HOW TO USE THE AMERICAN EXPRESS PLATINUM CARD CREDITS

Introduction

Credit card issuers continue to compete with their premium cards to get your business. The cost for premium cards has significantly increased almost across the board. Whether you consider it good or bad, the latest trend with these premium cards is to offer credits to more than offset those high annual fees. The credits reduce or eliminate charges when purchasing certain items.

American Express leads the way in complexity with their Platinum card, offering a veritable coupon book of credits, which they claim is worth more than $3,500 when considered with the other card benefits, in exchange for a whopping $895 annual fee. The other benefits include points multipliers, lounge access, and status with hotel chains and rental car companies. This article will focus solely on the credits.

These credits offered by card issuers, however, can sometimes be difficult to claim. Using all of them require a particular lifestyle or perhaps a change in spending pattern, which may not be financially prudent. In addition, criteria for using the credits can make it challenging to use them. Reports indicate that only about 30% of credits offered by card issuers are actually claimed.

Most of us are happy with the thought of having the card fully pay for itself or at least come close. If we can accomplish that, then the other benefits like lounge access and status are all gravy. In this article, I’ll provide some pointers to help you maximize the credits you get from the Amex Platinum without incurring unnecessary expenses.

This article includes:

• Benefits Tracker

• Hotel Credits

• Resy Credit

• Shopping Credits

• Transportation Security Credits

• Digital Entertainment Credit

• Uber Credits

• Walmart+ Membership Credit

• Airline Fee Credit

• Oura Ring Credit

• Max’s Take

Benefits Tracker

Amex knows their Platinum Card offer is complex, so they provide a convenient benefits tracker in their app for you.

Select Membership at the bottom of the screen, then View All under Track Progress.

On the website, select Benefits, scroll down to Track Progress, then select View All Benefits at the bottom of the section. On the Benefits Activity screen, select Show All.

Airline Fee Credit

The Platinum Card provides a $200 credit with the airline of your choice each year. This credit can be used toward incidentals such as seat assignment, luggage fees, in-flight purchases and daily lounge passes. They do not work for tickets and airfare, upgrades, mileage points purchases, or gift cards. The intent is for incidentals, not airfare, and Amex has tightened the reins here recently. To qualify for the credit, you must inform Amex of your desired airline partner. Amex does show some flexibility here, allowing you to switch once per year. Credits will appear on your statement after charging the incidentals.

A challenge with this credit is that, if you have the Amex Platinum Card, you already have lounge access in most airports, and likely status with your airline of choice, making it harder to claim. If you choose your credit with an airline with which you have status, the easiest way to use the credit is to select preferred seat assignments. These usually come at a price of $35-$40 per seat. If you choose your credit with an airline with which you don't have status, you also might use the credit for checked bags. If you want to maximize this credit, an annual preview of where you plan to travel, which airlines are likely to take you there, and which incidentals are likely to be used is in order. If it looks like you might not use the complete credit, there are always food and drink on the flight!

Hotel Credits

The largest credit provided by the Platinum card is the hotel credit of $600. This is broken into separate $300 credits, one to be used January 1 through end June, and the other July 1 through year end. To claim a credit, you must book prepaid through the Amex travel portal at either one of their Fine Hotels and Resorts (FHR) or The Hotel Collection (THC). These are indicated by a dark banner across the top of the hotel listing. No banner = no credit. Stays at THC require a minimum 2 night stay to qualify for the credit, and FHR only one. Stays at these venues usually include an additional $100 property credit (that is a voucher for anything at the hotel; food, drink, spa, etc.) and free breakfast for two each day, further increasing the savings. Credits usually appear on your statement after booking and paying.

A challenge is that most of these locations are very expensive, often hovering around $1,000 per night. Three nights at a hotel at that rate make your $300 hotel credit only a 10% savings.

If you have some flexibility regarding location and book close to your travel date, you can find a terrific hotel, pay next to nothing for a 1 night stay, and enjoy some complimentary cocktails and free breakfast for your effort.

Resy Credit

Platinum offers $400 in credits annually, broken into a $100 credit each quarter. To qualify for these credits you must enroll in the Amex website or app. Once you’ve done this, simply use your card for a purchase at any restaurant in the Resy network. Credits will appear on your next statement. You can dine in, carry out, or buy a gift card. Gift cards should be purchased on site, as I have seen that purchasing a gift card online doesn’t always trigger the credit. If your tab is less than $100, the remainder is still available for the rest of the quarter.

Shopping Credits

Amex offers shopping credits with lululemon and Saks. The lululemon credit totals $300 annually, and is broken into four $75 credits to be used each quarter. The Saks credit is $100, and is broken into two $50 credits to be used semi-annually. To qualify for these credits, you must enroll in the Amex app or website. Credits will appear on your next statement.

Not many of us are shopping in lululemon every quarter, making utilization of this credit a bit more difficult. However, the Platinum Card can be used to purchase gift cards at the stores, enabling you to carry credits over to another quarter in which you can go shopping. The same goes for Saks. This enables us to maximize these shopping credits.

