American express platinum card sign up bonus

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Pulling the trigger on The Platinum Card® from American Express can feel like a big step. The card’s annual fee is high, which makes it feel like a big commitment. And, the welcome offer for the card fluctuates over time so you may worry about whether you’ve locked in the best deal. While there’s no permanent guarantee for a specific offer, looking for a six-figure bonus usually means you’ve found a great one. Here’s how to find an Amex Platinum offer for 100,000 points—or more.

Should You Apply for the The Platinum Card® from American Express?

Your eyes may have already lit up at the prospect of earning 100,000 or more Membership Rewards from a single card welcome offer. No doubt that’s a big incentive, but that’s not the only reason to apply for a Platinum card. The card also offers over $1,500 in assorted annual credits, numerous travel benefits and consumer protections built-in to the card.

Of course, you’ll also earn 5 Membership Rewards points per dollar for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 per calendar year, 5 points per dollar on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases.

With all those benefits, and a solid welcome offer on top of that, you might think it’s a no-brainer to apply for the card, but there’s always a catch. In this case, the card comes with a $695 annual fee (see rates & fees) so you’ll want to be sure you can use all the benefits before deciding to apply. Our Amex Platinum card review can help you decide.

Featured Partner Offer

The Platinum Card® from American Express

5X Reward Rate

Earn 5 Membership Rewards points per dollar on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel; earn 5 Membership Rewards perRead More

Welcome Bonus

Earn 80,000 points

Regular APR

See Pay Over Time APR

Credit Score

Excellent/Good (700 - 749)

Editorial Review

The Platinum Card is destined for frequent travelers who intend to fully leverage the rich set of luxury travel benefits and Platinum Concierge service. In the right hands, the classic status card's staggering annual fee is well justified.

Pros & Cons

  • High reward potential on flights and hotels booked through American Express Travel
  • Multiple credits can help justify the fee
  • Comprehensive airport lounge access
  • Luxury travel benefits and elite status with Hilton and Marriott with enrollment

  • Very high annual fee
  • Maximizing the statement credits takes some work and could be unworkable for many
  • Reward rate outside of travel is sub-par for a premium card

Card Details

  • Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Apply and select your preferred metal Card design: classic Platinum Card®, Platinum x Kehinde Wiley, or Platinum x Julie Mehretu.
  • Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
  • Get $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings, which requires a minimum two-night stay, through American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card®.
  • $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card® on one or more of the following: Audible, Disney+, The Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, Peacock, SiriusXM, and The New York Times. Enrollment required.
  • $155 Walmart+ Credit: Cover the cost of a $12.95 monthly Walmart+ membership with a statement credit after you pay for Walmart+ each month with your Platinum Card. Cost includes $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax. Plus Ups are excluded.
  • American Express has expanded The Centurion® Network to include 40+ Centurion Lounge and Studio locations worldwide. There are even more places your Platinum Card® can get you complimentary entry and exclusive perks.
  • $200 Airline Fee Credit: Get up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year in baggage fees and more at one select qualifying airline.
  • $200 Uber Cash: Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the US annually. Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member only.
  • Get up to $300 back per calendar year on the Equinox+ digital fitness app, or eligible Equinox club memberships when you pay with your Platinum Card. Enrollment required. Learn more.
  • Breeze through security with CLEAR® lanes available at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues and get up to $189 back per calendar year on your membership when you use your Card. Learn more.
  • $695 annual fee.
  • Terms Apply.

How To Determine Which American Express Platinum Card Offer Is Best

The other question to consider is should you apply for the Platinum Card now? This is important because the welcome offer changes several times per year. It’s also important because you’re usually only eligible to receive a welcome bonus once. Therefore, you’ll want to be sure you’re getting the best offer possible when you apply.

Generally speaking, anytime you see an offer for 100,000 points or more, you can feel confident that it’s a good time to apply. A welcome offer that size is worth $1,000 when booking select travel or redeeming for participating gift cards. It may be worth even more if you transfer your Membership Rewards to partnering loyalty programs and book travel through their associated frequent flyer program. For example, 100,000 points is enough for a round-trip business class flight between the U.S. and Europe, a ticket that ordinarily costs more than $2,000.

If you are comparing multiple offers, don’t forget to consider the minimum spending requirements, as well. Sometimes Platinum Card offers of 100,000, 125,000 or even 150,000 points require spending a lot of money in a short amount of time. Remember, if you don’t spend the full amount, you won’t receive the offer. Because of this, a smaller pool of bonus points may be more meaningful to you if it also requires an amount of spending you’re comfortable with.

