How 175,000 Amex Platinum Points Turned Into a $7,000 Summer Europe Trip

It’s not too late to plan a summer trip, even with high airfares and rising travel costs across the board. In fact, applying strategically for a card with a large welcome offer could help unlock a trip for far less than you’d expect.

The Platinum Card^® from American Express is a great example with its generous welcome bonus:

• Apply and find out if you're eligible for as high as 175,000 points after spending $12,000 in eligible purchases in the first 6 months. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.

At first glance, the math might not seem to add up. After all, this card comes with an $895 annual fee (rates & fees). But when used intentionally, earning a large stash of points at once can help offset travel costs.

It’s far from a free vacation, but the Amex Platinum card can be an incredibly powerful tool to stretch your summer travel budget — here’s how.

Amex Platinum Card’s Welcome Offer

The Amex Platinum card features one of the most valuable welcome offers available on any consumer card. That said, the process application works a bit differently than usual. You won’t know the exact number of bonus points you’re eligible for until after you submit the application, which could be as high as 175,000 points.

However, there’s no immediate impact on your credit score when applying. American Express first performs a soft credit check to determine your approval and targeted bonus offer, so you can exit the application at any point with no impact to your credit.

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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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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

You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $12,000 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.  

As High As 175,000 Points. Find Out Your Offer.

UP's Offer Valuation*:

Up to $3,850

Annual Fee

$895

APR

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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 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
• Annual and monthly statement credits upon enrollment (airline credit, Uber Cash and Uber One, Resy, lululemon credit, streaming credit, prepaid hotel credit on eligible stays, Walmart+ credit, CLEAR+ credit, and Equinox credit)
• TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit
• Access to American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts and Amex International Airline Program
• Access to Amex transfer partners
• No foreign transaction fees (rates and fees)

 

Cons

• $895 annual fee (rates and fees)
• Airline credit does not cover airfare (only incidentals like checked bags)

 

 

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Card Highlights

• You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $12,000 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.
• 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.
• $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.
• $300 Digital Entertainment Credit: Experience the latest shows, news and recipes. Get up to $25 in statement credits each month when you use your Platinum Card^® for eligible purchases on Disney+, a Disney+ bundle, ESPN streaming services, Hulu, The New York Times, Paramount+, Peacock, The Wall Street Journal, YouTube Premium, and YouTube TV when you purchase directly from one or more of the providers. Enrollment required.
• $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.
• $400 Resy Credit + Platinum Nights by Resy: Get up to $100 in statement credits each quarter when you use the Platinum Card^® to make eligible purchases with Resy, including dining purchases at U.S. Resy restaurants. Enrollment required. 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.
• $209 CLEAR+ Credit: CLEAR+ helps get you to your gate faster by using your face to verify you are you at 55+ airports nationwide. You can cover the cost of a CLEAR+ Membership* with up to $209 in statement credits per calendar year after you pay for CLEAR+ with your 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, when available, and guaranteed 4PM check-out.
• $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.
• 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.
• $895 annual fee.
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

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• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

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If you review your welcome bonus offer and decide to accept the account, a hard inquiry may be applied.

My fiancé had previously applied and only saw the standard 80,000-point welcome offer. A few months later, he tried again. This time, he was targeted for the maximum 175,000-point bonus and decided to open the card.

How We Spent $12,000 in 6 Months

Officially, it can take 8 to 12 weeks to receive your bonus points after you meet the minimum spending requirement. In my experience applying for several Amex consumer and business cards, the points often post much faster — sometimes within a day or two.

Spending $12,000 in 6 months breaks down to about $2,000 per month, but we had a clear plan to meet the requirement without overspending. Here’s how we did it:

• Health insurance premiums for the remainder of the year
• Car insurance, paid in 6-month installments
• Tuition expenses
• Wedding venue costs
• Estimated tax payments
• Other future travel expenses outside of our summer vacation, including flights, activities, hotels, and rental cars

In addition, we used the Amex Platinum card almost exclusively during the introductory period. That’s not typically ideal, since the Amex Platinum card earns just 1x points on most purchases, while other rewards cards can earn more bonus points and miles.

However, this approach helped us reach the minimum spending requirement much faster. Of course, your strategy may vary depending on your financial situation, but we were able to meet the requirement in just 45 days, rather than the full 180-day window.

Redeeming 200,000 Points for a Summer Trip to Europe

After earning 175,000 points from the welcome offer, we picked up another 25,000 points from the $12,000 minimum spending. Some of that came from booking flights directly with airlines to earn 5x points (on up to $500,000 per year), along with a few Fine Hotels + Resorts stays that also earned at the favorable 5x multiplier.

