The Platinum Card® from American Express is easily one of the best rewards credit cards on the market thanks to its combination of rewards, perks, and credits. It’s no wonder why so many travelers are eager to add this card to their wallet — but when you do, you want to make sure you’re getting the best welcome bonus offer possible.
In this post, we’ll show you the steps you can take to track down the Amex Platinum card welcome bonus offer of 125,000 points or even 150,000 points.
Let’s take a look.
Targeted offers are discussed in the article below. Please note that these offers are not available to all applicants. Any information related to targeted offers has been collected independently and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Amex Platinum Card Welcome Bonus Offer
The welcome bonus offers for the Amex Platinum card can vary — depending on your personal information, you may see 1 of several different available offers.
The current public offer is: Earn 80,000 points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first 6 months.
However, just because there’s a current offer below 100,000 points doesn’t mean you can’t find a better offer elsewhere.
We generally value Membership Rewards points at about 2.2 cents per point, which means that a 100,000-point Amex Platinum welcome offer is worth ~$2,200, a 125,000-point bonus is worth ~$2,750, and a 150,000-point bonus is worth $3,300.
Option 1: Check Amex’s Website Directly (Try This First)
If you’re looking to add the Amex Platinum card to your wallet, we recommend checking directly on the American Express website as a first step.
As mentioned above, the current public welcome offer for the Amex Platinum is: Earn 80,000 points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first 6 months.
Our team has noticed that American Express has provided an elevated welcome offer to select, targeted applicants. Like all targeted offers, these offers aren’t available to all applicants, but below you’ll find an example of a targeted offer directly from American Express through our research:
Our team has also noticed a 125,000-point offer showing for some visitors on the American Express website. Please see below:
[NEW] Option 2: Do a Test Application
There are a few different ways to try and score the higher offer. If you’re not automatically targeted for the elevated bonus, it’s also possible to apply and see for which bonus you’re approved without impacting your credit score. Our team captured this screenshot when navigating the Amex website on mobile.
Option 3: Check on CardMatch
If you strike out on the American Express website, then the second option we recommend is checking through the CardMatch tool.
This tool completes a “soft credit check” to see if you’re eligible for any elevated offers. Since it’s not a hard pull, this won’t count against your credit.
Option 4: Targeted Email Offers
You can also look for targeted email offers so long as you are opted-in to receive New Card and Credit Offers in your Amex account’s General Marketing Email Preferences.
Option 5: Personal Referral Offer
Friends or family members with an American Express card can refer you to the Amex Platinum card using the Amexrefer-a-friend program. Better yet, your friend or family member doesn’t have to have the Amex Platinum card to refer you! You can be referred to any card that American Express offers from any other card type.
Further, personal referral offers can also include increased welcome bonus offers. In the past, we’ve seen Amex Platinum card referral offers including 80,000 points, 100,000 points, 125,000 points, and even 150,000 points. Given that, if you happen to be targeted for one of these offers, we recommend jumping on it!
Benefits of the Amex Platinum Card
Along with a massive welcome offer, the Amex Platinum card features a number of enticing benefits, including great statement credits.
These credits and benefits include:
- Access to 1,400+ Lounges Worldwide: Receive access to Centurion Lounges (U.S.andinternational locations),Priority Passupon enrollment,Escape Lounges – The Centurion Studio Partner,Plaza Premium Lounges,select Virgin Clubhouses, selectLufthansa Loungeswhen flying with Lufthansa Group the same day, andDelta Sky Clubs when flying with Delta the same day.
- Hotel and rental car elite status and benefits upon enrollment
- $189 CLEAR Plus Credit: Use your card and get up to $189 back per year on your CLEAR Plus membership (subject to auto-renewal).
- Up to $300 Equinox Credit: Upon enrollment, get up to $300 back each year on eligible Equinox memberships when you pay with your card.
- Up to $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back each month on eligible purchases made with your card on one or more of the following: Disney+, The Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peaco*ck, SiriusXM, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
- Up to $200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings through AmexTravel.com when you pay with your card. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum 2-night stay.
- Up to $155 Walmart+ Credit: Receive a $12.95 monthly credit toward a Walmart+ membership.
- Global Dining Access by Resy
Combined with statement credits for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck enrollment fees, up to $200 for airline incidentals, up to $200 in Uber Cash, and up to $100 for Saks Fifth Avenue (enrollment required), you get a lot of value back by having this card in your wallet even considering the annual fee is $695 ().
Maximizing Your Membership Rewards Points
What would you do with 100,000, 125,000, or even 150,000 Amex Membership Rewards points? If you qualify for the 150,000-point welcome offer and maximize your minimum spend with 5x purchases, you’ll be sitting on a stockpile of 180,000 points. So, what can you do?
Fly Round-Trip to Europe 6 Times
An economy class ticket to the U.K. is just 13,000 Avios one-way on British Airways from select U.S. cities. British Airways is an American Express transfer partnerat a 1:1 ratio, which means your 180,000 points can become 13 one-way or 6 round-trip flights to the U.K.
Fly Around the World in Business Class
ANA’s round-the-world ticket prices out its flight costs according to distance. With a maximum stopover limit of 12, you can spend as few as 120,000 miles to fly around the whole world — in business class. That means you can have the time of your life sipping Champagne as you see the sights. Amex points also transfer to ANA at a 1:1 ratio.
Hot Tip: For more inspiration, check out the best ways to redeem your Amex Membership Rewards points (we also have guides for redeeming 60,000 and 100,000 points) and how to upgrade your flight using Membership Rewards points.
Final Thoughts
If you don’t already have an Amex Platinum card, now is a very good time to consider it. Although the annual fee is steep, taking advantage of elevated welcome bonus offers and increased earnings — along with a suite of statement credits — can make this card a very good deal.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
