Review: American Express Platinum Credit Card

Here’s The MileLion’s review of the American Express Platinum Credit Card, the entry rung of the Platinum hierarchy. 

A couple of years ago, this card didn’t have much to offer. At most, you got it for the Love Dining benefits, preferably during a period where the welcome offer could help offset part of the non-waivable annual fee.

But American Express has been showering the love on the Platinum Credit Card of late, adding features like a S$200 annual Lifestyle Credit, a Comoclub C4 membership, and an excellent welcome offer- now extended even to existing AMEX cardholders.

While it may not be a card that you use for day-to-day spend, the value on offer in the first year means it’s something worth serious consideration.

AMEX Platinum Credit Card
🦁 MileLion Verdict
First Year	Recurring
☑ Take It ☐ Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It	☐ Take It ☑Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It
The AMEX Platinum Credit Card isn’t a great choice for day-to-day spend, but its big first year value means you should consider at least a brief fling.
👍 The Good	👎 The Bad
Excellent welcome offer, available for existing customers for a limited time S$200 annual lifestyle credit Como C4 membership with S$130 birthday vouchers Uncapped 3.47 mpd on 10Xcelerator merchants Up to 50% off dining and 1-for-1 drinks with AMEX Love Dining and Chillax  11 transfer partners and no conversion fees	Poor earn rates outside of 10Xcelerator mean it’s not a card for everyday spending outside the welcome offer period AMEX Love Dining partner list isn’t as impressive as before (though I suppose that’s a subjective opinion)
💳 Full List of Credit Card Reviews

Overview: AMEX Platinum Credit Card

Apply
Income Req.	Not stated*	Points Validity	No expiry
Annual Fee	S$327	Min. Transfer	450 MR points (250 miles)
FCY Fee	3.25%	Transfer Fee	None
Local Earn	0.69 mpd	Points Pool?	Yes
FCY Earn	0.69 mpd	Lounge Access?	No
Special Earn	3.47 mpd on 10Xcelerator merchants	Airport Limo?	No
*AMEX no longer publishes minimum income requirements for any of its cards
Cardholder Terms and Conditions

The AMEX Platinum Credit Card suffers from something of an identity crisis, because American Express has three different Platinum cards with similar sounding names. 

Card	Annual Fee	Earn Rate
AMEX Platinum Credit Card	S$327	0.69 mpd
AMEX Platinum Reserve	S$545	0.69 mpd
AMEX Platinum Charge	S$1,744	0.78 mpd

Don’t mix them up! The AMEX Platinum Credit Card is positioned as the entry-level offering, two rungs below the AMEX Platinum Charge and one rung below the AMEX Platinum Reserve. All three cards have very different features and benefits.

How much must I earn to qualify for an AMEX Platinum Credit Card?

American Express no longer publishes any official income requirement for its credit cards, instead stating that all applications are “subject to internal review”.

The last published minimum requirement for the AMEX Platinum Credit Card was S$80,000, but don’t let that deter you. Remember: any income requirement above S$30,000 is essentially arbitrary (it can affect the credit limit granted, but not approval per se), and there are plenty of data points of applications at this level getting approved. 

💡 A bit of history…

Speaking of income requirements, the AMEX Platinum Credit Card caused quite a stir when it first launched in Singapore back in 2004.  Up till then, the idea of “platinum” was sacrosanct. Most cards carrying the label had a minimum income requirement of S$100,000, or were by invitation only. But the AMEX Platinum Credit Card halved that to a mere S$50,000- the industry average for a gold card at the time. That led one advertising executive to dismiss it as a “white gold card” that would “taint the appeal of other platinum credit cards among society’s creme de la creme”. AMEX disputed that assessment, of course, saying they expected the average Platinum Credit Card holder to earn close to S$125,000 a year. Eager to dispel notions that it might be a poor man’s platinum, its advertisements marketed it as a heavyweight offering. One showed the card weighing down a man’s suit pocket, another showed the card in a handbag bending a chair out of shape (either that, or someone really needs Jenny Craig). Lifestyle perks included complimentary golf, a Feed at Raffles membership (remember that?), and spa packages.  But maybe that executive was right after all, because today, the “platinum” tag is essentially worthless- anyone can get a Visa Platinum debit card without so much as earning a penny.

