AMEX Platinum Charge offering 95,000 MR points sign-up bonus

American Express has launched a new sign-up offer for the AMEX Platinum Charge, which is valid for applications up till 17 April 2023 (with approvals by 1 May 2023). 

New cardholders will receive up to 75,000 MR points when they spend S$15,000 within three months of approval. In addition to this, those who sign up via The MileLion will receive up to 20,000 MR points with S$5,000 spent in the first three months of approval.

The total bonus of 95,000 MR points is smaller than the previous offer of 110,000 MR points, though it should be highlighted the minimum spend has been cut from S$20,000 to S$15,000 as well. The silver lining here is that applicants will be able to enjoy two sets of the new S$1,204 statement credits in their first membership year, since these are granted on a calendar year basis (with the exception of the entertainment credit)

As a reminder, the AMEX Platinum Charge no longer has a published income requirement. A minimum income requirement of S$120,000 p.a. is required for a card with no preset spending limits, but approval is otherwise subject to internal assessment. 

New AMEX Platinum Charge sign-up offer

AMEX Platinum Charge
Apply Here
	New	Existing
Spend S$5,000 (Mo. 1-3)	20K	10K
Spend S$15,000 (Mo. 1-3)	75K	N/A
Spend S$10,000 (Mo. 1-3)	N/A	50K
Base Points from S$15,000 (@ 2 pts/S$1.60)	18.75K	N/A
Base Points from S$10,000 (@ 2 pts/S$1.60)	N/A	12.5K
Total Spend	S$15K	S$10K
Total Points	113.75K	72.5K

There are two different offers, depending on whether you count as a new customer or existing customer. 

New customers

New-to-AMEX customers who sign-up via The MileLion will receive 20,000 bonus MR points when they spend S$5,000 in the first 3 months of approval. 

If they spend a further S$10,000 (i.e. S$15,000 total), they will receive a further 75,000 bonus MR points. 

To summarise the offer, by spending S$15,000 in the first 3 months of approval, they will receive 113,750 MR points, broken down as follows:

• 20,000 bonus MR points (MileLion bonus)
• 75,000 bonus MR points (sign-up bonus)
• 18,750 base MR points (S$15,000 @ 2 MR points/S$1.60)

Existing customers

Existing AMEX customers who sign-up via The MileLion will receive 10,000 bonus MR points when they spend S$5,000 in the first 3 months of approval. 

If they spend a further S$5,000 (i.e. S$10,000 total), they will receive a further 50,000 bonus MR points. 

To summarise the offer, by spending S$10,000 in the first 3 months of approval, they will receive 72,500 MR points, broken down as follows:

• 10,000 bonus MR points (MileLion bonus)
• 50,000 bonus MR points (sign-up bonus)
• 12,500 base MR points (S$10,000 @ 2 MR points/S$1.60)

When will bonus MR points be credited?

In terms of crediting timelines:

• 50,000/75,000 MR points will be credited within 10 weeks of meeting the spend threshold
• 10,000/20,000 MR points will be credited within 12 weeks of meeting the spend threshold

Any questions about the promotion should be directed to American Express (and if the CSOs say to contact MileLion, they’re mistaken; all fulfilment is from the AMEX side).

What counts as qualifying spending?

American Express 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. 

Spending by both principal and supplementary cardholders will be pooled when determining whether the minimum spend threshold has been met. 

Terms & Conditions

• 10,000/20,000 MR points for S$5,000 spend
• 50,000/75,000 MR points for S$10,000/S$15,000 spend

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 sign-up bonus.

How does this compare to the previous offer?

For reference, here’s how the current offer compares to the previous one.

While the points to spend ratios are more favourable, there’s a notable decrease in the maximum bonus you can take home (especially for existing customers). 

About those statement credits…

American Express recently announced the full details of the new dining, lifestyle, entertainment and airfare credits for AMEX Platinum Charge cardholders. 

Cardholders receive S$1,204 of statement credits each year, split into: 

• S$200 dining credits at participating local restaurants
• S$200 dining credits at participating overseas restaurants
• S$400 lifestyle credits at participating retail partners
• S$204 entertainment credits for news or music streaming services (disbursed as S$17 per month)
• S$200 airline credits for Singapore Airlines or Scoot

I’ve provided my full thoughts in this article. 

For what it’s worth, a new applicant would enjoy two sets of statement credits in his/her first membership year, because the statement credits are issued based on calendar year (with the exception of the entertainment credit, which is issued based on calendar month). This is regardless of whether he/she chooses to renew; there will be no clawback of statement credits even if the cardholder subsequently decides to terminate his/her card before the second membership year starts. 

Conclusion

Apply Here

The latest sign-up bonus for the AMEX Platinum Charge card offers up to 95,000 bonus MR points, plus the opportunity to double dip on two sets of S$1,204 credits in the first membership year. 

As a reminder, you’ll need to submit your application by 17 April 2023 and get approval by 1 May 2023 to be eligible. The AMEX Platinum Charge is no small investment, so be sure to read my repository of articles on the AMEX Platinum Charge’s perks and nerfs before pulling the trigger.