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AMEX Platinum Travel Credit Card Review

AMEX Platinum Travel as the name suggests is a travel-based card for all AMEX enthusiasts. I would call this another no-brainer card from the AMEX stable. I have reviewed the other AMEX cards like AMEX Gold Charge and AMEX MRCC here.

Let’s check out what is so tempting about this card!


Charges and Welcome Benefits​

Joining Fees₹3,500 + GST NIL (Referral Benefits)
Welcome Benefits2000 MR Points on spending ₹5,000 within 90 days (Referral Cards)
Or
10000 MR Points on spending ₹15,000 in the first 90 days (Paid Cards)
Renewal Fees₹5,000+ GST
Renewal BenefitsNIL
Renewal Fee WaiverNA
Add on Cards2 complimentary supplementary cards are provided.
AMEX doesn’t give you a spends-based fee waiver but you may get a waiver or a retention offer to keep you in the loop. Especially if you hold other AMEX cards then AMEX really values the overall relationship. Even then the rewards of this make up for the fee very easily.

Application through referral is a clear-cut winner due to the extra NIL Joining fees. Check out the link for detailed referral benefits information. You can apply for any of the six AMEX Cards available in India via this link.

AMEX Gold Charge

***Apply now for any AMEX Card by clicking on the banner above and get all the referral benefits***


If you face any problems in the application process you can contact me on Technofino Community.

You can choose to apply for any AMEX card from the link in the banner. To choose and apply a card of your choice simply click on the View All Cards option and select one. All the information for that particular card is readily available on the website.

AMEX Gold Charge

Regular Reward Accrual​

Spends AreaReward RateCapping
All Spends*1 MR Points/ ₹50 spentNA
  • *Spends exclude Insurance payments, Utilities and Fuel but are counted for milestone spends.
  • Reward points never expire.
  • You get to earn MR points even on wallet loads.

Milestone Benefits​

Spend MilestoneRegular MR PointsBonus MR Points
Spend ₹1.90L in a year380015000
Spend ₹4L in a year420025000 + ₹10K Taj Voucher
Cumulative Points800040000 + ₹10K Taj Voucher
  • You can get up to 48000 MR points on completing both milestones.
Technofino Tip: Credit of AMEX points on completing the milestones is not automatic. After completion of the first milestone, you will get 7500 MR points automatically and the rest of the points will need to be requested from AMEX and same goes for the 4L milestone.

AMEX Reward Multiplier​

AMEX has a Reward Multiplier portal just like HDFC Smartbuy from where you can purchase gift vouchers or do affiliate shopping and get 3X the usual reward points.

Spends AreaReward Rate
Reward Multiplier3 MR Points/ ₹50 spent

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​

AMEX further offers you a huge variety of instant vouchers against your MR points which have different values for different brands.

Voucher BrandValue Per Point
Taj Stays50p/MR Point
Flipkart30p/MR Point
Amazon Pay22p/MR Point
Others25p/MR Point
Clearly, this card is meant for travel only since MR points are better redeemed for Taj Stays Voucher or Marriott Transfer since that is where the value lies.

TechnoFino Tip: Since the MR points are credited into a common pool so if you hold either an AMEX MRCC or an AMEX Gold Charge then you can redeem them for AMEX Gold Collection Vouchers which will you a much better value.

Like redeeming a 24K Taj Voucher will give 58p/MR Point and Amazon Pay/ Flipkart Voucher will give you just 37p/ MR Point.

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 Transfers​

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 Transfers​

Now, this is the most sought redemption option since anyone with a Platinum or Gold status with Marriott Bonvoy can just 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.

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.

TechnoFino Maximum​

This card is good for just ₹4L spent in a year and after that, the spending can be put on other cards.

Spend MilestoneRegular MR PointsBonus MR Points
Spend ₹1.90L in a year380015000
Spend ₹4L in a year420025000 + ₹10K Taj Voucher
Cumulative Points800040000 + ₹10K Taj Voucher
On completing both the milestones you will have 48000 MR points in your kitty along with a Taj Voucher worth ₹10,000.


Now with a value of 50p/MR point when redeemed for travel one would get a ₹34,000 worth (including TAJ voucher) reward value on completing both milestones which converts to an 8.5% reward rate. I mean what more can one ask for?

If you are not into travelling and will redeem the points for Flipkart vouchers then the value drops to ₹24,400 and the reward rate comes out to be nearly 6.1% which is also not bad in my opinion.

And if you hold any of the gold collection cards along with this card then with 58p/ MR Point value on a 24K Taj Voucher redemption you get easily earn upto 9.5% reward rate. Even for cash-back lovers 18,000 worth of cash equivalent Amazon Pay vouchers along with a ₹10K Taj Voucher the reward rate translates into 7%!!!

Other Benefits​

Airport Lounge Access​

Access TypeAccess ViaComplimentary Access Limit
DomesticAMEX Credit Card2/Quarter
InternationalPriority PassNIL
You are eligible to access only third party airport lounges using AMEX Platinum Travel since to access AMEX Proprietary lounges you need to have a AMEX Platinum Charge card.

For International lounges only the Priority Pass membership is complimentary and all the access will be chargeable. Also the access is restricted only for primary cardholders.

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.

Eligibility Criteria​

  • For the AMEX Platinum Travel card an income proof of a minimum gross ₹6LPA is required whether you are salaried or 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.



