AmEx Platinum cardholders get up to $200 in airline fee credits each year - here's how to use them

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American Express

• The Platinum Card® from American Express offers up to $200 each year in airline fee credits.
• Those credits offset the card's annual fee - and help make it possible to get way more value from the card than you pay for the fee - I got more than $2,000 of value in my first year with the card.
• Here's what you need to know about the AmEx Platinum Card's airline credits.

One of the major benefits that comes with the AmEx Platinum Card is up to $200 each calendar year in airline fee credits.

You can also get up to $100 in airline fee credits with the American Express® Gold Card, or up to $250 with the Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express.

Unlike many of the other credits offered by the AmEx Platinum Card- up to $200 annually in Uber credits, for instance - or on other cards - a $300 annual travel credit on the Chase Sapphire Reserve, for example - the airline credit is based on the calendar year, not the card membership year. That means that depending on when you open the card, you may be able to earn it twice in one cardmember year.

Using the airline fee credit is potentially easy, depending on how often you fly.

Each year, you have to select one airline for the credit to apply to - Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines, Southwest Airlines, or United Airlines. If you don't make a selection, it will default to the previous year's airline. Then, any time you use your card for eligible purchases, the statement credit will be automatically applied until it's used up.

The airline fee credit is meant to be used for things like checked bags, lounge day passes, change fees, on-board food or drinks, and other similar incidental expenses.

Users have reported that there are a number of other things that the credits will apply to. Because these are technically not supported by AmEx, there's no guarantee that they continue to work, but as of now, they seem to.

The best "off label" option seems to be purchasing gift cards at certain airlines, according to travel website The Points Guy (an Personal Finance Insider affiliate partner). $50 gift card purchases at Delta seem to work (when you use the desktop website to buy them), along with Southwest gift cards - American Airlines gift cards under $100 used to trigger the credit, but this appears to no longer be the case. Flights under $100 at JetBlue and Alaska Airlines seem to count, while the best options for United and Hawaiian Airlines users may be seat upgrades for future flights.

Try Googling your airline of choice to find tips and reports on what triggers the credit. If you play your card right, you might be able to get $600 in value from just the airline credit within your first year of card membership.

Click here to learn more about the AmEx Platinum from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.

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