How much is the AMEX Platinum Credit Card’s annual fee?

	Principal Card	Supp. Card
First Year	S$327	First 2 free, S$163.50 for 3rd onwards
Subsequent	S$327	First 2 free, S$163.50 for 3rd onwards

The AMEX Platinum Credit Card has an annual fee of S$327 for the principal cardholder. The first two supplementary cards are free for life, and the third onwards costs S$163.50. 

While the first year’s annual fee cannot be waived, subsequent year’s fees may be waived at AMEX’s discretion. 

What sign-up bonus or gifts are available?

AMEX Platinum Credit Card (Offer Ends: 30 Apr 24)
Apply
Details
	New	Existing
Annual Fee	S$327 (must be paid)	S$327 (must be paid)
Spend	S$1,000	S$1,000
Spend Period	30 days	30 days
Base Miles	694	694
Bonus Miles	34,027	32,639
Total Miles	34,722	33,333
New customers are defined as those who have not cancelled an AMEX Platinum Credit Card in the past 12 months and do not currently hold a principal AMEX consumer card (AMEX cards issued by Citi/DBS/UOB do not count, nor does the AMEX HighFlyer Card).
Existing customers are defined as those who have not cancelled an AMEX Platinum Credit Card in the past 12 months

New-to-bank customers who apply for an AMEX Platinum Credit Card by 30 April 2024 (with approval by 5 May 2024) will receive 61,250 bonus MR points (34,027 miles) with a minimum spend of S$1,000 within 30 days of approval.

Existing customers who apply for an AMEX Platinum Credit Card by 30 April 2024 (with approval by 5 May 2024) will receive 58,750 bonus MR points (32,639 miles) with a minimum spend of S$1,000 within 30 days of approval.

Assuming you clock the minimum spend on local general spending, you’ll earn a further 1,250 base MR points (694 miles).

This is a particularly good opportunity for existing customers, because their welcome offer has been temporarily upsized from the usual S$200 eCapitaVoucher (58,750 MR points, valued at 1.5 cents per mile, are worth roughly S$490).

How many miles do I earn?

🇸🇬 SGD Spending	🌎 FCY Spending	⭐ Bonus Spending
0.69 mpd	0.69 mpd	3.47 mpd on 10Xcelerator merchants

SGD/FCY Spend

AMEX Platinum Credit Cardholders earn:

• 2 MR points for every S$1.60 spent in Singapore Dollars
• 2 MR points for every S$1.60 spent in foreign currency (FCY)

450 MR points are worth 250 airline miles, so that’s an equivalent earn rate of 0.69 mpd for both local and FCY spending. Needless to say, this is rather underwhelming, given that most general spending cards earn 1.2-1.6 mpd.

All foreign currency transactions are subject to a 3.25% fee. This is on par with the rest of the market.

💳 FCY Fees by Issuer and Card Network
Issuer	↓ MC & Visa	AMEX
Standard Chartered	3.5%	N/A
American Express	N/A	3.25%
Citibank	3.25%	N/A
DBS	3.25%	3%
HSBC	3.25%	N/A
Maybank	3.25%	N/A
OCBC	3.25%	N/A
UOB	3.25%	3.25%
BOC	3%	N/A
CIMB	3%	N/A

Bonus Spending

AMEX 10Xcelerator

AMEX Platinum Credit Card cardholders earn 10 MR points per S$1.60 spent at 10Xcelerator merchants (formerly known as Platinum EXTRA). This is an effective earn rate of 3.47 mpd, and there is no cap on the maximum bonus that can be earned.

