The unique benefits of the American Express Platinum Card^®

Carte de Platine^MD d’American Express

La Carte de Platine^MD est la meilleure carte haut de gamme au Canada pour les voyageurs.

Avec cette offre de bienvenue, vous pouvez obtenir jusqu’à 100 000 points-privilèges^MD :

• 70 000 points après avoir porté 10 000 $ à votre Carte au cours de vos 3 premiers mois d’adhésion
• 30 000 points en effectuant un achat entre le 15e et le 17e mois suivant votre adhésion

Avec cette Carte, vous obtenez :

• 2 points par tranche de 1 $ d’achats admissibles de repas et de services de livraison au Canada
• 2 points par dollar d’achats de voyages admissibles portés à la Carte
• 1 point par tranche de 1 $ d’autres achats portés à la Carte

Vous pouvez utiliser vos points-privilèges^MD de multiples façons :

• Transfert de points auprès de partenaires aériens : Aéroplan, Avios (British Airways / Qatar Airways), Flying Blue, Delta SkyMiles, etc.
• Transfert de points auprès de partenaires hôteliers, notamment Hilton Honors et Marriott Bonvoy
• Échange des points contre des crédits au compte pour des voyages (1 000 points = 10 $)
• Échange des points contre des crédits au compte pour d’autres achats (1 000 points = 10 $)
• Et plus encore !

Par exemple, avec cette offre de bienvenue, si vous décidez de transférer vos points-privilèges^MD vers un programme de fidélité partenaire, vous pourriez obtenir jusqu’à :

• 100 000 points Aéroplan
• 100 000 Avios
• 100 000 miles Flying Blue
• 120 000 points Marriott Bonvoy

Avec cette Carte, vous disposez également d’avantages pour vos voyages :

• Un crédit annuel pour voyage de 200 $
• Un crédit annuel pour repas de 200 $
• Un crédit au compte de 100 $ pour l’adhésion au programme NEXUS
• Accès gratuit pour vous et un voyageur additionnel à plus de 1 550 salons d’aéroport dans plus de 140 pays
• Statut Hilton Honors Gold
• Statut Élite Gold Marriott Bonvoy
• Accès au programme Fine Hotels + Resorts

Enfin, La Carte de Platine^MD se distingue par les nombreuses assurances offertes : vol et dommages pour voitures de location, accident de voyage de 500 000 $, frais médicaux d’urgence hors province ou hors pays, perte ou vol de bagages, retard d’avion et bagages mal acheminés, cambriolage à l’hôtel ou au motel, Protection-Achat et Garantie-Achat.

Comme toutes les Cartes d’American Express Canada, aucun revenu minimum n’est exigé.

The Platinum Card^® clearly stands out from the competition thanks to the various benefits it offers frequent travellers. For each of them, I will try to assign a value.

The current welcome bonus: up to 100,000 Membership Rewards points, worth up to $1,000 toward your travels. You get 70,000 points after putting $10,000 in net purchases on your Card in the first 3 months, then 30,000 points with a purchase between months 15 and 17. In the first year, that completely changes the profitability calculation, as I show in my quantified profiles below.

The American Express Platinum Card^® » />

Airport lounge access

It’s personally something I’m quite fond of (and I know that’s the case for many members of our Facebook group as well).

The benefit

The Platinum Card^® offers free, unlimited access for the cardholder and a travel companion to most of the lounges listed below.

If we look only at the Priority Pass membership included for the Platinum Card^® cardholder, this benefit is worth US$469/year.

And American Express has a special agreement with Priority Pass that allows you to add a travel companion to this membership (which would otherwise cost US$35/visit)!

And that is without counting access to all the other types of lounges around the world:

Here are the conditions of access for each type of lounge:

The value of airport lounge access

By being reasonable in my estimates, thanks to this airport lounge access benefit offered by the Platinum Card^®, I estimate saving $40 per person each time we pass through an airport (for food and drinks). This is without counting the rest obtained versus waiting in certain terminals (especially with children).

Hotel statuses

American Express has partnered with various hotel programs to provide access to higher statuses when you are a Platinum Card^® cardholder.

The benefit

Among the hotel programs, the status that has the most value in my eyes remains Hilton Honors Gold. It is the only one of the two to provide a dining benefit: a daily food and beverage credit in the United States, or a continental breakfast at several hotels outside the United States (this varies by brand and region).

On the Marriott Bonvoy side, Gold Elite status does not include any breakfast: Marriott reserves this for its Platinum members and above. Since 2026, Hilton has also revised its tiers: Gold status is now obtained after 25 nights, and a new Diamond Reserve tier has been added. The benefits of Gold status remain the same.

Program benefits by status level

Program	Status	Key Benefits
	Elite Gold	Room upgrade upon arrival, subject to availability (excluding suites) Late check-out until 2 PM, subject to availability 25% more points on stays Free high-speed Wi-Fi Welcome gift (points) No breakfast included
	Gold	Daily food and beverage credit (U.S.) or continental breakfast (outside the U.S., depending on the brand) Room upgrade subject to availability (early confirmation) 80% more points Free high-speed Wi-Fi 5th night free on reward stays

The value of hotel statuses

The value of this benefit depends mainly on the number of stays you make each year and the country where you travel. In a Hilton hotel outside the United States, free continental breakfast for two can represent a significant saving. In the United States, it is instead a daily food and beverage credit, the amount of which varies by hotel. Counting around $20 per person per day, over about ten nights per year, this represents a few hundred dollars depending on your profile.

