AMEX International Airline Programme: Save on premium travel with Singapore Airlines and other carriers

The International Airline Programme (IAP) is one of the lesser-known benefits of the AMEX Platinum Charge, but can save you substantial amounts on air tickets — provided you fly in cabins other than Economy!

The IAP covers Singapore Airlines, Emirates, Qantas, Qatar Airways and other major carriers, and in this guide, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know about the programme. 

Overview: International Airline Programme

The IAP allows AMEX Platinum Charge cardmembers to book discounted First, Business and Premium Economy fares on the following airlines.

As the name suggests, this is the International Airline Programme. Discounts are not available for domestic flights.

In general, discounts are only available for adult fares. However, some airlines also extend savings to child fares as well.

Here are the other key details to note:

• Both principal and supplementary cardholders are eligible
• Discounts apply to refundable, restricted and non-refundable fare types
• Both one-way and round-trip bookings are eligible
• Your journey must start and end in Singapore
• The Platinum cardholder must be one of the travellers
• Bookings can be made for a maximum of eight travellers, including the Platinum cardholder
• Blackout dates apply, which is why you may not see any IAP rates during certain periods

How to book an IAP fare

IAP fares can be searched and booked online through the AMEX Travel Portal.

You’ll need to log in with your AMEX credentials, and if you have multiple cards, select the AMEX Platinum Charge to see IAP rates.

This will bring you to the IAP homepage, where you search for flights as you would on an ordinary OTA.

When choosing flights, look out for airlines with the “International Airline Program- Platinum Card Member Benefit” label.

Do note that not every fare by an IAP-participating carrier is an IAP fare. For example, in the screenshot above, the Singapore Airlines fare is not an IAP fare, even though Singapore Airlines is an IAP-participating carrier. 

Here’s a random example of a Qantas Business Class flight between Singapore and Sydney, which costs S$4,898 on the official Qantas website, versus S$4,287.40 through the IAP.

Based on my searches for round-trip flights in Business Class, I usually found savings in the range of 5-15%. However, discounts can sometimes be even higher, so it’s worth playing around with dates and carriers.

You should not assume that IAP fares will always be the lowest. There were occasions where I found cheaper prices through other OTAs, so I’d always use Google Flights as a starting point, before checking whether IAP can beat the cheapest price it shows.

IAP fares earn miles and elite status credits

Fares booked through the IAP will enjoy regular mileage accrual, based on the fare class. Elite members will also earn status credits (e.g. Elite miles and PPS Value) and enjoy status-related benefits.

Remember, frequent flyer programmes work differently from hotel loyalty programmes, which generally don’t let you earn points or enjoy status benefits on stays booked through third-party websites.

Earn up to 1.56 mpd on IAP bookings

Category	Earn Rate
Singapore Airlines and Scoot 5 MR points per S$1.60	1.56 mpd
All other carriers 2 MR points per S$1.60	0.63 mpd

Bookings made through the IAP are charged in SGD, so AMEX Platinum Charge cardholders will earn the usual 0.63 mpd.

However, bookings for Singapore Airlines (and Scoot, though it’s not part of IAP) will earn 1.56 mpd, provided you pay entirely through card and don’t utilise Pay with Points (see below).

Enhanced Pay with Points rate

The IAP portal allows cardholders to pay for bookings with MR points at a rate of 1,000 points = S$6, which is 25% more than the usual 1,000 points = S$4.80.

This is roughly equivalent to accepting a value of 1.2 cents per mile. That said, you should also remember that unlike a redemption booking, IAP bookings are eligible for mileage accrual and elite status credits.

Receive complimentary travel insurance

While the earn rate for IAP bookings is somewhat underwhelming (considering how you could earn significantly more with other credit cards), paying with your AMEX Platinum Charge at least gets you complimentary travel insurance coverage. 

The policy provides S$1M coverage for accidental death and medical expenses, as well as S$10,000 for trip cancellation, with travel inconvenience also covered. 

However, there is no coverage for personal liability or rental car excess, so you will need to purchase separate insurance to cover that.

Conclusion

The International Airline Programme can offer substantial savings on First, Business and Premium Economy air tickets, for up to eight travellers at a time.

It’s definitely worth checking out the next time you book a commercial ticket, and while the earn rates with the AMEX Platinum Charge are underwhelming, the savings and complimentary travel insurance could more than make up for it.