10Xcelerator merchants include, among others:

• 1-Group restaurants (1-Atico, Bee’s Knees, Botanico, Monti, Sol & Luna, UNA and more)
• IWC
• Lee Hwa Jewellery
• Leica
• Miele
• PARKROYAL COLLECTION Pickering
• PARKROYAL COLLECTION Marina Bay
• Samsonite
• Tag Heuer
• The Hour Glass
• Venchi
• Watches of Switzerland

An earn rate of 3.47 mpd is obviously inferior to the 4 mpd you could earn via contactless payments with the UOB Preferred Platinum Visa and UOB Visa Signature, but the key thing to remember is that it’s uncapped. If you’re planning a big ticket purchase, then this could come in useful.

To learn more about the 10Xcelerator programme, refer to my guide below.

Guide: American Express Platinum 10Xcelerator programme

When are MR points credited? 

Base and bonus MR points are credited when your transaction posts, which generally takes 1-3 working days.

How are MR points calculated?

Here’s how you can work out the MR points earned on your AMEX Platinum Credit Card. 

Base Points	Divide transaction by 1.6, then round down to the nearest whole number. Multiply by 2
10Xcelerator	Divide transaction by 1.6, then round down to the nearest whole number. Multiply by 8

This means the minimum spend required to earn miles is S$1.60.

If you’re an Excel geek, here’s the formulas you need to calculate your points: 

Base Points	=ROUNDDOWN(X/1.6,0)*2
10Xcelerator	=ROUNDDOWN(X/1.6,0)*8
Where X= Amount Spent

For the full list of formulas that banks use to calculate credit card points, do refer to these articles:

• General Spending Cards
• Specialised Spending Cards

What transactions aren’t eligible for MR points?

A full list of exclusions can be found in this document, under Section 3: American Express Cards enrolled in the Membership Rewards Programme

The key exclusions to note are:

• Charitable donations
• Education
• GrabPay top-ups
• Insurance premiums
• Public hospitals
• Utilities

CardUp transactions will earn points with the AMEX Platinum Credit Card at the usual 0.69 mpd rate. While this normally would not make sense (since you could earn up to 1.6 mpd with other general spending cards), it’s worth considering for the welcome offer. By paying a fee of S$26 (S$1,000 spend @ 2.6%), you unlock 32,639 bonus miles.

What do I need to know about MR points?

❌ Expiry	↔️ Pooling	✈️ Transfer Fee
No expiry	Yes	N/A
⬆️ Min. Transfer	✈️ No. of Partners	⏱️ Transfer Time
450 MR points (250 miles)	11	48 hours (KrisFlyer)

Expiry

MR points earned on the AMEX Platinum Credit Card never expire, so long as the card account remains active. 

Pooling

MR points earned from different American Express cards are pooled, but it’s slightly complicated.

If you hold an AMEX Platinum Credit Card and an AMEX Platinum Charge, there are two possibilities

(1) Some people will see their points pooled automatically on the back end, all convertible at the more advantageous 400:250 rate offered to AMEX Platinum Charge cardholders. If you’re in this situation, the drop down menu for “Your Points Account” will look like this.

(2) Some people will not see their points pooled on the back end. Instead, they’ll have one points account for their AMEX Platinum Charge, and another points account for their AMEX Platinum Credit Card. If you’re in this situation, the drop down menu for “Your Points Account” will have a “Switch Account” button to toggle between points balances.

In this case, you can call up customer service to get your points manually combined and transferred at the more advantageous 400:250 rate. 

Transfer Partners & fees

American Express has 11 airline and hotel transfer partners, with MR points transferring at the following ratios:

Programme	Conversion Ratio (MR Points: Partner)
	450:250
	450:250
	450:250
	450:250
	450:250
	450:250
	450:250
	450:250
	450:250
	1,000:1,000
	1,000:1,250

All transfers are free of charge. 

