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Is the Amex Platinum 100K, 125K, or 150K Welcome Offer Worth It? [Current Public Offer Is as High as 175K]
Katie Corrigan Seemann
Katie Corrigan Seemann
Travel Partnerships Manager and Podcast Co-Host
513 Published Articles94 Edited Articles
Countries Visited: 31U.S. States Visited: 29
Katie has been in the points and miles game since 2015 and started her own blog in 2016. She’s been freelance writing since then and her work has been featured in publications like Travel + Leisure, L...
A long-time points and miles student, Jessica is the former Personal Finance Managing Editor at U.S. News and World Report and is passionate about helping consumers fund their travels for as little ca...
Michael Y. Park is a journalist living in New York City. He’s traveled through Afghanistan disguised as a Hazara Shi’ite, slept with polar bears on the Canadian tundra, picnicked with the king and que...
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The Platinum Card® from American Express is arguably one of today’s premier cards. While the $895 annual fee is steep, it has many premium perks and benefits (rates & fees).
If this card is on your radar, you should apply for the Amex Platinum card when the welcome offer is as high as possible. If you’ve been around the world of points and miles for a while, you’ve likely heard of the targeted welcome offers after meeting spending requirements.
The public welcome offer is:
Apply and find out if you're eligible for as high as 175,000 points after spending $8,000 in eligible purchases in the first 6 months. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
Earning a big welcome offer on this card is ideal, but it isn’t available to everyone every day. This post explains how to apply for the Amex Platinum card with welcome offers of 100,000, 125,000, 150,000 Membership Rewards points — or more!
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 not reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
Amex Platinum Card Overview
Depending on your personal information, you may see one of several different welcome offers for the Amex Platinum card when you apply.
The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.
The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.
The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.
You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
As High As 175,000 Points. Find Out Your Offer.
Up to $3,850
$895
See Pay Over Time APR
Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO® Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit card application.
Good to Excellent
Why We Like This Card
When it comes to cards that offer top-notch benefits, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better card out there than the Platinum Card® from American Express.
Make no mistake — the Amex Platinum card is a premium card with a premium price tag. With amazing benefits like best-in-class airport lounge access, hotel elite status, and tremendous value in annual statement credits, it can easily prove to be one of the most lucrative cards in your wallet year after year.
Pros & Cons
Pros
The best airport lounge access out of any card (by far) — enjoy access to over 1,550 worldwide lounges, including the luxurious Amex Centurion Lounges,Priority Pass lounges (enrollment required), Plaza Premium Lounges, and many more!
5x points per dollar spent on flights purchased directly with the airline or with AmexTravel.com (up to $500,000 per year)
5x points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels booked with AmexTravel.com
You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
Get more for your travels with 5X Membership Rewards® points on all flights and prepaid hotel bookings through American Express Travel®, including Fine Hotels + Resorts® and The Hotel Collection bookings. You earn 5X points on flights purchased directly from airlines or through American Express Travel® on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.
More Value! With over 1,550 airport lounges - more than any other credit card company on the market* - enjoy the benefits of the Global Lounge Collection®, over $850 of annual value, with access to Centurion Lounges, 10 complimentary Delta Sky Club® visits when flying on an eligible Delta flight (subject to visit limitations), Priority Pass Select membership (enrollment required), and other select partner lounges. * As of 07/2025.
More Value! $200 Uber Cash + $120 Uber One Credit: With the Platinum Card® you can receive $15 in Uber Cash each month plus a bonus $20 in December when you add your Platinum Card® to your Uber account to use on rides and orders in the U.S when you select an Amex Card for your transaction. Plus, when you use the Platinum Card® to pay for an auto-renewing Uber One membership, you can get up to $120 in statement credits each calendar year. Terms apply.
More Value! $300 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $25 in statement credits each month after you pay for eligible purchases with the Platinum Card® at participating partners. Enrollment required.
More Value! $600 Hotel Credit: Get up to $300 in statement credits semi-annually on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection* bookings through American Express Travel® using the Platinum Card®. *The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
New! $400 Resy Credit + Platinum Nights by Resy: When you use the Platinum Card® to pay at U.S. Resy restaurants and to make other eligible purchases through Resy, you can get up to $100 in statement credits each quarter with the $400 Resy Credit benefit. Plus, with Platinum Nights by Resy, you can get special access to reservations on select nights at participating in demand Resy restaurants with the Platinum Card®. Simply add your eligible Card to your Resy profile to book and discover Platinum Nights reservations near you, enrollment required.
More Value! $209 CLEAR® Plus Credit: CLEAR® Plus helps get you to your gate faster by using unique facial attributes to verify you are you at 50+ airports nationwide. You can cover the cost of a CLEAR Plus Membership* with up to $209 in statement credits per calendar year after you pay for CLEAR Plus with the Platinum Card®. *Excluding any applicable taxes and fees. Subject to auto-renewal.
$200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees, such as checked bags and in-flight refreshments, are charged by the airline to the Platinum Card® Account*. American Express relies on airlines to submit the correct information on airline transactions to identify incidental fee purchases. If you do not see a credit for a qualifying incidental purchase on your eligible Card after 8 weeks, simply call the number on the back of your Card. Qualifying airlines are subject to change. See terms & conditions for more details.
