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Christine ran her own business developing and managing insurance and financial services. This stoked a passion for points and miles and she now has over 2 dozen credit cards and creates in-depth, deta.
Updated: August 22, 2024, 1:55am CDTEditor & Content Contributor
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Nick’s passion for points began as a hobby and became a career. He worked for over 5 years at The Points Guy and has contributed to Business Insider and CNN. He has 14 credit cards and continues to le.
44 Published Articles 3391 Edited Articles
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With years of experience in corporate marketing and as the executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Qatar, Keri is now editor-in-chief at UP, overseeing daily content operations and r.
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The number of features and benefits on The Platinum Card ® from American Express can be overwhelming. It’s easy to miss an opportunity to take advantage of a travel benefit, receive a statement credit for a purchase, or earn additional rewards.
The precise number of perks offered by the Amex Platinum card changes, but currently, there are around 4 dozen features and benefits. To help avoid the almost inevitable event of missing out on any of them, today’s article focuses on activating and using each of the top Amex Platinum card features and benefits.
We’ll also include links to more detailed articles about each perk.
Here’s how to activate and use the Amex Platinum card’s top features and benefits.
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The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.
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The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.
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Good to Excellent (670-850) Why We Like This CardWhen it comes to cards that offer top-notch benefits, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better card out there than The Platinum Card ® from American Express.
Make no mistake — the Amex Platinum card is a premium card with a premium price tag. With amazing benefits like best-in-class airport lounge access, hotel elite status, and tremendous value in annual statement credits, it can easily prove to be one of the most lucrative cards in your wallet year after year.
Pros & ConsBefore accessing any benefits, the first step when receiving your card is to activate it. You can do this by calling the number on the back of the card or visiting americanexpress.com/confirmcard.
Once completed, the card is immediately ready for use. It’s important to note the card approval date to ensure you meet the minimum spending requirements within the required period to qualify for the generous welcome offer.
Now we’re ready to browse the exciting card offerings, enroll in or register for them, and learn more about how each benefit works.
Some features and benefits of the Amex Platinum card require enrollment before they are activated. Others are activated by simply making a required purchase.
Starting with the perks that require enrollment can be the most efficient plan of attack. You don’t want to miss out on any perk for failure to enroll or opt-in.
The easiest — and fastest — way to be sure you’re enrolled for all the features and benefits is to access the Enrollment section of your online card account.
Log in to your card account and under Rewards & Benefits, select Benefits. Scrolling down, click on the dropdown box of the Enroll section.
Here you can conveniently find the perks requiring enrollment all in the same place.
Once in the Enroll section, you can sign up for all the key benefits and spend a moment reading the details for each one.
Here’s a breakdown of the items requiring enrollment and how they might be utilized.
Enrolling in Amex Platinum card benefits is easy. Once you’re in the Enroll section, you’ll always start by clicking on the Learn More icon. Next, read about the benefit and complete the required action.
Here’s how to activate each offer and some information about each one.
The Amex Platinum card lounge access benefit is superior to any other credit card. Once enrolled, you’ll have access to over 1,400 properties worldwide. To access most lounges, you can use your Amex Platinum card and a same-day boarding pass.
You’ll need a Priority Pass membership card to access Priority Pass and affiliated lounges. In the Enroll section, click on the Learn More icon, then Enroll Now. Once enrolled, you’ll receive a Priority Pass Select membership number. You can then download the Priority Pass app (iOS, Android) and use a digital version of the card for lounge access. A physical card will also be mailed to you within approximately 10 days.
Here is a list of the lounge networks you can access with the Amex Platinum card and your Priority Pass Select membership card.
Access to many lounges also includes 2 guests. Guest access to the Centurion Lounges and Delta Sky Club requires spending $75,000 on your card within a calendar year. Fortunately, there’s a tracker in your online card account.
You can receive up to $240 in statement credits for select digital entertainment purchases. These included Hulu, Disney+, The Disney Bundle, ESPN, The New York Times, Peacock TV, and The Wall Street Journal.
A maximum monthly statement credit of $20 will be applied to qualifying digital entertainment purchases made with your card.
Enroll in the benefit after clicking on Learn More, then add your Amex Platinum card as the payment method in your qualifying digital entertainment account.
One important element of the enrollment section is that the provided tracker shows how much credit has been used each month:
For example, you can see that my monthly ad-free Hulu subscription of $17.99 resulted in a statement credit of $18.
Before receiving airline fee statement credits, you must select a qualifying airline. Once again, click on the Learn More icon and complete the selection. After choosing your airline, wait a day or 2 before purchasing to ensure the selection is active.
While the credit is meant to reimburse you for airline incidental fees such as checked bags and inflight refreshments, other purchases are known to trigger the credit.
An example would be the United Travel Bank, one reason I selected United Airlines as my qualifying airline.
For more tips on utilizing the Amex Platinum card’s airline fee credit, our article on the topic can help.
You won’t want to miss the $15 in Uber Cash added to your account each month and VIP recognition. Plus, in December, you’ll receive a bonus of $20, for a total of $35. That’s $200 in Uber Cash each year.
Once clicking on the Learn More icon, then Enroll, you’ll want to add the Amex Platinum card as the payment option in your Uber account.
You can then make the required purchase using the Uber Cash in your account. Any amount charged more than your Uber Cash balance will be charged to your card.
Uber Cash can be used for Uber rides and Uber Eats in the U.S.
