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Every so often, targeted credit card sign-up bonus offers come around that can be much higher than the available public offers on the same cards. One of the best places to look for these offers is through the CardMatch Tool.
If you haven’t checked your offers recently, now is an excellent time to check your CardMatch offers. As of Friday afternoon (December 1), we’re seeing the incredible 100,000-point American Express Platinum Card offer making a return:
While it’s possible you might see a different offer, the one we see earns the 100,000-point bonus after spending $5,000 in the first three months after signing up.
If you’ve had the Amex Platinum card before, note that this particular offer has the standard American Express “lifetime language” which notes that the “welcome bonus offer not available to applicants who have or have had this product.”
How To Use CardMatch
CardMatchis straightforward to use, but those who haven’t used the tool before might be curious about the process. Here are the easy steps that you’ll take to check your offers:
Note that this process creates a “soft” credit inquiry on your credit report. This means that the inquiry will show up on your credit report, but it’ll have no impact on your credit score — similar to if you checked your own credit report through a free annual check or a paid service.
Is The Amex Platinum Worth It?
Let’s start off with the spectacular 100,000 Membership Rewards point sign-up bonus. Based on TPG’s most recent valuation of 1.9 cents per Membership Rewards point, the sign-up bonus alone is worth $1,900. And you can maximize the value of your Membership Rewards points to get even more value.
Unlike cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve card — which pays off through 3x earnings on all dining and travel — the value of the Platinum Card is more dependent on how much you travel. The good news for us frequent travelers: The card is more valuable the more you travel.
The Amex Platinum is especially valuable for those that use Uber at least monthly and for those that travel often. The card offers up to $200 per year in Uber credits, distributed as monthly credits of $15 each in January-November and $35 in December. Note that the credits don’t roll forward if they aren’t used by the end of the month.
You’ll earn 5x points on airfare purchased directly through the airline or through American Express Travel. In addition, you’ll score 5x earnings on prepaid hotels booked through AmexTravel. Plus, cardmembers are granted access to the nine spectacular Centurion Lounges — seven of which we pitted against each other this summer, plus two new lounges in Philadelphia (PHL) and Hong Kong (HKG).
Public Offer
If you aren’t targeted for this excellent offer, the current public offer for The Platinum Card from American Express is a 60,000-point sign-up bonus for spending $5,000 in the first three months after signing up. Considering the incredible value that this card offers frequent travelers, this isn’t a bad offer. But, obviously, 100,000 points is a much more attractive (and lucrative) offer.
Source: thepointsguy.com