Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is happening now! Follow us as Greg, Nick, and Stephen compete to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines before November 23rd. Who will complete the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
There are several “flavors” of Amex Platinum card, one of which is the American Express Platinum Card for Charles Schwab. You’ll need to be a Schwab customer in order to get this, and it is subject to Amex’s dreaded “family” language, but for those eligible and interested, the card is featuring a newly-increased welcome offer that gives you 125,000 reasons to consider it.
The Offer & Key Card Details
| Card Offer and Details |
|---|
125K points ⓘ Non-Affiliate 125K after $8K spend in first 6 months. Terms apply. (Rates & Fees)$695 Annual Fee This card is only available to clients that maintain an eligible Schwab brokerage account. Information about this card has been collected independently by Frequent Miler. The issuer did not provide the details, nor is it responsible for their accuracy. Recent better offer: 100K points + 10x when you Shop Small in the US & at restaurants worldwide [Expired 1/20/22] Earning rate: ✦ 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel ✦ 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: This card includes all of the great perks that come with the American Express Platinum Card, plus: ✦ Use Membership Rewards® points for deposits by Schwab to your eligible brokerage account. (For example, 10,000 points = $110) ✦ $100 credit with Schwab holdings of $250,000+ or $200 credit with holdings of $1,000,000+ on approval & each year. See also: Amex Platinum Guide |
Quick Thoughts
While not as strong as some of the offers we’ve seen on the “vanilla” Platinum card, this matches the best that we’ve seen for the Charles Schwab version, which had been parked at 80K for some time before this increase.
One of the unique benefits of the Schwab Platinum is that it allows you to cash out up to 1,000,000 points/year into your Schwab account at 1.1 cents per point (a 10% higher rate than you get with the Morgan Stanley Platinum card or with the business checking/Business Platinum combination). Although you must be a Schwab customer, it’s very easy to become one as you could simply open a free Schwab Investor Checking account to qualify.
Amex added family language to the Charles Schwab card last year, so if you have or have had the Morgan Stanley Platinum card or the “vanilla” Platinum, you may not be eligible for the bonus on this card. That’s not to say that you’re definitely ineligible, just that you may not be. YMMV.
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
Interested to see any recent datapoints of people with Vanilla Platinum applying for these.
Both my wife and I tried and got popups. That doesn’t mean you will, though. There’s no reason not to try, since Amex won’t run your credit until after you find out if you’re approved.