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This perk just got better
One of the best, and most hidden perks, of the American Express Platinum ( any version ) charge card is the Platinum International Airline Program. It’s a perk I’ve written about before, but long story short: Amex offers its most valued customers, deeper discounts on premium international tickets. The International Airline Program has consistently offered great deals on flights ( my biggest savings for a client was over $2500 a ticket on flights to New Zealand); however, the biggest drawback was that you needed to phone in to pull rates or book.
That’s all changed. You can now do this via Amextravel chat
American Express International Airline quotes and booking can now be processed online via Chat.
Note: the following airlines participate in the program, and there are few requirement that need to be satisfied ( namely US cardholders, cardholder booked on itinerary, origin/return to US or Canada, and Premium Economy or better ). Centurion cardholders also get the $39 fee waived.
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I tried it out
As I mentioned you need to do this via Amextravel and their chat function. You’ll be asked to submit your account number and a security question:
Once you’re verified, it’s very straight forward.
Commenter J asked why I was quoting United prices when they aren’t in the program. I had initially requested UA, AA, and BA – seeing the UA flights on Kayak as cheapest for those dates. The International Airline program prices were higher than I was seeing on Kayak and asked her to pull rates for United.
the rate she pulled was nearly identical.
Overall:
I found that it takes a bit longer that using the phone, but I was able to multitask easier while she was pulling rates. Additionally, I’m often in places where hopping on a phone call just isn’t feasible or I don’t want to discuss account details, plans, etc in public – this feature provides a great alternative.
As noted in this example, the Amex International Airline program isn’t always lower than other rates, but if you have the benefit, spending 15 mins double checking flight prices could ultimately save you a ton of cash, and worst case, ease your mind that you may have missed a bargain. 9 times out of 10, I’ve gotten lower rates than I’d ordinarily find through the airline or a consolidator ( amex travel included).
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points after you spend $4,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2027.
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex® and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.