Why Every Canadian Needs An American Express Platinum
Sub-$1,000 round-the-world trips from both Toronto and Vancouver? Here's how.
This post is written by Jordan Bishop, perpetual traveler and founder of Yore Oyster. The principles applied are universal, though the recommended tools are available only to Canadians. 
"Worldwide lounge access, a $200 annual travel credit, platinum hotel memberships, extra insurance, my own travel concierge and I get 60,000 points on top of all that? Are you serious???"
That was my reaction when a friend first told me about the American Express Platinum Card for Canadians. She spoke of the $200 annual travel credit (that means $200 in 2018 and another $200 in 2019) she uses for hotels and flights, the additional insurance she gets on major purchases like her new MacBook and her favourite handbag, and how she's yet to visit an airport where she doesn't get into a lounge with free food, free drinks, and other amenities like showers and meeting rooms.
Needless to say, I was more than a little intrigued. I much prefer this to the airport gate:
So now that it's been nearly 2 years since I've had my own Platinum Card, I can't tout it highly enough. Whether you're embarking on a round-the-world trip or you just have a weekend in Vegas in the works, getting this card will actually make you money while still granting you access to all the extras I described above (plus a lot more).
And how does 60,000 American Express points sound? Pretty darn good, but I'll bet 75,000 points sounds even better. Read on to learn how to turn the 60,000 bonus points you get from American Express into 75,000, completely free. This isn't magic - it's just smartly-applied knowledge.
Not only that, but we've got examples galore of how to maximize these points in our articles on getting to/from
| Roundtrip Toronto to Hong Kong 70,000 points $100 total taxes/fees |
Roundtrip Vancouver to Hong Kong 60,000 points $90 total taxes/fees |
| Round-the-world Toronto to Hong Kong to Dubai to London to Toronto 74,500 points $761 total taxes/fees |
Round-the-world Vancouver to Hong Kong to Dubai to London to Vancouver 74,700 points $742 total taxes/fees |
The Elephant In The Room
Before we go any further, though, there's a big, BIG elephant in the room that needs to be addressed.
The Platinum Card comes with a $700 fee.
It's true. And no, there's no getting around it.
But here's the magic in it.
It's impossible not to make money by having this card, even after paying the fee.
Huh? Sounds confusing, right?
Here's how it works.
If you use the 60,000 points in the worst way possible, they're worth $1,000 to you. Why? Because American Express allows you to apply your points against your statement balance at a value of one cent per point, which means 60,000 points = $600. Add in your $200 travel credit for 2018, plus another $200 travel credit that becomes available on January 1, 2019, and you're at $1,000.
The only catch with that is that you can only apply these points toward travel expenses, but you'd be surprised how widely that term applies. Flights and hotels are obvious, but Amex even categorizes a variety of other expenses like Uber rides as a travel expense, meaning they can be paid using your points as well.
Plus, that's not even considering the other benefits you get from the card. The travel/baggage insurance and additional purchase insurance (for theft/damage of your items), the worldwide airport lounge access, the platinum hotel memberships, and
So even if you use your points in the worst way you could - by applying them to your statement balance as a cash equivalent - you still come out way, way ahead.
But still, wouldn't you rather do better than the absolute worst? I thought so.
Let's Book Some Cool Flights Instead
If you prefer to double or triple the value of your points, it's actually quite easy. Every flight suggestion you see on our blog gets you at least 2 cents per point - double the value you receive when using your points as cash - and often that value is much, much higher.
3-4 cents per point is completely attainable once you start to know what you're doing.
In fact, the round-the-world trips I mentioned above offer a value of well over 4 cents per point, meaning the $700 fee you paid just saved you several thousand dollars on flights.
And here's the secret to turning your 60,000 points into 75,000: several times each year, American Express offers a 25% transfer bonus when you transfer your points to a program like
You just gained another 15,000 points - worth at least $300 if you use them at a value of 2 cents per point or above - just for being in the loop.
