Good news for Amex Platinum cardholders: while the previous temporary COVID credit card enhancement statement credit offers expired on 12/31, Amex has now launched a $30 monthly credit for PayPal purchases for US consumer Platinum cardholders from January 1, 2021 through June 30, 2021. That’s up to $180 in statement credits that will likely be very easy for most cardholders to use, making a great deal even better for those who opened the card recently.
The Deal
- Amex has added a $30 monthly statement credit for PayPal purchases from January 1, 2021 to June 30, 2021
- Direct link to FAQ page
Key Terms
- No registration required, just select your eligible American Express Card at PayPal checkout.
- Eligible purchases do not include fees or interest charges, purchases or reloading of prepaid cards, purchases of gift cards, person-to-person payments including those for goods and services, or purchases of other cash equivalents.
Quick Thoughts
Keep in mind that person-to-person payments are excluded – even if they are for goods or services. You can of course still use the credit when paying at checkout at countless merchants online, just not for buying prepaid cards or gift cards. It should be very easy for most readers to collect the full $30 in statement credits each month (and I’m sure that gift cards will work at some merchants despite the terms, though this will be so easy to use on legit purchases that I likely won’t bother with gift cards).
On our Frequent Miler on the Air podcast this week (you can find links to watch it in video form or podcast form in this post), we determined that for many / most people, the Amex Platinum 100K + 10x offer was the deal of the year for 2020. While that deal was a bit better for those who applied in December because of the potential to triple dip airline fee credits, Saks credits, and an extra Uber credit or two, the Platinum card offer remains very strong in 2021. Getting an extra $180 on top of everything else is pretty awesome in my opinion. Those who open the Platinum card now stand to earn up to:
- $200 in airline incidental credits in 2021
- $100 in Saks credits in 2021
- $200 in Uber credits in 2021
- $180 in PayPal credits in 2021
- $200 in airline incidental credits in 2022
- $50 in Saks credits in 2022
- $15 in Uber credits in 2022 (or possibly $30)
All of the above is possible before the second annual fee would come due — meaning that you could get over $1,000 in statement credits alone in the first year. That’s to say nothing of the current 100K welcome bonus on $5K spend and the 10x at US Supermarkets and US Gas stations for 6 months on up to $15K spend. Amex will continue to make a push for the 2021 Deal of the Year conversation with an offer that strong. And if you did open in December and you also got $200 in airline credits, $50 in Saks credit, and $35 in Uber credits last month, the win just gets bigger here.
Obviously this isn’t as mathematically valuable as the two $20 credits that Amex temporarily offered last year, but at the same time this $30 credit should be plainly easy for everyone to use whereas the $20 credits last year were potentially less universal. I think this is a net win for all consumer Platinum cardholders.
H/T: Doctor of Credit
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