Tip from Max:

American Express has announced it will discontinue the Saks credit after 1H 2026. They have not announced if there will be a replacement credit.

Transportation Security Credits

There are a plethora of credit cards which offer to cover enrollment/renewal with Global Entry / TSA PreCheck. Considering enrollment covers a 5 year period, this $120 credit is worth very little on an annual basis.

Amex Platinum, however, is the only premium card which offers a credit with CLEAR. The $209 credit completely covers the CLEAR enrollment fee, making this credit easy to claim, valuable, and convenient. To qualify for it, you must use your card to purchase an auto-renewing CLEAR Plus Membership, so if you cancel your card, be sure to also cancel your CLEAR Plus membership if you don’t want to pay the annual fee yourself. This credit will appear on your next statement.

Digital Entertainment Credit

Broken into twelve monthly $25 credits, the Platinum Card provides $300 in digital entertainment credits. To qualify for this credit, enrollment with Amex is required. Once enrolled, simply sign up for your desired entertainment and pay with your card. The credit will appear on each statement.

The credit can be used toward subscriptions to Disney+, Disney bundles, ESPN+, Hulu, Peacock, New York Times, Paramount+, WSJ, YouTube TV, YouTube Premium, and YouTube Music. This is an easy set-and-forget credit which doesn’t require any money from your pocket.

Uber Credits

Amex Platinum provides two Uber credits; $200 in Uber cash, and $120 for Uber One. The Uber One credit essentially pays for an Uber One membership, which provides $0 delivery fees, 6% back on rides, up to 10% off orders, and Uber surge pricing protection. To qualify, the membership must be auto-renewing and purchased with your Platinum Card.

The Uber cash is provided in twelve monthly increments of $15 and a $20 bonus in December. To qualify, simply link your Platinum Card to your Uber account, and book a ride. The credit will automatically be applied to the first ride you take that month. I personally like this credit because I frequently use Uber anyway. With lesser priced competition like Empower beginning to spread across the U.S., I only use Uber for the one discounted ride each month.

Max's Inside Scoop: If you don't know about Empower, you will soon. Empower is a platform that enables rideshare drivers to set their own rates. They do not charge a commission on rides, resulting in increased income for the driver and lower rates for the passenger. Empower currently operates in five markets (New York, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., South Florida, and Winston Salem / Greensboro North Carolina, and are growing fast.

Walmart+ Membership

Another no-brainer, set-it-and-forget it credit. The $155 credit is divided into monthly credits of $12.95, which cover the cost of the membership. To qualify for the credit, simply use your card to sign up for the auto-renewing Walmart Plus membership. The credit will appear on each statement.

The membership entitles you to free delivery on Walmart orders, free streaming of your choice of either Paramount+ or Peacock (with advertising), free online pet care, and savings for gas, auto care and Burger King amongst other benefits.

Oura Ring Credit

Your Platinum Card offers a $200 credit towards the purchase of an Oura ring. To qualify for the credit, the ring must be purchased on the Oura website using your card. The credit will appear on your next statement. No matter how you slice it, you cannot use this credit without spending money. Oura charges a $6 monthly subscription fee to use the app which unlocks the value of the ring, toward which the credit cannot be used.

If you do decide to make this investment, though, I suggest waiting until Black Friday / Cyber Monday, as Oura will discount their rings significantly. Last year, they dropped the price of the Oura 4 to $250, a $100 reduction. After the Amex credit, the net cost of the ring was $50.

Max’s Take

Many consumers are turned off by the American Express Platinum Card offer because it is just too complex. I, however, think that with that complexity comes value, value which should sustain because many cardholders will not take advantage of most of the credits. That is good news for those of us who make the effort to take advantage of them.

The credits for Uber One, digital entertainment, and Walmart+ are set-it-and-forget-it. Uber Cash and Resy credits are very easy to use. The shopping credits can be leveraged effectively through the purchase of gift cards. Even if lululemon and Saks are not your style and you don’t shop at Walmart or use Uber, if you travel with any regularity and dine out or order in frequently, you’re cashing in on over $900 in credits through the digital entertainment, Resy and CLEAR credits, which completely cover the annual fee for the card. This doesn’t even take into account the benefits of lounge access, status with hotel chains and rental car companies, and points multipliers.

If the card fits your lifestyle and you take the time to enroll in the necessary programs and track your progress, it is easy to get more than enough value from it to justify the cost. Maxing this plastic makes it a lucrative card to have in your wallet.

Did you find this article helpful? Do you have any other opportunities for maxing your plastic you would like to share? Are there any other topics you'd like to see? Please respond with any feedback you might have.

If you would like further guidance on how to maximize the value of your credit cards, please reach out to me at email@maxyourplastic.com to set up a free, no obligation consultation.

Apply for the American Express Platinum card