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AmEx Platinum Edge - $195 Annual Fee: Bonus 10,000 Points & Free Flight

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AMERICAN EXPRESS PLATINUM EDGE

I doubt there are many ozbargainers out there without one of these cards. They are brilliant for points earn at supermarkets & the low annual fee is easily offset by the free flight. - The free flight is with Virgin and is Basically a 'Saver' level fare. So wherever you see saver availability on the Virgin web site, you should be able to book that flight if it's an approved route. The flight includes baggage.

I will post the standard deal details, but I need to point out that where this deal shines is if the the applicant uses a referral link. Using a referral link increases the points bonus by 5000 & reduces the first year annual fee to $0 (fee has gone up to $195 since am 4 July) That is pretty much in line with the old priceline platinum edge, except I believe this is better as the points on offer are more (15,000 vs 13,500), and to trigger the bonus points, you don't have to spend at priceline (which was restrictive for many).
So if using the referral link, the referee will receive 30,000 points and you will receive the extra 5000 Points. (It is easy to set up a referral link and add it to the wiki once you have your card)

Any regular Ozbargainer will know of the value of Statement credits, and this card is a great way to take advantage of them. There are usually a slew every month, and then there's also shop small every year.
See below for some recent (albeit expired) examples.
https://www.ozbargain.com.au/search/node/statement+credits

Standard Platinum Edge Deal

  • $50k Min Income
  • $195 Annual Fee
  • 10,000 Bonus Points after initial $750 spend
  • Free Domestic Flight (routes here - http://www.americanexpress.com/australia/campaigns/platinum_…)
  • Apple pay compatible
  • 3 Points per $ at Supermarkets
  • 2 Points per $ at Petrol Stations
  • 1 Point per $ on most other spend
  • 0.5 Points per $ on Utilities, Insurance & Government bodies
  • 0% p.a. on balance transfers for the first 12 months
  • Complimentary enrolment in the Membership Rewards Ascent program4 saving you $80 per year
  • Overseas Medical Emergency Expenses Cover up to $2,500,000
  • Personal Liability Cover up to $1,000,000
  • Baggage, Money and Documentation Cover up to $10,000
  • Travel Cancellation Cover up to $10,000
  • Travel Inconvenience Cover- may even cover you for flight delays, missed connections or luggage delays

Bonuses using referral link

  • Bonus points increased to 15,000 after initial $750 spend
  • $200 travel credit INSTEAD of the free flight

The terms of this deal specify that to receive bonus points, you can't have owned an AmEx card in the last 12 months (bank issues Amex's not included). However there are many reports both on Ozbargain & elsewhere of this not being strictly adhered to (i.e. -getting bonus points even if you already have another AmEx card, or have done in the last 12 months)

Ozbargain Referral Wiki
You can also use any fellow OzBargainer's link from this referral wiki page: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/wiki/american_express_referrals

My Referral Link
Thanks in advance to anyone who is kind enough to use my link. http://amex.com.au/refer/claudfYXKS

Referral Links

Business Explorer Card: random (3)

Referrer: 40,000 Reward Points

Centurion Personal Charge Card: random (7)

Referee gets 200,000 MR points. Referrer gets 150,000 MR points.

Related Stores

American Express
American Express

closed Comments

  • Anyone have a screenshot of when it said the first year was free?

  • AMEX are charging the Annual fee even before you activate the card.

    My friend applied on first day this was posted on ozbargain and still got charged the $195 Annual Fee.

    • I called them up this morning when I noticed the fee, the customer service agent said it, along with the bonus points, would be credited after the minimum spend of $550 had been met

    • same thing happened to me. going to have to call them. but have no screenshot to back myself up… any thoughts?

      • I've just called them again and I was more insistent, the guy will call me this week after forwarding it to the marketing department.

        I'd also love a screenshot but I'm trying regardless

        • I am tempted to call them but with no screenshot I wonder what they could do. do keep us posted on your progress pls. thanks.

