How to Use the American Express Platinum Airline Fee Credit?

If you’ve looked into the Amex Platinum Card, you're probably familiar with its staggering annual fee of $695. Luckily, by fully leveraging its welcome bonus and the provided various statement credits, you can significantly offset this cost and enjoy all the perks. Among the most valuable benefits of the Platinum Card is the $200 airline incidental credit.

However, this credit is only applicable to certain expenses, so it's crucial to know what qualifies to maximize its value. Read on to discover how to get the most out of your Amex Platinum airline credit and make every dollar count of this benefit.

Top 6 Ways to Maximize Your of Amex Airline Credit in 2024

While there are restrictions on how you can use your Amex Platinum 200 airline credit, there are still plenty of ways for you to redeem it during a year. Here are six smart ideas for making the most of your statement credit:

• Spend your credit on purchasing inflight drinks and food.
• Pay with it for your lounge access if it is not covered by the Platinum Card. For instance, in 2024, you can purchase day passes for the following lounges: United Club, Delta Sky Club, American Airlines Admirals Club, and Alaska Lounge.
• Cover checked luggage fees for the selected airline.
• Use your incidental fee credit to pay for watching TV, renting a tablet charged by the airline, or using another eligible entertainment opportunity during your flight.
• Pay with your credit to choose your seat on an airplane.
• If you plan to travel with Southwest Airlines, you can use your airline credit to purchase EarlyBird boarding, securing better seats on your upcoming flights.

Before you decide to use your statement credit for any of the expenses mentioned, make sure you're enrolled in the program. Otherwise, you’ll end up paying out of pocket.

How to Use Amex Airline Credit: Step-by-Step

Ready to start using your $200 airline statement credit? Here’s how to use American Express airline credit in just a few steps.

Choose an Airline for Your Credit

The first thing to know about using airline credit is that enrollment is required. What is more, when enrolling, you have to select a specific airline to which your Amex Platinum travel credit will apply. Eligible options include:

• American Airlines;
• Alaska Airlines;
• JetBlue Airways;
• Southwest Airlines;
• United Airlines;
• Delta Air Lines;
• Hawaiian Airline;
• Spirit Airlines.

Once you have your American Express Platinum Card, you can immediately choose one of these airlines. If you are not happy with your choice, you can switch to a different airline once a year in January.

What is more, if you need to change your selected airline more than once a year, try contacting customer support. If you explain your situation and why you need to make this change, there is a possibility that they might make an exception for you.

Use Your Credit for Qualifying Purchases

After selecting an airline, it's important to know what purchases qualify for your $200 statement credit. Airlines may code their transactions differently, which affects how your credit applies. According to American Express, the eligible purchases include:

• Change fees;
• Seat assignment fees;
• Day pass to airport lounges;
• Pet flight fees;
• In-flight entertainment (except Wi-Fi);
• Oversize baggage fees;
• Phone reservation fees;
• Checked baggage fees;
• Priority check-in fees;
• In-flight amenities like food and drinks.

Based on the provided list, it is clear that for frequent travelers, spending $200 on these categories within a year is usually straightforward—sometimes it only takes one trip!

Now that we have discussed what services the American Express Platinum airline credit qualifies to, we should also mention ineligible spending categories. They include the following:

• Airline and award ticket;
• Duty-free purchases;
• Fees incurred before selecting an eligible airline;
• Mileage point transfer and purchases;
• Fees charged to non-Platinum accounts (except authorized users);
• Cancellation fees;
• Any charge that has not been separated from your ticket purchase (like baggage fees paid when buying a ticket);
• Gift cards.

Receive the Credit

If your purchase qualifies and your chosen airline submitted your charges under the eligible merchant code, you have successfully spent some of your airline fee credit.

Amex terms state that it can take up to eight weeks for your statement credit to be posted to your account after charges occur. In most cases, this happens in just a few days, but it can take longer. 

If it has been more than eight weeks, and you haven’t seen the credit, reach out to American Express’s customer support representatives to resolve the issue. The number is provided on the back of your Platinum card, or you can contact the team online. If your charges are valid and everything is correct, a customer support member will approve your credit.

Maximizing American Express Airline Credit

Now that you know how to use your Amex Platinum flight credit, here are some tips to make sure you get the most out of it.

Pay for Future Expenses

If you find yourself with leftover credit, and you won’t be able to use it up until the end of the year entirely, consider using it to prepay for next year’s expenses. For example, you could select your seat for a flight that you will take in the upcoming year or purchase a lounge day pass for an upcoming trip, even if it’s months away.

Choose the Right Airline

Another tip is to carefully consider what airline you choose for your statement credit. While your first instinct might be to choose an airline you fly with the most, this might not be the best option if you already have an elite status with them or if most of your fees are covered.

Instead, you can go for the next best option. Picking a low-cost airline is particularly beneficial because they charge numerous additional fees while providing cheaper tickets. This way, you can save on a ticket price while using your statement credit to pay for various extras like in-flight amenities, carry-on bags, seat assignments, and such. All of these are often automatically offered by other airlines but are not covered by low-cost ones. By strategically using your Amex Platinum airline credit, you can easily recoup part of your annual fee and enjoy the many perks this card has to offer.