Amex Platinum Card Benefits 5x Points On Airfare & Hotels.note

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Amex Platinum Card Benefits: 5x Points On

Airfare & Hotels

BY

,

In the interest of full disclosure, One Mile At A Time earns a referral bonus for anyone that’s

approved through some of the below links. These are the best publicly available offers that we have

found for each card. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone, not those of the bank, credit

card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by

any of these entities. Please check out for further details about our partners,

including American Express, Capital One, Chase, and Citi, and thanks for your support!

Update: This offer for the Citi Prestige® Card has expired.

.

Recently we saw relaunched with

. The card now has a welcome bonus of 60,000

Membership Rewards points after spending $5,000 within three months. On top of that, the card’s

annual fee increased by $100, though I think for most people the new benefits will more than make

up for the increased annual fee.

I get a lot of questions about the details of the benefits of

, so I’m writing a series about the various benefits of the card.

In this post I wanted to talk about the 5x points on airfare and hotel bookings offered by the

Amex Platinum Card. Up until recently I kept this card primarily for the benefits, since it didn’t have

any useful bonus categories. However, thanks to the 5x points on airfare, this is the card that has

been earning me among the most points, so I’m thrilled about that.

How does the 5x points category on the Amex Platinum Card

work?

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Amex Platinum Card Benefits: Adding Authorized Users

Amex Platinum Card Benefits: $200 Annual Airline Fee Credit

Amex Platinum Card Benefits: $200 Annual Uber Credit

Amex Platinum Card Benefits: Free Hotel Status

Amex Platinum Card Benefits: Airport Lounge Access

Amex Platinum Card Benefits: 5x Points On Airfare & Hotels

Amex Platinum Card Benefits: Global Entry Or TSA Pre-Check Credit

Amex Platinum Card Benefits: Free Rental Car Status

Amex Platinum Card Benefits: Fine Hotels & Resorts

The Platinum Card® from American Express new benefits, a bi

gger welcome bonus, and a higher annual fee

The Platinum Card® from American Expr

ess

Amex Platinum Card

How does the 5x points on airfare with the Amex Platinum

Card work?

When you use your to purchase airfare, you’ll automatically be awarded 5x

points. This bonus category should apply to just about any purchase made directly with an airline.

There’s no limit to how many points you can earn with this bonus category.

Many people like to book travel through online travel agencies (Orbitz, Expedia, etc.). Technically you

have to book directly through the airline to get 5x points, though often when you make bookings

through OTAs, the reservation is still processed directly by the airline. So you may still earn 5x points

on these bookings, though it’s not a risk worth taking, in my opinion.

5x points on airfare purchased directly with airlines; this benefit has been around since October

2016

5x points on prepaid hotels booked through amextravel.com; this benefit was just recently added,

in March 2017

Amex Platinum Card

Is the Amex Platinum Card even the best card for airfare

purchases?

Previously I could earn at most 3x points on airfare with the or

. Now I can earn 5x points on airfare. I value all of the above points roughly equally,

. In other words, this is an additional ~3.4% return on airfare.

However, one thing that makes the Citi Prestige and Sapphire Reserve better than the

is that . For example, here are some of the cards that offer

noteworthy travel protection:

Meanwhile the Amex Platinum Card doesn’t offer anything in the way of travel protection.

Personally I find it worthwhile to put the spend on the Amex Platinum Card. I’d rather earn a

consistent return that’s 3.4% better than to have some travel protection. Do note that there are a lot

of terms associated with the travel protection on other cards. I’ve had one successful claim in the

past, though I’ve also received a countless number of emails from readers stating their

disappointment about all the restrictions with the coverage.

Citi Prestige® CardChase Sapphire

Reserve ℠ at ~1.

7 cents each

Amex Platinu

m Card they offer travel insurance

Card Benefit active after:Reimbursed expenses:Includes award tickets:

Citi Prestige® Card3 hours $500 Yes

Chase Sapphire Rese

rve®

6 hours $500 Yes

Chase Sapphire Prefe

rred® Card

12 hours $500 Yes

Everyone has to decide for themselves which card is best for airfare purchases. Given how much I

travel, the additional 2x points really adds up, and outweighs the value I’d get out of earning 3x points

with some protection. However, occasional travelers might be more at ease using a card that comes

with travel protection. Just make sure you read up on all the terms of the protection, so you have

realistic expectations.

How does the 5x points on hotels with the Amex Platinum

Card work?

While the 5x points on airfare presents huge new opportunities, the 5x points on hotels isn’t quite as

exciting. You only earn 5x points on hotels when booking pre-paid reservations through

.

Unfortunately all other kinds of hotel bookings, including those made directly through a hotel,

refundable bookings made through amextravel.com, or

, aren’t eligible for this benefit.

amextravel.c

om

American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts b

ookings

If you do make a pre-paid reservation through amextravel.com, you typically won’t be eligible for

points accrual with your preferred hotel loyalty program.

If you’re looking at booking an independent hotel, you’re likely to get a better return through

, which offer airline miles or other rewards for making hotel bookings through

them.

So I don’t see myself ever taking advantage of the 5x points opportunity on the

.

Bottom line

Personally I get a lot of value out of the ability to earn 5x points on airfare with the

. Not everyone will get as much value out of that perk, but as someone who spends a fair bit on

airfare, I benefit greatly from that. However, do be aware that while you’re earning bonus points,

you’re forgoing the travel protection that’s offered by some other cards.

program

s like Rocketmiles

Amex Platinum

Card

Amex Platinum C

ard

Meanwhile I don’t see myself using the 5x points hotel bonus, given how narrow that category is. It’s

only valid for pre-paid bookings on amextravel.com, and I think you can do better with those bookings

elsewhere.

So the Amex Platinum Card is more rewarding for spend than it used to be, but most of my Amex

spend still goes on .The Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express