American Express Platinum Card comes loaded with a treasure trove of benefits. It is a card I highly value and have carried in my wallet for several years. When I talk to people about this card, many of them want it but are put off by the hefty $1,450 annual fee. To be fair that is a decent chunk of cash.

That said, if you can make use of the cards travel & lifestyle perks, you will realise that the card pretty much pays for itself. If you have ever considered getting this card, but haven’t been able to make up your mind on whether it offers value for money, here are 6 reasons that might help you take the plunge.

150,000 points Welcome Bonus

Welcome bonus on Amex Platinum have generally ranged between 100,000 – 250,000 Membership Rewards Points. Although the current welcome bonus of 150,000 points is not the highest, it’s worth pointing out that the higher offers in the past were at a time when Covid-19 was raging, lockdowns and border closures were the order of the day and travelling had literally ground to a halt. While it is possible that Amex might bring back those offers, there is no guarantee it will happen.

So what is the current welcome bonus worth?

I value Membership Rewards Points at 1c per point which many people might say is conservative. Even at 1c pp, the welcome bonus is worth $1,500. Of-course there are ways to extract much higher value out of those points, but at the most elementary level the welcome bonus alone justifies paying the annual fee in the 1st year.

Note that to receive the welcome bonus of 150,000 points, you must Apply for the card online and spend a minimum of $5,000 within the first 3 months of your card membership.

I would say that the spending requirement is reasonable and most people should be able to achieve it comfortably (roughly $1,667 per month).

Amex Platinum is offering a Welcome Bonus of 150,000 Membership Rewards Points

If you want to milk the welcome bonus for all it’s worth, the best way to do that is by transferring these points to one of Amex’s airline partners and redeeming them for long haul business or first-class flights.

The welcome bonus of 150,000 points can be transferred to up to 10 airline partners, such as Virgin Australia, Qantas, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles in the ratio of 2:1 (2 Amex points = 1 Airline points) giving you 75,000 airline points. Once you factor in the points earned from the initial $5,000 spend, you will have more than 80,000 airline points.

If transferred to Virgin Australia’s Velocity program, that is enough points for you to fly Qatar Airways Business Class Return between Adelaide and Auckland.

Redeem Membership Rewards Points to fly Qatar Airways Qsuites

The same flight paid with cash can easily cost north of $3,000 putting it beyond the reach of most people.

If you would like to learn more about Membership Rewards Program, I highly recommend you check out one of my earlier posts over here.

Up to $400 per year Dining Credit

This is a relatively new feature introduced in 2022. The Amex Platinum card now offers up to $400 per year in dining credit at selected restaurants, that is $200 to spend at Australian venues and another $200 at overseas restaurants spread across 19 countries.

Earn up to $400 per year dining credit with Amex Platinum Card

A one time enrolment is required which you can easily complete by adding the offer to your card under Amex Offers as shown above.

While it is a limitation of the offer that it can only be used at participating restaurants, it does cover many of the finest venues in Australia and overseas. See the list of participating restaurants over here.

$450 Travel Credit

The Amex Platinum comes with annual travel credit of $450. You can use this credit to pay for flights, hotels, car hire or experiences through Amex Travel online or by phoning through Platinum Travel Service on 1800 673 760.

Note that you don’t have to travel overseas or even interstate to use the credit, it can just as easily be used for a city staycation or a weekend away to a seaside town near you.

Redeem your Platinum Travel Credit for a night at Four Seasons Sydney

Amex have a great video on their website explaining everything about the travel credit and how to use it. I highly recommend you check it out over here.

Unlimited Access to Airport Lounges

If you travel with any frequency, you are going to love this benefit. The Amex Platinum Card offers you and up to 2 guests unlimited access to Amex lounges worldwide. This includes American Express Lounges at Sydney & Melbourne International Airport, Centurion Lounges, Escape Lounges and the Centurion Studio Partner Lounges.

