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American Express® Platinum Edge Card
Earn flexible Amex Membership Rewards points and enjoy triple points when shopping at supermarkets and petrol stations. Plus, get a $200 travel credit every year!
- Points Earned
- 3 Membership Rewards points earned per $1 spent at major supermarkets and petrol stations; 2 Membership Rewards points earned per $1 on overseas spend; 1 Membership Rewards point per $1 spent everywhere else including ATO, other government charges and utilities
- Annual fee
- $0 in the first year, $195 p.a.
The owner of Australian Frequent Flyer may receive a commission from the card issuer for each applicant of this card.
Why we like the American Express Platinum Edge Card
The American Express Platinum Edge card could be a great addition to your wallet if you regularly shop for groceries and petrol. Purchases from major supermarkets and petrol stations in Australia earn 3 Amex Membership Rewards points per $1. That’s equivalent to 1.5 Velocity points or 1 KrisFlyer mile.
Overseas transactions earn 2 Amex Membership Rewards points per $1 (or foreign currency equivalent). All other transactions earn 1 Amex Membership Rewards point per $1.
Amex Membership Rewards are highly flexible and can be transferred to your choice of around 11 different airlines and 2 hotel loyalty programs, as needed. Plus, there’s no cap to the number of points you can earn with this card.
The American Express Platinum Edge card has a $195 annual fee. This is fully offset with a $200 annual travel credit to spend through American Express Travel. For a limited time, this annual fee will even be waived for the first year.
Key Information & How to Apply
Key facts about this card
- Card type
- American Express
- Annual fee
- $0 in the first year, $195 p.a.
- Interest rate
- 23.99% p.a.
- Interest-free days
- Up to 55 days
- Minimum monthly repayment
- 2.5% of the balance or $30, whichever is higher
- Minimum credit limit
- $3000
- International transaction fee
- 3%
To apply for this card, you will need
- To be an Australian citizen, resident or long-term visa holder aged 18 or over
- No history of bad debt or payment default
- Your Australian driver’s licence number and proof of income
- 10-15 minutes to complete your application
The owner of Australian Frequent Flyer may receive a commission from the card issuer for each applicant of this card.
Contents
Welcome offer
Apply for an American Express Platinum Edge card and the annual fee (normally $195) will be waived in the first year!
This offer is not available to existing American Express cardholders, or if you have been the primary cardholder of an Australian Amex card in the past 18 months. Note that this welcome offer could change at any time.
Amex Platinum Edge travel benefits
With an Amex Platinum Edge credit card, you’ll get a $200 annual travel credit and complimentary insurances. Here’s what you need to know…
Annual Travel Credit
Each year that you hold the Amex Platinum Edge credit card, you’ll receive a $200 travel credit to spend on eligible domestic and international flights, hotels or hire car bookings.
You can redeem this travel credit towards a single booking made through American Express Travel. You can book flights on many different airlines through this portal including Qantas, Virgin Australia, Air New Zealand, Qatar Airways and Emirates. However, this credit can’t be put towards a cruise booking. (You can read the full Platinum Edge card Travel Credit Terms & Conditions on the Amex website.)
From 1 May 2023, you’ll need to use this credit towards a booking that costs $200 or more, and $200 will be credited back to your card account after completing the booking.
Complimentary travel & other insurance
This card comes with complimentary domestic and international travel insurance, including some cover for COVID-19. This insurance is underwritten by Chubb and is activated when you pay for your trip using your American Express Platinum Edge credit card.
Before using this insurance, we’d encourage you to read the PDS here.
The Platinum Edge card also offers other types of complimentary insurance, including:
- Smartphone Screen Cover – with coverage of up to $500
- Buyer’s Advantage Cover – adding an extra 12 months of extended warranty on eligible purchases
- Card Purchase & Refund Cover – with coverage for replacement items or if a store refuses a return
Earning points
With the Amex Platinum Edge card, you’ll earn 1 Amex Membership Rewards point per $1 spent on most types of transactions within Australia. That’s effectively 0.5 airline points or miles per $1 spent, with most airlines, after accounting for the conversion rate.
Bonus earning categories
When spending at major supermarkets or petrol stations in Australia, this card’s earn rate triples to 3 Amex Membership Rewards points per $1! That’s equivalent to an impressive 1.5 airline points or miles per dollar (with most frequent flyer programs), making this a great card for grocery shopping and filling up your car.
You can earn triple points when shopping at the following Australian supermarkets:
- Bi-Lo
- Coles
- Fishers
- Food For Less
- Fresh Provisions
- Harris Farm Markets
- IGA
- Macro Wholefoods
- Safeway
- Supabarn
- Thomas Dux
- Woolworths
Of course, you can also earn Flybuys points at Coles and Everyday Rewards points at Woolworths to make your grocery shopping even more rewarding!
