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 Benefits	2000 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 Benefits	NIL
Renewal Fee Waiver	NA
Add on Cards	2 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.

***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.

Regular Reward Accrual​

Spends Area	Reward Rate	Capping
All Spends*	1 MR Points/ ₹50 spent	NA

• *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 Milestone	Regular MR Points	Bonus MR Points
Spend ₹1.90L in a year	3800	15000
Spend ₹4L in a year	4200	25000 + ₹10K Taj Voucher
Cumulative Points	8000	40000 + ₹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 Area	Reward Rate
Reward Multiplier	3 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 Brand	Value Per Point
Taj Stays	50p/MR Point
Flipkart	30p/MR Point
Amazon Pay	22p/MR Point
Others	25p/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 Milestone	Regular MR Points	Bonus MR Points
Spend ₹1.90L in a year	3800	15000
Spend ₹4L in a year	4200	25000 + ₹10K Taj Voucher
Cumulative Points	8000	40000 + ₹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 Type	Access Via	Complimentary Access Limit
Domestic	AMEX Credit Card	2/Quarter
International	Priority Pass	NIL

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.

 

[BrokeAsf]

Good decision. If you have Magnus Burgundy card you don't need this.
10000 5* hotel voucher should be discounted 50%.

what is a magnus burgundy card?

 

[BMR]

I have achieved 1.9 lac spend in 2 months and they have credited 7500 reward points. But am i also supposed to get the 4500 flipkart voucher? How do I get that?

 

[drsel]

what is a magnus burgundy card?

Search for it on this forum or on Google

 

[drsel]

I have achieved 1.9 lac spend in 2 months and they have credited 7500 reward points. But am i also supposed to get the 4500 flipkart voucher? How do I get that?

Call Amex customer care and take down the request number

 

[Abhi2004]

I have achieved 1.9 lac spend in 2 months and they have credited 7500 reward points. But am i also supposed to get the 4500 flipkart voucher? How do I get that?

Chat with customer care and ask them to give 7500 more reward points as you have achieved the spends .
They will give you the points

 

[anirban.choudhury]

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%

Getting a value on miles completely depends on the redemption
Just an example
This is the revenue fare for a flight that I recently booked


I booked the same flight with 1 lakh Amex points plus 15,000 tax .
The closest business class that I can get is of 1 lakh Rs from Vistara but that would be a narrow body A321 neo where as I am booked on a A350-900 which offers a full flat bed.

 

[drsel]

Getting a value on miles completely depends on the redemption
Just an example
This is the revenue fare for a flight that I recently booked


I booked the same flight with 1 lakh Amex points plus 15,000 tax .
The closest business class that I can get is of 1 lakh Rs from Vistara but that would be a narrow body A321 neo where as I am booked on a A350-900 which offers a full flat bed.

Yes sir, on business class it make sense to use airmiles with a much higher redemption value,
but we poor people travel economy class ONLY.

 

[anirban.choudhury]

Yes sir, on business class it make sense to use airmiles with a much higher redemption value,
but we poor people travel economy class ONLY.

You can fly from Delhi to London with 15000 Amex points plus 9800 Rs
The lowest fare on that period is 29k on Vistara
The same flight costs 50000 Rs
This is for Virgin Atlantic Economy class.

If you are redeeming your Amex points for less than 70 Paisa as per my opinion you are not leveraging the miles system.
My personal advice is redemption only when you are getting more than 1 rs value on Amex miles.

 

[anirban.choudhury]

You can fly from Delhi to London with 15000 Amex points plus 9800 Rs
The lowest fare on that period is 29k on Vistara
The same flight costs 50000 Rs
This is for Virgin Atlantic Economy class.

If you are redeeming your Amex points for less than 70 Paisa as per my opinion you are not leveraging the miles system.
My personal advice is redemption only when you are getting more than 1 rs value on Amex miles.

You can check the details here
Points are of Virgin Atlantic miles
Conversion ratio from Amex 2:1


And below is for premium economy

 

[drsel]

You can fly from Delhi to London with 15000 Amex points plus 9800 Rs
The lowest fare on that period is 29k on Vistara
The same flight costs 50000 Rs
This is for Virgin Atlantic Economy class.

If you are redeeming your Amex points for less than 70 Paisa as per my opinion you are not leveraging the miles system.
My personal advice is redemption only when you are getting more than 1 rs value on Amex miles.

OMG, I had redeemed 36000 Amex mrcc points for 14000 Amazon pay

 

[anirban.choudhury]

OMG, I had redeemed 36000 Amex mrcc points for 14000 Amazon pay

With 30000 Amex points you could have redeemed a return trip to london from Mumbai/Delhi

Or with 40,000 Amex points you could have redeemed a return trip to Hong Kong.

