The American Express Platinum cards may have some pretty solid benefits, but they don’t exactly enjoy the best earn rates. Cardholders earn a paltry 0.69 mpd (0.78 mpd for the Platinum Charge) on general spending, way below the usual 1.2-1.4 mpd you can expect with other miles cards.
However, there’s one saving grace: the EXTRA program. This is a specially curated group of merchants which offer bonus Membership Rewards points to American Express Platinum cardholders, increasing the earn rate to as high as 7.8 mpd.
American Express has just rebranded the EXTRA program as 10Xcelerator, perhaps to better reflect the nature of the bonus. It’s also added six new partners, offering more options for dining, lifestyle and staycations.
10Xcelerator by Platinum
New name aside, the 10Xcelerator program works exactly the same as EXTRA. AMEX Platinum Charge cardholders will earn 7.8 mpd on the first S$16,000 spent per calendar year, and 3.9 mpd thereafter. AMEX Platinum Reserve and AMEX Platinum Credit Card cardholders will earn 3.47 mpd, without cap.
 | ||
| Earn Rate | Cap | |
 AMEX Platinum Charge | 7.8 mpd | S$16K per calendar year; 3.9 mpd after |
 AMEX Platinum Reserve | 3.47 mpd | N/A |
 AMEX Platinum Credit Card | 3.47 mpd | N/A |
The full T&C of the program can be found here.
What is new is the six additional 10Xcelerator partners, which we’ll explore below:
1-Group
1-Group runs numerous high end restaurants across Singapore, namely:
- Bee’s Knees
- Botanico
- Hush by Mimi
- Mimi
- Monti
- The Summerhouse
- Wildseed Bar
- Wildseed Cafe
- Yin
- Zorba
10Xcelerator at 1-Group is only valid for dining, and does not apply to corporate and organised events (more than 8 pax), MICE and weddings. Participation will end on 31 January 2022.
Chubb Insurance
Don’t get too excited. While Chubb is joining 10Xcelerator, it’s not like you’ll be able to earn bonus points on your travel or life insurance purchases.
Instead, only Jewellery Protect and Masterpiece insurance plans will receive bonus points. These cover decidedly non-plebian things, like fine jewellery and watches, artworks, heirlooms, and other valuable trinkets. Safe to say, it doesn’t really have mass appeal.
Policies must be purchased by 31 December 2021.
Okamura
No, I hadn’t heard of Okamura either. But apparently they’re a big name in office furniture, and if that floats your boat, you can earn bonus points on purchases till 31 December 2021.
Samsung
If you don’t mind buying your Samsung phones and accessories from the official retailer, you can earn a nice bonus in the process. All purchases at the 10 Samsung Experience Stores across Singapore will earn bonus points, for transactions up till 31 July 2021.
Imagine earning 7.8 mpd on that brand new S21…
The Fullerton/Fullerton Bay Hotel
Any hotel stay or spa services charged at The Fullerton Hotel or Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore by 31 July 2021 will earn bonus points.
Do note that this bonus does not extend to dining transactions. This is presumably because the dining venues at these two hotels have recently joined the Love Dining program, and offering 50% off plus bonus points might be a bit much.
Conclusion
It’s always good to see the list of bonus merchants growing, and if you hold an AMEX Platinum Charge, then 7.8 mpd will obviously beat any 4 mpd card you have. If you hold an AMEX Platinum Reserve or Credit Card, you’ll need to decide whether the increased flexibility of Membership Rewards points (more redemption partners) outweighs the marginal loss compared to using a 4 mpd card.
For the full list of 10Xcelerator merchants, refer to this link.
Basically nothing