How 1 Amex Welcome Offer Unlocked Summer Europe Flights — In Business Class

Points and miles have completely transformed the way I travel, opening doors to experiences I once only dreamed of. One of the most memorable was when my wife and I flew to Europe in business class during peak season, when cash fares skyrocket and award space is often hardest to find.

Last summer, we flew to Germany with a single welcome bonus offer earned on the Platinum Card^® from American Express, one of the best travel rewards cards on the market today and a personal favorite. Here’s exactly how we made it happen.

Amex Platinum Card Overview

The Amex Platinum card features a long list of premium travel benefits, including the most extensive airport lounge access, elite status with Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy, rental car elite status, and top-notch travel and purchase protections (enrollment is required for many of these benefits).

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Platinum Card^® from American Express

U.P. Rating 

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.

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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, Saks Fifth Avenue credit, 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

• APR: See Pay Over Time APR
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

American Express Membership Rewards

 

Eligible new applicants can score a valuable welcome offer, which, when redeemed strategically, can be worth thousands of dollars:

• 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.

These points come in the form of highly valuable American Express Membership Rewards points, which we value at an astounding 2.2 cents apiece, the highest of any transferable points currency. This means that if you can score as high as a 175,000-point bonus offer, it’s worth up to $3,850 when redeemed for travel.

Why Amex Transfer Partners Are So Valuable

Rather than redeeming Amex Membership Rewards points for gift cards, statement credits, or booking travel through AmexTravel.com, you should learn how to transfer them to Amex’s airline and hotel transfer partners. Generally speaking, this is the best way to use Amex points.

While other redemption options typically offer a flat value of no more than 1 cent per point, you can unlock 2 to 10 times that value by strategically transferring points to airline and hotel partners.

Over the last few years, I have redeemed millions of Amex points by transferring them to transfer partners. There are more than 20 participating airline and hotel loyalty programs, but today, I’ll focus on 1 partner: Air Canada Aeroplan.

How I Found Award Availability on Air Canada Aeroplan

Air Canada Aeroplan is one of my favorites as it partners with numerous carriers, offers generous business-class availability, and charges low-to-moderate taxes and fees. Amex Membership Rewards points transfer instantly to Aeroplan at a 1:1 ratio.

However, the program’s most unique perk may just be its zone-based award chart for certain partner redemptions, where rates directly depend on the total mileage flown between 2 zones.

Although we didn’t have a specific city in mind, we knew we wanted to visit France or Germany, so we decided to let award availability determine where we’d fly. Since I wanted to fly from Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Europe, I looked at the award chart for flights between the North America and Atlantic zones.

After meeting the Amex Platinum card’s minimum spend requirements, I had more than 190,000 Membership Rewards points in my balance. Roughly 4 months before our trip, I turned to one of my favorite award search tools, Seats.aero, to run the search.

I searched for ORD to see which routes could be booked from my home airport and selected Air Canada Aeroplan as my target program. Within a minute, I found one-way Lufthansa business class award space between Chicago and Frankfurt (FRA).

Then, I headed to Aeroplan’s website to confirm the space. Fortunately, I could book this award for 70,000 Aeroplan points and roughly $58 in taxes and fees — and there were even up to 4 seats available.

I transferred 140,000 Amex Membership Rewards points to Air Canada Aeroplan to book these flights. While that’s a lot of points, it was an excellent redemption as individual Lufthansa business class flights typically sell for nearly $6,000 per person.

I got an exceptional 8.5 cents per point on this redemption, far above our valuation of Amex Membership Rewards.

Final Thoughts

The Amex Platinum card is a fantastic rewards card that offers cardholders numerous lifestyle perks, travel benefits, and statement credits. It also offers a tremendous welcome offer, which kick-started our summer Europe trip in style.

By transferring the Amex Membership Rewards points I earned from the Amex Platinum card welcome offer to Air Canada Aeroplan, I was able to book 2 business class flights to Europe during peak travel season, when airfare tends to be most expensive.