The American Express limited-time 175K referral offer for the personal Platinum Card is back. (Last checked on 5/30/24, while working in Incognito/private mode. Worked on both Chrome and Safari. May need to try multiple times.)
This promotion allows you to earn 175,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 within the first six months of card membership.
This offer is only available through select users’ referral links.
If you’re a Platinum cardholder seeing this offer, leave your link in the comments — I’ll cycle through once the referral maximum has been reached on each card!
The 175,000 points you can earn are estimated at $3,500, based on a 2-cent per point valuation.
In comparison, the standard public offer grants 80,000 points.
If, for some reason, the offer isn’t showing up, try the following:
- Use incognito or private browsing mode.
- Try different browsers or devices.
Other Options For Earning the American Express 150K Welcome Offer
In addition to the referral offer described above, there is a targeted offer for a 150K bonus, although the terms may differ from the referral offer.
Targeted offers are not available to the public as they are tailored to individual credit profiles.
One targeted offer many users are currently encountering provides a 150,000 point bonus and the opportunity to earn 10X points on restaurant purchases during the first six months.
If you plan to spend more than $1,000 at restaurants over six months, this deal surpasses the $200 statement credit offer, considering that American Express points are valued at 2.0 cents per point.
You can check your eligibility for a targeted American Express offer in two ways
#1. Use the pre-qualified tool on the American Express website
American Express provides a pre-qualified tool that allows you to check for personalized offers based on your credit profile. This isn’t only helpful for seeing current offers available across all of American Express’ card lineup; it will also give you a good idea of whether you’re likely to be approved.
Visit the American Express pre-qualified offers page, enter your personal information, and see if the 150K offer appears in your list of pre-qualified offers.
#2. Use CardMatch
The CardMatch tool is another resource that can help you find targeted offers from other card issuers, including American Express.
Simply enter your information, and CardMatch will present you with a list of credit card offers that match your credit profile.
What are the Benefits of the American Express Platinum Card?
The American Express Platinum card is a premium travel card with a high annual fee of $695.
While the fee might seem steep initially, the card offers numerous perks and benefits that can offset the cost.
Some of the main benefits of the American Express Platinum card include the following:
- $200 annual airline fee credit. Cardholders receive a $200 annual credit for incidental fees, such as checked bags and in-flight purchases, on one selected airline.
- $200 annual Uber credit ($15 each month). This credit can be used for rides or Uber Eats orders in the U.S.
- $100 annual Saks Fifth Avenue credit. Use this credit for purchases online or in-store at Saks Fifth Avenue.
- $179 annual CLEAR credit. This benefit covers the cost of expedited airport security screening through CLEAR.
- Global Entry and TSA PreCheck fee credits. Card members can receive a statement credit every four years for the Global Entry application fee and every 4.5 years for the TSA PreCheck application fee when charged to an eligible card.
- $300 annual Equinox credit. Use this credit for fitness club memberships or digital subscriptions to Equinox.
- A $240 digital annual entertainment credit that can be applied to select streaming services like Disney and Audible.
- Complimentary airport lounge access. Gain access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide, including Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass Select lounges, and Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta).
The American Express Membership Rewards program includes various travel partners, from airlines to hotel chains. By transferring your points to these partners, you can unlock greater value and more flexible redemption options, enabling you to make the most of your rewards.
See our guides on redeeming points for flights and redeeming points for hotels to learn more.
You also get access to the Fine Hotels & Resorts program. This luxury travel program offers unique benefits at over 1,100 properties worldwide, such as complimentary room upgrades, a $100 experience credit, and daily breakfast for two.
The American Express Platinum card also features a $200 hotel credit. This annual credit can be applied to prepaid bookings made through American Express Travel at Fine Hotels & Resorts or The Hotel Collection properties.
While the fee is high at $695, frequent travelers should have no problem getting enough value from the card to offset the fee.
When Is the Best Time to Apply for the Card?
Timing is always important when applying for a credit card, especially with a high annual fee.