Those 200,000 Amex Membership Rewards points arrived in our account around mid-April, which gave us about 2 months to use them for our July trip to Europe.

Because of how award availability works, if you don’t book far in advance — typically about a year out — the next best strategy is to book your flights shortly before your travel dates. While waiting until just a few weeks before your trip can feel risky, it worked in our favor. We had ample time to earn the Amex Platinum card’s welcome bonus offer and still find great flights to Europe this summer.

2 Business Class Flights to Paris for 120,000 Membership Rewards Points

We live in Salt Lake City, so finding award flights to Europe from nearby airports can be challenging compared to the ample award flights from the East Coast. But that’s why I love leveraging Air France-KLM Flying Blue, one of Amex’s best transfer partners, as it always has amazing deals to Europe.

Membership Rewards points transfer to Flying Blue at a 1:1 ratio instantly, so once you find the award availability, you can work quickly to lock in your tickets.

We were able to snag 2 ideal business class seats on Air France from San Francisco (SFO) to Paris (CDG) for an unbelievable rate: 60,000 miles and $350 in taxes and fees per ticket. (Even more surprisingly, premium economy was priced higher than this business class award.)

Although we paid about $700 in taxes and fees, we charged it to the Amex Platinum card to earn 5x points — essentially earning 3,500 more points. Considering the same flight costs nearly $3,500 per person, paying the taxes and fees felt like an easy decision to lock in these flights.

My net cent-per-point value was over 5 cents, more than double the 2.2 cents we currently value Amex Membership Rewards points.

With the longest segment of our flight booked, we needed to arrive at San Francisco with plenty of time before our 3:05 p.m. departure to Paris. We paid just under $200 for United tickets that would give us more than 3 hours to transit (and plenty of time to enjoy a bite at the Delta Sky Club).

2 Economy Flights Back Home for 65,000 Points

While we could have tried to earn more Membership Rewards points for a business class flight back to the U.S., we ultimately had fewer than 80,000 points in our account balance. Therefore, we went for the next best thing: a nonstop flight home in economy.

Once again, the SkyTeam alliance came through for us — but it’s important to check rates with multiple transfer partners. Amex Membership Rewards points transfer 1:1 to Delta SkyMiles, but that’s rarely the best option. In this case, Delta was charging an eye-watering 130,000 miles per ticket — yes, in economy — for the nonstop flight from Paris to Salt Lake City.

Switching over to Flying Blue, yet again, made all the difference. For the exact same nonstop flight, we were able to book it for just 35,000 miles plus about $350 in taxes and fees per person.

Even economy flights to Europe in the summer aren’t cheap, often running around $900 one-way, so we were happy to use these points to cut down our out-of-pocket costs.

Amex Platinum Benefits That Saved Us Money

If we had to pay cash for these same flights — business class to France and economy on the way home — it would have cost close to $9,000. Instead, we used the 175,000-point welcome offer, 25,000 points earned from additional spending, and about $1,400 in taxes and fees, saving more than $7,000 out of pocket.

While redeeming the welcome offer is exciting, it’s far from the only valuable perk of the Amex Platinum card. Here’s how we used other benefits to save on this trip, and future travels to come:

• Up to $600 in annual prepaid hotel credits: We received up to $300 in statement credits for prepaid bookings through Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts (no minimum stay) or The Hotel Collection (2-night minimum stay required), helping offset hotel costs.
• Complimentary hotel elite status: Cardholders can enroll in Hilton Honors Gold, Marriott Bonvoy Gold, and Leaders Club status. We booked a few Hilton stays and are even getting complimentary breakfast, an especially valuable perk at international properties for Gold members.
• Access to over 1,550 airport lounges: While guest access requires $75,000 in annual spending, my fiancé and I each have our own Amex Platinum cards, so we can access lounges together or separately.
• CLEAR+ and Global Entry credits: We each have memberships through our respective cards, making it easier to get through security with CLEAR+ and TSA PreCheck (included with Global Entry), and breeze through customs when returning home.

It’s difficult to assign an exact dollar value to all of these perks, but the impact of the Amex Platinum card is clear. This summer, we’ll deal with fewer airport headaches, save on hotel stays, receive complimentary breakfast, and get extensive lounge access throughout our trip.

Final Thoughts

Even after accounting for the $895 annual fee, which is due within the first billing cycle, we still saved well over $6,000 on flights. Plus, we get to enjoy these added perks every time we travel.

Ultimately, the Amex Platinum card feels more like a membership for elevated travel experiences you’ll truly appreciate once you reach your destination.