Amex Platinum Military 2023 | $695 Fee Waived Active Duty + Spouses

The Platinum Card^® from American Express military policy waives the annual fee on the American Express Platinum card for active duty servicemembers and military spouses.

The Amex Platinum military fee waiver removes the annual fees to comply with the Military Lending Act (MLA) and Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA).

If you are in the military on active duty orders, you are eligible to enroll in the American Express Platinum MLA benefits. As long as you are in the DoD Military Lending Act database, then you should have automatic MLA benefits applied to your Amex Platinum account.

Learn how to apply for the Amex Platinum for Military

The Platinum Card^® from American Express
Learn how to apply on our partner’s secure site

• Annual fee of $695 waived for US military personnel and spouses
• Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Earn 5x points on airfare booked directly with airline or on amextravel.com up to $500,000 per calendar year
• Earn 5x points on prepaid hotels at amextravel.com
• $200 Annual Hotel Credit: Get $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts^® or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card^®. Note that The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
• $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month when you pay for eligible purchases with the Platinum Card^® at your choice of one or more of the following providers: Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Peacock, Audible, SiriusXM, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
• $200 Uber Cash: Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on Uber Eats and rides
• $200 Airline Fee Credit: Up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year in baggage fees and more at 1 qualifying airline
• $189 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Breeze through security with CLEAR® Plus at 45+ airports nationwide and get up to $189 back per calendar year on your membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Platinum Card®.
• $300 Equinox Credit: Get up to $300 back each year on an Equinox+ subscription, or any Equinox club memberships when you pay with your Platinum Card. Enrollment required. Membership subject to auto-renewal.
• $155 Walmart+ Credit: Cover the cost of a $12.95 monthly Walmart+ membership with a statement credit after you pay for Walmart+ each month with your Platinum Card. Cost includes $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax.
• Up to $100 annual Saks Fifth Avenue credit, enrollment required
• Access 40+ Centurion Lounges and 1,200+ Priority Pass airport lounge for free
• Apply and select your preferred metal Card design: classic Platinum Card^®, Platinum x Kehinde Wiley, or Platinum x Julie Mehretu.
• No foreign transaction fees
• The Platinum Card^® from American Express – learn how to apply
• Read my full review of the Amex Platinum card for military, terms apply

Amex Platinum Military Spouses

If you are a military spouse married to an active duty US servicemember, you are also eligible to have your own account enrolled in Amex Military Lending Act benefits and pay no annual fees.

This annual fee waiver benefit is as the primary account holder, not just an authorized user. Again, you just need to check that you eligible for MLA benefits in the MLA database.

Amex is very generous in their interpretation of the MLA and SCRA laws, extending very generous annual fee waivers to active, guard, and reserve military servicemembers and their military spouses. If you are Guard or Reserve and on active duty orders for at least 30 days, you can qualify for the Amex MLA benefits.

I’ve been an American Express Card Member since 2007. Amex offers legendary support for the military with amazing customer service and credit and charge card products. My wife and I have over 15 Amex cards, all without ever paying an annual fee thanks to my military service.

My military spouse wife is also growing her Amex collection without any annual fees. So far she has the American Express^® Gold Card, the American Express Hilton Honors Aspire card, and the Delta SkyMiles^® Reserve American Express Card.

All the cards she and I carry from American Express come with an annual fee that is waived by the company exclusively for military SMs and spouses. That’s means thousands of dollars saved every year.

Currently I save over $5,000 a year on annual fees but still get all the benefits of a cardholder. This includes lounge access, airline fee credits, Uber credits, and much more. This is a great deal that all military servicemembers need to take advantage of!

Podcast Episode

I recorded a podcast with my friend Jamie about the Amex Platinum military benefits. You can listen to it below on Spotify or on Apple Podcasts.

American Express Platinum Card Military Benefits

So there I was… On a deployment exercise, sitting at a bar on a military base near Gulfport, Louisiana. Behind the bar was a wooden, multi-tiered stand to keep cards of open tabs.

Of the 2 dozen or so cards on there, at least half were Amex Platinum cards. It was comical. You could see them all shining in their metallic glory in this low-rent bar in backwater Louisiana.

