What is Amex Platinum's minimum spending requirement for the sign-up bonus?

The best travel credit card signup bonus is 100,000 miles for spending $20,000 in the first 12 months or 50,000 miles for spending $3,000 in the first 3 months , offered by the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card. The card also earns 2 miles per $1 on all purchases. You can easily redeem your miles for both future travel bookings and past travel-related expenses using … read full answerCapital One's Purchase Eraser.

Capital One Venture has a $95 annual fee. As with all of the best travel credit cards, Capital One Venture features a $0 foreign transaction fee.

In general, the best travel cards are those that reward you extra for every travel purchase and have no foreign transaction fees. Add on huge signup bonuses, and there's even more reason to apply if you have the good-to-excellent credit needed for approval. The best travel credit card signup bonuses are generally tied to credit cards with annual fees. But the bonuses you'll get are worth several times more.

Best Travel Credit Card Signup Bonuses:

• Capital One Venture: 100,000 miles for spending $20,000 in the first 12 months or 50,000 miles for spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. Rewards are worth more when redeemed for travel. $95 annual fee. Capital One Venture requires a credit score of 700, at a minimum. That means you need good credit or better to get approved.
• Chase Sapphire Preferred: 100,000 bonus points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. Points are worth more when redeemed for travel through Chase Ultimate Rewards. $95 annual fee. Chase Sapphire Preferred requires a credit score of 700, at a minimum. That means you need good credit or better to get approved.
• Citi Premier® Card: 60,000 points for spending $4,000 in the first 3 months. Points are worth more when redeemed for travel. $95 annual fee. Citi Premier requires a credit score of 700, at a minimum. That means you need good credit or better to get approved.
• IHG® Rewards Club Premier Credit Card: 150,000 points for spending $3,000 in the first 3 months. Points are worth more when redeemed for IHG Rewards Club hotel reservations. Annual fee of $0 intro 1st yr, $89 after. IHG Premier requires a credit score of 700, at a minimum. That means you need good credit or better to get approved.
• Bank of America® Premium Rewards® credit card: 50,000 points for spending $3,000 in the first 90 days. Points benefit from a flat rate and multiple redemption methods. $95 annual fee. Bank of America Premium Rewards credit card requires a credit score of 750, at a minimum. That means you need excellent credit to get approved.

To get American Express Platinum’s annual fee waived, call the American Express retention department at 1 (800) 452-3945. State that you’re considering cancelling or switching cards because of the high annual fee.

American Express typically does not waive annual fees entirely, but it may offer a side benefit to offset the Platinum card’s $550 annual fee. Retention offers traditionally include statement credits, bonus points or spending bonuses. If there’s no offer, a customer can always cancel the card. Downgrading to an American Express card with a lower annual fee is also an option.… read full answer

If you’re requesting an annual fee waiver because of financial hardship, American Express offers a financial relief program for eligible cardholders. If you qualify, American Express will waive the annual fee, but depending on the program, you may not be able to use your Platinum card while you’re enrolled.

There is still another way you could possibly get American Express Platinum’s annual fee waived. If you’re a military member who meets the requirements for benefits under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), American Express will waive Amex Platinum’s $550 annual fee every year that you’re on active duty. You’ll still get all of the card’s benefits, which include 5 points per $1 spent on airfare booked through Amex Travel, $200 annual credits for both airline fees and Uber rides, and more.

Yes, but a non-traditional one. American Express Platinum is a combination between a charge card and a traditional credit card. A charge card usually requires the cardholder to pay off the entire balance every month to continue making purchases. A regular credit card, on the other hand, allows users to carry a balance from month to month, but they pay interest on the unpaid balance. Charge cards usually come with no pre-set credit limit, too, as opposed to regular credit cards, which disclose a set maximum amount that a user can spend on the account.… read full answer

The American Express Platinum card, however, is a little bit different than some charge cards. It has a Pay Over Time feature, which allows you to carry certain approved balances, typically purchases of $100 or more, between months with interest. Pay Over Time purchases are moved into a separate balance from regular purchases. The regular purchases balance must still be paid in full every month. If that’s not paid in full, there’s a late payment fee up to $40, along with a penalty APR around 29%.

In addition, the American Express Platinum card’s no pre-set limit doesn’t mean unlimited credit. American Express periodically adjusts the spending power on the Platinum card based on your card usage, along with other factors such as your payment history and credit standing. The drawback is that you don’t know your exact spending limit, making it difficult to determine if any future purchases will be approved.