AMEX Platinum Charge Card Review

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers. Last Updated 25th June 2024.

AMEX Platinum Charge card is the second topmost credit card available in India from AMEX after the Centurion card which is an invite-only card. AMEX is known for its premium service globally and Platinum card is known for its high-end lifestyle and travel benefits. AMEX offers this card in metal form factor and with no pre-set spend limit (NPSL). This NPSL doesn’t mean that you can spend without any limits since there is an internal limit which is generally more than ₹10Lakh.

This card comes with a big joining and annual fees with an average reward rate on day-to-day spending. But still, this card has many takers due to the value attached especially if you have a high-end lifestyle. This card has been devalued now and then and has lost many tangible benefits.

Let’s check out its benefits in detail and whether they justify its fees or not!

Charges and Welcome Benefits

The welcome benefits without any doubt equate to the high joining fees of this card since I value an MR point at around 50p. Also, this card has no renewal benefits but AMEX may try to keep you in the loop depending on how much you have spent in the previous anniversary year but yes don’t keep your hopes too high.

Application through referral is a clear-cut winner due to the extra 20,000 MR points which you won’t get on applying directly. Check out the link for detailed referral benefits information. This link is valid only for applying the Platinum Charge card of AMEX.

Disclaimer: I will receive a referral bonus for anyone who applies for and is approved for the card through the above link.

If you face any problems in the application process or need any handholding related to credit cards you can contact me on Technofino Community if you apply via this link.

Other than this AMEX also gives targeted upgrade offers to current cardholders from time to time with more lucrative joining benefits like the recent one in which they were providing 135K MR points.

Reward Accrual

I have conservatively valued an MR point at a minimum of 50p although there are endless possibilities of using these points since AMEX is known for its travel benefits hence redeeming them for travel will yield you some good value. For the redemption part, you can check the reward redemption part of this review.

• ¹Spends exclude Insurance and Utilities
• ² Maximum of 5000 additional MR points per calendar month
• Reward points never expire
• You get to earn MR points even on wallet loads

AMEX Reward Multiplier

AMEX has a Rewards Multiplier portal just like HDFC SmartBuy from where you can purchase gift vouchers or do affiliate shopping and get 5X the usual reward points.

AMEX Reward Xcelerator

AMEX has another multiplier program which has recently been started and is applicable only on AMEX Centurion and AMEX Platinum Charge which are the top two cards available in India from AMEX. The rewards are simply unbelievable especially if you have a luxurious lifestyle and spend a lot on the listed merchants.

Reward Redemption

Statement Credit/ Pay with Points

AMEX allows you to take a statement credit on eligible transactions or pay with points on select merchants while entering OTP for your transaction at a value of 25p/point. Most of the new AMEX cardholders use this redemption method but trust me there can’t be a method worse than this to use your MR Points. They are much more valuable than this so kindly ignore these two options.

Travel With Points

Another method to redeem your MR points. With this, you can purchase flights, prepaid hotels, car rentals, and more on AmexTravel. Again this gives you a value of 25p/MR point and is highly not recommended.

Insta Vouchers & Gold Collection

AMEX further offers you a huge variety of instant vouchers against your MR points which have different values for different brands. In this section, there are certain brand vouchers like Amazon, TAJ, BigBasket, Croma, Flipkart etc. which give better value over others and are called Gold Collection vouchers from AMEX. To redeem the gold collection you need to redeem vouchers in multiple of 18,000 or 24,000 MR points.

One very important thing to keep in mind is that Platinum Cards are not eligible for Gold Collection redemptions hence to redeem points on Gold Collection you need to hold either AMEX MRCC or AMEX Gold Charge.

Just for an idea, I have presented some values for the Gold Collection as Amazon and Taj give the highest and lowest monetary value per point. Also, keep in mind that AMEX vouchers can only be used to book Taj Properties at non-discounted rates. Amazon voucher option is good for cashback lovers while Taj or Vistara vouchers are good for those who are into travelling.

Sometimes AMEX brings up Hot Rewards on particular brand voucher redemption which may give a very tempting value. You just need to keep an eye on them.

Transfer Points

Now, this is the hottest redemption option for MR points and if you can play well with this you can yield values of even greater than a rupee per point.

Airlines Transfer Partners

AMEX allows you to transfer points to 8 different airline partners and some of them are so unique that none of the Indian credit cards allows you to transfer points to them like Asia Miles. We have a curated list of all AMEX airline transfer partners here. For booking award tickets using points, you can refer to this post on the TechnoFino Community.