But it makes total sense – Why would a military member NOT get the Platinum card when it has such a substantial welcome bonus and has annual benefits that have actual monetary value?

The benefits of this card easily justify the annual fee if you had to pay it.

80,000 Point Welcome Bonus Offer

The Amex Platinum card offers a 80,000 Amex Membership Reward (MR) point welcome bonus when you spend $8,000 in the first 6 months of card membership. That’s only $1,000 of spending per month required.

80,000 points can be cashed out through the American Express Platinum Card^® for Schwab card at 1.1 cents per point, making 80,000 Amex worth $880 cash.

You can also redeem MR points for Amazon credit, but only at .7 cents per point, making 80k points worth $560.

However, if you really want to make your 80,000 Amex points go far, you should transfer them to a travel partner, like an airline or hotel. You can earn much more than 1-2 cents per point.

Amex Travel partners include:

Aer Lingus, AeroMexico, Air Canada, Alitalia, All Nipon Airways (ANA), Cathay Pacific (Asia Miles), Avianca, British Airways, Delta, El Al, Emirates, Etihad, Flying Blue (Air France / KLM), Iberia, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue, Qantas, Singapore Airlines, Virgin Atlantic, Choice Hotels, Hilton Honors, Marriott Bonvoy

Amex Travel Partners

As an example, I recently cashed in 240,000 AMEX MR points for $27,000 first class flight from Hawaii to Tokyo, Japan. That’s 11 cents per point! 11 cents per point means 80,000 Amex MR points would be worth $8,800!

Even at a conservative 2 cents per point, the 80,000 Amex Plat welcome bonus is worth $1600!

$200 Uber Credit

Every month, like clockwork, I get a $15 credit in my Uber account, just for keeping my no annual fee Amex Platinum card around. If you have more than one Platinum card or your spouse has a Platinum card, you can stack the credits as well. In December AMEX hands out $35 in Uber credit.

When I lived in the United Arab Emirates for 2 years and could not use the credit, I sent UberEats to family and friends back home. Don’t let those credits go to waste! The credits do not carry over month to month.

$200 Annual Hotel Credit

The Amex Platinum card come with up to $200 per year in hotel credits. You must book a prepaid hotel in the Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts or The Hotel Collection through the AmexTravel.com portal. Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts can be a one night stay. The Hotel Collection requires a two night minimum stay. You will receive the credit on your statement in a few days after making the purchase.

$240 Annual Digital Entertainment Credit

You can earn up to $240 per year in digital entertainment credits. The credit paid is paid as a $20 monthly statement credit on eligible subscriptions or purchases on any of these services:

• Audible
• Peacock
• SiriusXM
• The New York Times
• Disney+ (added April 6, 2022)
• The Disney Bundle (added April 6, 2022)
• ESPN+ (added April 6, 2022)
• Hulu (added April 6, 2022)

I use mine for Audible and the New York Times crossword.

$200 Airline Fee Credit

You pick an airline of your choice every year on the Amex website. You can spend $200 on incidentals or fees on that airline and get the reimbursement posted to your credit card statement.

$100 Global Entry Credit or TSA PreCheck

Since all military personnel already have TSA Pre-Check with their DOD ID numbers (the number on the back of your CAC), it makes sense to apply for the Global Entry program. With the Platinum card, your $100 sign up fee is reimbursed.

Global Entry gives you fast track access to the US when returning from overseas. This can be really nice when coming back to the US from OCONUS. The last thing you want after an economy class flight is to wait in a long line for Customs and Immigration.

Centurion & Priority Pass Lounge Access

The Centurion Lounges offered by American Express have some of the best food and drink available in lounges in the US. You can get into all of them for free with your Platinum card.

The Platinum Card^® from American Express also gives you complimentary membership in the Priority Pass program, giving you access to an additional 1200+ airport lounges around the world.

When you’re travelling internationally or domestically, it’s really nice to not have to worry about food, where you’re going to charge your phone, or if the bathrooms are going to be nice. Lounge access takes you far from the madding crowds and gives you a little bit of peace in your travels.

Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite + Hilton Gold Status

The hotel elite status you get automatically just for having a Platinum card make this card a no-brainer. As a military servicemember, chances are pretty good that you travel for work or fun. Here are my top recommended hotel credit cards for military.

