American Express is the most recognized credit card brand in the world that offers a wide range of credit cards, especially platinum cards such as the American Express Platinum card, American Express Platinum Travel card, and American Express Platinum Reserve. All these cards are in a league of their own as they are unique and provide excellent value. The American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card is no doubt one of the best Travel credit cards in India at the moment.
Let’s know everything about India’s American Express Platinum Travel Card.
Overview: Amex Platinum Travel Credit Card
Here is a complete overview of Platinum Travel Credit Card Issues by American Express India:
| Type | Travel Credit Card |
| Joining Fees/Annual Fees | Rs. 3500 Plus Taxes |
| Welcome Benefits | 10000 Membership Rewards Points |
| Renewal Fees | Rs. 5000 Plus Taxes |
| Reversal of Annual Fees | Not Applicable |
| Renewal Benefits | No |
| Forex Markup Charges | 3.5% Plus Taxes |
| Default Reward Rate | 0.60%-6% |
| Maximize Reward Earn By | Achieving Milestones |
| Redemption Maximization | Transfer Points to Partners |
| Stand Out Feature | Amazing Milestone Awards |
Fees and Welcome/Renewal Benefits:
All American Express Credit Cards carry annual fees. However, Amex is known for being generous by offering to either get fee waived or membership rewards points.
Fees: The first-year fee is Rs. 3500 plus GST @ 18%; however, it increases to Rs. 5000 plus GST @ 18% in the second year. You can get the first year free via my link, which is given at the end of this blog.
Annual/Renewal Benefit: On spending Rs. 15000 in ninety days from activation of the card, you get a welcome benefit in the form of 10000 membership rewards points. However, 10000 points are not eligible for second-year annual fees. Often, American Express runs an offer wherein they also provide an Amazon voucher worth Rs. 1000 on upgradation to Platinum Travel from an existing credit card.
How do you get a waiver for annual fees?
The greatest thing about American Express is the industry’s best customer support. They would help with the annual fees that you are paying. Usually, the first-year annual fee is payable. You will most likely be charged an Annual fee from the second year onwards. However, that is not the end of the road. Give Amex a call, and they will be happy to assist you. Recently, I was given an option of a 50% waiver or 10000 points instead of a fee waiver. I went with the 50% fee waiver this time, considering I already had enough points.
You can choose what you feel comfortable with. However, on most days, choosing membership rewards is a better option.
Amex Plat Travel Card Reward Earning
Reward Earning
By default, the American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card earns 1 point per Rs. 50 Spent. However, Amex Platinum Travel Credit Card doesn’t earn any points on:
- Fuel
- Insurance
- Utilities
- Cash transactions, and
- EMI transactions
But reward Points on Insurance are given once a year as a one-time offer. For example, last year’s offer earned you 10,000 reward points on insurance expenses.
How do we increase the default reward points earned?
Firstly, the Amex Platinum Travel Credit Card is a milestone card, which means you will earn a bonus when you reach a milestone. Apart from that, the best way to increase the earning of reward points is by using a reward multiplier. You earn three reward points instead of 1 on using a reward multiplier.
Amex also sometimes allow you to earn 23 points per Rs—100 during the festive season, which is notified via email.
Milestone Rewards on AmEx Platinum Travel Credit Card
Very few Milestone-based Credit Cards in India are worth holding, and American Express Platinum Travel Credit is one of them. The milestones are not absurd but reachable.
Here is what you need to do to get Milestone Rewards:
Spend INR 1.90 Lacs and earn 15000 Points: On spending Rs. 1.90 Lacs in your card anniversary year, you get 15,000 Bonus Membership Rewards Points. There are no exclusions for milestone spending calculation. So, you earn 18,800 reward points, including the base 3800 reward points.
Spend INR 4 Lacs and earn 25000 Points [Total 40K Points]: On Spending INR 4 Lacs in the card anniversary year, you earn a 25,000 Bonus. So, you earn 48000 reward points, including 8000 base points on spending INR 4 Lacs in the card anniversary year.
Taj Voucher: You get not just the 48K points but also one Taj voucher worth INR INR 10000 on completing your milestone of INR 4 Lacs. This voucher can be used at Taj, SeleQtions, and Vivanta Hotels.
Default Reward Rate
The default reward rate on American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card is 0.6%. You can use one reward point for Rs. 0.3 against flight or hotel bookings or getting a Flipkart voucher. So, you get a value of INR 0.3 as a reward for spending Rs. 50.