If you happen to hold the AMEX Platinum Credit Card and AMEX Platinum Charge at the same time, you can transfer all your MR points to the nine airline partners at a rate of 400 MR points = 250 miles. Transfer ratios for hotel partners remain the same.

Transfer Times

Transfers to most partners are completed within 24-48 hours, in my experience. 

Other card perks

S$200 annual Lifestyle Credit

Participating Merchants

Principal AMEX Platinum Credit Cardholders enjoy an annual S$200 Lifestyle Credit, which is disbursed as a twice-annual S$100 credit:

• 1 January to 30 June: S$100
• 1 July to 31 December: S$100

Annual registration and enrolment is required, and can be done here or on the AMEX Experiences app. 

The credit can be used with a minimum spend of S$100 in a single transaction at any participating merchant. For example, a single transaction of S$120 would trigger the credit, but two separate transactions of S$60 would not.

Lifestyle Credits can be spent at any of the following dining and retail outlets.

Remember that Lifestyle Credits are refreshed based on calendar date, which won’t be a perfect overlap with your membership year. So, for example, if your AMEX Platinum Credit Card is approved in April 2024, you’ll get:

• S$100 Lifestyle Credit to spend by 30 June 2024 (issued immediately)
• S$100 Lifestyle Credit to spend by 31 December 2024 (issued on 1 July 2024)
• S$100 Lifestyle Credit to spend by 31 March 2025 (issued on 1 January 2025)

❓ Why 31 March 2025?

Why must the final S$100 Lifestyle Credit be spent by 31 March 2025?  In my example, I’m assuming you don’t renew your card for a second year, so you’ll need to use your Lifestyle Credit by the month prior to renewal, which in this case is March 2025 (using your credits in the month of renewal can be risky, as explained here).

Comoclub C4 membership

Comoclub C4 membership

Both principal and supplementary AMEX Platinum Credit Cardholders are eligible for a complimentary 12-month Comoclub C4 membership. 

This includes year-round discounts at Como’s shopping and dining outlets, but the real perk are the birthday treats. In your birthday month, you will receive S$130 of vouchers (all of which have no minimum spend):

• S$100 shopping spree at Club21, Kids21 or DSM Singapore
• S$20 dining voucher for Como restaurants
• S$10 voucher for SuperNature and Glow Café

Since the AMEX Platinum Credit Card comes with two complimentary supplementary cards, you basically get up to S$390 of value in the first membership year.

In the second year, assuming you don’t meet the minimum spend necessary to requalify (S$7,500 with Como in 12 months) you’ll be downgraded to Comoclub C3, which comes with S$30 worth of birthday vouchers. 

AMEX Love Dining 

Hotels

Restaurants

Both principal and supplementary AMEX Platinum Credit Card cardholders enjoy Love Dining benefits, with up to 50% off food (not beverages) at more than 30 restaurants and hotels across Singapore.

🍽️ AMEX Love Dining Discount
Number of Diners	Discount on Food Bill
Card member	15%*
Card member + 1 guest	50%
Card member + 2 guests	35%^
Card member + 3 guests	25%
Card member + 4-9 guests (hotels) or 4-19 guests (restaurants)	20%
*10% at Fairmont Singapore, Swissotel The Stamford, Paradox Singapore ^33% at Fairmont Singapore, Swissotel The Stamford, Paradox Singapore

The current list of participating restaurants can be found below:

