American Express Platinum Member Airfares: The Little-Known Secret to Huge Airfare Savings

One of the lesser-known benefits of the Platinum Card^® from American Express is access to Platinum Member Airfares. It gives you access to preferred pricing on select airfares, including domestic economy, international premium economy, business class, and first class tickets with participating American Express partner airlines.

The program is worth checking before you book an eligible fare, because the savings can be substantial.

Anyone who books paid premium travel needs to use Platinum Member Airfares before booking their next ticket. We’ve seen tickets discounted over 40%, bringing the price of some premium economy tickets down to the cost of a standard economy ticket for Amex Platinum cardholders.

But how do you use the program? And what kind of discount can you expect? We’ll show you the quirks and features of Platinum Member Airfares.

Hot Tip:

Platinum Member Airfares is the updated name for what was previously called the International Airline Program, and eligibility and core benefits remain the same.

What Is Platinum Member Airfares?

With Platinum Member Airfares, cardholders of the Amex Platinum card and The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express save on premium international airfare when booking through American Express.

However, not all tickets are eligible for a discount — it only applies when booking airfare on participating airlines.

Thankfully, the list is pretty extensive. Airlines in Platinum Member Airfares include:

Discounts are primarily available on international tickets in premium economy, business, or first class, but standard economy tickets with limited participating airlines may be eligible on international and domestic flights. All flights must depart from a U.S. airport or one of several Canadian gateways.

Some one-way itineraries are eligible for the Platinum Member Airfares discount, but not all. Again, this is a case where American Express does not elaborate on which routes and airlines offer discounts on a one-way ticket, so you have to search one-way routes on your own to see which do and do not offer discounts.

You must pay for your ticket in full with an Amex Platinum card or Amex Business Platinum card. You earn 5 Membership Rewards points per $1 for a Platinum Member Airfares booking, as the program is powered by AmexTravel.com. We value Membership Rewards at 2.2 cents per point, so you earn 11% on your bookings this way. Check our monthly valuations for the most up-to-date information.

The Amex Platinum card and the Amex Business Platinum card let you redeem points for flights at 1 cent per point, with the Amex Business Platinum card earning a 35% rebate after you book your flight on your preselected airline (up to 1 million points back per calendar year). However, you’re still better off transferring points to Amex airline partners to book premium award tickets in most cases.

You can book tickets for yourself and up to 7 travel companions through Platinum Member Airfares, but the eligible cardholder must be traveling to receive Platinum Member Airfares fares.

Refundable, restricted, and nonrefundable tickets are also eligible for the discount, so you’re not stuck booking high-fare classes to get the discount.

How Much Can You Save?

How much you can save with Platinum Member Airfares depends significantly on the ticket you’re booking. There’s no set discount for airlines, routes, or destinations, so savings vary.

American Express says Platinum Member Airfares save customers an average of 10% on “select premium seats with participating airlines on international flights.” Our research found that you can save much more than this.

Premium Economy Discounts

We found a round-trip premium economy ticket from John F. Kennedy International (JFK) to Athens (ATH) on Delta through Platinum Member Airfares for around $2,300 flying in April 2027.

The same flights were $2,521 when booked via Google Flights, saving $220, or about 8% off the flight’s standard price, before factoring in the bonus Membership Rewards points earned.

Another example: a flight from JFK to Dubai (DXB). Finding premium economy flights to the Middle East is tricky, but we found a Delta-KLM, Platinum Member Airfares-eligible flight for $2,232 for round-trip in premium economy with a stop in Amsterdam (AMS).

If you booked directly with Delta, this flight would cost $4,116 — a savings of $1,883, or nearly 46%.

Business Class Discounts

Business class bookings also receive a decent discount through Platinum Member Airfares.

Our first search was for a flight from JFK to London Gatwick (LGW) on Delta, operated by Air France with a stop in Paris (CDG). We found a flight via Platinum Member Airfares for $4,524.

The same ticket is $5,443 on Delta.com, offering a discount of $918, or 16.88%, when you use Platinum Member Airfares.

For an Asia search, we looked for a flight from Los Angeles (LAX) to Bangkok (BKK). Business class flights to Asia are rarely cheap.

With Platinum Member Airfares, we found business class on Qatar Airways with a stop in Doha (DOH) for $7,439. Booked directly, this would have cost $8,618, saving $1,178, or 13.68% on a pricey ticket.

Finally, for our Middle East search, we searched for a flight from LAX to DXB on Emirates business class.

The original cost for this flight was $7,954.

Through Platinum Member Airfares, we found this flight for $7,584 — a savings of $370, or 4.65%.

Like premium economy bookings, the amount you save on business class bookings depends on the route you’d like to book. While you may not save as much as on premium economy bookings, it can still be a noticeable discount.

