- You need to have a good or excellent credit score to be approved for the American Express Platinum Card.
- This metal card offers no pre-set credit limit and eligibility to earn uncapped Membership Rewards points on every dollar you spend, plus significant travel benefits.
- However, the American Express Platinum Card has a very high annual fee and a high minimum income requirement.
Whatever credit card you aspire to, the card issuer is going to check your credit score. The same goes for American Express's luxurious and metal charge card. With a high-end card that carries no pre-set spending limit like the American Express Platinum Card, you can expect strict conditions on creditworthiness.
Balance transfer
N/A
Purchase rate
N/A
Interest-free days
44 days
Annual fee
$1,450.00 p.a. ongoing
Highlights
- Receive 150,000 Bonus Membership Rewards Points when you apply on or before 28 January 2025, are approved, and spend $5,000 on your new Card within the first 3 months. T&Cs apply. New Amex Card Members only.
- Receive a $450 Platinum Travel Credit each year, which can be redeemed for flights, hotels, or car hire.
- Enjoy up to $400 per calendar year when you dine from a curated collection of over 1,400 hand-selected restaurants both locally and abroad. Terms and Conditions apply.
In this guide
Who is the American Express Platinum Card for?
The American Express Platinum Card is for users with a personal annual income of $100,000 or more who wish to optimise their rewards points and additional benefits.
What credit score is needed for the American Express Platinum Card?
This is a tricky question to answer because Amex only says that you can be eligible for their Platinum Card if you have ‘no history of bad debt or payment default’. But with a card like this, the one thing we can say is that your credit score almost certainly needs to be in the range ‘Good’ to ‘Excellent’.
These credit score descriptors are used by credit reporting agencies to classify your credit score. Different agencies use different scoring systems. For example, Experian uses a scoring system which gives the highest score as 1000 while Equifax uses a top score of 1200. So here's how good, very good and excellent scores are classified by the credit rating companies.
| Bureau | Good | Very good | Excellent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Equifax | 622-725 | 726-832 | 833-1200 |
| Experian | 625-699 | 700-799 | 800-1000 |
| illion | 500-699 | 700-799 | 800-1000 |
You don't have to have a perfect credit score to be eligible for the American Express Platinum Card. Remember that what is important is not just your credit score but also your income level as well as the relationship you have maintained with your bank over the years.
Tip
You can check your credit score using our free credit score service.
Key features and perks
- Earn a huge number of bonus points by meeting an easily achieved spending target in the first three months.
- Earn more bonus points after paying the second year annual fee.
- Transfer earned points to a choice of 10 major airline reward programs, including Qantas Frequent Flyer.
- Annual travel credit when booking eligible flights, hotels and car hire.
- Get access to 1200+ airport lounges in over 130 countries.
- Enjoy a range of complimentary insurance policies, including domestic and international travel insurance.
- Up to 44 days interest free.
- It’s a charge card, so there’s no pre-set credit limit, and no opportunity to carry a balance beyond the payment due date.
Fees
The American Express Platinum Card has a very high annual fee of $1,450 per year.
How do I apply?
You can apply online. It takes just a few minutes if you have the necessary documents and information ready. These include:
- Australian driver’s licence number (if applicable)
- Details of your income, expenses and debts
- Proof of income (e.g. payslips)
According to American Express, you could receive a response within 60 seconds.
Alternatives
The American Express Platinum Card’s price tag and long list of benefits really put it in a class of its own, with no truly similar competitors. But if you are looking for a premium card with rewards and travel perks, and a lower annual fee, you should take a look at.
Citi Prestige Card
Highlights
- Earn up to 100,000 bonus Points. (Conditions Apply)
- One of the most prestigious credit cards for high-income earners.
- As of 01 April 2020, Citi is now partnered with Mastercard.
Highlights
- Gain up to 120,000 bonus Qantas Points. Acquire 90,000 bonus points upon spending $3,000 within the initial 60 days from account approval date and an additional 30,000 bonus points upon maintaining your card open for over 12 months. Terms and conditions apply.
- Benefit from 0% on balance transfers for 12 months with a 3% Balance Transfer Fee.
- First-year annual fee reduced to $295 p.a. from $395 p.a. (saving you $100).
Pros
Cons
Highlights
- Earn up to 150,000 bonus Altitude Points. Receive 100,000 Altitude bonus points by spending $6,000 on eligible purchases within 120 days of card approval. Additionally, get 50,000 points after your first eligible purchase in year 2. Exclusions apply.
- Initial $200 p.a. annual fee ($295 p.a. thereafter), applicable to new cardholders only.
- Earn 6 Altitude points per $1 on Qantas, Jetstar, Singapore Airlines, and Emirates flights bought in Australia, subject to eligibility criteria.
Pros
Cons
St.George Amplify Signature Credit Card (Amplify)
Highlights
- Up to 150,000 Bonus Amplify Rewards Points earned upon spending $12,000 on eligible purchases within the first 12 months from card approval.
- Initial card fee of $199 for the first year ($295 p.a. thereafter).
- Comes with complimentary overseas travel insurance coverage for up to 6 months.
Pros
Cons
FAQs
How do I check my credit score?
You can use Finty to check your credit score. It is fast and totally free, and given using state of the art encryption to secure your data and privacy. And checking your credit score with Finty will not affect your score either, because we use a 'soft enquiry' to obtain the information.
What factors affect your credit score in Australia?
Your credit score is calculated by allocating values to a variety of factors, and this may differ depending on the credit scoring agency. However, in general the following factors are taken into account:
- Your age
- How long you’ve been at your current residential address
- How long you’ve been with your current employer
- The length of time you’ve had a credit file
- The types and amounts of credit you already have
- A record of credit accounts that you have opened and closed
- Credit you have applied for previously, whether approved or not
- Repayment history on your credit accounts including any previous overdue or defaulted debts and bankruptcies
- Any court writs or default judgments relating to you
Rating agencies assign each of these factors a numeric rating to arrive at your credit score.
What do I do if my application is rejected?
Having a credit card application rejected is disappointing, but there are steps you can take to improve your chances next time:
- Don’t apply for another credit card straight away, because too many applications within a short time frame will further damage your credit score.
- When your credit card application is rejected, you will get a rejection email and/or a letter in the mail. There are legal reasons that prevent your card issuer from telling you specifically why they rejected your application. You may call them and ask for an explanation and reconsideration, but be aware that your chances of success are minimal.
- Monitor your credit score for a few months.
- Read up on how to improve your credit score and follow the guidance for a few months before applying for another card.
The Verdict
The American Express Platinum Card offers you the lap of luxury with no pre-set spending limit, since it’s a charge card made from metal.
There are no other truly comparable cards in Australia. But the luxury and the perks come at a very high annual fee, and a high minimum income requirement.
Your credit score also needs to be in the range ‘Good’ to ‘Excellent’, but regular travellers who can jump through all the hoops should be able to extract excellent value from this card, every year, well in excess of its cost.