        • @cache:
          They have refunded me the first year fee :)

          Give then a call and see what happens

        • Great. I'll call them and see how it goes. Thanks!

  • Signed up 2 cards (myself & partner) using Bunnycat's link on Sunday and approved on Tuesday.
    Now if I apply for "AmEx Velocity Platinum Card" from this post https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/255389 am I eligible for 100000 points!?

    • +1

      Yep! And boy, the referer's link you use gets 60,000 points! That's way better than when I signed up last year, it was only 10,000 points IIRC.

    • +2

      you could sign one (say yourself), get approved, and then sign your partner using your referral link, that way you could get more points..

  • +1

    Anyone took a screenshot of the promo over the weekend that says no annual fee? For some strange reason Amex didn't receive our application and wants proof of the no annual fee part. Lady said she's not aware of it.

  • Got mine today, no charge. Applied on Monday.

  • Called again, this time they were adamant there was no free year promotion, even though I was approved on Sunday. Any screenshots would be appreciated, they are raising an internal case on on their end to follow up…

  • Got my card today and activated just now. How do you know if you've been charged $195 or not? My current balance shows $0 and point balance is also 0.

    • +1

      It should show up as membership fee-$195 when you login. I've been charged, they are following up and hopefully get it waived. I'll keep calling until they waive the fee

      • Thanks bghunter. So it seems I'm off the hook? I applied on Sun 03 July.

        • +1

          Yep, you got lucky :P

        • +1

          I applied and was approved on Saturday and have been charged the $195 fee. Strange that some are being charged and not others. Looks like I have a phone call to make.

        • @abm: hope you get your fee waived soon!

        • seems like the same thing happened to a few of us who applied on 03 July. wonder if i should call them about this. my $195 first statement bill is due end July. do keep us posted on your progress pls. thanks.

    • Thanks guys. :)

  • I've got a secondary card on my brother's name. Will he be counted as a new customer when next AMEX deal appears again?

  • Got my card today and no annual fee that I can see when I log in online.

    However, how long does it take for the amex offers to show up when you login to your account? No offers are showing up under "offers & places". I want to enrol in some of these https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/255898

  • +1

    Was charged $195, called them yesterday morning. Took note and said they will revert after discussing with back office. No response till evening. Called again, this time the lady representative was very co-operative. She was not sure of this offer. Kept me on hold to check with back office. After couple of minutes, agreed that I was eligible for this offer and that they will waive off the fee in 24 to 72 hrs. Just logged in to check and the fee has been waived off!!!

    • When did you apply for the card?

      • +1

        3rd July

        • +1

          Great - me too. Phoned this morning and they said they would need to refer to back office. Here's hoping.

  • +1

    Applied for card on the 3rd..approved and received in the mail on Thursday (7th)…showed annual fee of $195. Rang this morning..1st was advised there was no offer to waive the $195 fee…then mentioned it apparently changed on 4th July applications on wards. Have now been advised fee has been waived and any issues to call back. :)

    Logged into account…no fee showing.

  • Does anyone know if Aldi is included for the Points for Supermarkets?

  • And for the people that use it - Is COSTCO included in the points for Supermarkets?

    • Nope and nope.

      • Real shame there.

        So overall people may not be benefiting that much from this 3 points for supermarkets deal - as they will likely have a much more expensive grocery bill each month compared to if they shopped at Aldi/Costco/whatever.

        So I guess you need to do the maths, find out what your monthly supermarket costs are at Coles/Woolies/IGA compared to Aldi/Costco/etc. Compare the difference in cost against the points you are actually earning from those shops.

        I wonder how 'ahead' people actually are?

        • +2

          I often see this Costco/Aldi vs Coles/Woolies argument. People often say stuff like "if you shop at Aldi you'll save 30% compared to Coles/Woolies".

          I understand it but I don't entirely agree. There are a few things to consider

          • Are you brand picky? If you are, the savings at Aldi aren't entirely applicable to you
          • Do you have a Woolies/Coles closer to you than an Aldi?

