American Express is offering $0 Annual Card Fee (usually $195) in the first year for new Card Members who apply for the American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card. Terms & conditions apply.
The American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card comes with a Smartphone Screen Cover and includes a $200 travel credit each year the card is renewed. It is a solid option for serious points collectors who would like to earn points from their day-to-day spend— it offers 3 Membership Rewards points at major supermarkets and petrol stations, with a standard annual fee of $195.
It is worth knowing that Membership Rewards points are transferable to 11 key frequent flyer programs, including Velocity Frequent Flyer, KrisFlyer, Asia Miles, Etihad Guest and more.
Why the Platinum Edge Credit Card?
The key benefit of the Platinum Edge Credit Card is opening the door to more points earned from your everyday spend rather than an offering to reduce fees or a large number of sign-up bonus points.
The American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card is one of the cards that can maximise your points return over the long-run. Thanks to the bonus points on offer at supermarkets and for fuel, it can be one of the best cards to hold for those trying to collect points outside of Qantas Frequent Flyer – points can be transferred to Virgin Australia Velocity, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and more.
Card Details
| Card | American Express Platinum Edge |
| Loyalty program | American Express Membership Rewards can transfer to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles and more |
| Points earned from spend | 3 points per $1 on spend at major supermarkets and petrol stations, 2 points per $1 on overseas spend, and 1 point per $1 everywhere else |
| Points cap | None |
| Earns points at ATO | Yes - 1 points per $1 |
| Travel benefits | $200 Travel Credit each year, plus Travel Insurance coverage for travel booked on the card |
| Included insurances | Smartphone Screen Cover Trip Cancellation and Amendment Cover Personal Accident Cover Travel Inconvenience Cover Medical Emergency Expenses Cover Personal Baggage, Money and Travel Documents Cover Personal Liability Cover Card Purchase and Refund Cover (PDS) |
| Overseas transaction fee | 3% of the converted amount |
| Mobile wallet | Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay |
| Annual fee | $195 p.a. |
Effective Frequent Flyer Program Point Earn Rates
| Frequent Flyer Program | Points earned from spend |
|---|---|
| Velocity Points | Up to 1.5 point / $ |
| Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer miles | Up to 1 Mile / $ |
| Cathay Pacific Asia Miles | Up to 1.5 Mile / $ |
There’s also a $200 travel credit that can be used through Amex Travel which can offset some of the annual fee.
All up, the earn rate on everyday spend of 1 point per $1 is good, but it’s the 3 points per $1 spent in supermarkets and on fuel, as well as the number of transfer partners that American Express Membership Rewards offer that make it a potentially great points earner.
Digging into the American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card benefits: earning Membership Rewards points
The Platinum Edge Credit Card accrues points in American Express Membership Rewards, which is one of the most versatile and flexible points programs in Australia.
You can earn 3 points per $1 on spend at major supermarkets and petrol stations, 2 points per $1 on overseas spend, and 1 point per $1 everywhere else including the ATO, other government charges and utilities.
For regular credit card users, this is one of the best points-earning cards out there, given the potential to triple your points haul on your everyday shopping.
Here’s where you’ll be able to earn higher points:
| Supermarkets qualifying for bonus points with American Express |
|---|
| Bi-Lo |
| Coles and Coles Online |
| IGA and Foodland |
| Flemings |
| Safeway |
| Woolworths and Woolworths online, Thomas Dux & BigW |
| Food For Less |
| Fishers |
| Fresh Provisions |
| Macro Wholefood |
| Superbarn |
| Franklins |
| Harris Farm Markets |
| Petrol stations qualifying for bonus points with American Express |
|---|
| Coles Express |
| Ampol |
| Shell |
| 7-Eleven |
| BP |
| Safeway Petrol |
| Woolworths Petrol |
| Peak, Gull |
| Caltex, Caltex Woolworths |
| Mobil, Quix |
This card earns Membership Rewards Ascent Points, which means they transfer to most frequent flyer partners at a ratio of 2:1. Note that Ascent points are different to Ascent Premium points, which are earned through the Amex Platinum and Business Platinum Charge cards and offer transfers to Qantas – this card doesn’t.
