Snag the Amex Platinum Card 125k or 150k Welcome Bonus Offer [Current Public Offer is 80K]

The award travel community let out a great breath last year when American Express officially announced a variety of new benefits for The Platinum Card^® from American Express. These included the addition of hundreds of dollars in statement credits each year, as well as an increase to the annual fee. And while that fee may be difficult to swallow, Amex has sweetened the pot by increasing its welcome offer to all-time highs.

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 the offer elsewhere.

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.

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.

Recently, our team has been seeing the 125,000-point welcome offers shown above; however, back in March of 2023, we were able to find a slightly higher offer of 150,000 points available to select applicants.

Option 2: 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 3. 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.

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. and international locations), Priority Pass upon enrollment, Escape Lounges – The Centurion Studio Partner, Plaza Premium Lounges, select Virgin Clubhouses, select Lufthansa lounges when flying with Lufthansa Group the same day, and Delta 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.
• 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, Peacock, 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 Amex Travel when you pay with your card. Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
• Up to $155 Walmart+ Credit: Receive a $12.95 monthly credit toward a Walmart+ membership.
• Global Dining Access by Resy
• Wheels Up (Premium Private Jet Program)

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, you get a lot of value back by having this card in your wallet even considering the annual fee is $695 (rates and fees).

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 partner at a 1:1 ratio which means your 180,000 points can become 13 one-way or 6 round-trip flights to the U.K. How many times did you want to see Big Ben?

Enjoy Emirates First Class

A round-trip flight from New York (JFK) to Milan (MXP) in Emirates first class will set you back 135,000 Emirates Skywards miles. That’s not cheap, but where else can you enjoy digital windows from the middle seat? You can transfer Amex points to Emirates at a 1:1 ratio.

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.