An ultra-premium charge card from American Express is brimming with benefits, especially for frequent travellers. But you’ll need to utilise all of them regularly to justify the card’s considerable annual fee.
Pros
- Earn Membership Rewards Points on all spending
- Generous welcome bonus
- Worldwide travel insurance for cardholder and family
- Access to Platinum Concierge, a 24/7 travel and lifestyle service
- No minimum income requirement
Cons
- Hefty annual fee of £575
- Fee is not waived in the first year – or any subsequent years
- Point-earning structure is not particularly generous
- Foreign transaction fees incurred for use abroad
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Key features
- Extensive travel benefits and rewards scheme
- Attractive welcome bonus
- No pre-set spending limit
Charges
While this card comes with undeniably generous benefits, including lounge access and travel perks, it also charges a steep annual fee of £575.
As this card is actually a ‘charge card’ as opposed to a ‘credit card’ there is no pre-spending limit and no representative APR.
You will not pay interest as long as you pay off your balance in full every month. If you are late making a payment, a £12 fee will apply.
Rewards
Until 1 June 2022, new cardholders can earn a boosted 60,000 Membership Reward points in return for spending £6,000 on the card in the first six months of membership. More typically however, Amex offers 30,000 Membership Reward points for spending £4,000 in the first six months of card membership.
This card offers one Membership Reward point per £1 spent both at home and abroad (in foreign currencies), and rises to two points for every £1 spent at Amextravel.co.uk, thereafter.
Points can be transferred to a wide range of different hotel and airline schemes.
The card comes with wide-ranging travel benefits too, including access to hotel lounges across the world (via the ‘Priority Pass’), status with hotel programmes, access to hotel booking schemes and hotel benefits (such as room upgrades), car hire insurance and private taxi credits.
Protection
The Amex Platinum is a charge card, not a credit card. This means it doesn’t fall under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, which offers protection on goods and services costing more than £100 and up to £30,000.
However, Amex issues its own purchase and refund protection. Cardholders will get up to £2,500 towards repair or replacement if an eligible item bought with the card is stolen or damaged within 90 days of purchase (maximum cover in any 12 months is £20,000).
And if a UK retailer refuses to take back an eligible item bought with your card, Amex offers refund of up to £300 within the first 90 days of purchase (maximum cover in any 12 months is £1,000).
In addition, all Amex cards come with Chargeback rights which allow you to dispute transactions. If you want to know more about the Chargeback scheme, Amex advises customers to get in touch direct.
Will I be eligible?
The Platinum Card may be best suited for someone with a permanent UK home address and no history of bad debt. There’s no longer a minimum income requirement for approval. That said, the best approach is to make use of an eligibility checker tool which will show you the likelihood of you getting accepted, without leaving any marks on your credit report.
What more should I know?
The welcome bonus is only available to those who have not held a personal Membership Rewards points Amex card within the previous 24 months. While you will earn Membership Reward points when you use your plastic abroad and spend in a foreign currency, you’ll be charged a fee.
With this in mind, you need to think carefully about using your card overseas, as the charges you face could outweigh the points you earn.
If you withdraw cash from an ATM using your card, interest will be charged from the day you make the withdrawal.
Is it the right card for me?
If you’re a big spender who wants to enjoy perks such as lounge access and hotel benefits, and are planning to use your card a lot – especially during the first few months – Amex’s Platinum Card could be just the ticket.
Equally, based on perks such as the travel insurance, it may offer best value for families.
What are my alternatives?
As with any leading card in its category, this one is not without its catches. You’ll need to weigh up whether you’re going to get enough value from the benefits on offer to offset the large annual fee.
Other cards may charge a lower fee, but you’ll probably have to settle for less generous perks and rewards.
