American Express updated the public welcome offer on the consumer American Express Platinum Card® today. Unfortunately, only one part of the offer was increased: the minimum spend required to earn the points.
Previously, the card required you to spend $8,000 within 6 months, but now that’s been increased by 50% to $12,000.
The Offer & Key Card Details
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
 ⓘ $2630 1st Yr Value Estimate$200 airline incidental fee credit for select airline only valued at $140, $200 Uber credit ($15 per month, $35/December) valued at $100, $100 Saks credit ($50 per six months) valued at $25, $600 Fine Hotels & Resorts credit valued at $300, $300 Digital Entertainment credit ($25 per month) valued at $150, $300 Lululemon credit ($75 per quarter) valued at $150, 400 Resy credit ($100 per quarter) valued at $85, $120 Uber One credit ($10 per month) valued at $48 Click to learn about first year value estimates As high as 175K points ⓘAffiliateThis is an affiliate offer. Frequent Miler may earn a commission if you are approved for this offer As high as 175K points after $12K spend in the first 6 months. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Terms apply. Rates & Fees$895 Annual Fee Recent better offer: Up to 175K points after $8K spend in the first 6 months. (Expired 2/4/26) FM Mini Review: This card is absolutely loaded with high end perks. Depending upon your situation, those perks may be worth the annual fee or much more. Earning rate: 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (limit $500,000 in purchases each calendar year) ✦ 5X points for prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel Card Info: Amex Pay Over Time Card issued by Amex. This card has no foreign currency conversion fees. Noteworthy perks: Up to $200 a year in statement credits for incidental fees at one qualifying airline per calendar year ✦ Up to $600 prepaid hotel credits semi-annually ($300 Jan - June and July - Dec) valid on Fine Hotels + Resorts® and The Hotel Collection bookings ✦ Up to $100 per calendar quarter in statement credits on eligible purchases with U.S. Resy restaurants ✦ Up to $25 per month rebate for Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Paramount+, Peacock, The Wall Street Journal, YouTube Premium and/or YouTube TV ✦ Up to $120 Global Entry/TSA Precheck fee reimbursement ✦ $15 monthly Uber or Uber Eats credit ($20 in December, use it or lose it each month) ✦ Up to $120 in statement credits each calendar year towards an auto-renewing US Uber One membership ✦ Up to $300 in annual credits for eligible US purchases at lululemon stores or luiulemon.com (up to $75 quarterly) ✦ Up to $209 CLEAR (R) Plus fee credit per calendar year ✦ Up to $12.95 (+tax) monthly credit for Walmart+ monthly membership subscription credit when you pay with Platinum card. Plus UPS not eligible.✦ Up to $100 in credits annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue (up to $50 in credits semi-annually) ✦ Up to $200 back each calendar year in statement credits when purchasing an Oura Ring through Ouraring.com ✦ Global Lounge Access benefits: Priority Pass membership (Lounges only) with 2 guests, Centurion Lounge access. Also, Delta Sky Club® access (when flying an eligible Delta flight): 10 visits per year February 1 until January 31 of the next calendar year (after 10 visits have been used, additional visits can be purchased for $50 each or earn unlimited visits after spending $75K/calendar year on the card). Access limited to eligible card members ✦ Rental car elite status ✦ Marriott Gold status ✦ Hilton Honors Gold status ✦ Leading Hotels of the World Sterling Status ✦ Enrollment required for some benefits. Terms Apply. See also: Amex Platinum Guide |
Quick Thoughts
This new offer represents two firsts for me. I don’t recall ever seeing an issuer increase the minimum spend requirement for a welcome offer while leaving the points unchanged, or seeing the public offer on the consumer Platinum card require more than $10k in spend.
My guess is that someone at Amex saw that both the Citi Strata Elite and the Chase Sapphire Reserve require $6,000 in spend in the first three months and thought, “Hey, we give people 6 months, our minimum spend should be $12k!” However, I think they’re underestimating the psychological impact of seeing a $10k+ welcome offer, regardless of whether you have three or six months to reach it. That’s going to turn some people off who would have considered the card at $4,000 less.
I don’t really understand why Amex left the points unchanged. It already uses the phrase “as high as” in the welcome offer and doesn’t reveal what you’re actually getting until after you’ve filled out the application. Why not just change it to “as high as 200k” and let that be the headline? It’s bizarre.
The combination of points and double-dipping annual credits still leaves the Platinum card comfortably ensconced as the best first-year value among consumer cards on our Best Offers Page. But I can’t imagine that folks who were on the fence about getting the card yesterday are any closer to jumping in and enjoying the benefits of card membership today.
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I just used an old NLL link. Still 80K for $8K in spend. Got approved.
I am glad I upgraded to the Platinum when I had the chance. I wasn’t interested in applying for a new card at the time, but I love my platinum card. I wouldn’t even consider it at a 12K spend even if I had 6 months to do it.
I think it’s as simple as Amex doesn’t want or need to acquire any more new customers that won’t spend a lot of money on the Plat without thinking about whether it’s the optimal choice. They’re not going to offer a points parade to people that aren’t very profitable customers anymore and now they have the technological means to gatekeep more strictly.
The target audience definitely isn’t us anymore!
This is a terrible change. So many places don’t accept Amex – notably Costco online. It placed a very high entry barrier for me 🙁