          Not everyone shops at Aldi. Although it doesn't sound very Ozbargain to not shop at Aldi, I think it's similar to the appetite some Ozbargainers have to fly Full Service Carriers over Low Cost Carriers, or even wanting to fly Business Class over saving the money and spending the saving on a more expensive hotel.

          I think the ability to purchase 5% off Woolies eGCs all the time and still earn 3pts/$ is huge. You use these at Woolies, and at some Caltex/Woolies station too.

          Also, not using this card at Aldi doesn't mean you're not ahead.. you could just use it at other places, or still use it and cop the 0.5% surcharge. Personally, I think the 0.5% surcharge is worth it. Or better yet, just pay with ING and save ~1.5% off your spend (2% paywave rebate)

  • I know people are talking a lot of the current deal for the Velocity Platinum and the Platinum Edge cards. But they are both AMEX.
    For people that want to gain points on the Velocity Program - what is like the 'holy trinity' of cards to have?

    From what I understand the best combo is:

    ING Direct Debt Card - Purchases under $100 you get 2% back and $0 ATM Fee's
    +
    Velocity Platinum and Platinum Edge (Free flights, Good Velocity Points, Low annual fees)
    +
    What Mastercard/VISA?????? - Bankwest Zero Platinum Mastercard perhaps? with no international transaction fees and $0 Annual Fee?

    • +1

      Yea pretty close. The only thing I'd add is you want something for your international transactions. Comprehensively speaking though, I'd say the "holy trinity" of cards right now for an "average person" would be:

      • Platinum Edge ($195/yr) - Free flight, best rewards program, bunch of insurances, eligible for AMEX statement credit offers
      • ING Direct Orange Everyday - 2% cashback, free ATM withdrawals everywhere
      • ANZ Travel Rewards Adventure ($225/yr) - Free flight (albeit with stricter conditions), earn rewards whilst still having international transaction/forex fees waived, bunch of insurances, 2 Virgin Australia lounge access passes, AMEX/Visa combo.

      For those who eat out often, and really wanna supercharge their earn into Velocity, I'd say the Velocity Platinum AMEX is good too, but I still wouldn't sacrifice any of the above cards for it (I'd just have it in addition).
      For those who travel really frequently, the $1200 annual fee Platinum Charge card is really good too. Yes, I would definitely say it is worth it for those who travel extremely frequently.
      And for those with the Platinum Charge, I'd say there'd be no need to have the Velocity Platinum if you have the Platinum Charge, but no harm in having both!

      Personally for me, the ANZ Travel Card and Platinum Charge card doesn't suit my needs, so I'd substitute the ANZ Travel Card out with another travel card. The Platinum Charge doesn't suit me yet either, but I acknowledge that it's an incredible card.

    • +2

      The Citibank Signature Visa is great for card number 3 if you can get it on a free-for-life special. It has rewards, travel insurance and Priority Pass (international airport lounges).

  • Do supplementary cardholders also get free flights? I'm going to guess no… they would have to sign up themselves with another account?

    • +1

      Only 1 free flight per account.

      • Great, thanks

  • Sorry, another silly question … If I signed up for a CPA based Platinum edge, can I still be a referrer for this AMEX issued card? In other words, can I refer someone or do I have to have a plain old Platinum Edge user (not CPA) to be eligible for the referral bonuses?

    • Referrals through affiliate cards like the CPA card was previously not available however it has recently been activated for the July bonus promo. So not clear if it will remain in place after July.

      • Awesome, thanks again

  • Anyone know if you earn the 3 bonus points per dollar spent on Woolworths e-gift cards?

    • +1

      yes, I do this all the time

      • Thanks mate

  • +1

    I'm in Europe atm, and acceptance of AmEx is absolutely woeful here (Portugal, Germany, Spain)…with the $195 fee back on, the ANZ Adventures again seems like a better deal, esp for people who travel around…

  • Can someone tell me how much points are needed to get a Caltex/Shell/BP or whatever $50 or $100 petrol card with this AMEX card? i cant see where to find out what points are needed for certain liquid/cash type rewards points use like petrol cards, cash credit to credit card statement, shopping vouchers/cards etc

    • Dunno if you can view this, but here.