 

[drsel]

At that time I didn't know that Amex MRCC points could be converted to airmiles.
I saw only 18k and 24k collection as the best redemption offers

 

[Random123]

You can fly from Delhi to London with 15000 Amex points plus 9800 Rs
The lowest fare on that period is 29k on Vistara
The same flight costs 50000 Rs
This is for Virgin Atlantic Economy class.

If you are redeeming your Amex points for less than 70 Paisa as per my opinion you are not leveraging the miles system.
My personal advice is redemption only when you are getting more than 1 rs value on Amex miles.

Thanks for the details ! I too have only redeemed to gold collection till now.
Would you mind sharing your experience for other locations in Europe like Paris / Rome / Zurich and which airlines ?
Thanks in advance

 

[drsel]

Thanks for the details ! I too have only redeemed to gold collection till now.
Would you mind sharing your experience for other locations in Europe like Paris / Rome / Zurich and which airlines ?
Thanks in advance

Search for Amex airmiles partners and check their points required

 

[anirban.choudhury]

Thanks for the details ! I too have only redeemed to gold collection till now.
Would you mind sharing your experience for other locations in Europe like Paris / Rome / Zurich and which airlines ?
Thanks in advance

For Zurich/CDG if using Amex points , best options are from Virgin Atlantic which offers direct flights to Paris through Air France at 15000 points , or one stop ( LHR ) to CDG/ZUR at 14000 points.

Another option for Zurich/CDG would be to use to Qatar Avios at 27500 miles . You can move your points to Qatar from Axis too and also from Accor using Iberia.

For Rome ( FCO ) you can booked ITA Airways business at 1.2 lakhs Virgin Atlantic miles , taxes are pretty low , also you call and book economy using Virgin Atlantic points .

Amex to Virgin Atlantic points conversion is at 2:1
Same for Avios

Also remember not all flights are bookable from app or website , when in doubt always call and check.

 

[Random123]

For Zurich/CDG if using Amex points , best options are from Virgin Atlantic which offers direct flights to Paris through Air France at 15000 points , or one stop ( LHR ) to CDG/ZUR at 14000 points.

Another option for Zurich/CDG would be to use to Qatar Avios at 27500 miles . You can move your points to Qatar from Axis too and also from Accor using Iberia.

For Rome ( FCO ) you can booked ITA Airways business at 1.2 lakhs Virgin Atlantic miles , taxes are pretty low , also you call and book economy using Virgin Atlantic points .

Amex to Virgin Atlantic points conversion is at 2:1
Same for Avios

Also remember not all flights are bookable from app or website , when in doubt always call and check.

Thanks a lot for the detailed reply ! Unfortunately don't have axis ER. Only looking for economy class.
So looks like Virgin atlantic or Qatar is suitable from Amex points. Virgin miles can be used for Air france and ITA too right ?
Also while searching from Hyderabad on Virgin atlantic, search to Paris / Zurich is showing no results.
Can I DM you in case this post might not be the right place to discuss ? Thanks

 

[anirban.choudhury]

Thanks a lot for the detailed reply ! Unfortunately don't have axis ER. Only looking for economy class.
So looks like Virgin atlantic or Qatar is suitable from Amex points. Virgin miles can be used for Air france and ITA too right ?
Also while searching from Hyderabad on Virgin atlantic, search to Paris / Zurich is showing no results.
Can I DM you in case this post might not be the right place to discuss ? Thanks

Yeah sure . You can DM

 

[bvc19296]

With 30000 Amex points you could have redeemed a return trip to london from Mumbai/Delhi

Or with 40,000 Amex points you could have redeemed a return trip to Hong Kong.

He can even get 2N stay at Westin Himalayas on some dates.

 

[drsel]

With 30000 Amex points you could have redeemed a return trip to london from Mumbai/Delhi

Or with 40,000 Amex points you could have redeemed a return trip to Hong Kong.

You mean 30000 or 40000 AIRMILES which is 60000 or 80000 Amex points

 

[anirban.choudhury]

You mean 30000 or 40000 AIRMILES which is 60000 or 80000 Amex points

I meant 30,000 Amex points which means 15000 Virgin Atlantic miles for a return fare as in current promotion oneway is 7500 Virgin Atlantic miles

Similarly 40,000 Amex points which means 20,000 Asia miles and that would give a round trip to Hong Kong for booking till yesterday from today asia miles is supposed to be devalued and most probably it would take 24k asia miles for return which would be 48k Amex points.