Our day-to-day use of the Platinum Card®
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This publication is sponsored by Amex Bank of Canada. However, the opinions and views expressed on this blog are only mines.
The Platinum Card® gives us many perks when we travel, especially during our 5-month family trip around the world.
In this article, I’ll put each of these advantages into practice.
New Platinum Card offer
In this article, we will go over all the travel perks associated with the Platinum Card®. But before that, here is the new welcome offer for the Platinum Card®!
New welcome bonus
If you want to discover what the Platinum Card® has to offer in terms of perks, American Express is offering you, as a new Cardmember, the opportunity to earn up to 100,000 bonus Membership Rewards® points:
- 70,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $10,000 in purchases on your Card within your first 3 months of membership
- 30,000 additional Membership Rewards points when you make a purchase between the 15th and 17th month after your Cardmembership begins
That’s enough points to get a $1,000 statement credit to use toward eligible travel purchases charged to the Card. And since you get a $200 annual travel credit, it’s like the first year’s annual fee is wiped out thanks to this offer!
A great way to fully enjoy all the perks offered by the Platinum Card®.
- Annual fee
- $799
- Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$1,190Total$1,190Plus $510 of bonus paid after the first year, not counted in this total.Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
- $1,190
- Welcome offerAfter $10,000 in 3 months
- Up to 100,000 points
Apply Now
on American Express's website
Apply with confidenceCheck whether your application will be approved before you submit it, with no impact on your credit score*When you apply for a personal American Express Credit Card, we will tell you whether you are eligible without affecting your credit score. So you can apply with confidence.*Instant decisions are only available for consumer Card applications (also called “personal Cards”).
Access to airport lounges
Without a doubt, the most sought-after perk for people who sign up for the Platinum Card®: airport lounge access.
Airport lounge access offered by the Platinum Card
Holders of the Platinum Card® enjoy complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges in over 130 countries.
This perk is valid not only for the Cardmember of the Platinum Card® but also for one guest accompanying them. In some lounges, it is even possible to bring in up to 2 children under 21. Note that guest access conditions vary by lounge.
Our use of airport lounges
We’re big fans of airport lounges! Traveling frequently with our 2 children, we’ve saved a lot of money over the past few years, especially during our 4-month trip around the world a few years ago.
Here we are, for example, as a family at the Bidvest Sky Lounge at Johannesburg Airport, thanks to the Platinum Card®.
And many of the lounges we visited are high quality, especially in Asia, like here in the only lounge available at Siem Reap Airport in Cambodia:
Here, to give you an idea, are all the free lounge visits at the airports in Zurich, Johannesburg, Cape Town, Singapore, Siem Reap, and Bali that we got in two months thanks to the Platinum Card®:
Hotel Elite Statuses
Holders of the Platinum Card® get elevated hotel status levels with several loyalty programs. Benefits differ by program and can range from a room upgrade to free breakfasts, the most sought-after perk!
The hotel status offered by The Platinum Card®
Here are the four American Express partner loyalty programs in which holders of the Platinum Card® receive a higher status:
- Marriott Bonvoy: Elite Gold
- Hilton Honors: Gold
Our use of the Hotel Status Benefit
With Hilton Honors Gold status, we receive free breakfasts during our stays at Hilton hotels! A significant advantage, especially during our world tour when Marriott Bonvoy hotels (our main loyalty program) are not present!
This was the case, for example, in New Zealand, at the Hilton Lake Taupo hotel. We had free breakfasts for us and our children.
The $200 Annual Travel Credit
Each year, when the annual fee renews, holders of the Platinum Card® receive a $200 annual travel credit.
To take advantage of it, you must book travel of $200 or more with the Platinum Card® through American Express Online Travel Services or through the Platinum Card® Travel Services. It can be, for example, a hotel night or a car rental.
Our use of the Annual Travel Credit
As we travel a lot, we find a use, each year, to this $200 Annual Travel Credit.
This year, we booked a hotel room in New Zealand thanks to this credit offered by the Platinum Card®. And like every year, the $200 credit appears in the account at the same time as the expense.
Insurance
The Platinum Card® is one of the Canadian cards offering the best insurance coverage. If fortunately, we have not had to use it so far, it is great to be able to count on it in case of a problem.
Insurance Coverage offered by The Platinum Card®
Here are examples of insurance coverages offered by the Platinum Card®:
- Out-of-Province/Country Emergency Medical Insurance
- Trip Cancellation Insurance
- Trip Interruption Insurance
- $500,000 Travel Accident Insurance
- Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance
- Flight Delay Insurance
- Baggage Delay Insurance
- Lost or Stolen Baggage Insurance
- Hotel/motel burglary insurance
- Travel Emergency Assistance
- StandbyMD medical concierge services
- Buyer’s Assurance Protection Plan
- Purchase Protection Plan
Our use for car rentals
During our several-month trip around the world, we found a particularly useful insurance benefit: the rental car theft and damage insurance offered by the Platinum Card®.
You can be covered for theft, loss and damage of your rental car with an MSRP of up to $85,000 for rentals of 48 days or less when you fully charge your rental to your Platinum Card. To benefit from this coverage, you simply need to decline the collision damage waiver, loss and damage waiver, or any similar option offered by the car rental agency.
In some countries, car rental agencies ask to place a very large deposit hold on the credit card.
The Platinum Card® has a major, little-known advantage: it is a charge card.
A charge card has no preset spending limit on purchases, and this is where it was very useful for us during our trip around the world.