There is almost always an Marriott or Hilton property near your TDY location or your vacation spot. Since SPG and Marriott just merged you should have no problem cashing in on this benefit.

You will earn extra points when you stay at these properties because of your status and you might get freebies like breakfast, room upgrades, or other perks.

To get even better Marriott and Hilton Elite status, check out the no annual fee Marriott credit cards for military and automatic Diamond status (the highest offered) on the Hilton credit cards for military.

No Foreign Transaction Fees

The best luxury travel cards offer no foreign transaction fees. Most of the cards in my wallet have no foreign transaction fees. If you are stationed OCONUS or travel a lot OCONUS, you need to make sure you always have a no foreign transaction fee card in your wallet.

It just doesn’t make sense to pay foreign transaction fees, especially when you get an great travel rewards card like the Amex Platinum Card with no annual fee. Do the math and don’t pay extra when you do not have to!

American Express Platinum Military Fee Waiver

While on a TDY to France in 2013, a military buddy of mine (an Air Force E-6, Tech Sergeant) mentioned that he had the American Express Platinum card that comes with a $695 annual fee. He had access to great airport lounges in Amsterdam while we were travelling on TDY. While I paid $15 for an airport sandwich, he was enjoying free food and drink courtesy of Amex.

He also told me about the $200 of airline fees Amex reimbursed annually. I thought the rewards program sounded good and the benefits were great, but I couldn’t justify that insanely high annual fee. $695 a year was WAY too much money for a young lieutenant!

However, he mentioned to me that he wasn’t paying any annual fee because AMEX had waived the fee under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a law Congress passed in 2003. I thought this was too good to be true so I had to do some more research.

The SCRA has a long history dating back to the Civil War and it protects servicemembers’ from many legal and financial troubles that they could encounter while serving their nation both at home and overseas.

The SCRA has several sections covering taxes, lawsuits, and outstanding debt. Credit card companies are only legally required to keep your interest rate below 6% on any outstanding debt you have with them BEFORE you enter military service.

I had never heard of a credit card company waiving annual fees because of the SCRA so I had to investigate further. Plus I had recently become a cardholder (again) at AMEX and I would definitely remain a cardholder for much longer if I knew I wouldn’t have to pay annual fees.

Amex Active Duty MLA and SCRA

After further research, I discovered that American Express waives annual membership fees for active duty military servicemembers. This includes the $695 per year AMEX Platinum card and all of the other personal credit and charge cards in the AMEX portfolio.

AMEX decided that they are going to be a true class act and go beyond their legal requirements. For the duration of your active duty military service, they will waive the following fees:

• Annual membership fees ($6000+ savings for my credit cards)
• Overlimit fees
• Late Payment fees
• Returned Payment fees
• Statement Copy Request fees

Here’s the email I received from AMEX once my active duty status had been verified:

Dear Spencer

To support the men and women who serve in the United States Armed Forces, we are handling your account referenced above in accordance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act provides for a maximum annual interest rate of 6% per year on loans you received before starting active military duty.

As of today, your account does not have a balance owed which generates interest charges so there is no eligible balance. However, we have waived the following fees on the account for the duration of your active military duty:

* Annual Membership fees
* Overlimit fees
* Late Payment fees
* Returned Payment fees
* Statement Copy Request fees

This completes our review of this account, if there are any additional accounts you would like reviewed for Servicemembers Civil Relief Act benefits, please call us at 1-800-253-1720. If you’re outside the United States, call us collect at 1-336-393-1111.

We are grateful for the service and devotion you have shown to our country.

Sincerely,

American Express Customer Care

Here is the MLA statement from the Amex Cardmember agreement:

Military Lending Act – Federal law provides important protections to members of the Armed Forces and their dependents relating to extensions of consumer credit. In general, the cost of consumer credit to a member of the Armed Forces and his or her dependent may not exceed an annual percentage rate of 36 percent.

This rate must include, as applicable to the credit transaction or account: the costs associated with credit insurance premiums; fees for ancillary products sold in connection with the credit transaction; any application fee charged (other than certain application fees for specified credit transactions or accounts); and any participation fee (other than certain participation fees for a credit card account).