Default Reward Rate After Completing Milestone
Since one reward point is equivalent to Rs. 0.3, you can get a minimum value of INR 14,400 from reward points plus the Taj voucher of INR 10,000, which means a total value of INR 24,400. This milestone benefit increases the reward rate from 0.6% to 6%, a 10x increase. However, if you could only spend Rs. 1.90 lacs, the reward rate would be 3%, a reasonable rate and 5x the default reward rate.
Redemption of Rewards Points:
You can use the points earned on the American Express Platinum Travel card in four ways. Here are the four options:
- Use them to pay for charges or spending (Rs. 0.3 value per point)
- Use them on Amex Travel Online Portal (Rs. 0.3 value per point)
- Use them to get a Flipkart Voucher (Rs. 0.3 value per point)
- Use them by transferring Points (check it out later in the post)
Pro Tip: The Membership Rewards Points earned on the Amex Platinum Travel Credit Card Never expire. So, if you don’t feel like using them now, sit back and relax and use them whenever you like, even after five years if the card is active. In 5 years, you can earn 240000 reward points. However, the Taj Voucher is valid for one year.
How do you maximize the value of Amex Platinum Travel Credit Card Points?
The minimum value you get on an Amex Plat Travel credit card is Rs. 0.3. However, transferring your American Express platinum Travel Credit card points to transfer partners is best.
Value Via Airline Transfer Partners:
You can find here the airline transfer partners of American Express Credit Cards.
By transferring your points to airline partners, you can get a value of one point between INR 0.5 [Economy Cabins] & INR 1 [Premium Cabins]. However, the value may also be above INR 1 on rare occasions.
An INR 0.5 value will give a reward rate of 8.5%, and an INR 1 value will provide a reward rate of 14.5%.
Value Via Hotel Transfer Partners:
Marriott & Hilton are two hotel transfer partners of Amex India. I value Hilton points at INR 0.5 and Marriott points at INR 0.6. So, Amex’s use at Hilton will give a 7.65% reward rate, and Marriott will provide a 9.7% reward rate.
Even though the points value at Marriott will give a reward rate of 9.7%, Marriott & Amex offers a bonus on transferring Amex points every year. This year, it was a 30% bonus of Marriott points. That increases the reward rate to 11.86%. Marriott also gives a 5th night free on redeeming points, increasing the reward rate to roughly 14%.
Related: How do you find Marriott’s Best Points Redemption Rate?
Lounge Access on American Express Platinum credit card
| Card | Domestic Lounge | International Lounge |
| Amex Plat Travel | 8/ Yr [2 Per Quarter] | Nil |
After exhausting two lounge visits in a quarter, Discounted access fees of Rs. 500 excluding taxes on domestic departure lounges and Rs. 750 excluding taxes on international departure lounges and T1C domestic departure lounges.
The American Express proprietary Lounges at the airport can not be accessed with the Platinum Travel credit card.
American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card Other Benefits
You receive the following additional benefits on your AmEx platinum Travel Credit Card:
- Fuel Wavier: 0% Convenience fee on fueling up at HPCL for INR 25K transactions a Month
- 24×7 Platinum Assist
- Emergency Card Replacement, anywhere in the world
- Zero Lost Card Liability
- 15% Discount at Select restaurants.
Bonus: How do you access the Gold Collection with an Amex Platinum Travel Credit Card?
Not all Amex Credit cards can access the 18K and 24K gold collections. As the Amex Platinum Travel credit card is not eligible, you cannot redeem your points on the 18K or 24K gold collection.
But there is still a way. Suppose you hold another Amex credit card, such as the American Express Membership Rewards Credit Card or Amex Gold Card. In that case, you can club your two Amex accounts and use points interchangeably. That means you can get great vouchers from some prominent brands with a minimum value of Rs. 0.375 per point and a maximum value of Rs. 0.58 per point, giving reward rates of 7% and 9.5%.
Related: Amex Spend-Based Targeted Offer
Apply Now
American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card is a great card. There is a first-year annual fee of INR 3.5K plus taxes, i.e. INR 4.1K. You also get 10000 reward points upon fee payment. However, you can get this card for free for the first year via my referral link. You will also earn 2000 reward points.
Apply For American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card
Bottomline
The American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card is an excellent card with a reward rate of 8.5% if used for points transfer without thinking about where to spend because of its great milestone-based rewards. It makes sense to hold an American Express Credit Card in India, and the American Express Platinum Travel credit card would be in the top 3. So, I would say it is a must-have card.
