How to Use AmEx Platinum Travel Credit Card for Maximum Benefit

The American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card is a travel credit card by American Express in the subpremium category. The card comes with a joining fee of ₹3,500 (an annual fee of ₹5,000 applicable from the second year onwards) and offers a range of value-added benefits, including complimentary airport lounge access, gift vouchers from luxury hotels, and more. You also get Bonus Membership Rewards Points on achieving the stipulated spending milestones on your Platinum Travel Credit Card.

Before we discuss how to use your AmEx Platinum Travel Credit Card for maximum benefit, it is a good idea to first go through the key features of the card.

Key Features of the American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card

• Welcome Benefit: You get 10,000 American Express Membership Rewards Points as a welcome benefit on spending a minimum of ₹15,000 within the first 90 days of card issuance.
• Membership Rewards Points: The card earns you 1 Membership Rewards Point for every ₹500 spent on normal purchases and 3X Membership Rewards Points (6 Points per ₹100) on spends via Reward Multiplier (accelerated Membership Rewards Points benefit applicable up to a maximum expenditure of ₹6,25,000 via Reward Multiplier).
• Bonus Membership Rewards Points: You get bonus Membership Rewards Points on reaching the stipulated spending milestones: 15,000 Bonus Membership Rewards Points on spending a minimum of ₹1.9 lakh in a membership year, and 25,000 Bonus Membership Rewards Points on spending a minimum of ₹4 lakh in a membership year.
• Taj Stay Voucher: You are entitled to a Taj Stay voucher worth ₹10,000 from Taj, SeleQtions, and Vivanta hotels on an annual expenditure of ₹4 lakh.
• Dining and Shopping Discounts: You get a discount of up to 20% on dining bills at partner restaurants and a discount of 10% on shopping for OnePlus devices at the official OnePlus online store.
• Airport Lounge Access: You get 8 complimentary visits to airport lounges at domestic airports across India and a complimentary membership to the Priority Pass lounge access program (worth USD 99) for lounge access at international airports.
• Eligibility: To be eligible for the Platinum Travel Credit Card, you must have an income of a minimum of ₹6 lakh per annum (applicable for both salaried and self-employed applicants).

American Express Reward Multiplier

Reward Multiplier is American Express’s offers and deals aggregator, similar to HDFC SmartBuy, that allows you to earn Membership Rewards Points at an accelerated rate. As it is an aggregator portal, you do not make any actual purchases from Reward Multiplier; the portal only redirects you to the merchant’s website from where you can make the desired purchase and earn Membership Rewards Points at an accelerated rate.

Usually, you earn 3X Membership Rewards Points on purchases via Reward Multiplier. However, American Express frequently comes up with exclusive offers on Reward Multiplier under which you earn Membership Reward Points at an even higher rate—sometimes up to 20 Membership Rewards Points per ₹100.

The maximum Bonus Membership Rewards Points (the additional 2X Membership Rewards Points) that can be earned on the Platinum Travel Credit Card (or any American Express credit card) is capped at 25,000 Points per month. So, considering the 3X reward rate on spends via Reward Multiplier, you must spend a minimum of ₹6,25,000 in a month to avail the maximum benefit of Reward Multiplier (25,000 Bonus Membership Rewards Points + 12,500 normal Membership Rewards Points).

Redeeming American Express Membership Rewards Points

The Membership Rewards Points earned on the American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card can be:

• Redeemed as gift vouchers at popular e-commerce websites (like Flipkart), INSTA purchases at partner offline stores, and against the card’s statement balance (under the Cash + Points scheme).
• Transferred to partner airlines’ frequent flyer programs and certain hotel loyalty programs, including British Airways Executive Club, Club Vistara, Asia Miles, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Finnair Plus, Qatar Privilege Club, Singapore KrisFlyer, Virgin Points, Marriott Bonvoy, and Hilton Honors.

The monetary value of the Membership Rewards Points varies depending upon the type of redemption (usually between ₹0.25 and ₹0.50). You get the highest redemption value on redemption of the Membership Rewards Points against Taj Stay Vouchers.

Optimizing American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card Spends for Maximum Benefit

As you can see, you earn Bonus Membership Rewards Points on your American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card by achieving certain stipulated spending milestones—annual expenditure of ₹1.9 lakh and ₹4 lakh.

On spending ₹4 lakh in a year, you not only get 25,000 Bonus Membership Rewards Points (and 7,000 Base Membership Rewards Points) but also a Taj Stay Voucher worth ₹10,000. The maximum monetary value of the Membership Rewards Points earned on the Platinum Travel Credit Card is on redemption against Taj Stay Vouchers (₹1 = 2 Membership Rewards Points). Therefore, you get the maximum benefit on your AmEx Platinum Travel Credit Card if you spend a minimum of ₹4 lakh in a membership year and redeem the Membership Rewards Points earned against Taj Stay Vouchers.

The following table illustrates the various benefits (including Bonus Membership Rewards Points, Base Membership Rewards Points, and complimentary voucher) that you get on your American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card on spending a minimum of ₹4 lakh in a membership year:

Annual Expenditure	₹4 Lakh
Bonus Membership Rewards Points (Milestone Benefits)	40,000
Regular Base Membership Rewards Points (Regular Spends)	7,000
Total Membership Rewards Points	47,000
Max Monetary Value of Membership Rewards Points Earned	₹23,500
Complimentary Taj Stay Voucher	₹10,000
Net Max Monetary Benefit	₹33,500
Net Max Reward Rate	8.375%

It has been assumed for the above calculation that none of the spends on the card are via Reward Multiplier.

Bottom Line

As you can see, you can get a really high reward rate of up to over 8.375% on your American Express Platinum Travel Credit Card if you spend a minimum of ₹4 lakh in a card membership year. Such high reward rates and additional benefits like complimentary airport lounge access and discounted rates at partner restaurants make the American Express Platinum Credit Card one of the best travel cards in the market. However, there is a caveat—you should consider this high reward rate only if you are fond of staying at Taj/Vivanta hotels as otherwise, the Taj Stay voucher is of no use to you.

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