Hotel Transfer Partners

Now, this is the most sought redemption option since anyone with a Platinum or Gold status with Marriott Bonvoy can extract a value of more than 1Re/MR point by transferring a 1:1 ratio with suite upgrades. Breakfast and lounge access with complimentary drinks are an added plus. Since AMEX is the sole transfer partner to Marriott Bonvoy, many points miners use MR points only for transfer to Marriott. What makes Marriott unique is that from Marriott you can further transfer your points to 40 other frequent flyer programs and travel all over the world!

Other than this you can transfer to Hilton Honors also but the value is not that great as compared to Marriott. We have curated a complete list of AMEX hotel transfer partners here.

It takes about 0-5 days to transfer Amex MR Points to various loyalty programs so transfer them well in advance to use them.

Other Benefits

Airport Lounge Access

This card is a single-stop solution for all your lounge needs. With this card, you can also access AMEX Lounges in India located at domestic terminals of Delhi and Mumbai and Centurion Lounges all over the world.

For accessing Priority Pass lounges, a digital Priority Pass is issued with AMEX Platinum Charge however if you need a physical card then you need to request one. The Priority Pass issued with this card will not give you complimentary access to lounges within India, unlike the one that comes with the HDFC Infinia and Citi Prestige.

Birthday Benefit

For the last couple of years, American Express has been gifting cardmembers a ₹10K TAJ Voucher for their birthdays. The voucher is typically sent about a month before the birthday month, ideally arriving by the end of the previous month.

Golf Access

Complimentary golf access to 30+ Indian golf courses and 50+ international golf courses. This card is one of the unique cards in India which provides gold access internationally.

Elite Tier Memberships

The American Express Platinum Charge Card offers a luxurious array of elite-tier benefits that you can enjoy as long as you hold the card. All these memberships can even be availed by the supplementary card holder as well.

Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status

Platinum card gives you access to Marriott Gold directly without fulfilling the qualification criteria. The benefits include:

• Earn 25% bonus points on stays.
• 2 PM late checkout (based on availability).
• Welcome gift of points.
• Enhanced room upgrade, including select suites (subject to availability).

Hilton Honors Elite Gold Status

Another hotel loyalty status without breaking the bank with this card. The perks include:

• Space-available room upgrades to preferred rooms at select brands
• Earn reward nights faster with an 80% Bonus on all Hilton Honors Base Points you earn
• Enjoy complimentary Continental Breakfast at select brands outside the U.S., and a Daily Food & Beverage Credit at select brands in the U.S. for Non-U.S. cardmembers.
• Receive every 5th night free on reward stays booked with all Points
• Check-in, choose your room and order ahead before your stay with the Hilton Honors App

Taj Epicure Plus

Epicure Plus membership is the stripped-down version of both the paid versions of Epicure. The benefits of Epicure Plus can be broadly summarized as follows:

• 25% discount on dining and takeaway
• 25% savings on food deliveries from Qmin
• 20% off on Spa Treatments at Jiva Spas
• 20% off on Salon      
• Complimentary Birthday Cake for Member’s Birthday month
• 20% off on room/suite stay for unlimited consecutive nights
• 20% discount on the Best Available Rate of room/suite at Taj Palaces 
• 20% off on the Best Available Rate for a Room/Suite Stay at Taj Safari
• One-time pool access with set lunch and wine at a special price of ₹3,000+tax per person for up to 4 guests
• Happy hours at Taj Club Lounge at select Taj hotels

Radisson Rewards Premium Status

• Upgrade to Premium Status where you enjoy more relevant benefits
• Choose how you want to get rewarded: Triple points or up to 20% discount
• Room upgrade and late check-out when available

Hertz Gold Plus Rewards

Enjoy complimentary enrolment into Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Five Star and receive additional Platinum benefits. Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Five Star benefits:

• Priority service at the counter
• One car class upgrade subject to availability

Additional Platinum benefits:

• Up to 15% discount
• 25% discount on Hertz Prestige Collection
• 4 hour return grace period
• Free additional driver for spouse/civil partner

EazyDiner Prime

Embark on a culinary adventure with EazyDiner‘s exclusive dining program, complimentary for Platinum Cardmembers. Enjoy guaranteed discounts of 25-50% at over 2,000 premium restaurants in India, earn 2X Eazy Points on dining, and benefit from a dedicated 24/7 VIP concierge service.

“Do Anything” Platinum Concierge

American Express provides a lifestyle concierge service, offering personalized assistance to cardholders. You can request the concierge to act as your agent, making purchases or booking services on your behalf. These services can include pet care, event tickets for concerts or sports games, hotel or restaurant reservations, and more.

American Express also offers exclusive privileges, such as access to VIP shows, luxury hotels, and even sold-out events. While access is not guaranteed, the concierge service can significantly enhance your chances.

