How I Booked Business Class Flights to Europe This Winter With Amex Platinum’s Welcome Offer

When it comes to ultra-premium cards with all the bells and whistles, no card stands out like the Platinum Card^® from American Express. If you travel frequently and can take advantage of its numerous perks and benefits, it may be worth having the Amex Platinum card in your wallet.

The Amex Platinum card offers great bonuses on travel purchases, perks and benefits such as comprehensive lounge access and elite status with Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors (upon enrollment), and among the best purchase and travel protections of any card in the market. 

However, the Amex Platinum card also comes with a highly valuable welcome bonus offer that, when redeemed correctly, could be worth thousands of dollars. Fortunately, that is easier to do than most people think.

Here’s an in-depth look at the Amex Platinum card and how I used its welcome offer to book business class seats to Europe and back this winter.

Amex Platinum Card Overview

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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 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'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

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 $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.
• $895 annual fee.
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

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

Rewards Center

American Express Membership Rewards

Although the Amex Platinum card has changed significantly over the years, it’s still among the best travel cards available. For many, the Amex Platinum card has long been considered the premium travel card.

On the earn side, this card earns 5x American Express Membership Rewards points for flights booked directly with airlines or with AmexTravel.com — up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year (then 1x). It also earns 5x Membership Rewards points on prepaid hotels booked with AmexTravel.com.

The Amex Platinum card also provides benefits and perks that no other card offers. This includes the most comprehensive airport lounge access of any travel card and hotel and rental car elite status (upon enrollment) with various travel providers.

While the card offers numerous benefits, one defining factor is its welcome offer. The Amex Platinum card currently has an incredible welcome offer: 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..

What Are 100,000 Amex Points Worth?

Here at Upgraded Points, we love getting outsized value for our points and miles. But with so many ways to redeem points and miles, it can become a bit confusing — fortunately, we specialize in getting as much value as possible.

We value American Express Membership Rewards points at 2.2 cents each, the highest valuation for any transferable points currency. I scored a targeted welcome bonus offer of bonus points* is worth at least $2,200 when redeemed for travel.

However, the points can be worth more or less depending on how you redeem them. Fortunately, there are numerous ways to redeem Amex Membership Rewards points, including using them for gift cards or statement credits, shopping with points, and booking travel through AmexTravel.com. However, the best way to use points is by transferring them to transfer partners.

Targeted offers are discussed in the article linked above. 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.

How I Used the Amex Platinum Card Welcome Bonus Offer

Amex has a long list of airline and hotel transfer partners, some significantly better than others. One of my favorite Amex transfer partners is Flying Blue.

Flying Blue, Air France-KLM’s loyalty program, is excellent for award redemptions. The program offers fantastic award pricing, particularly for routes between the U.S. and Europe.

Unfortunately, Flying Blue does not have an award chart. Instead, it uses dynamic pricing for its rewards, which means that award pricing can vary significantly. However, Flying Blue does have standardized saver-level pricing.

With this pricing, you can book one-way business class flights between the U.S. and Europe for as few as 60,000 miles one-way or 120,000 miles round-trip. This means that, assuming I could find the award availability, I could fly to Europe and back in business class with just a single welcome bonus.

Since I last visited Italy several years ago, I knew it was time to return. On the Air France website, I began looking for award space from Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Rome (FCO). To make the search easier, I opted for a one-way award. Fortunately, I easily found some business class award availability, departing Chicago a week before Christmas on KLM.

Better yet, I remembered that Flying Blue allows for stopovers, which I decided to book. This allowed me to spend a couple of days in Amsterdam (AMS) before connecting to Rome, thus letting me visit 2 destinations for the price of 1. The best part, you can book stopovers for no additional cost.

However, it didn’t stop there. I did the same on the way back. After booking an inexpensive cash fare on a low-cost carrier in Europe, I visited a friend in Barcelona. From Barcelona (BCN), I found Air France business class award space to Chicago with a 2-day stopover in Paris.

By maximizing stopovers, I’m visiting 4 destinations in Europe on my 3-week trip. Even if I chose not to have stopovers, this was an excellent redemption as round-trip business class cash fares to Europe often exceed $5,000 (this specific itinerary was above $5,600).

However, it gets even better. Flying Blue frequently offers transfer bonuses from programs like Amex Membership Rewards, and I took advantage of a recent 20% bonus.

Instead of transferring 120,000 Amex Membership Rewards points to Flying Blue, I transferred just 100,000 points. By leveraging the 20% bonus, it gave me the 100,000 Flying Blue miles I needed for this specific redemption!

Final Thoughts

The Amex Platinum card is an excellent travel rewards card with a fantastic welcome bonus offer. The Amex Membership Rewards points you earn with the card are incredibly valuable and, when redeemed effectively, can be worth thousands of dollars.

Generally speaking, the best way to redeem points is by transferring them to airline and hotel transfer partners. With the welcome offer on the Amex Platinum card, I was able to fly to Europe and back in business class for just the taxes and fees.