2026 Amex Platinum Airline Fee Credit Guide

Not surprisingly American Express Platinum Card® Full of great travel perks. One of the most generous perks of this premium lifestyle card is its annual statement credit of up to $200, which can be used toward airline incidental fees. This benefit can offset regular airline charges for checked bags, seat assignments and even lounge passes, reducing the card’s $895 annual fee (see Rates & Fees). Registration required.

The same credit is also available on American Express Business Platinum Card®. As an American Express Business Platinum cardholder, the airline you select with points will be the only airline that offers a 35% bonus on points paid on American Express travel purchases (up to a maximum of 1 million points returned per calendar year).

The credit runs on a calendar year basis, meaning you can use it from January 1st to December 31st. On paper, you have until January 31st to select your airline for the year, although we’ve heard that American Express has been flexible in this regard if you call or chat with a representative and request a change.

American Express Business Platinum Card: Earn 200,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $20,000 in qualifying purchases within the first three months of card membership.

First, please note that early registration is required to receive points for this benefit. Here’s everything else you need to know.

5 Tips on How to Use Your Airline Expense Credit This Year

Here are some ideas for using your American Express Platinum Card 2026 Airline Comes with Points:

• Allows authorized users to use fare credits on one of their flights.
• Pay checked baggage and seat assignment fees.
• Purchase an airline lounge day pass for future use. These passes are usually valid for one year after purchase, but be sure to check the exact terms before purchasing any passes. You can purchase a one-time pass from Alaska Airlines for $65, American Airlines for $79, and United Airlines for $59. Also note that this does not apply to all airlines, so do some online research on the latest data points.
• Splurge on food and drinks during your flight.

Certain benefits require advance registration.

RELATED: How to gain access to Delta Sky Clubs, including through elite status and credit card

Choose the right airline

if you have a American Express Platinum Cardyou can click here to select or change your airline selection each January. (You need to be logged in to access your American Express account.) You can also access the airline selection screen by scrolling to the “Benefits” section of your online account from the American Express website or mobile app. Either way, you’ll see you can choose from the following airlines:

• Alaska Airlines
• American Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• JetBlue Airways
• Southwest Airlines
• spirit airlines
• United Airlines

For those who called or used the online chat feature, American Express was relatively lax about changes to airline selections, well beyond the usual January 31 deadline. There’s no guarantee it’ll be right for you, but it’s worth a try if you’re looking to switch airlines later this year and haven’t used any points yet.

Instinctively, you might think that the airline you fly most frequently is the best choice. However, defaulting to a major airline isn’t always the best option. That’s because many fees are waived if you have elite status or a co-branded credit card with the airline, so you’ll be trying to use your points to reimburse the airline for checked bag fees or seat selection fees, which the airline may not charge you.

Instead, consider an airline that is likely to incur at least $200 in fees per year.

For example, let’s say you fly United frequently enough to have elite status with that airline, but also fly American a few times a year. In this case, you may be better served by choosing American Airlines for airline fee credits.

You can use the points to pay for things like checked baggage fees, extra legroom seats, or in-flight food and beverages. TPG Credit Card Writer Danyal Ahmed enjoys elite status with American Airlines, so Oneworld Sapphire’s checked bag and seat selection benefits also apply to its partner, Alaska Airlines. That’s why he chooses United for incidental credit reimbursement to maximize the value of this benefit since he has to pay for these expenses on the United flight.

Don’t forget about budget airlines, too. Choosing a low-cost carrier like Southwest or Spirit Airlines as your go-to airline can be a smart strategy since they charge hefty premiums for amenities included in other airlines’ fares.

What does the airline fee credit cover?

Generally, the following incidental expenses will be reimbursed through: American Express Platinum Card Credit, provided you make these purchases separately from the tickets (so they will appear as separate transactions).

However, any charges not specifically classified as incidental charges are not guaranteed and may vary based on how the airline codes the transaction. For example, we’ve heard that United lounge passes can be coded as tickets and therefore may not trigger points. Here are some other examples that may or may not trigger a credit:

• Airport lounge day passes and annual memberships
• Change fee
• Checked baggage fee
• On-board amenity fees (beverages, food, pillows/blankets, etc.)
• In-flight entertainment fees (excluding Wi-Fi as fees are charged by the service provider and not the airline)
• Overweight/oversized baggage fees
• pet flight costs
• Telephone reservation fee
• Seat allocation fee

With so many potential expenses eligible for the airline fee credit, it’s not difficult for many frequent travelers to use the airline fee credit in full in a typical year.

What doesn’t the airline fee credit cover?

According to the terms, American Express Platinum Card Airline fee credits are no Applies to the following situations:

• air tickets
• award tickets
• Fees not related to ticket payment (for example, you may pay for seat selection when purchasing your ticket, but this may not trigger points)
• Duty-free purchase
• Fees charged to other card accounts (other than Authorized User accounts)
• Fees not charged by the cardholder’s airline of choice (such as wireless network fees and fees incurred by airline alliance partners)
• gift card
• Air travel incidental fees charged before selecting an eligible airline
• Mileage Points Purchase
• Mileage points transfer fee
• upgrade

Airlines must submit charges under the appropriate merchant code and required service or product identifier in order for the charge to be recognized as an air travel incidental charge. Terms state that statement credits will be posted to your account six to eight weeks after each charge (although in our experience, this is usually much faster). If points have not been issued by then, you can manually approve points for valid charges by calling the number on the back of your card.

Related: How long does it take to receive statement points from American Express, Capital One, Chase and Citi?

It’s also worth expanding on the point about “fees not charged by the cardmember’s airline of choice”. If you book a ticket with your preferred airline but fly with a partner airline instead, you won’t be able to take advantage of the incidental points.

Here is an example. Let’s say your preferred airline is United and you book your flight through the United website, but you’ll actually be flying on an Air Canada codeshare flight. When you check in at an Air Canada airport, the checked bag fee will be charged by Air Canada (not United), so you won’t be able to use your American Express Platinum Card-included points here.

Sometimes other small ticket purchases, travel bank top-ups, and even taxes will trigger the credit, as will future air travel credits on some smaller purchases (about $50).

However, these are off-label uses, are subject to change, and should not be relied upon. Also, keep in mind that points will only be triggered on purchases made through the airline of your choice.

Other American Express cards with airline fee credits

this American Express Platinum Card American Express isn’t the only card to offer credit on airline annual fees (up to a certain amount). The following American Express cards also offer statement points (advance registration required):

The details of airline fee credits on these cards are similar.

Related: American Express Platinum Card vs. Business Platinum Card: Which Premium American Express Card Is Right for You?

bottom line

Up to $200 in American Express Airline Credits is one of those “use it or lose it” benefits that’s only as valuable as the value you get from it.

Generally, it’s easy to maximize this airline fee credit if you understand how it works and make a plan for the year ahead. At this point, you should have a good idea of ​​what works for this and what doesn’t. American Express Platinum CardWhich airlines come with points and how you can use them even if you’re not traveling right away.

To learn more about airline fee points with American Express cards, read our full reviews of the American Express Platinum Card, the American Express Business Platinum Card, and the Hilton American Express Aspire Card.

Apply here: American Express Platinum Card

Apply here: American Express Business Platinum Card

Apply here: Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

For American Express Platinum Card rates and fees, click here.