Here are 3 realistic scenarios of the value you could achieve by getting the Platinum card, from least valuable on the left to most valuable on the right.
| Not Recommended - Very Easy | Recommended - Very Easy | Highly Recommended - Moderate Difficulty | |
| Redemption Type | Apply points as cash against statement balance | Use points for flights like the examples on our blog | Use points for flights like the examples on our blog with creativity |
| Redemption Value Per Point | 1 cent | 2 cents | 3 cents |
| Total Value Of 75,000 Points | $750 (75,000 x $0.01 per point) | $1,500 (75,000 x $0.02 per point) | $2,250 (75,000 x $0.03 per point) |
| Less: Annual Fee | ($700) | ($700) | ($700) |
| Profit From Points | $50 | $800 | $1,550 |
| Additional Benefits | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Most of you will find yourselves in columns 2 or 3 in the $800-$1,550 profit range, since you can just read our other blog posts to find tons of flights that get you 2-3 cents per point of value.
But if you're ambitious and want to push your points even further, it's completely possible to surpass what's listed above with a value of 3 cents per point or more, and we'd love to help you get there. Just
Or, if you're interested in something else like finding a bank that offers free ATM withdrawals or exchanging currencies at the world's best rates, take a look at our
And since I alluded to them earlier, here's a partial list of some of the
| Worldwide airport lounge access with Priority Pass Select ($399 USD value) | $200 annual travel credit ($200 for 2018 + $200 for 2019) | Platinum hotel memberships (SPG Gold, Accor Platinum, etc.) |
| Platinum rental car memberships (Hertz Club Gold, Avis Preferred) | 24/7 platinum concierge telephone service | Emergency travel medical insurance |
| Extended purchase insurance | Theft/damage insurance on your possessions | Trip cancellation insurance |
| Plus much more... | ||
How to get $400 in annual travel credit (instead of just $200) with the Platinum card
There are two facts about the Platinum card that every cardholder needs to be aware of:
Your annual fee is always applied 12 months from when you apply for your card.
Your $200 annual travel credit always resets on January 1.
Let’s look at how this affects you.
If you were to apply today, you'd be able to use $200 of travel credit between now and December 31, 2018, and then $200 more between January 1, 2019 and today’s date in 2019.
This means that from a literal perspective, the best date to apply for the card is probably July 1, since that means you have a full 6 months in 2018 to use your first $200 plus a full 6 months in 2019 to use your second $200.
However, I don't recommend waiting until July 1 for one simple reason: this offer on the Platinum card is likely to be gone by then. The 60,000 points bonus you get with the card right now is truly a steal, so I'd be surprised if the offer is still around then.
Two Really Important Notes
First, American Express only gives out the 60,000 points bonus to people who learn about the card from a current American Express user, so it's important that you use
And second, timing is extremely important on this one: American Express isn't maintaining this offer for long, so take 3 minutes and fill out the application right now. There's a good chance you'll get approved on the spot and you'll have your fancy new Platinum Card in your hands within a couple of days.
Are you ready to start living the good life?
If you have questions, feel free to
FAQs
Do you recommend the personal Platinum card or the Business Platinum card?
We actually recommend both of them! There are exceptional offers for both cards right now, and the differences are quite slight: the fee on the personal Platinum card is $200 higher than the Business Platinum card, though with it you can actually get $400 of travel credit ($200 in 2018 plus $200 more in 2019) within your first 12 months of having the card. For a full breakdown of the cards we recommend, take a look at the
How do you get two $200 travel credits in one year?
There are two facts about the Platinum card that every cardholder needs to be aware of:
Your annual fee is always applied 12 months from when you apply for your card.
Your $200 annual travel credit always resets on January 1.
Let’s look at how this affects you.
If you were to apply today, you'd be able to use $200 of travel credit between now and December 31, 2018, and then $200 more between January 1, 2019 and today’s date in 2019.
This means that from a literal perspective, the best date to apply for the card is probably July 1, since that means you have a full 6 months in 2018 to use your first $200 plus a full 6 months in 2019 to use your second $200.
However, I don't recommend waiting until July 1 for one simple reason: this offer on the Platinum card is likely to be gone by then. The 60,000 points bonus you get with the card right now is truly a steal, so I'd be surprised if the offer is still around then.
Do I need to own a business to get the Business Platinum card?
Not at all. Just enter your first and last name on both the lines reading Legal Business Name (as registered) and the Business Name to Appear on Card on the card application. Anyone can own a sole proprietorship in their own name (and it doesn't need to be registered with any government agency), so it's totally fine to have your first and last name as your business name. American Express will never ask you to prove your business activities, such as revenues, taxes paid, etc.
Aug 2018 Update: Right now we're recommending the
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