Is Amex Closing a Loophole for Using Its Annual Airline Credits?

American Express offers an annual up to $200 airline credit on its premium personal and small-business cards (enrollment required). When used strategically, that benefit can offset a significant portion of the card’s annual fee through reimbursements for everyday airline expenses.

For years, many cardholders counted on a reliable workaround that made this credit far more flexible than advertised. But new reports suggest the loophole is closing, forcing cardholders to rethink how they maximize this benefit.

There’s no guarantee the United TravelBank option is gone for good, but it looks like things are heading that way.

Reports Suggest United TravelBank No Longer Works

Both the Platinum Card^® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express offer up to $200 in airline credits annually, available with a preferred airline you select while enrolling for the benefit.

For the past several years, some Amex Business Platinum card and Amex Platinum cardholders have found success using their airline credit on United TravelBank deposits, effectively converting the incidental benefit into future flight credit worth face value. While never part of Amex’s official terms, separate deposits of $50 or $100 often triggered reimbursements, making the perk far more versatile.

That appears to be changing.

In February 2026, multiple data points began surfacing, indicating that TravelBank purchases were no longer being reimbursed. Doctor of Credit reported that cardholders were seeing denials on deposits made after early February 2026.

Reddit users echoed similar experiences, suggesting the charge may now be categorized as general “travel” rather than an incidental airline fee. Other threads describe outright denials when attempting to claim the credit with customer service after making United-related purchases.

While some isolated users report older transactions still working, the overall trend points in one direction: Amex’s systems no longer recognize TravelBank deposits as eligible incidental charges.

Importantly, this workaround was never endorsed by American Express. The terms have always limited reimbursements to specific fee categories. For years, TravelBank happened to code in a way that triggered credits, but that technical loophole appears to be closing.

As with many long-running “hacks,” it worked — until it didn’t. Cardholders may be surprised by delayed credits hitting their accounts in the future, but there’s no guarantee.

What Still Officially Works for the $200 Airline Credit?

With unofficial options becoming less reliable, cardholders should focus on what American Express clearly allows.

According to Amex’s published benefit terms, the airline incidental credit applies only to qualifying charges from your selected airline. Eligible expenses typically include:

• Checked bag fees
• Seat assignment and selection fees
• Inflight food and beverages
• Inflight entertainment fees
• Flight change or cancellation fees
• Airport lounge day passes purchased directly from the airline
• Some airline club membership fees
• Pet transportation fees (in certain cases)

To use the benefit properly, you must first select your preferred airline in your Amex account. Only purchases from that airline will qualify.

Purchases that generally don’t qualify for the credit include:

• Airfare
• Cabin upgrades
• Mileage purchases
• Gift cards
• Award ticket taxes and fees
• Travel vouchers

While some cardholders will continue experimenting with indirect methods, those approaches are increasingly unreliable. If a charge doesn’t fall within Amex’s defined categories, there is no guarantee it will be reimbursed.

Final Thoughts

Using the annual airline credits from the Amex Platinum card or Amex Business Platinum card to load funds into United TravelBank allowed cardholders to get up to $200 in annual statement credits to buy flights in cash. It was a valuable workaround for using the credits unofficially to book flights, rather than just paying for add-ons with the credit.

Now, that workaround is unreliable.

For cardholders who were focusing on United TravelBank for their $200 airline credits, the good news is that you can still change your preferred airline if you haven’t used any of your credits yet this year. Each person will need to review the official list of benefits terms and see which options provide value for their upcoming trips.