The Amex Platinum Card – How To Use the $155 Walmart+ Credit [2024]

Online shopping is the status quo nowadays. It’s simply much easier for consumers to click a few buttons and have items show up directly at their door than it is to venture out to brick-and-mortar stores.

There’s no doubt that Amazon and its Prime service was the pioneer in the online shopping space, but now the proliferation of online shopping has its competitors wanting in on the action.

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, has a delivery subscription service of its own dubbed Walmart+, and it’s complimentary for those who have The Platinum Card^® from American Express.

In this guide, we’ll show you how to sign up for the Walmart+ membership that’s included in your Amex Platinum card’s benefits, break down the benefits of the service, and analyze how it stacks up against Amazon Prime.

Overview of the Amex Platinum Card

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The Platinum Card^® from American Express

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The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.

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The Platinum Card^® from American Express

The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.

Welcome Offer

Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

80,000 points

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$1,760

Annual Fee

$695

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Credit Recommended

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 cardapplication.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

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 1,400 worldwide lounges, including the luxurious Amex Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass lounges, 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

Cons

• $695 annual fee (rates and fees)
• Airline credit does not cover airfare (only incidentals like checked bags)

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Card Highlights

• Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• 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.
• $200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts^® or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using your Platinum Card^®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
• $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card^® on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
• The American Express Global Lounge Collection^® can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market. As of 03/2023.
• $155 Walmart+ Credit: Save on eligible delivery fees, shipping, and more with a Walmart+ membership. Use your Platinum Card^® to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership and get up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes back on one membership (excluding Plus Ups) each month.
• $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card^®.
• $200 Uber Cash: Platinum Card^® Members can get out and about and explore their local area with $15 in Uber Cash for US rides each month, plus a bonus $20 in December. That can be up to $200 in annual Uber savings. Simply download the Uber app and add your Platinum Card^® to your Uber account to get started. Available to Basic Card Member only. Effective 11/8/2024, an Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit.
• $199 CLEAR^® Plus Credit: CLEAR^® Plus helps to get you to your gate faster at 50+ airports nationwide and get up to $199 back per calendar year on your Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Card. CLEARLanes are available at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues.
• Receive either a $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck^® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card^®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
• Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases in Saks Fifth Avenue stores or at saks.com on your Platinum Card^®. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
• Unlock access to exclusive reservations and special dining experiences with Global Dining Access by Resy when you add your Platinum Card^® to your Resy profile.
• $695 annual fee.¤
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

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• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

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Key Benefits of Amex Platinum Card

A complimentary Walmart+ membership is an exclusive benefit of the Amex Platinum card, but the card offers numerous other benefits that make it a worthwhile addition to your wallet. Despite its rather hefty annual fee, you’ll get a ton in statement credits to help offset it, including perks like a $240 digital entertainment credit, a $200 Uber Cash credit, and a $200 prepaid hotel credit.

Plus, for those who are frequent travelers, the card offers some of the best travel benefits of any card on the market, including access to over 1,400+ airport lounges worldwide, not to mention complimentary Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status upon enrollment, fee credits for Global Entry/TSA PreCheck and CLEAR, along with rental car elite status and a bevy of other benefits.

Not only does the card offer great perks, but it also earns American Express Membership Rewards points, which are some of our favorite points to have thanks to their flexibility and ability to be transferred to the Amex transfer partners to book top-notch business and first class airline tickets.

Walmart+ is the retailer’s take on expedited delivery service and typically costs $12.95 per month.

Members receive the following benefits and services:

• Free shipping on items with no minimum purchase requirement (excluding items not shipped by Walmart)
• Free grocery delivery with a $35 order minimum
• Rx for less: get select prescriptions for as little as $0 and save up to 85% on thousands more at Walmart pharmacies
• Save 10¢ per gallon on fuel at Walmart, Murphy, Exxon, and Mobil stations
• “Scan & go” contact-free checkout
• Early access to special promotions and events, including online Black Friday deals, product releases, and more

If you’re someone who shops at Walmart fairly often, then these benefits would likely be pretty useful. In fact, the retailer claims that Walmart+ members save $816 per year on average, thanks to their benefits.

Of course, the utility of the membership is location-dependent because — as surprising as this may be — not all areas have a Walmart nearby. If you live in such an area, you wouldn’t be able to benefit from the grocery delivery or the discounts on prescriptions and gas. However, you’d still be able to receive free 2-day delivery for online shopping done through Walmart.com.

The Amex Platinum card’s Walmart+ credit covers the monthly cost of the standard $12.95 monthly fee, so even if you’re someone who only orders from Walmart once in a while, you’ll be able to keep the benefits of the membership in your back pocket for no added expense.

Hot Tip: Use your Amex Platinum card for the complimentary Walmart+ membership, then consider one of our best credit cards for shopping at Walmart when making your purchases!

How to Activate the Walmart+ Statement Credit

Activating your Walmart+ membership as an Amex Platinum cardmember is quite simple. All you need to do is follow these steps:

Step 1: Head to the Walmart+ and Amex Platinum card landing page.

Step 2: Click Get Started.

Step 3: Next, sign in to your Walmart account, or create one if you don’t already have an account.

Step 4: From here, all you need to do is enter the payment details of your Amex Platinum card, and then click Join Walmart+ with Platinum Card.

After you’ve done that, you’re all set! Your Walmart+ account will be active, and you can start taking advantage of all of its benefits.

Where Is Walmart+ Available?

Technically speaking, Walmart+ is available to anyone who is able to create a Walmart account. That said, many of the benefits will not be useful to you if you don’t live in an area with a Walmart nearby, as you won’t be able to use the food delivery benefit, nor will you be able to receive the gas and pharmacy discounts.

However, you do not need to live near a physical Walmart to benefit from the free same- or 2-day shipping for online purchases you make through the Walmart website.

Walmart+ vs Amazon Prime

For those of you wondering how Walmart+ stacks up against Amazon Prime, here’s a full comparison chart:

As you can see, Amazon Prime does offer significantly more benefits than Walmart+ for a relatively small premium — it’ll cost you just $2 more per month or $41 more per year.

That said, whether or not that added expense is worth it to you depends on what benefits you actually value. You might not have any use for many of the Amazon Prime benefits and instead prefer the gas station savings that Walmart+ can offer you. Alternatively, you might love Amazon Prime for its added streaming and digital benefits, like Prime Video, Prime Music, and Amazon Photos.

However, suppose you’re an Amex Platinum cardholder who currently only uses your Amazon Prime subscription for access to free 2-day delivery. In that case, you may want to see if the types of products you order through Amazon are available at Walmart. If they are, you may be able to save some cash by canceling your Prime subscription and activating your complimentary Walmart+ membership.

Depending on where you live, having both an Amazon Prime and Walmart+ subscription could be advantageous, as you can switch back and forth between whichever program offers the best discount or deal for a given item.

Final Thoughts

Walmart+ is one of the few genuine competitors to Amazon Prime when it comes to delivery options and the breadth of available items, and you can get a complimentary membership just for being an Amex Platinum cardmember.

Again, its utility will depend on how close a Walmart is to where you live and how often you shop online with the retailer, but most would agree that it’s always better to have multiple options.