To listen to this statement, as well as a description of your payment obligation for this Account, call us at 855-531-0379. If you are a covered borrower, the Claims Resolution section of this Agreement will not apply to you in connection with this Account. Instead, the Claims Resolution for Covered Borrowers section will apply.

How to Apply for Amex MLA Benefits

The Amex MLA process is automatic. When you apply for a card like the Amex Platinum, your Social Security number is run against the MLA database here.

If the credit applicant pops positive on the MLA database – i.e., they are a military SM or a military spouse and are eligible for MLA benefits – then that SSN will be identified as a “covered borrower” and your annual fees will be waived, just as it has been for the past 12+ years. You can find out more about the Military Lending Act benefits here.

All of my (active duty US servicemember) and my wife’s (civilian military spouse) card agreements opened after Oct 2017 (when MLA started being enforced) with Amex state “You have been identified as a ‘Covered Borrower’ under Military Lending Act”.

If you want to see if your account has been identified, follow these steps:

1. Go to your Amex Account Management page.
2. At the bottom there is a link to “Request Cardmember Agreement”
3. In the agreement you should see the text: “You have been identified as a ‘Covered Borrower’ under Military Lending Act.” on the bottom of page 2.

How to Get Amex SCRA Benefits

Please note you only need to apply for Amex SCRA benefits if you opened the account BEFORE active duty military service. If you open your Amex account while on active duty military service, you will automatically be enrolled in AMEX Military Lending Act.

To have AMEX handle your account in accordance with the SCRA, you can go 2 ways: call AMEX or apply online. The online application is easy and they are quick to respond. Follow this 3 step process or click the picture:

1. Log in to your account, click “Account Services”
2. Click “Card Management” on the left
3. Click “Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) Benefits”

If you want to call, simply dial the number on the back of your card or 1-800-528-4800. Tell them you are serving on active duty military and had heard that AMEX offers to handle your account in accordance with the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act.

You will be asked 5-10 questions about your situation, such as when you entered active duty and how long your commitment is.

This information is then verified by AMEX before they approve your account for the fee waivers. The entire process took about 6 weeks for me, from phone call to receiving the secure message that my account had been approved.

You can check your eligibility before you even apply at the official DOD SCRA and MLA websites here and here.

Amex SCRA Denial

If you have any issues with an Amex SCRA denial, check out this post to resolve it. If your card is opened after you start active duty, you should not be eligible for SCRA but should be eligible for MLA. The benefits are the same and your annual fees will be waived.

10 Years of Amex Platinum Fee Waivers

Just a quick update in 2022 here – I’ve had dozens of Amex cards since 2012. I have never been charged an annual fee.

Imagine if I keep all the cards I listed above for another 11 years of active duty military service. That would be over $60,000 in annual fees waived over the next 11 years.

Think of all the free airport lounges I’ve been in, the hotels I’ve been upgraded at, and the upgraded flights I’ve taken in those 11 years! The value of this benefit for military servicemembers is truly astronomical.

In December every year I receive over $235 of Uber Cash from my 7 Amex Platinum cards. That’s at least a few free meals from a restaurant!

Fee Waiver Success Stories

Fellow servicemembers report thousands of dollars of fees refunded and excellent cards obtained with no annual fees. Just read some of the dozens of comments below this post. Here’s a few highlights:

Brian from the Army sent me this email on Christmas Eve, 2013:

Wanted to thank you for your posts about American Express’s unique support for SCRA. I called AMEX last month (Nov ’13) and applied to have my account associated with the program. Last week I received $2500 in returned fees (annual fees, interest charges, etc…), all paid to AMEX over the last 10 years as a Delta AMEX card member. Today I just applied for the AMEX Blue Preferred Card and according to customer service, the annual fee is waived. Thank you again for sharing and for the support you’ve provided to all Servicemen.

So awesome to hear, Brian!

Kevin reported in 2016 getting over $8000 back!

