Amex Platinum review: is it worth £650 a year?

Annual fee

£650

Welcome bonus

50,000 points after £6,000 in 3 months

Earn rate

1 point per £1

Key perk

Unlimited lounges for you and a guest

The short answer

In your first year, it's usually worth it. The 50,000-point welcome bonus plus £400 of dining credits more than covers the fee on their own, before you count any lounge visits.

After that, it depends on how you travel. Platinum isn't a card for earning points: it earns 1 point per £1, the same as cheaper cards. You keep it for the perks. If you fly a few times a year, use the dining credits and value the travel insurance, it pays for itself. If you don't, the Amex Gold is the smarter choice.

The welcome bonus

Spend £6,000 in your first three months and you get 50,000 Membership Rewards points. Add the points from that spending and you'll have around 56,000 points.

That's close to what an Upper Class Saver return to New York cost on Virgin Atlantic in 2026 (58,000 points, plus taxes), or a long way towards a business class flight with Avios. See the best ways to use Virgin Points and the smartest ways to spend Avios.

Airport lounges

This is the main reason most people get Platinum.

• Priority Pass: unlimited access to around 1,550 lounges worldwide, plus one free guest each visit. Extra guests cost £24.
• A second Priority Pass card for your first supplementary cardholder, who also gets a free guest. That's lounge access for a family of four.
• Pre-booking: eight credits a year to pre-book selected UK Priority Pass lounges, so you're not turned away when they're busy.
• Amex Centurion lounges, including Heathrow Terminal 3 and Amsterdam Schiphol. You can bring one guest.
• Eurostar business lounges in London, Paris and Brussels, whatever class you're travelling in.
• Delta lounges when you fly with Delta.

Dining credits

You get £400 a year to spend at selected restaurants:

• £200 for UK restaurants, paid as £100 every six months, at over 170 restaurants.
• £200 for restaurants abroad, also £100 every six months, at over 1,800 restaurants.

The credits don't roll over, so set a reminder to use each one before the end of June and December. If you eat out anyway, this alone covers well over half the fee.

Hotel status

While you hold the card, you get elite status with several big hotel groups:

• Gold with Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy, ALL Accor and MeliaRewards
• Premium with Radisson Rewards

Gold status usually means room upgrades when available, late checkout and bonus points, and with Hilton, a daily food and drink benefit. You also get access to Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts, which adds perks like breakfast, a hotel credit and guaranteed 4pm checkout when you book through Amex. Read our Marriott Bonvoy guide for more on what Gold gets you.

Insurance and other extras

• Travel insurance for you and your family, if you're under 70. You need to opt in when you apply, and some cover needs the trip paid with an Amex card.
• Car hire insurance, plus status with Hertz and Avis.
• A free digital subscription to The Times and The Sunday Times.
• Supplementary cards, so a partner can share the lounge access and their spending earns points for you.

Is it worth £650 a year?

Here's a simple way to work it out. Add up what you'd actually use in a normal year:

If your numbers come out above £650, the card pays for itself. If they come out well below, you're paying for perks you won't use.

Before your renewal date: move your points to an airline or hotel programme first, or switch to a different Membership Rewards card. Closing your last Membership Rewards card while points are still in it means losing them. Amex refunds the fee on a pro-rata basis if you cancel.

Platinum vs Gold

Both Amex cards earn the same flexible points at a similar rate. Gold actually earns more on flights and spending abroad, at 2 points per £1. The difference is the perks: Platinum is for people who'll use the lounges, credits, insurance and status. See our full Amex Gold review.

Who it suits

• Get it if you fly several times a year, often with a partner, eat out regularly and want travel insurance and hotel status in one place.
• Get Gold instead if you're new to points, fly once or twice a year, or mainly want to build a balance for flights.
• Pair it with a no-fee card for spending abroad and a Mastercard or Visa for places that don't take Amex. See our best travel credit cards.

Frequently asked questions