Some factors that may influence your decision on when to apply for the card include:
- Spending habits and budget. Apply when you can comfortably meet the spending requirement without overspending. The American Express Platinum card requires $8,000 in spending within six months to earn the 175,000 point bonus. You’ll also pay the annual fee upfront on the first billing cycle.
- Travel plans and goals. Apply when you have a specific trip in mind, or when you can take advantage of the card benefits, such as lounge access, hotel status, or travel credits.
- Credit score and history. Apply when you have a good credit score and no recent inquiries or applications that may affect your approval chances. Maintaining a strong credit profile is essential for securing premium travel cards like the American Express Platinum card.
Check out our article on “Travel Hacking & Credit Impact” to better understand how applying for travel credit cards can affect your credit score and financial health.
How to Maximize 175,000 American Express Membership Rewards Points
Membership Rewards points are a flexible and valuable currency that can be used for various travel options.
You’ll have several great options after earning the 175,000 Membership Rewards points offer on the American Express Platinum card.
Plus, there are a lot of other great American Express welcome offers, such as the bonus of 120,000 points for the American Express Business Platinum Card. I’ve been able to earn both of these bonuses in the same year, which helped pay for our family’s airfare to Italy.
One way to take advantage of these points is by transferring them to one of American Express’ 22 airline or hotel partners, including Delta Air Lines, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, ANA, Air Canada, Virgin Atlantic, Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy.
I frequently transfer American Express Membership Reward points to British Airways Avios, which has a distance-based award chart. This sweet spot allows me to fly from Chicago to Florida on American Airlines for just 7,500 points per economy ticket. This saves me a lot of money, as I typically fly with my family of five.
Here’s another example, aided by earning a similar 175K welcome offer last year: I transferred 200,000 American Express Membership Reward points to Aeroplan to book five economy seats on Lufthansa for a direct flight from Chicago to Zurich at 40,000 points per seat.
While booking travel through the Amex Travel portal or the Pay with Points feature is an option, it’s generally not recommended due to the lower value per point compared to transferring points to partners.
However, it can be convenient for those seeking a completely free trip or a luxury experience with fine resorts and hotels.
You can combine Pay with Points and the $200 credit. So in theory, a fine resort hotel room that costs $400 can be had for 20,000 points and $200 in cash, which you’ll get back via statement credits. You then get the complimentary breakfast, $100 experience credit, and a potential room upgrade.
See our complete guide to travel hacking to learn how to optimize points and miles.
Final Thoughts
The American Express 175K offer is an enticing opportunity for award travelers.
By applying through a referral link, cardholders can earn 175,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 within the first six months of card membership.
Use the pre-qualified tool on the American Express website or the CardMatch tool for those interested in the targeted offer.
The American Express Platinum card has a high annual fee of $695. Still, it offers numerous benefits, such as the $200 airline travel credit, $200 annual Uber credits, $200 hotel credit, and access to airport lounges worldwide.
I don’t use this card for much everyday spending, as it lacks great bonus categories. As I don’t often travel alone, I don’t get a lot of use from the lounge access either, since American Express has been giving limited guest access as of late.
But the airline credit, hotel credits, and subscription credits are valuable to me and erase most of the annual fee cost.
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It looks like the referral link to the Platinum card has expired. I would still like to apply.
Hey Phil,
Checked a few others sites and it looks like all current links have expired. I’m sorry!
We’ll update the offer when it changes.
I applied back then with the offer you mentioned 150k bonus and cash back. I referred my three other friends to apply with the same bonus. But then my referral link stop working. It only works for a while or when a few people signed up.
As soon as you’ve reached your referral limit, which is 55,000 MR points, the link will stop working. Occasionally they’ll allow you to refer more.
Are there any more referral for the 150k points? Thanks
Unfortunately not that I’m aware of.
this 150k bonus referral link works in incognito window
https://americanexpress.com/en-us/referral/SHIYICZbZn?xl=cp19
It is! Note, worked for me after three attempts.
Since this is the first working link, happy to include it.
Of course, let me know how it goes!