The American Express Platinum Card has traditionally been one of the most powerful travel rewards credit cards in Canada, and it made a huge splash last year with a record-high Summer 2021 offer.

If you missed out on those spectacular summer bonuses, or the more recent offer for 105,000 MR points spread across two years, fear not, because now we’re seeing another extremely powerful Platinum Card offer land on the market.

What’s more, this offer might even be stronger than the others we’ve seen recently, depending on your spending patterns. Let’s take a closer look. 

New Welcome Bonus of Up to 115,000 MR Points

When you apply through a refer-a-friend link through May 11, 2022, you can earn a total of up to 115,000 MR points when signing up for the Platinum Card:

• 95,000 MR points upon spending $6,000 in the first three months
• 10 MR points per dollar spent on travel expenses in the first six months, up to 20,000 MR points

The initial chunk of 95,000 MR points is by far an all-time-high in terms of the immediate welcome bonus upon completing a three-month minimum spend.

To earn the full bonus, you’d also have to spend $2,000 on travel purchases. You’ll have six months for this part of the offer, so don’t sweat it if you’re not booking flights and hotels just yet.

However, if you do make travel purchases in the first three months, that spending will also count towards the card’s primary $6,000 threshold requirement.

Note that the 10x MR points earned on travel encompasses the regular rate of 2 points per dollar spent. Thus, you’ll earn 10 points per dollar spent on travel up to $2,000 spent, then 2 points per dollar spent thereafter.

Travel expenses may include cash fares for flights, taxes and fees paid directly to the airline, hotels and alternatives like Airbnb, car rentals, cruises, and so forth. Imagine the possibilities if you book your accommodation using your new Platinum Card, then turn around and immediately use the welcome bonus for an Aeroplan booking!

Also, there’s no more “months 14–17” component – you’ll earn the full bonus in the first year with the card. That gives you the added flexibility to weigh up whether to renew the card in its second year without worrying about potentially forgoing part of the bonus.

Amex Platinum Card: Perks & Benefits

Over the years, we’ve written extensively about the many benefits on the Amex Platinum Card, and why the $699 annual fee may appear intimidating at first glance, but is actually more than offset by all of the benefits of getting the card.

First off, the $200 annual travel credit on the Platinum Card, which you get once every card membership year, effectively offsets against the $699 annual fee since it’s easily redeemable on any form of travel.

Therefore, in Miles & Points circles, we generally think of the Platinum Card as having an “effective” annual fee of $499.

The immediate signup bonus of 95,000 MR points could definitely justify that effective annual fee on its own. We value American Express MR points at roughly 2.2 cents apiece, which pegs the offer of 95,000 MR points at an exquisite $2,090.

You could transfer the 95,000 MR points to Aeroplan and have more than enough miles for a one-way flight in business class from North America to either Europe or Asia with a stopover, or transfer the points to British Airways Avios for three round-trip flights between Toronto and Dublin in economy class.

In addition, the Platinum Card offers a “3-2-1” tiered points earning structure (ignoring the 8x bonus points on travel), in which you earn:

• 3 MR points per dollar spent on dining
• 2 MR points per dollar spent on travel
• 1 MR point per dollar spent on all other purchases

It’s definitely one of the stronger earn rates among all Canadian credit cards – although it should be noted that you could get better results with the American Express Cobalt Card, which earns 5 MR points per dollar spent on eats and drinks and 2 MR points per dollar spent on travel.

In my view, the Platinum Card’s premium travel benefits is what really moves the needle and makes it a card that everyone should consider holding at some point.

You’ll get an unlimited Priority Pass Select membership, which grants complimentary access for yourself and one guest to 1,000+ Priority Pass lounges around the world, in addition to several other lounge networks like Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs, and the international Amex-branded lounges.

Furthermore, the Platinum Card confers instant elite status levels in Marriott Bonvoy (Gold Elite), Hilton Honors (Gold Elite), and Radisson Rewards (Gold Elite).

Not to mention, top-tier cards like the Platinum Card routinely get the best Amex Offers, including fine dining credits and flexible grocery credits.

Throw in the comprehensive travel insurance coverage, Platinum Concierge access, and the clang-clang-clang of whipping out a metal card and tossing it on the table, and you can see why the Platinum Card is a favourite product among frequent travellers. 

Conclusion

One thing’s for certain: travel is back with a vengeance, and American Express continues to dazzle us with sublime credit card offers in that vein.

The new refer-a-friend offer we’re seeing on the American Express Platinum Card is even stronger than the previous one, with 95,000 MR points up for grabs upfront and a further 20,000 MR points for your travel expenses, for a grand total of 115,000 MR points in the first year.

This offer is valid through May 11, 2022, so make sure to take advantage sometime in the coming months if you’d like to earn one of the best welcome bonuses we’ve ever seen on the Platinum Card.