***Apply now for any AMEX Card by clicking on the banner above and get all the referral benefits***

Application through referral is a clear-cut winner due to the extra NIL Joining fees. Check out the link for detailed referral benefits information. You can apply for any of the six AMEX Cards available in India via this link. Even better, you can also get another 2000 Bonus MR Points by spending ₹5000 within 90 days of membership.

TechnoFino Recommends​

AMEX Platinum Travel is one of their best credit cards which provides an exceptional reward rate of 8.5% and is one of my go-to cards till I complete its milestone for the year. The only issue with AMEX cards is low acceptance but if you swipe your cards in premium places then there is nothing to stop you from clinching all of those milestones.

Isn’t AMEX Platinum Travel a no-brainer for all? Feel free to share your tricks in the comments below.
 
The main issue is, where to spend with Amex?

Amazon pay vouchers via gyftr can be used for insurance, shopping, etc. (earns reward multipliers too)
Fuel at HP petrol pump
Offline spends at malls / restaurants / cafes
But yeah, you need to find the places that will accept AMEX - it takes some effort but worth it I think
 
On paper it is good card considering milestone reward but unable to use it for big transactions like school fees payment and Insurance premium payment.
Unable to pay my Kotak life insurance premium through Amex Platinum Travel card, Amex should provide bill payment service through their portal as acceptance levels is very low both online and offline. Thinking of cancelling the card.
Agree. Difficult for me to spend even small amount on amex expect online shopping. Rest are manufactured spends(wallet, etc).
 
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I use this card for getting Amazon Vouchers. Then I use those vouchers for paying utility bills and insurance premiums.

25K*12 - 3L
Remaining 1 L, I try to get some other vouchers like Swiggy or Amazon Shopping. It gives me a good overall reward rate of ~10%+ assuming point value of 0.5.

Any spend based offers on top of it are bonus.. 🙂
 
Amazon pay voucher @22 paisa is a dead giveaway of the real value of Amex points, though to be fair, I feel that they are worth 38.88 paisa (7000 Amazon pay for 18000 points). Even Marriott bonvoy & other hotel points (got by converting) are worth 30-40 paisa
And if you deduct 5900 2nd year fee, the return drops to just over 4%
 
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The main issue is, where to spend with Amex?
Exactly!! I took this card last month and though I have achieved 75% of spend for 15k bonus but it was only coz i made a jewellery purchase using it! Apart from that to meet 1.9 lakh spend i tried for Tata AIG insurance while renewing online but they don’t accept. Tried it at the car dealership for payment of my service charges they denied. Even tried it at Sony Centre for a purchase and they said we will charge 1% extra for Amex as transactions fee which kinda pissed me but they were adamant so i just paid with another card. The only use of this card is online for utilities, wallet loads and shopping and gift vouchers. Offline the acceptability is too low!!
 
Exactly!! I took this card last month and though I have achieved 75% of spend for 15k bonus but it was only coz i made a jewellery purchase using it! Apart from that to meet 1.9 lakh spend i tried for Tata AIG insurance while renewing online but they don’t accept. Tried it at the car dealership for payment of my service charges they denied. Even tried it at Sony Centre for a purchase and they said we will charge 1% extra for Amex as transactions fee which kinda pissed me but they were adamant so i just paid with another card. The only use of this card is online for utilities, wallet loads and shopping and gift vouchers. Offline the acceptability is too low!!
Then you should use Amex MRCC card 1500 x 4 times a month online for gift vouchers.
It gives 5.5% return after reducing annual fees 875 (at 50% discount).

Amex platinum Travel CC is forcing you to buy things you don't really need and forcing you to over spend, just to reach the targets of 1.9 lakhs and 4 lakhs in a year. This is very dangerous!

Do you know the resale value of the jewellery you just bought ?
Even if you sell it right now, you will lose a huge amount, much more than the 4--5% return that you get from the 48000 points + 10000 Taj voucher on 4 lacs spend
 
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Then you should use Amex merchant rewards card 1500 x 4 times a month online for gift vouchers.
It gives 5.5% return after reducing annual fees 875 (at 50% discount).

Amex platinum Travel CC is forcing you to buy things you don't really need and forcing you to over spend, which can become dangerous
Its Amex Membership Rewards Credit Card
 
The main reason why most merchants don't accept Amex cards is because the commission is 3%, much more than other cards.

Also many swipe machines simply cannot process Amex cards
 
Amex platinum Travel CC is forcing you to buy things you don't really need and forcing you to over spend, just to reach the targets of 1.9 lakhs and 4 lakhs in a year. This is very dangerous!
This approach is ofcourse dangerous. At the most, one should consider it like - it's a 5k+GST spend to potentially get large amount of points. If you end up getting it, good, if not then you've only lost the joining fee + opportunity cost on spending that amount on other cards (which would provide less rewards than the Plat Travel of course, else you should use that other card directly)
 
Then you should use Amex MRCC card 1500 x 4 times a month online for gift vouchers.
It gives 5.5% return after reducing annual fees 875 (at 50% discount).

Amex platinum Travel CC is forcing you to buy things you don't really need and forcing you to over spend, just to reach the targets of 1.9 lakhs and 4 lakhs in a year. This is very dangerous!

Do you know the resale value of the jewellery you just bought ?
Even if you sell it right now, you will lose a huge amount, much more than the 4--5% return that you get from the 48000 points + 10000 Taj voucher on 4 lacs spend
Lol!! It was not a manufactured purchase of Jwellery and nor do I believe in manufacturing transactions just for a mere value back of 2-3%

Secondly i do have Amex Gold charge and i use it for utilities like apartment electricity recharge and bbdaily!!
 
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