On the Marriott side, as Gold status does not offer breakfast, the value comes mainly from upgrades and late check-out. It’s up to you to see, based on your travels, the value you give to this benefit. Personally, I value it at around $200 per year.

$200 travel credit

If there is one Platinum Card^® benefit that is easy to quantify, it is the annual $200 travel credit.

The benefit

When you apply for the Platinum Card^®, you receive a $200 travel credit to use through American Express Travel services. This may be:

• A flight
• A hotel
• A car rental
• A travel package

Then, each year when your Platinum Card^® annual fee renews, you receive this credit again. I explain in detail in this article how the annual travel credit works.

The value of the travel credit

As I have the opportunity to travel several times a year, it is easy for me to use the Platinum Card^® annual $200 credit. It is therefore worth $200 for travel I would have purchased anyway!

$200 Annual Dining Credit

Another Platinum Card^® benefit that is easy to quantify is the annual $200 dining credit.

The benefit

When you apply for the Platinum Card^®, you receive an annual $200 dining credit. This credit applies to your restaurant bill according to an American Express restaurant list.

Then, each year on January 1, you receive this credit again.

The value of the annual dining credit

Since I love dining at good restaurants and the bill adds up quickly when eating out, it’s become fairly easy to use the Platinum Card^®’s $200 annual dining credit.

Instead of using my American Express Cobalt^® Card (which allows me to earn 5 points per dollar at all restaurants), I will use my American Express Platinum Card^®.

$100 NEXUS credit

The Platinum Card^® comes with another benefit for travelers: the $100 statement credit for NEXUS program membership. Simply charge your NEXUS membership (every 4 years) to your Platinum Card^® to receive this credit.

The Membership Rewards program

Beyond the travel benefits, it is important to note the excellent Membership Rewards points earning with the Platinum Card^®:

• 2 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at restaurants and bars
• 2 Membership Rewards points per dollar of travel purchases
• 1 Membership Rewards point per dollar spent on other purchases

Here is an example of earning:

The Platinum Card^®—like the American Express Cobalt^® Card—lets you use your Membership Rewards points in multiple ways, without being « stuck » with Aeroplan points:

• via transfers to other airline or hotel loyalty programs
• via the fixed points travel program for flights
• via a statement credit for travel purchases
• via a statement credit for everyday purchases

My tips for making the Platinum Card profitable

Here is how I go about it, concretely, so that this Card earns more than its $799 annual fee.

• I collect both credits at the beginning of the year: $200 travel credit + $200 dining credit is $400 recovered quickly, which is already half of the annual fee.
• I use the Platinum for the dining credit, then I switch back to the Cobalt: I pay the $200 eligible for the credit with the Platinum, and all the rest of my dinners with my Cobalt^® Card at 5 points per dollar.
• I add my travel companion to the lounge access: the Priority Pass membership includes a free guest, which avoids US$35 per visit. For a couple passing through the airport 5 times, that represents about $400.
• I charge my NEXUS membership to the Card: $100 reimbursed every 4 years. Not to be forgotten at the time of renewal.
• I transfer my Membership Rewards points rather than redeeming them: a statement credit is worth 1,000 points = $10, but a 1-to-1 transfer to Aeroplan or Avios is often worth much more per point for a plane ticket.
• I’m aiming for the 2nd tier of the welcome bonus: 30,000 points with a purchase between months 15 and 17. A single purchase is enough; I set a calendar reminder so I don’t miss it.
• I schedule my stays at Hilton to take advantage of Gold status: free breakfast is worth about $20 per person per night.

My concrete calculations by profile

To give you real benchmarks, here are two profiles based on the benefit values I assigned earlier in the article. The annual fee is $799. I present the recurring value (year 2 and beyond), then the first-year value with the welcome bonus.

Profile 1: Frequent traveler as a couple

Profile 2: Occasional traveler

Conclusion

It is clear that the Platinum Card^® is not for everyone and remains a card designed for travellers.

However, if you have travel plans and can take advantage of its various benefits (annual $200 travel credit, annual $200 dining credit, airport lounge access, statuses, etc.) as well as the Membership Rewards points earning categories, this is THE card to get in preparation for those trips!

The benefits easily outweigh the annual fee (especially in the first year with a welcome bonus).

The current offer: up to 100,000 Privilege points as a welcome bonus, which is up to $1,000 for your travels. Compare it as well to the rest of our ranking of the best credit cards, and subscribe to our newsletter so you don’t miss any of the next boosts.

For all the details of this offer, see our full American Express Platinum Card page.

In my view, it therefore remains an essential card alongside my American Express Cobalt^® Card!

*This post was not sponsored. The opinions and viewpoints expressed in this review are solely my own. American Express is not responsible for maintaining or controlling the accuracy of the information published on this website. To obtain complete and up-to-date information about the product, click the Apply Now link. Terms and conditions apply.

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