You can earn and transfer Membership Rewards points from your daily spend to Virgin Australia Velocity, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, Malaysia Airlines Enrich, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Marriott Bonvoy.
The large number of partners allows for a greater amount of flexibility in how you use your hard-earned points, giving you options you might not have had with a single airline card.
Velocity, Asia Miles, KrisFlyer and Marriott Bonvoy are the four key transfer partners for the Platinum Edge Credit Card. Velocity points can be used to redeem for Virgin Australia flights, Asia Miles is great for redemptions with the oneworld alliance airlines – including Qantas – while KrisFlyer is great for long-haul Business and First Class flights with Singapore Airlines. Marriott Bonvoy is a solid hotel partner with a large range of premium hotels.
You can also often get extra points through other areas of American Express, such as American Express Travel bookings, Travel Insurance and Foreign Exchange.
Read the Point Hacks guide to American Express cards acceptance here.
The $200 Travel Credit
The $200 annual Travel Credit that comes with the American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card can be booked through American Express Travel (online only) and used for a single flight, hotel, or car rental (limited to rentals to/from airports) booking with a cost of $200 or more. You can use the $200 credit each year after you pay your annual fee.
Note: You will need to use your annual $200 Travel Credit on a single travel booking of $200 or more on your eligible Card, made through American Express Travel Online. Your booking will be charged in full to your American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card and American Express will then credit $200 to your Account within 3 business days but may take up to 30 days. You will still receive your $200 Travel Credit each year, and your Travel Credit anniversary will remain the same. Click here for the full Terms & Conditions.
American Express Plan It
American Express launched ‘Plan It’ in mid-2020, which allows cardholders to create instalment plans that allow for equal payments to be distributed over a 3, 6 or 12 month payment period. There is a monthly fixed fee to access this feature, with up to 10 Plan It plans with a minimum of $150 balance able to be created.
Other card benefits
The other key benefits that come with the Platinum Edge Credit Card are:
- Smartphone Screen Cover: up to $500 of screen repairs if you accidentally break your smartphone screen, with a 10% claim excess
- Medical Emergency Expenses Cover
- Travel Cancellation and Amendment Cover
- Baggage, Money and Travel Documents Cover
- Personal Liability Cover
- Travel Inconvenience Cover
Worth noting–the Smartphone Screen Cover is activated when you are paying for your smartphone contract, or paid for your phone outright, on your Platinum Edge Credit Card.
Similar conditions, just like most other credit card insurances, apply to the Travel Insurance —you’ll need to have paid for the travel expenses on your card, with Amex Travel Credit, or with your Membership Rewards points to be covered.
You can read the full PDS here.
This guide references some of the benefits of insurance policies provided with this card. You should read the PDS and obtain independent professional advice before obtaining this product.
Mobile wallet integration
American Express Cards support Support Apple Pay®, Google Wallet™ and Samsung Pay, meaning you can use this card on your smartphone for easier payments.
Read the Point Hacks guide to using Apple Pay or for using Google Wallet and Samsung Pay, including instructions on how to add your American Express card to those services.
With this feature set up, it means you could still use your NFC-enabled phone to make purchases with your American Express account, even if your physical card is lost or stolen and pending replacement.
Maximising the value you get from your American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card
There are a few ways you can really earn the most points out of your Edge card if you plan and purchase carefully.
Spend in supermarkets on gift cards and use them to buy elsewhere
It’s possible to bump up the earn on Membership Rewards points earnt at supermarkets, over to spend at other merchants and it’s a way of increasing your points earn across many retailers, not just at the major supermarkets.
It relies on both Coles and Woolworths (for the examples given here) selling gift cards for a wide variety of other merchants in-store, where you’ll receive triple points for the spend.
Membership Rewards will return triple points on all purchases that can be made with a credit card in supermarkets, including purchases of gift vouchers. You can also earn triple points using the Card online at www.giftcards.woolworths.com.au for Woolworths cards and www.giftcards.com.au for Coles cards.
Woolworths and Coles offer gift cards for a range of partners. So for any of the partner merchants, you may be able to, for example, turn a $500 purchase into 1,500 Membership Rewards points by buying a $500 voucher at a supermarket to make the purchase.
