In January 2024, the AMEX Platinum Credit Card introduced an annual S$200 Lifestyle credit, for use at participating dining and shopping merchants in Singapore.
If these merchants align with your regular spending habits, this credit can significantly offset the card’s S$327 annual fee. In fact, I’d argue that the statement credits offered by the AMEX Platinum Credit Card are much superior to those of the AMEX Platinum Charge. They’re simpler, require minimal planning to use, and feel more like genuine savings rather than forced spending.
The Lifestyle credit has been renewed for 2025, so let’s go over the key details once more.
Overview: 2025 AMEX Platinum Lifestyle credit
Lifestyle Credit Enrolment |
AMEX Platinum Credit Cardholders enjoy an annual S$200 Lifestyle credit, which is disbursed as 2x half-yearly S$100 credits:
- Valid from 1 January to 30 June: S$100 credit
- Valid from 1 July to 31 December: S$100 credit
Registration and enrolment is required, and can be done here. If you registered your card already last year, there’s no need to do it again.
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. Unused credits are not rolled over to the next period, so use it or lose it!
Statement credits are usually awarded within 3-4 days of the transaction. Since this works as a rebate rather than a refund, you will still earn points for the full amount of spend (though the AMEX Platinum Credit Card is not particularly known for its earn rates anyway).
The Lifestyle credit is only available for the principal cardholder. Supplementary cardholders are not eligible for a separate credit, and spending on supplementary cards will not trigger the credit on the principal card.
Which merchants are participating?
The full list of participating brands and locations can be found here.
As this list is subject to change from time to time, always refer to the American Express website for the most accurate information.
Dining
๐ฝ๏ธ Lifestyle Credit: Restaurants | |
Hotels | Restaurants |
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Every restaurant on this list participates in Love Dining, and you can stack the Lifestyle credit with the discounts.
For example, if I were to dine at as a party of two and spend S$167 on food:
- The 50% Love Dining discount would cut the bill to S$83.50
- After 10% service charge and 9% GST, the bill becomes S$100.12
- This will trigger the S$100 Lifestyle credit, making the total out of pocket cost just S$0.12
Note that some Love Dining restaurants (like Sen of Japan) apply the service charge and GST to the pre-Love Dining price, so your calculations will be slightly different in that case.
Retail
For those preferring to engage in retail therapy, the Lifestyle credit can be spent in-store with the following brands.
๐ Lifestyle Credit: Fashion | |
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*Also 10Xcelerator partner |
Some of these merchants are also part of the 10Xcelerator programme, which offers AMEX Platinum Credit Card members an enhanced rate of 3.47 mpd, versus the usual 0.69 mpd. That may not sound as impressive as the 4 mpd of other cards, but believe me, this is already considered excellent by AMEX standards!
You can refer to the T&Cs for the addresses of the participating outlets.
Why I prefer this to the AMEX Platinum Charge
AMEX Platinum Credit Card | AMEX Platinum Charge | |
Annual Fee | S$327 | S$1,744 |
Statement Credits | S$200 | S$1,354 |
As % of Annual Fee | 62% | 78% |
As you probably already know, the AMEX Platinum Charge also offers cardmembers annual statement credits worth up to S$1,354, covering dining, shopping, entertainment and travel.
On paper, these credits appear more generous compared to the AMEX Platinum Credit Card, as they cover 78% of the annual fee versus 62% for the latter. However, numbers don’t tell the whole story. More credits don’t mean much if they’re harder to spend!
That’s precisely the conundrum facing AMEX Platinum Charge cardmembers this year, as American Express has added new restrictions:
- Changes to allocation: The Local Dining, Overseas Dining, Lifestyle and Airline credits are now issued biannually, rather than as a single annual credit
- Minimum spend for Airline credit: The Airline credit must now be used in a single transaction, unlike the previous flexibility of spreading it across multiple transactions
- Reduced dining options: The number of restaurants eligible for the Local Dining credit has been slashed from 29 to just 13
Take the S$200 Local Dining credit, for example. An AMEX Platinum Charge cardmember is now limited to 13 fine dining restaurantsโnone of which are part of the Love Dining program. Given the high price points of these establishments, S$100 per visit wonโt go far.
