Your Guide to The Platinum Card from American Express

If you’re looking for a solid, do it all travel card, then The Platinum Card® from American Express should be on your radar. This one card brings you great airport lounge access, hotel status, and more.

Let’s keep it short, because there’s a lot to get into with this great card and we’re going to take a deep dive into everything you need to know about the Amex Platinum.

The Basics of The Platinum Card from American Express

Before we dive deep into the perks of the Amex Platinum, we need to go over all the basics.

5 Ways to Offset American Express Gold Card Annual Fee

The American Express® Gold Card is a rather compelling choice for foodies looking to maximize the return on spending. The card earns a rewards multiplier on purchases at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets, and the perks include dining credits at select restaurants and Uber cash credits for Uber Eats orders.

When making purchases with the Amex Gold Card, you’ll earn rewards at the following rates:

4X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at restaurants (including take-out and delivery)4X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent at U.S.

Best Ways to Australia with Points and Miles

Many travelers have Australia on their bucket list. There really is something for everyone, from the snorkeling and diving at the Great Barrier Reef to wineries, cool cities and spectacular beaches. 

The competition for the very limited number of award seats to get there, however, is fierce. Airlines’ frequent miler programs certainly don’t make it easy and finding award space on the nonstop flights from the U.S. could be quite a challenge.

5 Business-Class Award Flights You Can Book Using American Express Gold Card’s Elevated Welcome Bonus

The American Express® Gold Card, with its high reward rate in certain spending categories, is one of the best rewards cards to hold for dining and travel lovers.

The card’s elevated welcome bonus is enough to book a flight in business class on multiple airlines.

When to Use British Airways Avios and When to Use Iberia Avios

Let’s talk about Avios.

Three airlines—Aer Lingus, British Airways and Iberia—use this rewards currency, yet they’re separate award programs. Same, same, but different. And, because the programs are different, they also use their own award charts and follow their own rules.

Although there are three loyalty programs that use Avios, in this article, we’ll focus on two: British Airways Executive Club and Iberia Plus.

40% Membership Rewards to Avios Transfer Bonus

Through November 15 you'll earn 40% bonus points when you transfer Membership Rewards to either British Airways or Iberia Avios.

That means 1,000 Membership Rewards = 1,400 Avios.

This deal typically comes around once a year and presents an excellent opportunity to save points on awards in and between various parts of the world.

New Iberia Route with Lots of Business Award Space for One

Iberia, flag carrier of Spain, just announced a new seasonal route between Madrid and San Francisco that will operate between April 25 and September 28, 2018.

Iberia currently flies to Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, and New York City. Out of those destinations, Boston and Los Angeles are seasonal.

During peak travel season (spring/summer), this is what Iberia's US route map will look like:

Timing of New Route
Iberia's new seasonal San Francisco route will depart Madrid at 12:25 pm and arrive to San Francisco at 4:00 pm local time.

Membership Rewards to Avios Transfer Rate Improves to 1:1

We've got good news for you to begin your Friday with today! American Express Membership Rewards now transfer to British Airways and Iberia Avios at an improved rate of 250:250.

Previously, the transfer rate was 250 Memberships to 200 Avios (1:0.8). Personally I'm quite excited about the change in ratio. I love distance-based Avios for booking short hops that otherwise wouldn't make sense to redeem miles for, but also for sweetspots like Iberia Business Class between Brazil and Spain that I flew at the end of May for just 42,500 points.

Trip Report: Iberia A330 Business Class from São Paulo to Madrid

Very early on May 25 I flew from Buenos Aires, Argentina to São Paulo, Brazil.

Iberia Award Space Now Searchable and Bookable on AA.com

Iberia awards are now searchable and bookable on aa.com!

AA.com has been slowly increasing the number of partners bookable online. You can now search and book on aa.com:

Alaska Airlines
American Airlines
airberlin
British Airways
Finnair
Hawaiian Airlines
Iberia
Qantas
Royal Jordanian

Many other partners are not bookable on aa.com. They must be searched on ba.com or other places and booked by calling in.

American Airlines does collect fuel surcharges on Iberia flights, but they are much smaller than fuel surcharges on British Airways flights.