Start your vacation sooner, and keep it going longer. When you book Fine Hotels + Resorts® through American Express Travel®, enjoy noon check-in upon arrival, when available, and guaranteed 4PM check-out.
New! $300 lululemon Credit: Enjoy up to $75 in statement credits each quarter when you use the Platinum Card® for eligible purchases at U.S. lululemon retail stores (excluding outlets) and lululemon.com. That’s up to $300 in statement credits each calendar year. Enrollment required.
$155 Walmart+ Credit: Receive a statement credit* for one monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) after you pay for Walmart+ each month with the Platinum Card®.*Up to $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax. Plus Ups not eligible.
$100 Saks Credit: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue or saks.com on the Platinum Card®. That’s up to $50 in statement credits from January through June and up to $50 in statement credits from July through December. No minimum purchase required. Enrollment required.
Whenever you need us, we're here. Our Member Services team will ensure you are taken care of. From lost Card replacement to statement questions, we are available to help 24/7.
Once you apply directly through American Express, the issuer evaluates your credit score, income, and other factors. In addition to telling you whether you’re approved for the Amex Platinum card, the issuer also presents the welcome offer you’re eligible for.
Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer. If you decide not to move forward with the application, no credit inquiry is made. This is considered a soft pull on your credit report.
You can see what welcome offer you’re eligible for without impacting your credit score. Image Credit: American Express
If you’re approved and like your welcome offer, all that’s left to do is accept it and open your Amex Platinum card account. At this stage, your credit score may be affected.
Is the Amex Platinum 100K, 125K, or 150K Welcome Offer Still Available?
Keep in mind that welcome offers come with a spending requirement. Ensure you can meet any minimum spending requirement before applying for any offer.
Step 1: Check Amex’s Website Directly (Try This First)
The current public offer for the Amex Platinum card is:
Apply and find out if you're eligible for as high as 175,000 points after spending $8,000 in eligible purchases in the first 6 months. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
The welcome offer you’re eligible for varies. Image Credit: American Express
However, our team has noticed that American Express has offered a targeted and elevated welcome offer to select applicants. Here’s an example of a targeted 175,000-point welcome offer we found in our research when applying directly through American Express:
Offer captured on June 17, 2025, and may not be available to all applicants. Image Credit: American Express
As with all targeted offers, these offers aren’t available to everyone, but here’s an example of a 150,000-point targeted offer we found by applying directly through American Express:
The offer was captured on June 16, 2025, may not be available for all applicants, and is subject to change. Image Credit: American Express
Our team members have also seen offers for 125,000 Membership Rewards points, as you can see below in this example from April 2025:
This offer was captured on April 14, 2025, may not be available for all applicants, and is subject to change. Image Credit: American Express
Step 2: CardMatch Tool
If you strike out on the American Express website, your next step should beCardMatch.
CardMatch is a web-based form that allows you to see your best credit card offers from partner banks in seconds. The site completes a soft credit check to see if you’re eligible for any elevated offers. Since it’s not a hard pull, this doesn’t count against your credit.
Image Credit: CardMatch
Remember that the CardMatch tool only shows you offers from affiliated banks, so you don’t see every credit card offer available. It currently has affiliations with the following banks:
American Express
Bank of America
Capital One
Chase
First Premier Bank
Targeted Email Offers
If you’re lucky, you might find an elevated offer for the Amex Platinum card in your mailbox. Just ensure you have opted in to receive new card and credit offers in your Amex account’s general marketing email preferences.
You can do this by going to the tabs “Account Services > Alerts and Communications > Marketing Email Preferences > Offers” in your online account.
Image Credit: American Express
Reasons You May Not Get a Targeted Bonus Offer
Bad, poor, or limited credit: First, ensure your credit score is as high as possible. You should use your current credit responsibly and pay your bill in full and on time each month.
You already have an American Express card: You may be less likely to get a targeted offer like this if you already have an American Express credit card.
Maximizing the Amex Platinum 100K, 125K, or 150K Welcome Offer
To put the value of Membership Rewards points into perspective, we’ve rounded up some of the best ways to use them below. These are some of the most lucrative redemptions that show how far 100,000 Membership Rewards points (and more) can go.
Explore Authentic German Summer Festivals
You might not think of Frankfurt, Germany, as a classic summer destination, but the central German city has an array of festivals and activities throughout the season. Check out the Main Festival, the Apple Wine Festival, the Rheingau Wine Festival, or top it off with the Museumsuferfest, a late-August festival featuring the city’s museums.
Fly in business class on a double-decker 747 for just 70,000 points. Image Credit: Katie Corrigan Seemann
Cathay Pacific Business Class Awards to Asia
Cathay Pacific’s Cathay program lets you book reasonably priced Cathay Pacific business class awards to Asia. While you can use Asia Miles to travel to several destinations throughout Asia, consider stopping by the International Arts Carnival, featuring a family-friendly lineup of performances and activities that lasts for about a month in central Hong Kong.