In contrast, an AMEX Platinum Credit Cardmember can use their Lifestyle credit at over 50 restaurants, all Love Dining partners and covering a variety of price points.
Or consider the S$150 Fashion credit. An AMEX Platinum Charge cardmember can only use this at Mr Porter and NET-A-PORTER. Meanwhile, an AMEX Platinum Credit Card member can use their Lifestyle credit at over two dozen brands, all with physical locations in Singapore so you can try before you buy.
Overall, the AMEX Platinum Credit Card is much more straightforward. Cardmembers donโt need to leave Singapore to use their credits, the list of dining and retail merchants is larger, thereโs no minimum spend required, and even though the credits are also split into half-yearly intervals, theyโre easier to manage within a single categoryโunlike the six categories of the AMEX Platinum Charge.
Overview: AMEX Platinum Credit Card
Apply Here | |||
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 |
Cardholder Terms and Conditions |
As a reminder, the AMEX Platinum Credit Card is currently offering a welcome gift of S$250 statement credits to customers who apply and spend S$1,000 within 30 days of approval.
This offer is available to anyone who has not cancelled a principal AMEX Platinum Credit Card in the past 12 months.
Cardholders earn 2 MR points per S$1.60 spent (0.69 mpd) in Singapore or overseas, with an upsized 10 MR points per S$1.60 spent (3.47 mpd) at 10Xcelerator merchants.
Other benefits include:
- Up to 50% off dining at selected hotels and restaurants with the Love Dining programme
- 1-for-1 drinks with Chillax
- Complimentary green fees at more than 40 golf clubs in Singapore, Cambodia, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam
- 12-month Comoclub C4 membership (any members fast-tracked from 2025 onwards will no longer receive birthday treats)
American Express no longer publishes minimum income requirements for any of its cards, and all approvals are subject to internal review.
Conclusion
The AMEX Platinum Credit Card has renewed its S$200 Lifestyle credit for 2025. Although the credit is split into two half-year allotments, the extensive range of participating restaurants and fashion brands makes it relatively easy to utilise.
Whatโs more, every participating restaurant is part of the Love Dining programme, and many of the fashion brands are 10Xcelerator merchants. This allows cardholders to stack additional discounts or points on top of the Lifestyle credit.
This stands in stark contrast to the AMEX Platinum Charge, which continues to impose new restrictions on its already cumbersome credits. At this rate, downgrading to the AMEX Platinum Credit Card might not be the worst idea…
I recall it was $200 + $100 credits, if our ‘card approval’ does not fall directly on 01 Jul or 01 Dec. Is that still correct?
e.g. Card approval on 15 May 24 gives us:
you can still spend up to $300 in first membership year
I just spoke with Amex customer service as I was going to use Jan-Jun 2025 credit, but they said that if I use it, even as early as say Feb 2025, I will still be liable to pay the second year annual fee (due in May 2025 for me) as the annual fee I paid last May 2024 was only for the credits in 2024
I guess not for every member cos my AF is waived:
“Your Card is not eligible for this benefit.
Thank you for your interest in the Platinum Credit Card lifestyle credits. This benefit is only available to basic Card Members of American Expressยฎ Platinum Credit Card upon successful annual fee payment. Thank you for your continued Card Membership.”
So, if youโre hoping to get the rebates for the third time within your first year of membership (applied for the card last April), do you still need register for this offer? Iโm asking because I registered using the link in the article but it said I wasnโt eligible.
no need to re-register.
A chat with Amex officer via the app pointed out that cardmember has to register for this $200 credit ANNUALLY (calendar year). So earlier in January, I did register again, no response/ email yet, perhaps I chat again to check. Fyi, I applied last year May, used up the 2x$100 successfully…
don’t take what the amex CSO says as gospel.
many reports on telegram of people not registering for second year, spending, and getting the rebate.