      BP $100 gift card for 13500 points.

      • thanks illumination, the link did work. So its better to use this AMEX card in supermarkets to get 3 points per dollar as opposed to the ING Direct paywave which gets you 2cents rebate per dollar :)

        It is possible to use the AMEX Plat card points for paying the $195 a year fee it seems as in that membership rewards site it shows an amount of points needed to pay the Gold card annual fee but it doesn't show if you can pay the $195 Platinum Edge annual fee with points or number of points needed for that. Does anyone know if the $195 annual fee can be paid with points?

        • +1

          You can use Amex Rewards Points to pay in part or in full for flights at Webjet (10,000 points = $100 of travel), or for anything at David Jones (13,500 points for $100 value).

          It's best to use your Amex card to buy a Wooolies voucher with a 5% cashrewards discount and get still get 3 points per $. With that combo, spending $3,166 gives you $3,508 to spend at Woolies plus $100 worth of Webjet travel.

        • @Dacs: Webjet wont allow Jetstar 10% price beat garantee will they and there is a booking fee when using Webjet right? Wouldn't be the Ozbargainer way of life to use Webjet in that case when you can just get $100 per 13,500 points to use at BP for petrol/Coles Express for petrol/Coles/Westfield (including Woolies, jbhifi etc) which is as good as cash ;) easier than thinking of what to buy at David Jones for same number of points required.

          Sounds smart getting 5% off a Woolies voucher and still getting 3 points per $1. How does one get the 5% off a Woolies voucher?
          How does spending $3,166 give you $3,508 to spend at Woolies?

        • @AM1:
          Jetstar price-beat guarantee only works under certain conditions (same route, similar time, etc). I don't know if Webjet charges an additional fee when you pay with Amex Reward points.

          Buy a Woolworths eGift Card at Everyday Rewards, using the link from Cashrewards for a 5% discount. If you get eGift cards with a total value of $3,509 it will cost you $3,333.55. Using your Amex Platinum Edge for that gives you 3 points per $ = 10,000 points.

        • @Dacs: $3,509 with 5% off equaling $3333.55 makes sense but your mention of $3,166 didnt :)

          Webjet is not a good deal for booking a flight..they also charge booking fees on top of actual flight costs. Hence my suggestion to just trade points in for cash rewards such as $100 per 13,500 points to use at BP for petrol/Coles Express for petrol/Coles/Westfield (including Woolies, jbhifi etc) which is as good as cash as everyone needs groceries and petrol.

          Even better, you could use a Westfield gift card purchased with your Amex Platinum Edge points (13,500 points = $100 Westfield card) to go and buy Woolies vouchers with 5% off haha

        • @AM1:

          $3,509 with 5% off equaling $3333.55 makes sense but your mention of $3,166 didnt

          My error. Yes, should have said $3,333.55

          Webjet's total fees (service fee plus price guarantee fee) for an international booking are $55 . If you're spending, say $2,700 on a flight for two adults that's a small amount considering you're getting 35% more $ for your points. But it all depends what you find it worthwhile spending money on.

          How can you use a Westfield gift card to get 5% off a Woolies voucher?

        • @Dacs:
          How can you use a Westfield gift card to get 5% off a Woolies voucher?

          The way it reads, according to the wording of what it says in the membership rewards website link you gave above regarding Westfield rewards vouchers is that if there's a Westfield centre near you that has a Woolies then you can use the Westfield card in that Woolies in the Westfield centre I presume. But can you get the 5% off still going into a Woolies to buy the Woolies voucher?

        • @AM1: I see your idea.
          Nope. Never seen a way to buy Woolies for 5% off anywhere physically - certainly not anywhere that would accept a Westfield gift card at least!