Obviously, this is simplest to accomplish for large purchases, such as electronics or hotel stays, or frequent purchases, such as alcohol or iTunes. One-off or smaller purchases from gift-cardable merchants may not be worth bothering with.
Using gift cards from supermarkets with the Platinum Edge Credit Card triple points earn is an easy way to supercharge your Membership Rewards balance with minimal effort, and just a bit of planning
Read the Point Hacks guide to using credit card points for cashback here.
Use Amex Offers with the Platinum Edge Credit Card
Platinum Edge Card Members can access ‘Amex Offers‘, which are immediate statement credits for hitting a spend target with a specific retailer.
These offers are saved to your card account online or in the American Express app and are worth keeping an eye on in case they hit the mark for any retailers you happen to shop with.
Remember to check the American Express referral program offers for the American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card
Often there can be a few more points available from referral offers if you know someone who has a Platinum Edge Credit Card, in which case it could be worth taking up a referral from a friend or family member. Here’s our guide to the referral program.
Summing up: American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card
Hopefully, this guide gives you the overview of why we think the Edge is one of the best cards on the market out there for day-to-day expenditure – unless you’re tied to Qantas Frequent Flyer for any reason, such as work travel, or a specific redemption opportunity that you know Qantas can only supply for you.
As at April 2019, the American Express Platinum Edge earns 3 American Express points per dollar spent at grocery stores and fuel, which converts at a 2:1 ratio to frequent flyer programs.
In that case I will be applying for the American Express Platinum Edge, would you or Point Hacks a valid referral link for this card by any chance? Or are you aware when the next bonus promo will be on?
I’ve had the Amex Explorer since March 2019. Is it possible to apply and be approved for the Platinum Edge or Amex will not allow for that? I picked up the bonus points on sign up, however it seems the Edge has a superior earn rate 3 points per $1 as opposed to 2 points per $1.
Any thoughts?
Cheers
You can definitely hold more than one American Express card, however do note that you will not be eligible for any sign-up bonuses, as these are exclusively for new American Express cardholders.
This card does not generally attract bonus promotions as much as higher tier American Express cards, such as the Platinum or Explorer cards. However there are times where exclusive bonus promotions are made available on this card through Point Hacks. Our last exclusive promotion for was for 10,000 bonus points back in August 2018.
Thanks in advance
I’ve read you can apply for the platinum edge card and have the option to transfer points/merge rewards program (therefore earn 2points per $ on the explorer card but on the ascent program rather than gateway.
Mainly, it’s transferring points to Asia Miles. 4:3 vs 1:1 on 200,000 points is ALOT!
Not sure if it justifiable to have both cards in the long run… any advice?
Is it possible to sign up to the Platinum Edge for a few months, transfer all my points to Asia Miles and cancel the card (prorata fee refund?) Or any other loophole?
You can’t hold both cards at the same time or within an 18-month period.
Unlike the Visa travel insurance which lists the pre existing conditions that they will cover without further reference to them.
I used to use the Amex insurance regularly but when it changed (some years ago) I changed to Visa.
How could us find out what the points are really worth in $? I ask that to assist everyone working out whether it is worth if paying for the extra surcharges to win points?
Also, for the $200 travel credit, if not used, will the other $200 sum to the balance or the credit from previous years expire?
Thanks!
As for the travel credit, you have to use it in the year its posted or else it will expire.
Loving your website and just wanted to say appreciate your work! keep it up 😀
As a total credit card newbie, with the businesses that give you bonus points (whether a petrol station or supermarket chain), is it up to the vendor on whether they add a surcharge or should all these establishments be ‘surcharge’ free?
I ask because I shopped (got petrol) at Woolworths ‘Star mart’ and was further taxed with a 3% surcharge however I took the notion that these shops would have no surcharge.
Look forward to hearing from you soon.
Many thanks 🙂
I’ve found your blog really hopefully as I’m fairly new to the points world. I’m planning on getting the Amex platinum edge due to upcoming bank changes in response to RBA on the Amex companion cards.
