The AMEX Platinum Charge has launched a new welcome offer worth up to 100,000 miles, which is available for applications submitted by 31 January 2027 (the extended period is noteworthy, given that previous welcome offers typically last a couple of months at most).
Unfortunately, there’s not a lot to get excited about here.
American Express has significantly increased the minimum spend to S$15,000 — a level we’ve not seen in a very long time — and continues to split the welcome bonus into two tranches. The second tranche is only disbursed in the 15th month of card membership, upon paying the second year’s annual fee. In other words, if you sign up for this offer, you’re committing to remain a cardmember for at least two years!
Given the tighter eligibility criteria and Membership Rewards devaluation earlier this year, American Express cards just aren’t very lucrative at the moment.
AMEX Platinum Charge welcome offers
 AMEX Platinum Charge |
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| Apply |
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| New-to-AMEX | Existing | |
| Pay 1st Year Annual Fee & Spend S$15K (First 180 days) |
100,000 MR points | 60,000 MR points |
| Pay 2nd Year Annual Fee & Spend S$1 (15th Month) |
100,000 MR points | 60,000 MR points |
| Total Bonus | 200,000 MR points | 120,000 MR points |
New-to-AMEX
| ❓Definition |
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New-to-AMEX customers who apply for an AMEX Platinum Charge by 31 January 2027 (with approval within 45 days) will earn up to 200,000 bonus MR points, consisting of:
- 100,000 bonus MR points for paying the first year’s annual fee and spending S$15,000 within 180 days of approval
- 100,000 bonus MR points for paying the second year’s annual fee and spending S$1 in the 15th month of membership
For example, if your card is approved on 17 June 2026, the 15th month of card membership (based on 30 calendar days per month) will be 11 August to 9 September 2027. You can use this date calculator to work out when your 15th month is.
In addition to this, they will earn a further 18,750 base MR points for spending S$15,000.
Existing AMEX customers
| ❓Definition |
|
Existing AMEX customers who apply for an AMEX Platinum Charge and receive approval by 31 January 2027 will earn up to 120,000 bonus MR points, consisting of:
- 60,000 bonus MR points for paying the first year’s annual fee and spending S$15,000 within 180 days of approval
- 60,000 bonus MR points for paying the second year’s annual fee and spending S$1 in the 15th month of membership
In addition to this, they will earn a further 18,750 base MR points for spending S$15,000.
What counts as qualifying spend?
Qualifying spend refers to all online and offline retail purchases, whether in Singapore dollars or foreign currency, excluding the following transactions:
| ❌ Qualifying Spend Exclusions |
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a) Charges processed and billed prior to the Enrolment Date or charges prepaid on any Card Account prior to the first billing statement for that Card Account following the Enrolment Date; |
For the avoidance of doubt, CardUp, private and non-profit hospital bills, charitable donations, education, and anything else not explicitly stated in the exclusion list will count as eligible spend. While American Express added charitable donations and education to its exclusions list on 1 October 2023, an exception was carved out for the AMEX Platinum Charge.
However, if you plan to use CardUp to meet the minimum spend, do note that there are certain restrictions on the type of payments that can be made with an AMEX card.
Spending by both principal and supplementary cardholders will be combined when determining whether the minimum spend threshold has been met.
When will bonus MR points be credited?
Officially, you can expect to receive the bonus MR points within 12 weeks of meeting the eligibility criteria.
Unofficially, however, American Express is much faster with the fulfillment. You should receive 100,000 bonus MR points upon meeting the S$15,000 qualifying spend, and a further 100,000 bonus MR points upon spending S$1 in the 15th month.
Terms & Conditions
The T&Cs of the new-to-AMEX and existing AMEX customer welcome offer can be found here.
What can you do with Membership Rewards points?
Membership Rewards points can be transferred to eight airline and two hotel partners at the following rates.
| Programme | Conversion Rate (AMEX : Partner) |
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500 : 250 |
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500 : 250 |
 |
500 : 250 |
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600 : 250 |
 |
500 : 250 |
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500 : 250 |
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500 : 250 |
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500 : 250 |
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1,000 : 1,000 |
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1,000 : 1,250 |
Unfortunately, there was a significant devaluation to Membership Rewards points on 23 February 2026, which increased the cost of transfers to all eight airline partners by 22-25% (or 44-50% for Emirates Skywards). There was no change to the rates for hotel partners.
Membership Rewards points do not expire, and all conversions are free of charge.
How does this compare to previous offers?
For the sake of comparison, here’s a summary of the recent welcome offers we’ve seen for the AMEX Platinum Charge.
