American Express has launched a new sign-up offer for the AMEX Platinum Charge, exclusively for MileLion readers.
From now till 31 October 2022, MileLion readers can enjoy a bonus of 175,000 Membership Rewards (MR) points upon approval and spending S$20,000 in the first 6 months. This is on top of the regular 25,000 MR points from spending S$20,000.
MR points can be redeemed for airline miles, hotel points, merchandise or even cash credit. They’re certainly a more flexible option than some of the other AMEX Platinum Charge welcome gifts we’ve seen, like massage chairs and standing desks.
MileLion Offer: AMEX Platinum Charge
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| Apply Here | ||
| New | Existing | |
| Pay S$1,712 Annual Fee | 80K | 65K |
| MileLion Bonus | 20K | N/A |
| Spend S$3,000 (Months 1-3) | N/A | 5K |
| Spend S$20,000 (Months 1-6) | 75K | 75K |
| Base Points from S$20,000 (@ 2 pts/S$1.60) | 25K | 25K |
| Total Spend | S$20K | S$20K |
| Total Points | 200K | 170K |
The sign-up bonus you’re eligible for depends on whether you’re considered a new or existing cardholder.
| ❓ Definitions |
New cardholders: New cardholders are defined as those who do not currently hold a principal American Express credit card (excluding the AMEX HighFlyer Card and AMEX cards issued by DBS/UOB), and have not cancelled an AMEX Platinum Charge in the past 24 months. Existing cardholders: Existing cardholders are defined as those who currently hold a principal American Express credit card and have not cancelled an AMEX Platinum Charge in the past 24 months. In other words, if you cancelled your AMEX Platinum Charge in the past 24 months, you will not be eligible for the offers mentioned in this article |
New cardholders
New cardholders will receive a bonus of 80,000 MR points (plus a further 20,000 MR points for applying via The MileLion) upon paying the AMEX Platinum Charge’s non-waivable S$1,712 annual fee.
Cardholders who spend S$20,000 in the first 6 months will receive a bonus of 75,000 MR points, together with 25,000 base MR points.
This means that for S$20,000 spend and payment of the S$1,712 annual fee, a new-to-AMEX cardholder would receive a total of 200,000 MR points,
Existing cardholders
Existing cardholders will receive 65,000 MR points upon paying the AMEX Platinum Charge’s non-waivable S$1,712 annual fee.
Cardholders who spend S$3,000 in the first 3 months will receive a bonus of 5,000 MR points, together with 3,750 base MR points.
If they spend a further S$17,000 in the first 6 months (i.e. S$20,000 total), they will receive 75,000 bonus MR points, together with 21,250 base MR points.
This means that for S$20,000 spend and payment of the S$1,712 annual fee, an existing cardholder would receive a total of 170,000 MR points,
Terms & Conditions
- 65,000/80,000 MR points welcome gift (Page 2 & 3)
- 75,000 MR points sign-up bonus (Page 4)
- 5,000/20,000 bonus MR points (Page 5 & 6)
This offer cannot be further stacked with any MGM bonuses, and terminating the card within six months of approval will lead to a clawback of the welcome gift.
In terms of crediting timelines:
- 65,000/80,000 MR points will be credited within 8 weeks of paying the annual fee
- 75,000 MR points will be credited within 8 weeks of the date the spend threshold is met
- 5,000/20,000 MR points will be credited within 12 weeks of the date the spend threshold is met/paying the annual fee
Any questions about the promotion should be directed to American Express (and if the CSOs say to contact The MileLion, they’re mistaken; all fulfilment is from the AMEX side).
For avoidance of doubt, spending by both principal and supplementary cardholders will be pooled when determining whether the minimum spend threshold has been met.
What counts as qualifying spending?
AMEX has a list of excluded spending categories here, but the key ones to note are:
- GrabPay top-ups
- Insurance
- Public hospitals and polyclinics
- SPC transactions
- Utilities
For the avoidance of doubt, CardUp, private and non-profit hospital bills, donations, and anything else not explicitly stated in the exclusion list will count as eligible spend.
What can you do with MR points?
With the welcome gift, sign-up bonus and base points factored in, you’re looking at a total of up to 200,000 MR points.
Based on the conversion rate enjoyed by AMEX Platinum Charge customers (400 MR points to 250 miles), this would be worth 125,000 miles with any of the following frequent flyer programmes:
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Using KrisFlyer as an example, 125,000 miles would be enough for a Business Class round-trip ticket to Cape Town, Johannesburg or Istanbul (113,000 miles), or a one-way First Class ticket to Sydney or Melbourne (93,500 miles).
- 10 nights at the Conrad Bangkok
- 7 nights at the St. Regis Kuala Lumpur
- 5 nights at the Millennium Hilton Seoul
- 5 nights at the Le Meridien Maldives
Note: Marriott and Hilton practice dynamic award pricing, and the exact number of points required will depend on when you stay.
And in a worst case scenario where you converted the MR points into statement credit (which I’d highly advise against), 200,000 MR points would be worth S$960, or S$1,200 at Pay with Points+ merchants including Apple, Challenger, Fairmont Singapore or Lee Hwa Jewellery.
Just got your card?
If you’ve just got your AMEX Platinum Charge, welcome to the club! Do have a read below of the seven things you should do in order to kickstart your journey.
AMEX Platinum Charge: 7 things to do after getting your card
Conclusion
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| Apply Here |
MileLion readers can now enjoy an enhanced sign-up bonus of 175,000 MR points for applications submitted by 31 October 2022.
All in all, a good way to get started on your AMEX Platinum Charge journey.
Hi Aaron,
does the $20k spend include spending by supplementary card holder? Or it must only be spent by the principal card holder?
Hey ML – i have a trip to tokyo in november – i’ve already booked my tix but can you share how i can maximize benefits from this offer if i were there?
One word – Kabukicho!
Big cut compared to previous offer right? Wonder if Amex will ever bring the Platinum Business card to SG
not really. changes are minimal.
August offer was 180,000 MR points bonus
September offer was 140,000 or 155,000 MR points
the offer now is 145,000 or 175,000 MR points.
The OR is the big difference. Most people have some lower Amex card.
dunno what you talking about. this offer is definitively better than last month’s for both new and existing
Does anyone know the rules on having Amex platinum charge cards in different countries?
I.e. if I get the SG Amex PC now but also got an AU Amex PC in a few months time, would
I be counted as a new customer for both (hence receiving the max rewards benefits on both) ?
I excitedly applied for The Charge Card, only to be issued the other Platinum card which has little benefits. Amex made me cancel and reapply, saying I probably filled in the wrong application, but after doing so, I realised their sign-up link has problem. It acknowledged my application for the wrong card. I emailed Amex but I hope they correct it. It’s a dumb error…