American Express has relaunched the sign-up bonus for its Platinum credit card.
New customers who sign up for the Platinum Card before June 13 and spend £6,000 in the first six months will receive a whopping 60,000 membership reward points, double the usual 30,000 points normally offered.
They will also receive £200 credit to spend online with American Express Travel, the company’s online travel booking portal, which can be used for flight and hotel bookings – as long as they reach the £6,000 minimum spend.
Hefty: The metal platinum card has an annual fee of £575 and an APR of 462.4%
Membership rewards points give American Express users the flexibility to make the most of their rewards in a way that suits them best – from shopping to gift cards to holidays abroad
While the card offers benefits, it’s vital to stay on top of paying off the bill as you go along. Failing to do so will charge skyrocketing interest, as the card has an APR of 462.4 percent.
While the points on offer are tempting, the card also comes with a hefty annual fee of £575.
The credit card purchase rate is 29.4 percent, which is the interest rate charged when you use your credit card to make purchases, and only applies if the balance is not paid off each month.
The APR is a representative 462.4 per cent, which is significantly impacted by the card fee of £575. APRs are calculated by adding interest to the card fee.
The limited-time offer has been extended to new members referred by a friend who will receive 65,000 membership reward points.
Those who refer a friend earn a boost of 18,000 points – up from the usual 12,000.
Cardholders earn one membership reward point for every £1 spent, and two points for every purchase on Amex Travel.
What else does the Amex Platinum card offer?
In addition to a stainless steel credit card – if that’s what you’re into, the Platinum Card offers a host of benefits.
That includes worldwide travel insurance for the cardholder and their family, as well as the option to add an additional cardholder.
It also gives £150 to spend at select UK restaurants, a further £150 at restaurants abroad, up to £50 to spend every six months at Harvey Nichols and hotel benefits including free room upgrades on arrival.
Another popular perk is access to the world’s largest independent airport lounge access program, Priority Pass. In total, cardholders have access to more than 1,400 airport lounges in 140 countries.
Spend and save: Amex cardholders can now get back up to £100 a year on spending at Harvey Nichols
Rob Burgess, editor of the frequent flyer and loyalty points website headforpoints.com said, “Amex is turning Platinum into a coupon book for middle-class people.
“It is changing from a status symbol to something you can realistically look at on a pure value for money basis.
‘Add £200 one-time Amex Travel credit, £150 UK dining credit, £150 international dining credit and £100 for Harvey Nichols and you already have £600 cashback.
“That’s more than the £575 annual fee before you even factor in the sheer value of the bonus.”
Do existing Platinum cardholders need to switch?
Last year, Amex announced that the Platinum card for all new members will change from a debit card to a traditional credit card.
Existing Platinum customers who have the charge card should be aware of the similarities and differences between the charge and credit products before switching to the credit card.
Existing Platinum members will not receive the sign-up bonus for switching from the charge card to the new credit card, but this can be an advantage.
Charge cards can help build credit and earn rewards just like traditional credit cards – but unlike credit cards, the charge card balance must be paid in full each month or the cardholder will be charged a fee.
Credit cards allow cardholders to transfer a large portion of their balance each month, as long as they make the minimum payment set by the credit card issuer each month.
Fly Away: When it comes to travel, membership reward points can be used with a number of airline partners, including British Airways
Another difference is that debit cards do not come with a fixed credit limit like credit cards.
Instead, the issuer can set someone’s purchasing power based on their purchasing behavior and payment history, and their charge card can be declined if a purchase exceeds it.
According to Rob Burgess, there are pros and cons for existing cardholders to consider before moving from charge card to credit card.
The good news is that credit card purchases have Section 75 protections that are legally binding, unlike Amex’s voluntary scheme on the debit card.
“Of course you can now roll over a balance on the credit card, but the interest is so high that you have to be a complete idiot to do that. You had to pay off every month with the charge card.
The bad news is they are now limited to one additional card on the Platinum credit card, not the current five they enjoy.
‘For some people that’s a bad thing, because everyone who gets an additional card gets full travel insurance for the whole family.
‘For example, I could give my brother a free Gold top-up on my Platinum charge card and all of a sudden his whole family has travel insurance. That’s not possible now.’
Where to spend Amex points for the best deals
Amex allows you to convert points into rewards through a range of shopping, travel and lifestyle partners, but the value of the points ultimately depends on how you choose to redeem them.
When redeeming points for gift cards at retailers such as Amazon, Selfridges or Currys, each point is worth 0.5 cents. For example, 60,000 points is enough for a £300 gift card from Amazon.
Meanwhile, you can secure 0.66p per membership reward point when you convert American Express points into Nectar.
To achieve this you need to convert Amex points to BA Avios points and then back to Nectar. Each BA Avios point can be exchanged for 1.33 Nectar points.
Since a Nectar point is worth 0.5p, you will get 0.66p per Amex point (ie 0.5px 1.33) if you make the transfer through Avios.
For frequent flyers, points can be transferred to one of Amex’s airline or hotel partners.
The airline ratio is 1:1, which means that for every 10,000 points customers transfer, they get 1,000 airline miles. Most experts believe that you should be able to get 1 pence per frequent flyer mile if used properly.
Amex airline partners include British Airways, Iberia, Virgin Atlantic and Emirates.
You can also transfer points to the Hilton, Marriott and Radisson hotel programs and to Club Eurostar.
What should users pay attention to?
The annual cost of £575 is obviously the most important factor to consider when determining whether the card is good value.
Apart from that, the bonus offer is only available if you have not enrolled an American Express card with personal membership and rewards in the last two years.
If you have had such a card in the last two years, you are entitled to all other card benefits, but not the welcome offer.
As with all credit cards, it’s important to pay off each month to avoid being stung by high interest charges.
Additionally, it’s worth knowing that some UK retailers don’t accept Amex due to the fact that it charges them around 3 percent for every sale they make.
It is estimated that there are over 35,000 UK retailers who still do not accept Amex.
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