Maximizing the AMEX Platinum Airline Fee Credit

The Mercedes-Benz AMEX Platinum offers airline fee reimbursement up to $200 per calendar year, such that if you use the fee credit now in December, you can also use another $200 fee credit in January, greatly helping to offset the steep annual $475 fee. I've been getting some quesstions about this airline fee credit since writing about the card in Which Credit Cards to Keep, Trade, Churn and Apply For), so I've put together this FAQ that I hope will help others who are also trying to maximize this benefit.

What's the Signup Bonus, Minimum Spend and Annual Fee for the Mercedes-Benz Platinum AMEX?

The Mercedes-Benz Platinum AMEX bonus is 50,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $1000 on the card within the first 3 months. Annual fee is $475.

What Other Cards Should I Consider Applying For With the AMEX Platinum?

The good thing about the Mercedes-Benz Platinum AMEX compared to most other AMEX Platinum offers is the low spend requirement of just $1000 in 3 months to receive the bonus, even though the annual fee is $25 higher than the regular AMEX Platinum.

Does the Mercedes-Benz Platinum AMEX Come With the $200 Airline Fee Reimbursement?

Yes. Even though it's not explicit in the card benefits description, the Mercedes-Benz Platinum AMEX does come with the same $200 airline fee credit per calendar year that the AMEX Platinum comes with.

Do Corporate AMEX Platinum Cards Come with the Airline Fee Credit?

No, corporate cards don't have this benefit; only personal and small business AMEX Platinum cards come with the airline fee credit.

If I Have Multiple Authorized Users for My AMEX Platinum Does Each of Them Receive the Fee Credit?

No, the $200 airline fee credit is per card, not per authorized user.

What Are the Airline Partners I Can Choose From for the Airline Fee Credit?

• AirTran (merging with Southwest)
• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• Delta Airlines
• Frontier
• Hawaiian Airlines
• JetBlue
• Spirit Airlines
• Southwest Airlines
• United Airlines
• US Airways

What, No International Airline Partners?!

Nope, you can only select from the above US airlines for the fee credit.

But I Already Get Fees Included as an Elite…

That's a good reason to either choose another airline you sometimes fly but aren't elite with, or take your chances with trying to get airline gift cards reimbursed. See below.

After Selecting My Airline Partner Can I Later Change My Choice?

Generally no. Some have reported being able to change it if they haven't yet used any of the airline credit; your mileage may vary.

When Do I Have to Choose the Airline Partner I Want to Get Fees Reimbursed From?

If you are a new AMEX Platinum cardholder and have never before selected an airline for your fee credit, you may select it at any time. If you already selected your airline, you may only change your airline partner choice in January; otherwise you will remain with the airline partner you previously selected.

Where Do I Select the Airline Partner and Enroll?

You can either call the number on the back of your card or go here to select the airline you want to receive up to $200 in fee credits from.

What Are Qualifying and Non Qualifying Airline Fees According to the AMEX Terms & Conditions?

Qualifying:

• Checked baggage fees
• Change fees on paid tickets
• Seat assignment fees
• Phone reservation fees
• Airline lounge day passes and annual memberships
• In-flight purchases charged by the airline (e.g. food, beverages, pillows, headsets etc. but NOT third party fees such as Gogo WiFi)

Non-Qualifying:

• Airline tickets
• Upgrades
• Mileage points purchases
• Mileage points transfer fees
• Gift cards
• Third party transactions, such as WiFi
• Duty free purchases
• Award tickets

What Actually Gets Reimbursed?

In practice, many cardholders have been able to get airline gift cards reimbursed, especially in smaller denominations. But keep in mind that usually only one gift cards is allowed per transaction. Here are some examples of what has recently (within the past month) been reimbursed, although keep in mind that your mileage may vary, and you won't have recourse to AMEX if you don't get reimbursed because officially these purchases don't qualify for the fee credit.

The airlines that folks have had most success with getting gift cards reimbursed are American Airlines and United Airlines (8/14 update: now gift registry only for United Airlines). I would avoid selecting most of the other airlines for your airline fee credit for these reasons:

• AirTran: Doesn't sell gift cards, and Southwest, which AirTran is merging with, is sporadic with gift card reimbursement (and not many incidental fees).
• Delta: Gift cards have to be bought at the airport (!) although if you actually have officially qualifying incidental charges such as change fees, checked bag fees, etc. go ahead and choose
• Frontier: Haven't heard of successful gift card reimbursement
• JetBlue: Haven't heard of successful JetBlue gift card reimbursement
• Spirit: Haven't heard of successful gift card reimbursement

American Airlines Gift Cards Recently Reimbursed

See the last pages of this Flyertalk thread for these and other examples

• Bought a $100 AA gift card and $75 AA gift card on 12/9/12, credited on 12/12/12 (dagrin, Flyertalk)
• Bought $50 AA gift card 12/9/12, credited 12/12/12 (mcdullhk88, Flyertalk)
• Bought 2 x $50 AA gift cards 12/8/12, credited 12/12/12 (SJC AA, Flyertalk)
• Bought 2 x $100 AA gift cards 12/3 or 12/4, credited 12/7/12 (Rock Harders, Flyertalk)

8/14 Update: United Airlines Won't Reimburse Gift Cards, But Gift Registry Still Works

See the last pages of this Flyertalk thread for

• Set up a United gift registry for yourself when you're logged in using United MileagePlus.
• Next, access United from an incognito window or from a different browser and search for your United gift registry by name.
• Use your AMEX Platinum card to pay.
• 8/4/14 Recent example of Flyertalker darrvao777 who got reimbursed: “Got the statement credit today ($200), thanks to everyone for reporting their experiences! :-)”