How the bonus is structured can also play into what makes up the best offer. For example, not all welcome bonuses focus solely on a flat pool of points. In the past, we’ve seen offers of up to 15 points per dollar on select purchases in addition to a more traditional flat-rate bonus. In cases like that, the combination of two types of bonus points may mean you make out ahead in the long run.

How To Find an Amex 100,000, 125,000 or 150,000 Offer

Sometimes, you’ll be lucky enough that the standard welcome offer for the Platinum American Express is very good. Today, there’s a publicly-available offer: 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 on purchases on the card in the first 6 months of card membership.  But, if you’re not happy with the current offer, you might have other avenues to explore.

Targeted American Express Offers

For starters, you may be targeted with an individual offer just for you. These offers often come in the mail and may include an invitation code you need to provide when you apply. So, if you’re thinking about applying for a new credit card, don’t toss all the flyers and marketing materials you get in the mail without looking at them first—there may be an enhanced offer waiting for you.

American Express also has a tool on their website where you can check for pre-qualified offers. You’ll need to enter some very basic personal information, like your name and address, so they can determine what offers are available to you. However, a credit check won’t be run unless you formally apply. You may notice an increased offer—even if you don’t, you’ll know if you were pre-qualified and are more likely to be approved.

If you’re already an American Express cardholder, you might also get emails with targeted offers. Additionally, you may see offers when you login to your online account. These offers may be to apply for new cards or to upgrade an existing account to the Platinum Card. Either way, you should give them a check.

Offers Through the CardMatch Tool

Similar to checking for pre-qualified offers, CardMatch is a tool that allows you to check for targeted offers without running a credit check. CardMatch partners with multiple card issuers so you might get offers for cards you’re not interested in and you may not get a single offer from American Express.

Despite these limitations, CardMatch sometimes finds higher offers since they can share targeted bonuses from banks they’re affiliated with. There’s no guarantee you’ll find a higher offer for the Platinum Card—or any offer at all—but it’s one of the best sources for alternate welcome offers.

Only Apply for Offers You’re Eligible for

It’s possible you may come across a link for a higher welcome offer by accident. However, be wary of applying for offers that aren’t either publicly-available or targeted specifically to you. American Express has strict terms and conditions and you may not earn a bonus at all if they suspect you’re cheating you’re cheating the system:

“If we in our sole discretion determine that you have engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming in connection with the welcome offer in any way or that you intend to do so…we may not credit Membership Rewards® points to, we may freeze Membership Rewards® points credited to, or we may take away Membership Rewards® points from your account.”

In addition, there have been reports that American Express has allegedly closed other accounts that were already open and blacklisted cardholders entirely. The possibility of a few extra points isn’t worth the risk of not being able to earn Membership Rewards at all.

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Bottom Line

The Platinum Card has had some amazing welcome offers recently, with bonuses topping six figures. When publicly available offers are that high, you don’t need to go searching for Amex Platinum 100,000 offers. Other times, a few steps searching for targeted offers might help you find an increased welcome offer intended specifically for you. Regardless of how you choose to apply, an offer that size is a valuable asset and another compelling reason to add the card to your wallet.

To view rates and fees for the The Platinum Card® from American Express please visit this page.

How do I get 100000 points on Amex Platinum?

Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Apply and select your preferred metal Card design: classic Platinum Card®, Platinum x Kehinde Wiley, or Platinum x Julie Mehretu.

What does 75 000 AMEX points get you?

How much are 75,000 American Express points worth? At a minimum, 75,000 American Express Membership Rewards points are worth $750 when you use them in the Amex Travel portal. If you're looking for even more value, you'll want to transfer them out to an Amex hotel and airline partner.

How much are 150000 Amex points worth?

We generally value Membership Rewards points at about 2.2 cents per point, which means that a 100,000-point bonus offer is worth ~$2,200, a 125,000-point bonus is worth ~$2,750, and a 150,000-point bonus is worth $3,300.

How does the Amex Platinum bonus work?

You will get one Membership Rewards® point for each dollar charged for an eligible purchase on your Platinum Card® from American Express. You will get 4 additional points (for a total of 5 points) for each dollar spent on eligible travel purchases made on AmexTravel.com.