Is it worth waiting for the next promotion that comes with a sign up bonus or do you recommend that I apply now for the annual fee waiver promotion before early July? What has the trend in promotions been for the Amex edge card?
Thanks!
I can’t advise as to whether you should wait or not for another bonus (I don’t have any visibility on upcoming offers for the Platinum Edge right now and couldn’t share them if I did!) – but the bonus on the Edge is not usually so high that an annual fee waiver offer should be totally avoided – it’s totally up to you if you prefer the points bonus, or a discounted annual fee.
I read in your article on the AMEX referral program offers that for Platinum Edge, the applicant will get 15,000 Membership Reward points. Is that still valid now? Would clicking on the link that you have here on your blog for Platinum Edge qualify me for those points?
With the 3 points earnt at supermarkets, does that mean you can purchase Visa/Mastercard prepaid cards at Woolies or Coles, earn the 3 points and then use the prepaid cards everywhere else? Seems a no brainer to me… but what am I missing?
I currently have an ANZ Platinum card but with the changes happening soon I am researching a new card. I’m very confused and have no idea which one to go for! I’m tossing up between this one and Explorer but haven’t ruled any of the other bank cards out yet. Any help would be appreciated!
Can you confirm for the AMEX Platinum Edge ($195.00 annual fee) that
‘You can use the $200 credit each year on renewal of your annual fee’ If so the card is essentially free without having to use the credit on a travel option.
Mark.
The travel credit is of course not as good as cash as there are natural limits on how it can be used, so how much you value it depends on how much of the fee it offsets.
I verified this w a consulant so maybe the benefit is different for those who have the credit card as a piggyback from the charge card….which after all, does cost a lot more $$$ per annum for membership than the reserve credit card.
Keith – have you had confirmation from Amex about the booking/flying date?
Their letters don’t state anything about booking and travel by 29th March also.
If concerned just give Amex a call to verify 100%, but I would be very surprised if it were the ‘book and travel’ by 29th March scenario.
Very annoying, although to be fair, the usefulness of this perk has been going down steadily for years as the eligible fare codes get more and more restricted and with less availability.
Q1 – is the signup bonus offered ever more than 10,000 points?
Q2 – do you you know if the Priceline version of the card is coming back?
Thanks
New signups are a $200 travel credit instead.
Sad day. 🙁
The link in the article above still offers a return flight…
I got 35k points in my platinum edge at the moment.
Im not travelling anytime soon.
If I transfer this point to velocity points, do I use it straight away or it will just sit in my velocity frequent flyer?
Thank you
But Amex accounts have no expiry as long as you keep the account open, so no need to transfer them out unless you have plans to use them or cancel the account.
Just converted my Velocity Platinum to the edge due to the better points earn and also as I now have the Platinum charge and received 15,000 points with the notation ‘Platinum Edge Conversion Bonus Point offering’. All I did was give them a call and ask to swap products. Not sure if this is normal but thought I would share it here in case it helps others.
I’ve signed up to the Amex Explorer as my first awards card- the bonus points were too hard to resist, but in the long term the Platinum Edge seems to be the best option.
Could I sign up, forego the 10000 bonus and get the earn rate or would I have to be Amex free for 12 months?
Is this standard or a glitch? Most things that have AmEx Offers are better off on Westpac, but if a supermarket or fuel station is offered, I’d want to use Plat Edge.
Can you please confirm if the 3x points are still awarded for expenditure via everydaygiftcards.com.au ? This’d be great if it works!
I currently do the same e-gift card setup via Ent-Books, handy with Dan Murphys and Caltex/Woolies, plus most Woolies and Big W outlets have the Eftpos gift-cards that can convert expenditure beyond WOW-group and the Amex supermarket/fuel reatilers.
My mum cancelled her card last December with Amex PE but she has a complimentary flight booked for next month. Would she still be able to fly or it has been cancelled too when she cancelled her card?
Thank you for your informative pages! My card should be arriving within the next few days but I notice there is no cash advance feature. I understand that means not being able to withdraw cash from an ATM but what would happen if I were to add money into sportsbet or purchase gift cards? The banks consider this as a cash advance and you don’t receive points for those purchase. What is Amex take on this? Would I earn the 1:1 points for these purchases?
