Back: Targeted 100K Platinum offer back for some

Update 12/23/19: Some people are once again being targeted for this offer via the Card Match Tool at CreditCards.com. (H/T: One Mile at a Time)

Update 11/4/19: A new round of people are reporting these offers via the Card Match Tool at CreditCards.com. 

Update 5/27/19: People are once again reporting these offers via the Card Match Tool.

Update 4/29/19: A fresh round of people are reporting being targeted. If you’re eligible, it’s probably worth a second to check the Card Match Tool at CreditCards.com to see if you’re targeted. (H/T: Miles to Memories)

Update 4/4/19: A fresh round of people are reporting being targeted.

Update 2/25/19: Some people are once again seeing a targeted offer for a welcome bonus of 100,000 Membership Rewards points after making $5,000 in purchases on the Platinum Card from American Express.

Recent reports indicate that a new round of people have been targeted (H/T: Doctor of Credit). That’s a good reminder to check periodically for good targeted offers like this one, which is significantly better than the standard offer on this card.

Note that these offers usually include lifetime language — so the welcome offer will likely not be available to you if you have or have had these cards before (it’s always a good idea to check the terms before you apply if you’ve had the card before).

While the personal Platinum card carries a $550 annual fee, it comes with a number of great benefits:

• 5X points for prepaid hotel bookings at Amextravel.com
• 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel
• $200 Uber credit annually ($15/month, $35 in Dec). Credit can be used for Uber or Uber Eats (meal delivery).
• Up to $200 a year in statement credits for airline incidental fees
• $100 Global Entry fee reimbursement.
• Airport lounge benefits.
• Rental car elite status.
• Marriott Gold status
• Hilton Gold status
• Free Boingo wifi
• Access to Fine Hotels & Resorts (and the ability to earn 5x on some of those bookings now)
• Cruise Privileges
• Transfer points to participating frequent flyer programs

Remember that there are many different versions of the Platinum card — See: Which is the best Amex Platinum card? for comparison of the various versions, though note that the current targeted offer is only available on the standard Platinum card.

This offer matches the best we’ve ever seen on the consumer version of this card. Based on our Reasonable Redemption Values of 1.82 cents for Membership Rewards, 100K points are worth about $1,820 — though you could certainly get more value than that out of them.

For just a few ideas on how to get a lot more value out of transfer partners, see these posts  about Iberia Avios, British Airways Avios, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and Avianca LifeMiles (all Membership Rewards transfer partners):

• Searching for business class sweet-spots in Iberia’s OneWorld award chart
• From 11K RT on American: A sweet spot for North American flight redemptions
• Hacking Avios
• Toward hacking Asia Miles: the unified oneworld award chart
• Avianca LifeMiles’ awesome mixed-cabin award pricing. First Class for less.

You can also read about some of the Strengths Membership Rewards has over Ultimate Rewards. That’s not to say that Ultimate Rewards doesn’t have its strengths also — but that post will give you some ideas as to why 100K points is a very valuable offer.

Reports this year of new rounds of this offer have happened on:

• January 12, 2019
• February 23, 2019
• April 4, 2019
• April 29, 2019
• May 27, 2019

The link to the Card Match Tool and more information about it can be found here:

–> Card Match Tool at CreditCards.com <–

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