Fly to Hong Kong and beyond by transferring your Membership Rewards points to Cathay Pacific’s Asia Miles loyalty program. Image Credit: Greg Stone
You can book business class flights from the West Coast to Hong Kong and beyond for just 87,000 Membership Rewards points transferred to Cathay, allowing you to try one of the best business class products in the sky.
Get a free stopover on all Cathay award tickets. Use a multicity search and enter the city you’d like to stop in. No additional points are required to take advantage of this benefit.
Fly ANA Business Class From the U.S. to Tokyo
Virgin Atlantic Flying Club is a sometimes overlooked Amex transfer partner, but it has an interesting partnership with Tokyo-based All Nippon Airways. You might not want to stay in Tokyo itself, thanks to the heat and humidity of a Japanese summer, so look instead at the northern island of Hokkaido for cooler temperatures. You can also explore the beautiful beaches of Okinawa or climb Mount Fuji.
Despite not being in the same airline alliance, Virgin Atlantic and ANA have joined forces to let Flying Club members redeem points on ANA flights for an insanely low points cost.
Currently, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club members can redeem points on ANA flights for round-trip business class flights from the U.S. to Tokyo for 105,000 miles from the West Coast or 120,000 miles from the Midwest or East Coast.
If you’re looking to save on your summer vacation, you can transfer your Membership Rewards points to Avianca Lifemiles to book short-haul United Airlines tickets starting at just 7,500 miles one-way. That’s because both Avianca and United are Star Alliance carriers.
Depending on where you live and where you want to go, your welcome offer of 100,000 Membership Rewards points might be enough for up to 13 short-haul trips within the U.S. You can take quite a few people with you for your summer vacation trip.
Fly on United using Avianca Lifemiles. Image Credit: Ryan Smith
Mileage costs vary by route, as Avianca splits the U.S. into 3 different award regions. Region 1 is the East Coast, 2 is the Midwest, and 3 is the West Coast.
Flights within a single region cost 7,500 miles in economy class, moving 1 region over costs 10,000 miles, and a trip spanning all 3 regions costs 12,500 miles. For example, you can book a flight from Chicago (ORD) to Austin (AUS) for 7,500 miles because they’re in the same region.
Amex Platinum Card 100K Upgrade Offer
Another route to getting 100,000 points or more on the Amex Platinum card is via an upgrade offer. For those currently holding the American Express® Gold Card, Amex has been known to send out targeted offers to entice those cardholders to upgrade to the Amex Platinum card. In the past, these targeted offers have included a wide variety of points, including 25,000, 40,000, 60,000, and even 100,000 points.
However, if you’ve never had the Amex Platinum card before, we highly recommend applying for the card outright your first time, as these welcome offers can reach upward of 175,000 points. Plus, those who get the bonus on the Amex Platinum card are still eligible for upgrade offers on their Amex Gold card at a later date, whereas those who take an upgrade offer to the Amex Platinum card can’t apply and receive the bonus on the card later on.
Highest-Ever Amex Platinum Card Welcome Offer
Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.
The highest welcome offer we’ve ever seen for the Amex Platinum card is 175,000 points. While other bonuses are excellent, we highly recommend taking advantage if you find an offer as high as 175,000 points.
We value 175,000 Amex points at $3,850, making it one of the best credit card welcome offers you can receive.
You can track your progress on your welcome offer by using the trackers in the Amex mobile app, chatting with an Amex representative on the American Express website, or calling the number on the back of your card.
Another option is to head to the membership tab for your Amex Platinum card, click the button that says “View All Benefits,” and then scroll down to the option that says “Centurion Lounge Complimentary Guest Access.” This tracker tracks your progress toward receiving Centurion Lounge guest access by spending $75,000 on the card in a calendar year, but you could also use it to track your progress toward the welcome offer.
Put simply, the Amex once-per-lifetime rule prevents you from receiving the welcome offer on a card if you have received it on a card in its family in the past.
For instance, if you had the Amex Platinum card 5 years ago and have since canceled it, it is unlikely that you would receive the welcome offer again. Alternatively, you would not be able to receive the welcome offer on another version of the Amex Platinum card, like the American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab or The Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley.
How Do I Know if I Qualify for an Amex Welcome Offer?
If you’ve forgotten whether you’ve had a card or aren’t sure you’re eligible for the welcome offer on a card, American Express informs you during the application process.
Those ineligible for any reason receive a pop-up after clicking to submit their application. If you receive the pop-up that states that you are not eligible to receive the welcome offer on the card you are applying for, don’t fret, as your application has not been fully submitted yet.
From there, Amex offers the option to cancel or proceed with your application without the welcome offer. If you decide to cancel your application, no credit inquiry is made, and there’s no impact on your credit score.
This feature is available on every American Express card, so you’ll always know whether you are eligible for the welcome offer before submitting your application.
Final Thoughts
If you are lucky enough to get an elevated welcome offer, analyze if the Amex Platinum card is worth the annual fee before you apply. After you’ve earned your stash of bonus points, let the fun begin by figuring out the best way to use those Amex Membership Rewards.
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