Are you sure SPG is a transfer partner of this card? It looks like it’s only airlines on the Amex website?
https://www.americanexpress.com/au/content/platinum-edge-credit-card/
Redeem your points for flights with any of our 9 leading airline partner programs Airline Partner Programs
Including Virgin Australia Velocity Frequent Flyer, Emirates Skywards, Etihad Guest, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Air New Zealand AirpointsTM , THAI Royal Orchid Plus, Malaysia Airlines Enrich and Cathay Pacific Asia MilesTM
I am interested in the PE AMEX signup bonus that you have, and you have to be a new member not holding a card for 12 months.
I have a letter from AMEX when I cancelled dated 3/12/14, I would assume its 12 months from this date? Reason I ask is that there is a line in the letter that states
“To give you time to cancel any authorities and ensure that there are no further charges to your account, we will terminate your credit contract with us 60 days after cancelling your card, or once you have paid off all amounts you owe us”.
Does that mean I need to wait 60 days after 3/12/14 to technically be a non holder of a AMEX card and possibly will miss out on this bonus?
Just got someone useful on the phone at AMEX and they have clarified the cancellation date as being the date on the letter. Thanks
Not sure if you have seen this but it seems that the conversion rates for MR points earned through AMEX Gold have been reduced – I now only get 3 Velocity points per 4 Membership Rewards Points versus the old 1:1 conversion rate.
Not sure if this is uniform across the board with all AMEX-issued cards – I don’t remember being notified by AMEX either.
Cheers
I’m holding a DJ amex card for a year now and my wife have a supplementary card.
Amex T&C stated that this offer is only available for new customer, however does supplementary card holders consider new customer?
I tried to take cash out a few weeks ago at woolworths on my amex card and the machine wouldn’t allow it. I’m estimating that would be the standard across the board.
Just got the Platinum Edge, and it’s looking good.
Quick question before I hurry into it; does it notice if you take cash out from a Woolies? Like, would $50 cash out on top of $50 of shopping give me 300 points?
Or does that count as a cash advance and will it hit me with horrible interest?
Whilst it’s great to see these guys offer so many attractive deals to new users, i know i would certainly be attracted to upgrade to a platinum if they offered me 10,000 points…
Big W also recorded 3 points per dollar. As I found out few months back.
Aldi do not accept Amex as far as I know since they’re about the low cost shopping experience.
Regarding the free flight, I have been told by friends they were awarded Velocity Points but not Status Credits. Can anyone confirm this?
Further, can anyone confirm whether or not the free flight counts toward the Eligible Sectors count? As someone who has the Status Credits for Platinum but needs a few more sectors flown to get the status upgrade, this is actually the main thing I’m interested in.
Am hanging out for a platinum edge but had a Amex velocity card that I cancelled in May 2013. This was issued by Amex. I thought that this would make me ineligible but one of your comments above has me wondering if I can apply and still get bonuses.
Apparently the David jones card works differently as DJs are offering the promotion not Amex…….so bottom line according to them is you will get 30000 points on DJ card but no bonuses on the platinum edge if you have held a Velocity branded card (or other Amex card) in the last year. Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me but that is the official word.
What’s your opinion for this card against American Express Velocity Platinum Card? Do you know if the bonus points will still be rewarded if we currently hold other amex platinum cards such as one from NAB? Cheers.
This card gives way more flexibility in your points (and the free flight) while the Platinum Velocity card gives more Virgin specific benefits. Up to you which suits you best.
when I checked the AMEX website, ALDI wasn’t in the list of supermarkets for 3 points per dollar. Just FYI 🙂
Also the flight is every anniversary year – does this mean it won’t be credited till after I’ve paid a second annual fee? (Just relevant to if I could use it for expected travel in the next 12 months)
The flight is available as soon as the card is approved and active, usable in year 1z
The only reason I will need the Gold card is to pay off a one-off tax bill. I don’t think the Platinum will give me a high enough limit.
But anecdotally I’ve heard you can make multiple payments, maybe do a dry run and see?
fees and extra points!