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Recently, we’ve seen some of the highest welcome bonuses in the history of travel credit cards. We’re talking offers potentially worth several thousand of dollars in free travel that can score you free travel this year—like the Amex Platinum 150k offer.
In the past few years, I’ve managed to accrue more than 1.5 million points from welcome bonuses alone. If you patiently wait for good deals, you’ll be floored at the amount of rewards you can get with extremely little effort.
Your best bet is to follow the advice you read here—believe us when we tell you a deal is worth jumping on.
But guess what: Even we points-obsessed travelers who constantly monitor deals cannot always see some of the best deals on the market. That’s where CardMatch comes to the rescue.
Here’s a quick look at one of the most powerful tools in the points-earning game.
What is CardMatch?
The welcome bonuses you see on a credit card issuer’s website (or even via Smart Points) are publicly available offers. Anyone who applies, and is approved, is eligible to earn these intro offers.
But banks occasionally target would-be customers for significantly better bonuses. Sometimes they come via snail mail in a shiny pamphlet. Sometimes you’ll receive an email. But often, you’ll get nothing at all.
That’s right—you could be targeted for loads of amazing offers and have no idea.
CardMatch is a tool that helps you to sniff out these secret offers. By entering some personal information, it will query most credit card issuers to see if you qualify for any bonuses that are better than the public offer.
But you may find that you qualify for bonuses worth several hundred dollars more than most other people.
Elevated bonuses through CardMatch
For example, some users have received a better welcome offer for The Platinum Card® from American Express, to the tune of 150,000 points after spending $8,000 on eligible purchases in the first six months of opening an account. That’s a solid 70,000 points higher than the current publicly available bonus, which is totally wild. You could book a roundtrip business class flight to South Africa with a bonus like that—which could easily cost $6,000+ in cash.
Some users may also be targeted for 100,000 or 125,000-point welcome bonuses for The Platinum Card® from American Express.
Other reports show elevated offers for the American Express® Gold Card, which is offering a bonus as big as 90,000 points after spending $4,000 in the first six months of account opening.
- Best for: Luxury Perks
- Annual Fee: $695
- Pay Over Time APR
- Reward Rate: 5X
- Recommended Credit: 670-850
The Platinum Card® from American Express
80,000 Membership Rewards® Points
Offer Details:
80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in your first 6 months of card membership
Why we like it
The Amex Platinum was once the sole dominating force in the luxury credit card space. While it now faces some stiff competition, it still offers unbeatable perks like unprecedented airport lounge access, elite status at Hilton and Marriott, and some outstanding statement credits making the mammoth $695 worth it for some.
Reward details
5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year.
5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
Pros & Cons
Pros
Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
$200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using your Platinum Card®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
$240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card® on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
The American Express Global Lounge Collection® can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market. As of 03/2023.
$155 Walmart+ Credit: Save on eligible delivery fees, shipping, and more with a Walmart+ membership. Use your Platinum Card® to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership and get up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes back on one membership (excluding Plus Ups) each month.
$200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card®.
$200 Uber Cash: Platinum Card® Members can get out and about and explore their local area with $15 in Uber Cash for US rides each month, plus a bonus $20 in December. That can be up to $200 in annual Uber savings. Simply download the Uber app and add your Platinum Card® to your Uber account to get started. Available to Basic Card Member only. Effective 11/8/2024, an Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit.
$199 CLEAR® Plus Credit: CLEAR® Plus helps to get you to your gate faster at 50+ airports nationwide and get up to $199 back per calendar year on your Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Card. CLEARLanes are available at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues.
Receive either a $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases in Saks Fifth Avenue stores or at saks.com on your Platinum Card®. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
Unlock access to exclusive reservations and special dining experiences with Global Dining Access by Resy when you add your Platinum Card® to your Resy profile.
Cons
The $695 annual fee is brutally high. Too high for many that can’t, or don’t want to take full advantage of its benefits.
Points-earning rates are low unless spending directly on flights or with the Amex Portal.
Some of the benefits, like travel credits, are more limited and are harder to use than competing cards’ offerings.
Here are a few examples of what 150,000 Amex points can get you if you score the Amex Platinum 150k offer:
- Roundtrip to Europe in business class: Transfer 126,000 Amex points to Avianca Lifemiles to book a roundtrip flight on United Polaris in business class from the US to Europe
- 16 flights on American Airlines: Transfer Amex points to British Airways Avios and book up to 16 one-way flights on American Airlines that are under 1,151 miles in distance
- Roundtrip to Japan in business class: Transfer as few as 75,000 miles to ANA Mileage Club to book a roundtrip business class flight to Japan on ANA during the low season
- About $2,000 worth of travel on Delta Air Lines: Delta SkyMiles are worth 1.3 cents on average when redeemed for domestic flights on the carrier, meaning 150,000 Amex points transferred to Delta would be worth about $1,950!
How to use CardMatch to find bigger welcome offers, like the Amex Platinum 150k offer
CardMatch is super easy to use, and it doesn’t affect your credit in any way.
When you first visit the site, you’ve got the option to fill out a questionnaire which will help the tool narrow down targeted offers that are most relevant to your goals. Are you looking for a card that earns travel rewards? Do you use multiple cards depending on the spending category? Are you willing to pay an annual fee?
After you’ve answered these questions, you’ll need to fill out some personal information so CardMatch can locate your credit details and search each credit card issuer for special deals. You’ll have to enter:
- Employment status
- Income
- Monthly rent/mortgage payments
- Name
- Address
- Last four digits of your Social Security number
- Email address
Again, there is no hard pull on your credit, so there’s no risk to your credit when using CardMatch.
After you’ve submitted this information, you’ll see a list of cards recommended for you—even if you’re not targeted for any offers. As you can see, I’m not currently targeted for any increased bonuses.
But you may find that you qualify for bonuses worth several hundred dollars more than most other people.
Note: It’s especially important to ensure you’re getting the highest possible bonus before applying for American Express cards, making it worth double checking with CardMatch before applying with a public offer. That’s because Amex enforces a once-per-lifetime rule on their card bonuses. If you’ve ever earned the bonus before, you aren’t eligible to earn the bonus again (unless otherwise specified).
Final thoughts
Using CardMatch could net you a welcome bonus worth tens of thousands of extra points than the publicly available offer. There are often crazy generous targeted bonuses floating around (such as the Amex Platinum 150k offer) that would-be cardholders overlook because they don’t even know the offers exist.
We’ll always tell you when we spot an increased publicly available bonus worth opening— but it’s still worth a quick CardMatch search before you submit an application. The offers are updated regularly, so even if you weren’t targeted last week, things may be different today.
by your friends at The Daily Navigator