I was looking around the AMEX website and came across their SCRA link. I have the AMEX Blue card and recently opened up an AMEX Platinum account…mostly for the airport lounge access. A friend of mine said AMEX will waive the annual fee for active military, which is a hefty $495 annual fee. I didn’t even speak to anyone, just clicked on the link. This was March 19th. I received an email saying I had a message in the secure message center which in turn said my “issue” has been resolved and I would be receiving written confirmation of the results. On April 2nd, I started downloading transactions through Quicken and had several from American Express. They were all refunds in varying amounts, ranging from $50 all the way to $5,382.61. The total amount I received back was $8,604.05. I actually have a credit of nearly $1,900! I was happy, but at the same time concerned a mistake had been made. I’ve had an AMEX account since 2002 and been active army since 1999, so I’ve amassed some fees, however when I called to confirm, I was told, yes, this is all correct, no errors made. Needless to say, I am forever dedicated to AMEX.

Since writing this post nearly 5 years ago, I’ve received hundreds of responses from military servicemembers getting their fees waived and enjoying the benefits of fee waived Amex cards.

There are also lots of posts on Reddit describing the fees Amex has waived for military personnel.

Best Amex Cards Free for US Military

American Express has the best travel reward credit card lineup of any of the major credit card companies. These cards include:

• Amex Platinum Card ($695 fee waived)
• Amex Gold card ($250 annual fee waived)
• Hilton Honors Aspire card ($450 annual fee waived)
• Bonvoy Brilliant card ($650 waived)
• Delta Reserve card ($550 waived)

With just these 4 cards, you get $1900 of annual fees waived and you get perks like:

• Diamond Status at all Hilton Hotels
• Free airport lounge access
• $450 per year of airline fee credits
• $200 per year of Uber credits
• Platinum Elite Status at Marriott Bonvoy Hotels
• 360,000+ points in welcome bonuses
• 4x points on dining, groceries
• 5x points on airfare

Currently, I have the following American Express cards, all with the annual fees waived:

• Amex Platinum x2 (my wife and me) ($1100)
• Platinum (upgraded from Gold) ($695)
• Gold Card ($250) (read my full AMEX Gold card military review)
• Green Card ($95) (full Green Card review)
• Charles Schwab Platinum ($695)
• Ameriprise Platinum ($695)
• Ameriprise Gold (will upgrade to Platinum soon) ($195)
• Delta Reserve ($550) (read my full Amex Delta Reserve for military review)
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant x2 (full Marriott Bonvoy review) ($900)
• Hilton Honors (upgrade to another Aspire soon)
• Hilton Honors Aspire ($450)
• Bonvoy Business ($125)

Total annual fees waived: $6,245

With these cards I earned over 250,000 Hilton points, 270,000 AMEX Membership Reward Points, 410,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, and 75,000 Delta Skymiles.

Valued at a conservative 1.5 cents per point, that’s $25,200 of travel value, just from the welcome bonuses.

Authorized User

Most of the time military spouses can get their AMEX Platinum card annual fees waived without adding the active duty servicemembers as an authorized user to the account.

Personally, my wife has 3 AMEX cards now and had the annual fees waived on all of them without adding me (the military person) as an authorized user.

Once the SCRA or MLA benefits are applied to the first personal AMEX credit or charge card, usually you don’t need to apply for the benefits again – they are automatically applied to future accounts you open.

Final Thoughts

American Express offers a unique opportunity to US servicemembers to earn a ton of Membership Rewards points, Marriott Bonvoy points, Hilton Honors points, and Delta Skymiles.

You can earn hundreds of thousands of points in welcome bonuses and points just for doing your ordinary spending with your Amex cards AND pay no annual fee.

These no annual fee cards can open up business/first class travel opportunities and free hotel stays that would cost you thousands if you paid cash.

Take advantage of your Amex Platinum military benefits and get the best no annual fee Amex Platinum card now:

The Platinum Card from American Express

Next, sign up for my 100% free, 5 day course on how to maximize your SCRA and MLA travel credit card benefits! You can also check out the other credit cards that waive annual fees for military.

Amex Platinum Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Best Cards for Military with No Annual Fees

Read the Review
American Express® Gold Card
The Platinum Card® from American Express
Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card*
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
Chase Sapphire Reserve® Card
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card

The post Amex Platinum Military 2023 | $695 Fee Waived Active Duty + Spouses appeared first on Military Money Manual.

SOURCE: https://ift.tt/wCOpRhs https://ift.tt/XRjqedK