How I Earn Nearly 30,000 Points With My Amex Platinum Card Every Year

The Platinum Card^® from American Express has been in my wallet for over 5 years. Even though it’s an expensive card to keep with a $895 annual fee (rates & fees), the card has consistently proven its value for me through monthly statement credits and an excellent array of travel perks (enrollment required).

In addition to the various perks offered by the Amex Platinum card, I use it to earn thousands of Membership Rewards points each year. This might be surprising given the card doesn’t have that many bonus categories.

Beyond impressive earnings on flights and hotels, there are times when paying with an Amex Platinum card makes sense. Let’s take a closer look at when (and how) I use the card to earn close to 30,000 points per year.

When I Use the Amex Platinum Card

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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 cardapplication.

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

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• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

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American Express Membership Rewards

The Amex Platinum card isn’t the only card in my wallet — and it’s nowhere near the card I use most often for everyday purchases. Dining, groceries and most other purchases go on a variety of cards that give me a better return on spending. Here’s when I will use the Amex Platinum card to pay for certain purchases.

Booking Flights

I almost exclusively book flights with my Amex Platinum card. It has the best earning rate for booking flights with the airline or through AmexTravel.com — with 5x bonus points on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.

Competing premium credit cards like the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card earn 5x miles on flights, too, but only if you book through Capital One Travel.

In my opinion, not being tied to booking with a credit card portal is advantageous for frequent travelers. Oftentimes you have to make changes through the portal you book with, which can take extra time. Meanwhile, you can make changes directly with the airline when you book direct.

Membership Rewards are a powerful currency, too. Upgraded Points values them at 2.2 cents apiece, giving you an effective 11% return on flights when you book with the Amex Platinum card. However, Amex points can easily be worth more than that if you redeem for business class flights.

With the Amex Platinum card, you can also earn 2x points on rental cars and cruises booked through AmexTravel.com — a feature that’s actually available for any Membership Rewards-earning card. Again, I prefer to book these types of travel directly with the provider, so I’ll use my Chase Sapphire Reserve^® in these instances, allowing me to earn 4x points by booking flights directly with airlines.

Booking Hotels

I also book at least 1 Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR) stay per year to take advantage of the Amex Platinum card’s up to $600 annual prepaid hotel credit. Beyond the credit, I also use the FHR program to book hotels for special occasions (for example, my upcoming honeymoon) or when I can’t redeem hotel points for my stay.

Extra benefits like complimentary breakfast and hotel room upgrades can help make a stay more enjoyable. Plus, since you have to book FHR stays through AmexTravel.com, they earn 5x points when you prepay the stay at the time of booking with the Amex Platinum card. (Thankfully, this can be a refundable prepaid booking.)

Amex Offers, Statement Credits, and More

Besides hotels and flights, there are are other times I use the Amex Platinum card to pay for purchases. Namely, if my Amex Platinum card is targeted for an Amex Offer that I can use, I’ll enroll my card and pay with it. Sometimes these Amex Offers give you a statement credit or bonus Membership Rewards points when you spend with the participating merchant.

Amex Platinum card has a ton of statement credits too, and you’ll earn points when you use them. I’m able to make full use of the digital entertainment credit (enrollment required), prepaid hotel credit, airline incidental credit (enrollment required), and Saks Fifth Avenue credit (enrollment required) every year. This isn’t a ton of extra points, but they add up.

Points I’ve Earned With the Amex Platinum Card in 2024

At the time of writing, there’s still well over a month left of 2024. However, the chart above shows you how many points I’ve earned so far in the first 11 months of the year:

You’ll see the majority of my points — 23,610 points, to be exact — comes from booking flights via the Amex Platinum card. This includes paid flights, award ticket taxes and fees, upgrades, and other airline purchases. At 2.2 cents per Membership Rewards point, this breaks down to just over $519 in value per year based on our valuations.

After this, you’ll see the points I’ve earned from AmexTravel.com hotel bookings. I have only booked 1 FHR stay in 2024 to use my annual prepaid hotel booking credit, so this is a smaller 1,315 points. I spent a night at the Conrad Abu Dhabi on an overnight layover en route to Oman.

After this are other purchases I’ve made with my Amex Platinum card at 1,298 points. This is largely spending used to meet Amex Offers, of which the bonus points are reflected in the “Bonus Earn” field with 2,600 points earned.

In total, I’ve earned 28,823 Membership Rewards points with my Amex Platinum card this year, for a total of $634 in value per our valuations, just short of the $895 annual fee I pay every year.

This isn’t a game-changing amount of points, but it’s more than enough to book a short-haul domestic round-trip ticket (or 2) when transferred to Air Canada Aeroplan, British Airways Avios, or other Amex transfer partners.

Final Thoughts

The Amex Platinum card isn’t one to get solely for earning points. With its high annual fee and limited bonus earning categories, there are better cards out there for everyday spending. But if you have an Amex Platinum card for travel benefits, it makes sense to use it for airfare and Amex Offers, if nothing else.

My total for 2024 is surprisingly large. Although I’m a frequent traveler, spending on the Amex Platinum card has helped me earn 28,823 Membership Rewards points this year with relatively modest spending. It may not be a massive amount, but it adds a nice boost to my Membership Rewards account to bring me closer to my next big redemption. I can expect to spend around the same on the Amex Platinum card for 2025 and the many years moving forward.

For the trip delay insurance benefit of the Platinum Card^® from American Express eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

For the baggage insurance plan benefit of the Platinum Card^® from American Express, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.