platinum Card Benefits, Offers & Discussion

Enjoy a world of travel benefits and up to 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 100,000 Qantas Points, Velocity Points, Avios or Asia Miles, among other options) when you 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 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.

 

[burneracc]

Reckon we will get to ask for a point bonus / inflation for anything pre devaluation like last time?

 

[iamsuperandrew]

Reckon we will get to ask for a point bonus / inflation for anything pre devaluation like last time?

Unknown and highly doubt it and wonder if the poor $USD conversation rate has anything to do with it?

last time it was doubled so 1.125 / $1 was doubled to 2.25/ $1 and the redemption rate was doubled from 1:1 to 2:1, then came the KF & EK devaluation

The chances of maybe going to 2.5/ $1 is unlikely

Interesting that Amex would potentially pull the trigger before the banks aggressively do with the looming RBA cuts

 

[levelnine]

Interesting that Amex would potentially pull the trigger before the banks aggressively do with the looming RBA cuts

I think there will be a further devaluation once the interchange caps hit.

The regular banks will go first, and Amex will follow suit to remain competitive (they'll have to lower their merchant rates to ensure merchants continue to accept Amex).

Take the UK as an example.

UK Amex Plat earns 1MR per £1 and transfers 1:1 to many airline programs.
AU Amex Plat earns 2.25MR per $1 and transfers 3:1 to many airlines.

For the same AUD100/GBP48 spend, the UK Plat earns 48 Avios & the AU Plat earns 75 Avios.

Far too generous if Australia's interchange caps are brought into line with UK (and Europe more generally).

I would expect another 40-50% devaluation on top of this forthcoming devaluation.

 

[am0985]

I think there will be a further devaluation once the interchange caps hit.

The regular banks will go first, and Amex will follow suit to remain competitive (they'll have to lower their merchant rates to ensure merchants continue to accept Amex).

Take the UK as an example.

UK Amex Plat earns 1MR per £1 and transfers 1:1 to many airline programs.
AU Amex Plat earns 2.25MR per $1 and transfers 3:1 to many airlines.

For the same AUD100/GBP48 spend, the UK Plat earns 48 Avios & the AU Plat earns 75 Avios.

Far too generous if Australia's interchange caps are brought into line with UK (and Europe more generally).

I would expect another 40-50% devaluation on top of this forthcoming devaluation.

I’m a little less pessimistic. I think these changes are in response to the RBA plans. Interchange fees aren’t the only thing that dictates the transfer rates, though of course they are a significant component.

I doubt they’d want to do two devaluations so close to each other, that’s the sort of thing that would lose a lot of customers.

 

[Doctore1003]

The RBA reforms haven’t been finalised yet and wouldn’t kick in til 1 July 2026, so isn’t a bit early to react?

Also, the US (and other jurisdiction) Platinum card refresh is due to be revealed, so this update could be related to that.

 

[levelnine]

I’m a little less pessimistic. I think these changes are in response to the RBA plans. Interchange fees aren’t the only thing that dictates the transfer rates, though of course they are a significant component.

I doubt they’d want to do two devaluations so close to each other, that’s the sort of thing that would lose a lot of customers.

It'll be interesting to see. I think the UK is instructive because their interchange cap is identical to what the RBA is proposing. It is hard to see how Amex AU could afford to be 50+% more generous than Amex UK if the caps come into force.

On the loss of customers, the question becomes: where will they go?

Is a high spender racking up tens of thousands of dollars in charges each month going to switch to debit? At least with Amex they get an interest free period. And all the Visa/MC credit card options will be worse.

 

[Mr_Orange]

Some people will not be able to justify the annual fees, etc for low(er) earn. I have given up on the whole points earning game. It's just a scam unless you are able to maintain high status with the airline of your choice and get access to the seats.

I look for no, to low, annual fee and no international transaction fees in a credit card, these days.

 

[N0mad]

Some people will not be able to justify the annual fees, etc for low(er) earn. I have given up on the whole points earning game. It's just a scam unless you are able to maintain high status with the airline of your choice and get access to the seats.

I look for no, to low, annual fee and no international transaction fees in a credit card, these days.

i wouldn't say it's a scam, i have no status with any airline and managed Y to BKK late Dec and J return to Syd for a family of 4 late Jan. you just need to know how to play the game more effectively than everyone else.

 

[Mr_Orange]

i wouldn't say it's a scam, i have no status with any airline and managed Y to BKK late Dec and J return to Syd for a family of 4. you just need to know how to play the game more effectively than everyone else.

Scam was a poor choice of words. 'Rigged' is probably better. To the uninitiated, the lure of 'free', ahem, flights gets them on the points earning train but the reality turns out to be quite different.