For example, in South Africa, the car rental agency required a deposit hold equivalent to $5,000 on our card! Without the Platinum Card® in our wallet, that would have complicated our transactions or forced us to prepay another credit card.
The Membership Rewards program
American Express’s Membership Rewards program is undoubtedly the best program offered by a bank in Canada, notably because of its flexibility.
Membership Rewards points earning
The Platinum Card® lets you earn:
- 2 points per dollar on eligible dining purchases
- 2 points per dollar on eligible travel purchases
- 1 point for every other dollar spent
We use the Platinum Card® to pay for our travel (such as car rentals): 2 Membership Rewards points per dollar is an excellent return. And we can travel with peace of mind, thanks to the Card’s insurance coverage we described earlier.
The many possibilities offered by the Membership Rewards program
With American Express Membership Rewards loyalty program, you can enjoy flexible ways to use your points:
- Transfer your points to a frequent flyer program and other loyalty programs (more details below)
- Redeem your points for a statement credit for eligible purchases charged to your Card
- Take advantage of the fixed points travel program, which lets you redeem a fixed number of points for eligible flights on americanexpress.ca/travel
- Take advantage of our flexible points travel program, which lets you redeem your points for any trip including flights, hotels or car rentals. where 1,000 points = $10
- Use your points to buy gift cards from well-known retailers like Holt Renfrew
- And more!
Our use with British Airways Executive Club
For us, the best use of American Express Membership Rewards is by transferring points to frequent flyer programs like Marriott Bonvoy, Aeroplan, or British Airways Executive Club.
Transferring Membership Rewards points to British Airways Executive Club Avios miles saved us a lot of money, especially in Australia!
British Airways Executive Club lets you use Avios miles to get plane tickets with partner airlines like Qantas, the Australian airline.
For example, to get a flight for four people between Uluru (AYQ) and Darwin (DRW), we converted 36,000 Membership Rewards Points into 36,000 Avios miles.
That same plane ticket would have cost us no less than $1,300:
Suffice to say that 36,000 Membership Rewards Points saved us almost $1,000 in this case!
American Express online offers
American Express regularly has promotional offers, directly accessible in your online account.
Holders of the Platinum Card® are eligible for these offers.
Our use for booking a trip online
For example, we were lucky enough to take advantage of the latest offer for one of our trips:
Spend at least $450 and get a $100 credit
We used this offer to book a 10-day prepaid car rental in Bali worth $500.
The $100 credit was posted to our account only a few days after the expense appeared on our account!
Conclusion
The Platinum Card® is a card we particularly appreciate as frequent travellers, and even more so during our family trip around the world. We consider its annual fee to be a full-fledged travel expense as it brings us significant benefits!
- Annual fee
- $799
- Our valuationMilesopedia first-year estimate First-year valueWelcome bonus$1,190Total$1,190Plus $510 of bonus paid after the first year, not counted in this total.Rewards on your spending are not included. The calculator that adds them from your own profile is on the card's page.
- $1,190
- Welcome offerAfter $10,000 in 3 months
- Up to 100,000 points
Apply Now
on American Express's website
Apply with confidenceCheck whether your application will be approved before you submit it, with no impact on your credit score*When you apply for a personal American Express Credit Card, we will tell you whether you are eligible without affecting your credit score. So you can apply with confidence.*Instant decisions are only available for consumer Card applications (also called “personal Cards”).
Frequently Asked Questions about the American Express Platinum Card®
Here are frequently asked questions in the milesopedia community about this card.
How do you maximize the Platinum Card® American Express $200 travel credit?
The Platinum Card® American Express annual $200 travel credit is automatically applied to your statement for any booking made through American Express Travel: flights (including airlines), hotels, car rentals, or packages. No minimum hotel stay is required, and the credit renews each calendar year. To avoid losing it, plan a simple booking early in the year—for example, a $200 hotel in Montreal or Toronto—and use the credit as an instant discount.
Which hotel statuses are included with the Amex Platinum?
The Platinum Card® American Express automatically includes Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status, Hilton Honors Gold status, as well as occasional elite benefits through the Fine Hotels & Resorts program (upgrade, $100 property credit, late checkout). Marriott Gold status includes late checkout up to 2 PM, welcome credits, and a 25% bonus on points earned on stays. These statuses can represent a potential value of $500 to $1,000 per year for anyone who stays 5+ nights.
How does airport lounge access work with the Amex Platinum?
The Platinum Card® American Express provides unlimited access to more than 1,400 airport lounges in 130+ countries through the Priority Pass program, plus Amex Centurion Lounges (Las Vegas, New York, Miami) and Plaza Premium lounges in Canada. The Cardmember and one guest are admitted free of charge. At roughly $50 in value per visit (meals, alcohol, Wi-Fi, shower), a traveller who takes 10 flights per year gets $500 in value from lounge visits—an advantage that alone justifies half the annual fee.
How do you optimize Membership Rewards points with the Platinum Card® American Express?
The Platinum Card® earns 2 Membership Rewards points per dollar on travel and restaurants and 1 point elsewhere. The key to optimization: transfer Membership Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio to Aeroplan, Marriott Bonvoy, or British Airways for high-value business-class bookings (often 2 to 3 cents per point). Avoid redeeming for merchandise or gift cards at 0.5 cent per point, which does not maximize the value of the 100,000+ point welcome bonus.
To Go Further with American Express Membership Rewards Points
To maximize your Membership Rewards points accumulation, consult our complete guide to the American Express Membership Rewards program as well as our ranking of the best American Express Membership Rewards credit cards, updated monthly by the Milesopedia team.