American Express Lounge, Sydney International Airport

But that is not all. The Amex Platinum Card also comes with 2 Priority Pass Select Memberships, each of which allow the member to take 1 guest with them to any of more than 1,300 Priority Pass Lounges located at 650 airports across 140 countries. This means that no matter which part of the world you are travelling to, there will always possibly be a lounge you can access.

What I love most about Priority Pass is that you can access their lounges regardless of which airline, cabin or destination you are flying to. There is no need to hold elite status in any airline program, simply show your Priority Pass membership card along with your boarding pass and you will be welcomed in.

Complimentary Accor Plus Membership

Accor Plus membership gives you exclusive benefits across 20 countries, 1,000 hotels and more than 1,400 restaurants in Asia Pacific. On its own, Accor Plus membership sells for $399 per year, but as the proud owner of a shiny Amex Platinum metal card, its yours for free.

The full list of benefits are too extensive to mention here – however, there are a couple of notable benefits that I do want to talk about.

Free Hotel Night Annually – The membership offers 1 free annual night at any of Accor’s more than 1,000 hotels in Asia Pacific. Over the years, I have redeemed my free night at places such as Sofitel Darling Harbour and Pullman Magenta Shores, each worth at least $250 in value.

Up to 50% off Dining – If you are a foodie, you will love this benefit. Accor Plus members get up to 50% off their food bill each time they dine at participating restaurants across Asia Pacific. The actual discount depends on the size of your dining party.

This is how it works :

• If you dine alone, you get 25% off your food bill.
• If you bring in a guest, you get 50% off your food bill.
• If you dine with 2 guests, you get 33% off your food bill.
• If you bring in 3 or more guests, you get 25% off your dining bill.

At restaurants in Australia & NZ, the discount only applies to the food portion of your bill, but when you dine in Asia, you also enjoy 15% off beverages in all participating hotels and resorts.

Save up to 50% on your food bill with Accor Plus

Note that not all restaurants offer Accor Plus dining benefit, you can check out the full list of venues that are excluded over here.

Net A Porter $75 half-yearly credit

This is a recent addition to the Amex Platinum card. Basically, cardholders get a credit of up to $75 to their account twice a year on purchases made at Net A Porter.

At the time of writing this post, the benefit is available until 31 December 2023 only and may not be extended.

You can use this credit once between 4th January – 30th June and then again between 1st July – 31st December, each year. All up you can spend up to $150 per year and Amex will pick up the tab.

Amex Platinum cardmembers get up to $75 credit at Net A Porter every six month

Other Benefits

The benefits discussed above have a tangible value, you can count it and map it to some form of economic return. But the Amex Platinum Card comes loaded with a ton of other benefits too where it’s not so easy to assign monetary value.

Some of these are :

• The Australian Premium subscription valued at $364 per year.
• Access to Fine Hotels & Resorts Program valued at up to $700 per stay.
• Numerous Hotel Elite Status’ including Hilton Gold which offers free breakfast & room upgrades.
• Access to International Airline Program which offers up to 20% off on First & Business Class fares on airlines such as Qantas, Virgin Australia, Emirates and more.
• Free Travel Insurance when you book and pay the return airfare on your Platinum Card

The list above is not exhaustive, there are many more benefits that can potentially save you thousands of dollars each year depending on your lifestyle and travel pattern.

In Conclusion

The Amex Platinum Card has an expensive $1,450 annual fee. But as you can see above, the perks and benefits go a long way in offsetting that cost.

The way I see it is if you travel couple of times a year and can take advantage of the complimentary travel insurance, visit the airport lounges or stay at Hilton properties where your Hilton Gold status entitles you to free breakfast, potential room upgrades and access to the Club lounge, these are easily worth hundreds of dollars in value.

When you add the $400 dining credit, $450 travel credit and free Accor Plus Membership the card becomes a no-brainer.

At the end of the day, only you – the user are the final arbitrator of whether something is worth or not. But if you have been sitting on the fence about the Platinum Card, I hope this has helped you make up your mind one way or the other.

Disclosure : If you apply for the card using links in this post and are approved, pointsHq or it’s related entity may receive some referral points.