          Btw I half agree with Dacs and half agree with you about using it at Webjet vs getting a BP GC.
          The webjet option definitely sounds like you'd get, overall, a much better return for your points given that you only need 10k for $100 vs 13.5k for $100 in a BP GC. However, if you never fly, or you have other means to get cheap flights (work for an airline, abundance of FF points, want to use Jetstar Price Beat, want to use Virgin Aus 10% off code) then it may not be entirely applicable.

          I would argue though that getting a WISH or Coles Myer GC would be more versatile than a BP GC. If you always go to BP and get petrol anyway then I guess it makes no difference, but in my mind a Coles Myer/WISH GCs are amongst the most versatile, valuable GCs out there, where $1 almost equals $1 cash, only because for me (and I imagine many Australians) you know you're going to be able to use it at Woolies/Coles (or other places where the GC is accepted) some time before expiry!

          If the points required for a Coles Myer/WISH GC is higher than the BP requirement though, then it may be worth considering.

        • @Dacs:
          "Buy a Woolworths eGift Card at Everyday Rewards, using the link from Cashrewards (cashrewards.com.au) for a 5% discount."

          Might be a silly question but do we really get 3 points per $1 buying the Woolworths eGift Card at Everyday Rewards website (via Cashrewards.com.au) or is it only what we buy in a supermarket, not online?

        • @AM1:

          You really do…their merchant code is what classifies it to 3pts…
          My opinion…I would take a 2c cash rebate over 1 (easily) or even 2ffppd (just).

  • I got my card last friday, haven't spent close to the $550, and I also referred a workmate who was approved immediately.
    Today I got a mystery 10,000 points added to my account. It shouldn't be from my signup bonus, as I haven't spent enough.
    Did I get short-changed from the 30,000 points from referring a friend? The text with the points is "Refer a Friend Bonus 10,000 Points"

    • Sounds like the 10,000 points might have been due to you referring someone successfully before 1 July when the referral points was only 10,000? For the Velocity Platinum, a referral I received on 3 July read "MGMer 60k (3x July 2016)" whereas one I got a week earlier simply read "Refer a Friend Bonus 20000 Points". You can call them to clarify / ask them to investigate if you're concerned.

      • Yeah I'll give them a call in a couple of days.
        I referred him on Monday as I only just got my card on Friday.

  • Does anyone know how to check the balance of your points?

    It doesn't show on my home page and I went to Your Statement > Membership Rewards but it gives me a "You must be enrolled in Membership Rewards in order to View Points, Redeem Rewards or Transfer Points". I enrolled but it still says the same thing…

    • Thats the right location, might take a while to activate.

    • It wasn't showing up at first but is now. Screenshot

  • Woke up this morning to the annual fee on my account :(

    • +3

      So did I - I just called them, stated I was told the first year fee would be waived and she said I was right and the marketing team would fix it within 5 business days. Just give them a quick call, was done within 5 minutes.

      1300 132 639

      • Thank you :)
        That's what I just did and the lady I talked to was very helpful. Hopefully they put it through.

        Thank you again.

      • Welp they charged me the fee on my first statement (this morning) and I called them and they are currently giving me the runaround. Waiting on a callback.

  • So is this still a good deal? I take it the annual fee is no longer waived for the first year?

    • +1

      Probably depends on what your requirements for the card are. If you are chasing bonus points for signup there are better cards around. This card is a good everyday point earning card. It is the only card i'm willing to pay the annual fee on due to the point earning abilities and included domestic flight. If you plan on using the flight or willing to sell it the value in that alone is worth more than the annual fee.

      When the deal was posted the annual fee was reported as free, but changed after a couple of days.

  • +2

    I found this website which offers 30,000 bonus points for this card.
    http://www.creditcardfinder.com.au/earn-rewards-points-payin…
    I guess the extra 15,000 points should negate some of the annual fee.

    • Its 30,000 points if someone signs up using your referral code.

      • +2

        New applicants only get 15,000 points if they signed up via a referrer. They can get 30,000 points if they signed up via creditcardfinder.

  • Got charged the $195 fee with my first statement this morning. Gave AMEX a call and they are citing that the waived first year offer was only for the month of June, but the rep said they would talk to New Accounts and see what they can do. My application was made on July 2.

