New AMEX Platinum Credit Card offer: Fullerton Hotel staycation and 37K bonus points

American Express has refreshed the sign-up bonus for the AMEX Platinum Credit Card, which is valid for applications and approvals between 1 July and 31 August 2021.

New cardholders will now receive a staycation at the Fullerton Hotel, which replaces the previous gift of S$150 Love Dining credits. The spending requirement remains the same.

New Offer: Staycation at Fullerton Hotel

Customers who apply and get approval for an AMEX Platinum Card between 1 July and 31 August 2021 will receive the following:

Hotel Offer
	Spend	Reward
Pay Annual Fee	N/A	25K pts
Milelion Bonus	S$2K	12K pts
Months 1-3	S$5K	Fullerton stay
Base Points	6.25K pts (S$5K @ 2 pts per S$1.60)
Total Spend	S$5K
Total Points	43.25K + Fullerton stay

All cardholders will receive 25,000 MR points when they pay the (non-waivable) first year’s annual fee of S$321. 

Milelion readers will also earn 12,000 MR points when they spend S$2,000 in the first 3 months of approval. Should they spend a further S$3,000 (i.e. S$5,000 total), they’ll receive a one-night stay at the Fullerton Hotel (Premier Courtyard Room), with breakfast included. 

Fullerton Hotel Staycation Review

This means your total haul (including the base points) could be 43,250 MR points and a Fullerton Hotel staycation for S$5,000 of spending. 

This offer is open to both new and existing AMEX cardholders, so long as they have not cancelled an AMEX Platinum Credit Card in the past 12 months. 

The full T&C of this offer can be found here.

Alternative Offer: 80,000 MR points

If it’s MR points you’re craving, there’s a separate offer for applications received by 31 July 2021 and approved by 14 August 2021.

80K Points Offer
	Spend	Reward
Pay Annual Fee	N/A	20K pts
Months 1-3	S$5K	60K pts
Base Points	6.25K pts (S$5K @ 2 pts per S$1.60)
Total Spend	S$5K
Total Points	86.25K pts

Applicants will receive 20,000 MR points when they pay the first year’s annual fee of S$321. Those who spend S$5,000 in the first 3 months of approval will earn a further 60,000 MR points. 

Do note the stricter eligibility criteria for this offer. Applicants must not hold an existing principal AMEX credit card now or in the past 12 months (excluding corporate cards and those issued by DBS/UOB).

Because of this, my advice would be that interested applicants leverage their new-to-bank status for another sign up offer (like the KrisFlyer cards) before taking the Fullerton Hotel staycation offer with the AMEX Platinum Credit Card, since that’s available to both new and existing AMEX customers. 

The full T&C of this offer can be found here.

What counts as qualifying spending?

Regardless of which offer you take, the minimum spend can be met with any purchases of eligible goods or services which post to your account within the first 3 months after approval.

American Express has published a list of excluded spending categories here, but the key ones to note are: 

• GrabPay top-ups
• Insurance
• SPC transactions
• Utilities

For the avoidance of doubt, hospital transactions, donations, and anything else not explicitly stated in the exclusion list will count as eligible spend. 

Enjoy AMEX Love Dining and Chillax benefits

The Love Dining program is one of the biggest draws of the AMEX Platinum Credit Card, allowing members to save up to 50% at more than 30 restaurants and hotels, including Si Chuan Dou Hua,  Wooloomooloo, Conrad Centennial and the St Regis. 

The full list of restaurants can be found below:

Restaurants
Atrium Restaurant Bayang Fremantle Seafood Market FYR Harry’s Hot Stones Steak & Seafood Hutong Indocafe La Nonna Lawry’s Prime Rib Lè Fusion Masons Napoleon Food & Wine Bar	Paulaner Bräuhaus Peach Garden (OCBC Centre) Praelum Wine Bistro RENNthai Sen of Japan Si Chuan Dou Hua Restaurant Sky 22 Spizza The Song of India Wooloomooloo Steakhouse Xin Cuisine Chinese Restaurant Vineyard
Hotels
Conrad Centennial Fairmont Singapore Fullerton Hotel Fullerton Bay Hotel Marriott Singapore Tang Plaza	St Regis Singapore Regent Singapore Swissotel Merchant Court Swissotel The Stamford W Singapore

What I particularly like about Love Dining is that it’s not 1-for-1, it’s 50% off. With 1-for-1, you only get the cheaper item free, and everything else you buy is at the regular price. 

With 50% off, you save on everything (except drinks)- appetizers, mains, desserts. No more feeling compelled to order a more expensive item because your partner did, and at more upscale restaurants, the savings can easily add up to S$100+ per visit. 

AMEX Platinum cardholders also enjoy 1-for-1 drinks and special offers with Chillax. 

Ah Sam Cold Drink Stall Anti:Dote Atrium Lounge @ PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay Atrium @ Pan Pacific Singapore Botanico Chuan @ The Sixtieth Club 5 Conrad Lobby Lounge	Gem Bar Horse’s Mouth Bar Monti Smoke & Mirrors The Auld Alliance The Riverhouse The World is Flat Wanton Seng’s Noodle Bar Wildseed

Conclusion

While a Fullerton Hotel Premier Courtyard room is worth nowhere near the S$600 that AMEX lists on their website, that plus 12,000 MR points is a decent return for S$5,000 spend (especially since you don’t need to be new-to-AMEX to qualify).

The 25,000 MR points received for paying the S$321 annual fee are worth approximately S$250 (based on 1.8 cents per mile), and you can see the balance as the cost of Love Dining/Chillax. If you enjoy eating and drinking outside, it should be relatively easy to cover your cost.