And earn triple points on your Amex Platinum Edge card at the following Australian petrol stations:
- Ampol
- BP
- Caltex Woolworths
- Gull
- Metro
- Peak
- Safeway Petrol
- Shell
- United
- Woolworths Petrol
- 7 Eleven
In addition, you can earn 2 Amex Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on international transactions, including when shopping online and paying in a foreign currency. However, there is a currency conversion fee of 3% applicable to these transactions.
There is no monthly or annual point-earning cap. You can earn an unlimited number of points at the full rate with this card.
Amex Membership Rewards points do not expire as long as your account remains active. Therefore, it would be a good idea to keep them in your Amex account until you’re ready to use them (or wait for a good bonus offer before transferring them to an airline)!
Earning points for ATO & government payments
When using your Amex Platinum Edge card to pay government bodies such as the Australian Tax Office (ATO), you’ll continue to earn points at the regular everyday earn rate of 1 Amex Membership Rewards point per $1 spent.
Amex Offers
From time to time, American Express cardholders receive exclusive offers of bonus points or cashback when spending at specific retailers. These Amex Offers can be quite lucrative.
Amex also runs Shop Small promotions from time to time, giving rewards for shopping at participating small businesses.
Using Amex Membership Rewards points
Amex Membership Rewards points can be converted to 11 airlines and 2 hotel loyalty programs, generally at a 2:1 conversion rate. Here’s the full list of transfer partners:
| Transfer partners | 1 Amex Point equals… |
|---|---|
| Air New Zealand Airpoints | 0.005 Airpoints Dollars |
| Cathay (Asia Miles) | 0.5 miles |
| Emirates Skywards | 0.33 miles |
| Etihad Guest | 0.5 miles |
| Hawaiian Airlines HawaiianMiles | 0.5 miles |
| Hilton Honors | 0.5 miles |
| Malaysia Airlines Enrich | 0.5 points |
| Marriott Bonvoy | 0.67 points |
| Qatar Airways Privilege Club | 0.5 Avios |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer | 0.33 miles |
| THAI Royal Orchid Plus | 0.5 miles |
| Virgin Atlantic Flying Club | 0.5 points |
| Velocity Frequent Flyer | 0.5 points |
See our Overview of Amex Membership Rewards Transfer Partners for more information.
Note that it is not possible to transfer Amex Membership Rewards points earned on the Amex Platinum Edge card into Qantas Frequent Flyer.
Alternatively, you could redeem your points through the Amex Membership Rewards program for rewards including:
- Gift cards
- David Jones credit
- Amex Travel Online
- Helloworld travel gift cards
- Cash back
Summary
Pros
- A simple credit card for earning flexible Amex Membership Rewards points
- Earn triple points at major supermarkets and petrol stations in Australia, and double points on international transactions
- Offset the annual fee with a $200 annual travel credit
- Complimentary travel and other insurances
- Compatible with Apple Pay, Google Pay & Samsung Pay
- Earn points at the regular rate when paying government bodies such as the ATO
Cons
- Amex Membership Rewards points on everyday purchases are earned at a lower rate than with the Amex Platinum and Amex Explorer cards
- International transaction fees apply
- American Express cards are not as widely accepted as Visa & Mastercard
- High interest rate (this could be a problem if you don’t think you’ll be able to repay your balance in full each month)
- Points Earned
- 3 Membership Rewards points earned per $1 spent at major supermarkets and petrol stations; 2 Membership Rewards points earned per $1 on overseas spend; 1 Membership Rewards point per $1 spent everywhere else including ATO, other government charges and utilities
- Annual fee
- $0 in the first year, $195 p.a.
The owner of Australian Frequent Flyer may receive a commission from the card issuer for each applicant of this card.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
To apply for an American Express Platinum Edge card, you would need to be an Australian citizen, resident or long-term visa holder. Other criteria may apply.
The minimum credit limit is $3,000.
Yes, and you’ll even earn points at the normal rate of 1 Amex Membership Rewards point per $1 for everyday purchases made on the American Express Platinum Edge card.
Amex Platinum is a charge card made of metal with a high annual fee, a higher points-earning rate and lots of extra benefits such as complimentary elite hotel status and airport lounge access. The Amex Platinum Edge is a regular credit card with a much lower annual fee, but a lower everyday points earning rate and it does not come with most of the extra “bells & whistles” of the Platinum card.
Amex Membership Rewards points do not expire, as long as your account remains open and in good standing. This can be useful as it means you can “warehouse” points in your account and then transfer points to a frequent flyer program of your choice as needed – preventing them from expiring in the airline’s program.
Yes, the Amex Platinum Edge card supports Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay. So, you can still use this card to make purchases when you’re out and about without carrying the physical card.
Yes, Amex Platinum Edge cardholders can add up to four additional cardholders at no cost. Additional cardholders must be at least 16 years old.