The concierge can also assist cardholders in challenging situations, such as lost baggage, missed flights, or missing reservations.

Platinum Experiences Invites

Amex occasionally invites the cardmember+1 for a “complimentary meal” at ITC/Taj hotels located in metro cities or different high-end restaurants. This distinctive program also allows Platinum Cardmembers to purchase tickets to some of the most sought-after events, often before they are available to the general public.

Insurances

Complimentary Overseas Medical Insurance for US$ 50,000 for the first seven days of your trip for the Basic Cardmembers. This is a very good and unique benefit of this card since you can easily save some good money per instance. Though it’s better to take full travel insurance this also can come in handy.

With the Air Accident Cover, the primary cardholder is insured with the sum of INR 50,000,000 with worldwide cover in unforeseen situations.

Supplementary Cards

With AMEX Platinum you can get up to 4 supplementary cards and an account card for your business expenses. Supplementary cardholders can also enjoy most of the above benefits that a primary cardholder enjoys, including hotel privileges.

Fuel Surcharge Waiver

• 0% for HPCL transactions less than ₹5,000,1% fee per transaction is applicable for all HPCL transactions on and above ₹5,000.
• 1% of the transaction value subject to a minimum of ₹10 + applicable taxes, will be charged as a convenience fee at fuel stations operated by the Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies BPCL and IOCL.
• 2.5% of the transaction value subject to a minimum of ₹10 + applicable taxes, will be charged as a convenience fee at fuel stations of all other Oil Marketing Companies (except HPCL, BPCL and IOCL).

Forex Markup Charges

• Forex Markup charges are standard 3.50% + GST. This card is a worthy card for international spending since the reward rate on forex almost negates the markup plus you get the AMEX security when you use your card overseas.

Eligibility Criteria

• For the AMEX Platinum Card an income proof of a minimum gross ₹25LPA is required if you are salaried or an ITR of ₹15LPA if self-employed. AMEX doesn’t process applications on a Card-to-Card basis.
• Your CIBIL score should be a minimum of 750.
• You must have an address proof of any serviceable area. 
• Serviceable City List- Guntur, Hyderabad, Krishna, Medak, Rangareddy, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, Chandigarh, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Bardoli, Surat, Vadodara, Ambala, Jhajjar, Panchkula, Bengaluru, Kochi, Bhopal, Indore, Mumbai, Pune, Raigad, Thane, Bhubaneswar, Khurdha, Mohali, Chennai, Coimbatore, Erode, Kanchipuram, Krishnagiri, Salem, Tiruvallur, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Hooghly, Howrah, Kolkata, North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Vijayawada, Ernakulam, Secunderabad, Aluva, Ropar, Hosur, Sriperumbudur, Tiruppur, Baramati, Navi Mumbai, Lucknow, Trivandrum, Mysuru, Nasik, Nagpur, and Ludhiana.

AMEX has recently started serving the following Tier 2/3 cities as well

Agra, Ajmer, Allahabad, Ambala, Amritsar, Aurangabad, Chittoor, Dehradun, Goa, Guntur, Guwahati, Jodhpur, Kanpur, Kolhapur, Kozhikode, Kurnool, Madurai, Meerut, Patiala, Raipur, Rajkot, Ranchi, Thrissur, Trichy and Udaipur.

Application through referral is a clear-cut winner due to the extra 20,000 MR points which you won’t get on applying directly. Check out the link for detailed referral benefits information. This link is valid only for applying the Platinum Charge card of AMEX.

TechnoFino Recommends

The Amex Platinum is not an ordinary card; it offers many lifestyle benefits. However, most Indian credit card users might find these benefits unnecessary unless they already pay for such perks. The card has a high annual fee that cannot be waived by spending a certain amount, and Amex doesn’t offer official renewal benefits. While you might get some retention benefits at renewal, recovering the annual fee after the first year can be challenging.

Decide if you need the lifestyle perks this card offers. If so, it’s one of the best credit cards available. If not, reconsider applying, as there are more rewarding cards at a lower cost. The Amex Platinum Charge is designed to enhance your lifestyle, not just for earning rewards.

Although the welcome benefit publically is limited to ₹45K TAJ Vouchers you may request 100K MR Points by calling the AMEX support line after receiving but before activating your card. They mostly approve such requests. Apply now to experience the AMEX Platinum Life!

What are your thoughts about this AMEX Platinum? Feel free to share your tricks in the comments below.

Bhavye Goel

Chief Editor, TechnoFino.
Personal finance nerd! Physics enthusiast and trainer. When not into Physics, he is minting points and hunting for the next best credit card for himself.