First Class Discounts

International first class is almost never cheap, with tickets to Europe usually topping $10,000 round-trip. However, you can find respectable discounts if you book through Platinum Member Airfares.

Here’s a look at how much you can save when booking tickets to Europe, Asia, or the Middle East.

Starting with Europe, we searched for tickets from EWR to Frankfurt (FRA). We found a nonstop, first class ticket on Lufthansa for $13,918 through Platinum Member Airfares.

This same ticket was $15,762 booked through Google Flights, for a discount of $1,843, or 11.7%, through American Express. Those savings alone exceed the Amex Platinum card’s annual fee and can even get you another (cheap) business class ticket virtually anywhere in the U.S.

First class flights to Asia can also be discounted with Platinum Member Airfares. We looked for flights from Los Angeles (LAX) to Hong Kong (HKG) and found a one-stop flight on SWISS for $18,814 through the program.

This ticket is over $21,000 without the discount, so you’d save $2,766, or 12.82%, by booking through Platinum Member Airfares.

Finally, for the Middle East, we looked for a first class ticket from JFK to DXB. Booking this round-trip ticket directly with Emirates would cost $25,937.

We found a nonstop, round-trip flight on Emirates for $22,163 through Platinum Member Airfares. Compared to the direct booking, you’d get a solid $3,774 or 14.55% discount using the portal.

It’s common to save at least a couple hundred dollars on first class flights when booking through Platinum Member Airfares, though you could save thousands. Still, you’d pay well over $5,000 for a round-trip international, first class ticket to most places worldwide.

If you’re booking these flights with cash anyway, Platinum Member Airfares can help you save.

How To Use Platinum Member Airfares

Until a few years ago, all bookings through the International Airline Program had to be made over the phone. It took longer than booking through the AmexTravel.com portal, and required a $39 phone booking fee.

Thankfully, this is no longer the case, because American Express has integrated Platinum Member Airfares into AmexTravel.com. This makes using Platinum Member Airfares more efficient and cheaper than the old program.

Here’s how to book a flight:

Step 1: Platinum Member Airfares Website

Navigate to the Platinum Member Airfares website and sign in to your American Express account by clicking the button that says “Log In” at the upper right corner of the screen.

Step 2: Search for Flights

Look on Platinum Member Airfares screen for the blue flight search box.

In this box, type in your origin, destination, dates of travel, number of passengers, and class of service. Click the magnifying glass symbol to initiate the search.

On the results page, go to filters, where you can have the search only show results in the Platinum Member Airfares program.

Then click the button that says “Apply Filters” at the bottom of the filters page to redo the search within the program.

Step 3: Select Your Flight

Look through the search results and find the flight you’d like to book. All flights with discounted fares are highlighted by a black banner that states that the fare is a benefit of Platinum Member Airfares.

Select your flight by clicking the select button, then choose the fare you want, making sure it’s still part of the Platinum Member Airfares program (some fares may not be covered).

You’ll be prompted to select a return ticket if searching for a round-trip ticket.

Step 4: Confirm Booking

The site will now present your final itinerary. Confirm the information and click the button that says “Continue Booking.” You’ll be prompted to enter all passengers’ information. As discussed earlier, the primary cardholder must be traveling with the group to get Platinum Member Airfares rates on tickets. Enter all necessary information and move on to the next step.

Hot Tip:

Make sure to enter each passenger’s frequent flyer number at the bottom of the passenger information screen so you (and your travel companions) earn valuable flight miles for the ticket you’re booking.

Step 5: Select Seats and Insurance

Now you can select seats by clicking the button that says “Select Seats” at the center of the screen. You can also add travel insurance using the traveler insurance selection box at the center of the page. Once you’ve selected everything you want, click the button that says “Save & Continue” at the bottom of the screen to move to the next step.

Always double-check the travel insurance that’s complimentary with your Amex Platinum card or Amex Business Platinum card before buying more coverage.

Step 6: Book!

From the last screen, you can choose to pay for your flight with points, your Amex Platinum card, or a mix of the two.

If possible, pay cash, as you only get 1 cent per point (or 1.35 with the Amex Business Platinum card) in value when paying with points. Pick how you’d like to pay and click the button that says “Book Flight” at the bottom of the screen to book your ticket.

And that’s it — your discounted premium ticket is booked! American Express will email you a confirmation shortly after your booking is completed.

Final Thoughts

There’s no doubt that Platinum Member Airfares can help you save serious money on premium air travel. Even if you’re not in the market for premium airfare, searching for a premium economy ticket through the Amex portal is a great idea.

Platinum Member Airfares frequently reduce the cost of premium economy tickets to economy levels, especially for travel to Europe.

This benefit especially benefits businesses that book premium airfare for employees and contractors. Saving 10% or more on all airline tickets can make a serious dent in your bottom line, so don’t miss out on the Amex Business Platinum card if you think your business can take advantage of the discount.