There’s been a few changes to the Amex Platinum since the last time we talked about it. The dining benefit increases by £100 to £400/year in 2025 while the £100/year Harvey Nichols benefit ends on June 30, 2025. But the bigger news is the huge 80,000 Membership Reward points sign-up bonus offered until January 15. The bonus increases, at no cost to you, to 100,000 if you are referred by someone. There’s a link below.

And unlike the last year’s offer, where 80,000 were awarded immediately after meeting the spend threshold and the rest one year later, now all the points are awarded at once.

While some consider to the change in benefit structure to be a net negative, I like it. For me, the HN benefit was leading to either buying small things I didn’t really need or overspending on something bigger. I feel I can better use that money for dining.

Not a lot changes otherwise. If you register by the end of 2024, there are a few benefits that you can take advantage of before they expire or reset:

• £50 Harvey Nichols credit (optionally stacked with a £50 “Sloane Street” offer on £250 spend)
• £150 local and £150 abroad dining credit. See the list of restaurants here.
• 4 complimentary UK Priority Pass lounge pre-book entitlements
• 20% off on a large number of restaurants. See the list here.

The Harvey Nichols and dining credit benefits will reset on January 1st regardless of whether you use them or not. The other two offers will end.

Some of the other benefits

• 1 point for each £1 spent. Points are valued at 1p each, making it equivalent to 1% cashback on all spend
• Comprehensive travel insurance
• Unlimited lounge access
• Amex offers. Typically 10-20% of the purchase price in statement credits at specific retailers
• Free additional card. The primary card holder is financially responsible for both cards but this allows you to offer lounge access and travel insurance to another person. In addition, some Amex offers can be used separately on each card
• Automatic Marriott, Radisson, Meliá and Hilton status

Option 1: 100,000 Points Sign Up Bonus

The referral link for the 100,000 points sign up bonus is below.

Option 2: 80,000 Points Sign Up Bonus + £100

Although on paper the extra 20,000 points are better than £100, you may prefer a more balanced reward. TopCashBack (TCB) is running a promotion offering £100 for Platinum sign-ups (TCB simply passes the commission they get from Amex to you). Create a free TCB account if you don’t have one by clicking the link below. This link gives you an extra £10, for a £110 total.