Here’s more information on maximizing the Uber Cash credit on the Amex Platinum card.
While the Amex Platinum card comes with Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy Gold elite status, it doesn’t happen automatically. To receive these benefits, you must enroll in the benefit with your hotel loyalty program membership number.
Click on the Learn More icon and type in your loyalty program number for Hilton Honors (for example), then repeat the process for Marriott Bonvoy.
Learn more about Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy Gold elite status and the related benefits in our informative article.
While enrollment is not required, booking via AmexTravel.com is a prerequisite to receiving the $200 prepaid hotel stay credit.
When you book at least a 1-night stay with Fine Hotels + Resorts, or a 2-night stay with The Hotel Collection, you’ll receive $200 in statement credits shortly after charging the prepaid stay to your card.
The benefits beyond the $200 are many and include on-site perks valued at more than $600. You’ll also be earning 5x Membership Rewards points.
Enroll in the ShopRunner benefit to receive free 2-day shipping, complimentary returns, plus deals from over 100 select retailers.
Enroll in ShopRunner by clicking on the link and registering with your card.
Shopping at Saks is more fun when you receive up to $50 in statement credits for your purchase. The credit is available once from January through June, and again from July through December. That’s up to $100 in statement credits each calendar year.
To enroll, click on the Enroll Now icon under the Shop Saks with Platinum section, then use your Amex Platinum card for your purchase.
CLEAR Plus membership can speed up your airport security experience. While you do not need to enroll your card specifically, to receive the statement credit, you can enroll in CLEAR and pay your application fee (or renewal fee) with your Amex Platinum card. A link is provided in the Enroll section to sign up for a CLEAR Plus membership.
Hot Tip:
If you belong to any airline frequent flyer programs, check for discounted CLEAR Plus membership offers. Enroll in CLEAR Plus via your frequent flyer account, use your Amex Platinum card to pay the fee, and receive a statement credit of up to $199.
Once you’ve used your credit, it will show on the tracker in your card account.
The Amex Platinum card comes with a monthly Walmart+ membership credit of $12.95 plus the applicable taxes.
To receive the Walmart+ membership credit, you must first enroll in a Walmart+ membership. You’ll then add your Amex Platinum card as payment to that account. Click the Get Started button to be taken to the Walmart+ enrollment page.
The key benefits of Walmart+ membership are free delivery with a minimum purchase of $35, free shipping (no minimum order), 10 cents per gallon fuel savings, and a complimentary Paramount+ subscription.
Use your Amex Platinum card to purchase an Equinox+ digital subscription or Equinox Club membership and receive up to $300 in statement credits each calendar year. Or, buy a SoulCycle At-home bike with your card and receive a credit of up to $300.
Here’s more information on how to maximize the Equinox credit.
Under the Benefits tab in your online card account, you’ll find the activity tracker for all the benefits that have requirements or provide a statement credit. You’ll be able to view the status of all the credits and your progress toward any spending requirements.
Accessing this section periodically will ensure you don’t miss out on any monthly perks or spending deadlines.
Here are additional Amex Platinum card benefits you’ll want to consider, some of which have requirements before use.
The number of Amex Platinum card benefits may seem daunting.
However, with the Enroll section and trackers within your online card account, you can manage the perks and ensure you’re on track to receive the most value possible. Plus, maximizing these benefits can help offset the card’s annual fee of $695 (rates & fees).
It’s also worth the time to read the requirements and descriptions of each benefit so you don’t miss out.
This article provides further information for a comprehensive overview of Amex Platinum card benefits.
For the cell phone protection benefit of The Platinum Card ® from American Express, coverage for a stolen or damaged eligible cellular wireless telephone is subject to the terms, conditions, exclusions and limits of liability of this benefit. The maximum liability is $800, per claim, per eligible card account. Each claim is subject to a $50 deductible. Coverage is limited to two (2) claims per eligible card account per 12 month period. Eligibility and benefit level varies by Card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card ® from American Express, click here.
Featured Image Credit: Nick EllisSeveral of the benefits offered on the Amex Platinum card require enrollment. In your online card account, under the Rewards and Benefits section, you will find the Enrollment section under Benefits. Here you’ll find a list of benefits that require enrollment. You’ll also want to review all the card benefits as some have requirements before using.
You must enroll in Priority Pass and receive a Priority Pass Select membership card number before gaining lounge access at Priority Pass locations. After logging into your online Amex Platinum card account, you can enroll in Priority Pass in the Enroll section and receive a membership number. You can then use a digital version of the card via the Priority Pass app. A physical card will be sent in the mail.
Once you’ve added your Amex Platinum card as the payment method on your Uber account, you will receive $15 in monthly Uber Cash. In December, you’ll receive $35. You can use Uber Cash for Uber rides and Uber Eats in the U.S. Any amounts greater than your Uber Cash will be charged to your card.
Yes. Just charge the application or renewal fee to your Amex Platinum card and if you have the credit available, you will receive a statement credit for up to $199.
You can receive up to $20 in monthly statement credits for purchases with Hulu, Disney+, the Disney Bundle, ESPN, The New York Times, Peacock TV, and The Wall Street Journal. You can make purchases with multiple services but the maximum monthly credit is $20.
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Christine ran her own business developing and managing insurance and financial services. This stoked a passion for points and miles and she now has over 2 dozen credit cards and creates in-depth, detailed content for UP.
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