🍽️ Restaurants (20)
Alegria Atrium Restaurant Barossa Steak & Grill Cali Escape Restaurant Harry’s Jia He Chinese Restaurant La Nonna Lawry’s The Prime Rib Lộ Quậy	Napoleon Food & Wine Bar Peach Garden at OCBC Centre Sen of Japan Si Chuan Dou Hua at UOB Plaza Sky22 Spizza Verandah @ Rael’s Vineyard at HortPark Wooloomooloo Steakhouse Xin Cuisine
🏨 Hotels (8)
Fairmont Singapore Asian Market Cafe, Anti:dote Mikuni Prego The Eight Singapore Marriott Tang Plaza Crossroads Cafe Crossroads Buffet Lobby Lounge Wan Hao St Regis Singapore Astor Bar Brasserie Les Saveurs The Drawing Room Yan Ting	Paradox Singapore Blue Potato Crossroads Bar* Ellenborough Market Cafe Resorts World Sentosa CHIFA! Soi Social Swissotel The Stamford SKAI Bar* SKAI Restaurant The Stamford Brasserie CLOVE Kopi Tiam The Robertson House Entrepot W Singapore Kitchen Table SKIRT WooBar
T&Cs
*No Love Dining @ Hotels savings available; cardholders instead enjoy 20% off total bill

Each diner must order at least one qualifying food item (usually a main course) to enjoy the discount. Blackout dates apply, namely public holidays and eve of public holidays, plus special occasions like Valentine’s Day. 

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)- appetisers, 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. 

Of course, the value really boils down to whether or not you like the Love Dining restaurants in the first place. Over the past couple of years, we’ve seen Conrad Centennial, Capitol Kempinski, Fullerton Hotel, and Fullerton Bay Hotel drop out of the programme, as well as TWG, Praelum Wine Bistro, and Paulaner Brauhaus. New additions, in my opinion, aren’t nearly up to the standards of old.

For more on the Love Dining programme, refer to my detailed guide below.

Guide: AMEX Platinum Love Dining programme

Chillax

Chillax

AMEX Platinum Credit Card cardholders enjoy 1-for-1 drinks and special offers with Chillax at bars including Anti:dote, Tipsy Flamingo and Wallich Manor.

Here’s the full list of participating outlets for 2024. 

🍸 Participating Bars
Anti:dote Bar Intermezzo Botanico Chandu Chuan by Nutmeg Here Kitty Kitty Lady Wu O/T Bar	The Auld Alliance The Riverhouse The World is Flat Tipsy Flamingo Tipsy Unicorn Wildseed Bar Wallich Manor

Platinum Golf

AMEX Platinum Credit Card members enjoy complimentary green fees at more than 40 golf clubs in Singapore, Cambodia, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam. 

• Weekday visits require one paying guest to enjoy complimentary green fees
• Weekend visits require two paying guests to enjoy complimentary green fees

Participating clubs in Singapore include Orchid Country Club, Sembawang Country Club, and Warren Golf & Country Club. A complete list can be found here.

Return guarantee benefit and purchase protection

Items purchased with the AMEX Platinum Credit Card are eligible for complimentary return guarantee benefit and purchase protection.

The return guarantee states that if an eligible item cannot be returned within 90 days of purchase, the insurer will take the item off the cardholder’s hands for a maximum of S$800. 

Purchase protection states that if an eligible item is stolen or damaged within 90 days of purchase, the insurer will replace or repair it for up to S$10,000.

The full T&Cs of this policy can be found here. 

Summary Review: AMEX Platinum Credit Card

Apply
🦁 MileLion Verdict
First Year	Recurring
☑ Take It ☐ Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It	☐ Take It ☑Take It Or Leave It ☐ Leave It

The AMEX Platinum Credit Card has first year value proposition that’s hard to beat.

Even if you’re an existing AMEX cardholder, you’re looking at:

• A welcome gift worth S$490 (32,639 miles @ 1.5 cents per mile)
• Lifestyle credits worth S$300 (remember, you enjoy S$300 in the first membership year because of how these are awarded)
• Comoclub C4 birthday vouchers worth S$390 (S$130 per cardholder, for the principal cardholder and two supp. cardholders)

Add it all together and that’s S$1,180, a tidy return on the annual fee of S$327. It’s quite a no-brainer, especially if you’re not prepared to shell out the money for an AMEX Platinum Charge. 

The second year onwards does get more marginal, given the mediocre earn rates (unless you’re a heavy patron of 10Xcelerator merchants), and whether or not you renew really boils down to how much you value Love Dining and Chillax.