  • How does the virgin lounge pass work? If you cancel your card does the pass get cancelled also or is it linked to your velocity card

    • +1

      Loaded to Velocity card.

  • +1

    Got confirmation today that my annual fee has been waived after initially getting charged the full $195, applied 3rd of July and got my card on the 7th

    • That's good to hear. I never got my callback from AMEX about it and still have the $195 charged on my account. :(

      • +1

        I used the secure email system on their website to raise it as a disputed transaction and they took about a week to confirm..

        • Thanks for the tip, I'll give that a whirl and it might be a more formal approach too. Cannot be arsed calling them again.

  • so does anyone know if you can use the plat edge amex points to pay for all or some of the $195 annual fee? it doesnt seem to be an option showing in their rewards website. Anyone done it before with this card?

  • +1

    OP, could you remove the 'first year free' under the 'referral bonus' section? Based on many recent comments, it doesn't look like this is available any longer.

  • +3

    For those people who have got this or any other Amex card recently, check your Amex Offers for Welcome Offers: $20 credit for $40 spend and David Jones and $15 credit for $30 spend at Woolies (in store or online for both stores).

    • I think the DJ's offer is online only (at least it is for my card)

      • Excludes purchases made in-store.
      • Thanks you're right, I misread the David Jones one. It is "online only". The Woolies offer is "in-store or online".
        Both are "in one or more transactions" until 31/8/2016.
        Hopefully David Jones gift cards will work.

    • Got mine offer on Sunday! So good.

      My mate who got his card on Friday doesn't have it though, I think it takes a bit to start getting the offers. Annoying.

    • For those who have had this card for a while, do these type of Amex Offers appear frequently? What types of offers have you received in the past and what is the frequency of them?

      • +1

        There are usually a handful of the offers on the go but many of them are not noteworthy. Do a search for "Amex" on Ozbargain to look for past offers that are noteworthy, eg offers for Supercheap Auto, BCF, Woolies

        • Aren't there two types of offers?
          1) Amex offers for anyone with an American Express card including bank-issued ones (offers often listed on ozbargain) and
          2) Amex offers for people with Amex-branded card only (e.g. the $15 off $30 at Woolworths Welcome offer)

          I'm well aware of type 1 but would like to know more about the second type of offers.

        • +1

          @brainactive:
          Sometimes an offer works only on Amex-issued cards, sometimes only on bank-issued cards, sometimes on both. I think if there's an offer not shown for Amex-issued cards that it will still work if you can get the direct link (often provided on Ozbargain posts).
          For Amex-issued cards, login to your Amex account and click the "Offers" tab at the bottom of the page.

      • Hope this will give you a better idea of the amex offers. They are generic offers; not necessarily specific to this particular amex card.

        The Small Shop Offer, a very popular one, was on end last year, and in May. Still available to redeem is a mid year merchants offer. The most recent one I took advantage of was the BP offer, buy $40 and get $10 back. There were some Dan Murphy offers earlier this year which I liked as well. And others, which you can see in the list.

  • I got my card approved on 3rd of July but today i received my statement which had 195$ card fee listed. Called Amex and have been told that Annual fee will be waived off. Pretty happy with the customer service.

  • I have the same case as the people who applied on the 3rd of July.
    I got my new statement and there was showing an annual membership fee.
    I called their customer service and was told that they will credit my account in the next billing cycle to neutralise it.
    Does anyone here also having the same problem and been offered the same solution?

    • Yeah, they said it would appear on my next statement

    • Exactly the same here. The way the guy explained it seemed that we are meant to all get charged initially and then the credit comes through the following month.

      Or maybe they just wait and see who questions it and then issue the credit.

  • Had a $195 annual fee pop up on my statement issued today. Sneaky bastards.
    However I called them up and had no problems getting them to waive it.

  • UPDATE - While I never got a callback from AMEX or any assurances they would waive the $195, I had it credited back to my account today. Phew, all's well that ends well.

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