Amex Offers Double Rewards on the Platinum Card

From now until July 20, 2020 all existing and new American Express Personal Platinum Cardmembers will earn double the points!

That means if you don’t already have the American Express Platinum Card, now is a great time to apply to take advantage of this lucrative offer.

New Platinum® Cardmembers, earn Welcome Bonus points

American Express Personal Platinum Earning Structure

Current Promotional Earning Structure (now until July 20, 2020)

• 6 Membership Rewards earned per $1 spent on Restaurants in Canada
• 4 Membership Rewards earned per $1 spent on Travel
• 2 Membership Rewards earned per $1 spent on Everything Else

Regular Earning Structure

• 3 Membership Rewards earned per $1 spent on Restaurants in Canada
• 2 Membership Rewards earned per $1 spent on Travel
• 1 Membership Rewards earned per $1 spent on Everything Else

How Much Are American Express Points Worth?

For all existing Cardmembers who have an abundance of Membership Rewards, there’s even more good news for you.

During this Double Rewards promo you can cash out your points at a rate of:

1,000 points = $20 CAD.

• 12% Cashback on Restaurants in Canada
• 8% Cashback on Travel
• 4% Cashback on Everything Else

Why is American Express Offering Double the Points?

During this unprecedented time of the COVID-19 pandemic, American Express is offering Cardmembers an alternative to the travel benefits on the Platinum Card available under normal circumstances.

Needless to say, with the closure of border crossings, hotels, and flights grounded, travel rewards at this time are essentially useless.

Double the Rewards are helping to compensate for the lack of travel reward redemptions.

Tips for Earning Amex Double Rewards

Put everyday spend wherever you can on your Platinum Card to earn double the rewards. If you’re used to using your department store credit card or another credit card where American Express is accepted, switch your spending strategy immediately.

Pay for big purchases you can’t normally pay for with a credit card using a third party bill service called Plastiq. You can use your travel rewards Card to pay tuition, car insurance, and even rent.

If you’re an existing Platinum Cardmember you can refer a friend, family member or your travel partner to earn 15,000 Membership Rewards which is equivalent to $105 Cashback. Or you can use those points towards a future flight with WestJet, Air Canada, Alaska Airlines, or a hotel stay at Marriott or Hilton properties by transferring your points.

Tips for Redeeming Amex Double Rewards

Focus on earning as many points as you can during this promotional offer (from now until July 20, 2020), then wait for a transfer bonus promotion from British Airways. Historically this transfer bonus has been 30%, but it’s anyone’s guess what will happen this year.

Check out our detailed guide of how to convert Amex points to British Airways Avios and how to use British Airways points for flights from Canada. And my favourite redemption: how to redeem your Amex (Avios) points for flights to Hawaii from the West Coast.

Is There a Limit to How Many American Express Points I Can Earn and Redeem During This Promo?

Limits on Earning Amex Double Rewards

There are no limits to how many points you can earn with this promo!

Limits on Redeeming Amex Cashback Double Rewards

If you’re looking to redeem your points for cashback, you’ll only be able to redeem up to the amount on your current balance. For example, if you have a statement balance of $1,000 owing, you could redeem up to 50,000 points (1,000 points = $20).

Limits to Transferring to Amex Travel Partners (Hotel and Airline Loyalty Programs)

If you’re looking to transfer your points to one of American Express transfer partners (hotel and airline loyalty programs), there are no limits on how many points you can transfer. And the points you’ve earned during this promotional period can be transferred after the promo ends. You’ve earned them, they’re yours to do as you normally would!

Looking Ahead: Is a Travel Rewards Card Still Worth It?

As exciting as this promo is, let’s take a moment to look beyond July when this promo ends. The promo is over and now you’ve got a travel rewards Card even though travel will likely not be in full effect. Is now still a good time to apply for the Amex Platinum travel rewards Card?

Although there is already talk of the economy restarting (slowly), we have to have realistic expectations that travel won’t be the same for quite a while.

And even when businesses and borders reopen, there will be extra long lineups, and new safety procedures in place that will add to travel time which doesn’t sound like the fun we’re used to when we think about going on vacation.

It will likely take until next year before we return to a level of normalcy, so after this promotion is done, will we see more promotions from American Express if travel hasn’t fully re-opened?

The short answer is, we don’t know.

Of course, you can hold onto your points for some lucrative travel redemptions in the future as well. We can expect that the hotels and airlines will be offering some incentives to get us travelling again, and it would be a good idea to be on the lookout for upcoming transfer bonus promotions.

You can transfer your American Express points to a number of hotel and airline loyalty programs such as Marriott, Hilton, Aeroplan (Air Canada), British Airways (Alaska Airlines), Delta (WestJet) and more.

It’s up to you whether you want to cash out your points right away, or hold off and redeem them for potentially an even bigger redemption.

What will you do with this exciting opportunity?