New-to-AMEX
| 💳 AMEX Platinum Charge Welcome Offers (New-to-AMEX) |
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| Date | Min. Spend | Bonus MR Points & Gifts |
| Current | S$15,000 | 100,000 (1st year) + 100,000 (2nd year) |
| 28 Jan to 16 Jun 26 | S$8,000 | 90,000 (1st year) + 100,000 (2nd year) |
| 13 Nov 25 to 27 Jan 26 | S$8,000 | 110,000 |
| 1 Oct to 12 Nov 25 | S$8,000 | 100,000 |
| 31 Jul to 30 Sep 25 | S$8,000 | 80,000 |
| 29 May to 30 Jul 25 |
S$4,000 | 95,000 + FCY spend bonus |
| S$8,000 | 150,000 + S$50 | |
| 17 Feb to 28 May 25 | S$8,000 | 150,000 + S$100 |
| 3 Dec 24 to 16 Feb 25 | S$8,000 | 88,000 + 2x Samsonite luggage or S$800 + 2x Samsonite luggage |
| 1 Oct to 2 Dec 24 | S$8,000 | 88,000 + Samsonite luggage + S$100 or Samsonite luggage + S$900 |
| 6-30 Sep 24 | S$8,000 | 131,000 + S$100 eCV |
| 24 Jul – 5 Sep 24 | S$8,000 | 131,000 |
| 1-23 Jul 24 | S$8,000 | 93,000 |
| 30 May-30 Jun 24 | S$6,000 | 132,500 |
| 9-29 May 24 | S$6,000 | 127,500 + S$350 voucher or Samsonite luggage |
| 1 Apr-8 May 24 | S$10,000 | 137,500 |
| 1-31 Mar 24 | S$6,000 | 127,500 + RC stay |
| 29 Jan – 28 Feb 24 | S$6,000 | 132,500 + S$200 voucher |
| 27 Sep 23- 28 Jan 24 | S$6,000 | 132,500 |
| 12-26 Sep 23 | S$8,000 | 60,000 + Samsonite luggage |
| 5-11 Sep 23 | S$10,000 | 100,000 |
| Spending time periods may not be the same across all offers; refer to the respective articles for the full details |
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The current welcome offer has a minimum spend of S$15,000 — the highest we’ve seen in nearly three years — but doesn’t have the payoff to match it. What’s more, you’ll need to pay two annual fees to receive the full number of points, making it far less compelling compared to what we’ve seen previously.
Existing AMEX customer
| 💳 AMEX Platinum Charge Welcome Offers (Existing AMEX customer) |
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| Date | Min. Spend | Bonus MR Points & Gifts |
| Current | S$15,000 | 60,000 (1st year) + 60,000 (2nd year) |
| 8 Jan to 16 Jun 26 | S$3,000 | 98,250 |
| 1 Oct to 7 Jan 26 | S$3,000 | 50,000 |
| 31 Jul to 30 Sep 25 | S$3,000 | 45,000 |
| 29 May to 30 Jul 25 | S$4,000 | 95,000 + FCY spend bonus |
| S$8,000 | 150,000 + S$50 | |
| 17 Feb to 28 May 25 | S$8,000 | 150,000 + S$100 |
| 3 Dec 24 to 16 Feb 25 | S$8,000 | 88,000 + 2x Samsonite luggage or S$800 + 2x Samsonite luggage |
| 1 Oct to 2 Dec 24 | S$8,000 | 88,000 + Samsonite luggage + S$100 or Samsonite luggage + S$900 |
| 6-30 Sep 24 | S$8,000 | 120,000 + S$100 eCV |
| 24 Jul – 5 Sep 24 | S$8,000 | 120,000 |
| 1-23 Jul 24 | S$8,000 | 93,000 |
| 30 May-30 Jun 24 | S$6,000 | 85,000 |
| 5 Apr-29 May 24 | S$6,000 | 127,500 |
| 29 Feb – 4 Apr 24 | S$6,000 | 80,000 |
| 29 Jan – 28 Feb 24 | S$6,000 | 85,000 |
| 12-26 Sep 23 | S$8,000 | 60,000 |
| 5-11 Sep 23 | S$8,000 | 60,000 |
| Spending time periods may not be the same across all offers; refer to the respective articles for the full details | ||
Just like the new-to-AMEX offer, the offer for existing AMEX customers is likewise disappointing. The last time round, the deal was S$3,000 spend for 98,250 MR points. Now, the minimum spend has been increased by 5x, but the bonus has only increased by 22% — and half of it is only awarded in the second year of membership.
AMEX Platinum Charge: Key benefits
AMEX Platinum Charge cardholders enjoy benefits such as:
- S$800 of dining, lifestyle, and travel credits each calendar year
- 6x free meals for two diners each year under the Table for Two programme
- COMO Club C5 membership (no birthday benefits for newly fast-tracked members)
- Unlimited airport lounge access for the cardholder + 1 guest
- Priority Pass Lounges
- Centurion Lounges
- Plaza Premium Lounges
- One complimentary hotel night every membership year
- Tower Club access
- Tower Club & assorted dining vouchers
- Access to the American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts programme, which offers perks such as free breakfast, room upgrades (subject to availability), a US$100 experience credit and guaranteed late check-out
- Hilton Honors Gold status, Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status, Pan Pacific DISCOVERY Platinum status & Radisson Rewards Premium status
- American Express Love Dining
- American Express Chillax
- Platinum Golf privileges
Conclusion
| AMEX Platinum Charge |
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| Apply |
The latest welcome offer for AMEX Platinum Charge increases the minimum spend to S$15,000, while only marginally boosting the number of bonus MR points. Moreover, American Express continues to split the bonus into two tranches, and you’ll need to pay two annual fees to enjoy the full amount.
Unfortunately, that’s the way it’s going to be until at least January 2027, unless they have a change of heart midway.
If you’ve decided to apply nonetheless, be sure to read my updated guides for 2026, which cover changes to the Platinum Statement Credits and the new Table for Two benefit.
