If you’re one of the 11 million Air Miles collectors in Canada, you can significantly boost the number of Miles you rack up and get more free stuff faster with a co-branded Air Miles credit card.
Out of the roughly half a dozen Air Miles credit cards in Canada, the American Express Platinum easily climbs to the top of the list. It offers an unbeatable everyday earn rate, annual travel benefit that’ll have you saving big on trips every year, and the ability to add authorized users for free. While it does lack travel medical insurance and premium perks like airport lounge access, it delivers huge value and is a no-brainer for anyone who frequently shops at Air Miles partner stores.
American Express Air Miles Platinum – Quick Review
The Pros
- In terms of rewards on everyday spending, the American Express Platinum Card outearns virtually all other Air Miles credit cards
- You’ll earn an impressive 1 Mile per $10 in card purchases, and an accelerated 1 Mile per $5 spent in four bonus categories
- The card’s bonus categories are widely encompassing and include everything from groceries and gas, to dining and public transit
- You can earn Miles twice when shopping from dozens of Air Miles Partner retail store locations like Sobeys, Shell, and more
- You’ll get an annual travel benefit, letting you book a flight or vacation package using 25% fewer Miles than normally required once every calendar year.
- Authorized users are free to add (so you won’t have to pay an additional $30-$50 for additional cardholders)
- Air Miles can be redeemed for your choice of over 1,000 rewards including travel, electronics, groceries, and more
- With access to airmilesshops.ca, you can earn bonus miles and additional discounts on hundreds of items when shopping online
The Cons
- The American Express Platinum doesn’t come with complimentary travel medical emergency insurance
- The Air Miles rewards program, while lucrative, isn’t the most flexible or straightforward to use
- There is an annual cap on bonus categories (though it’s extremely generous at $30,000 and will be hard to max out)
- While American Express is accepted at thousands of locations, it’s not as widely accepted as Visa or Mastercard
Everyday earn rate
When it comes to your everyday spending, the American Express Platinum is hard to beat. It earns more Miles on every dollar spent in more bonus categories than virtually any other Air Miles credit card in Canada.
You’ll get 1 Mile for every $5 spent at:
- Eligible grocery stores
- Gas stations
- Daily transit services (including public transit, taxis and eligible rideshares)
- Restaurants (including cafes)
All other purchases will earn you 1 Mile for every $10 spent.
The one thing to note is there’s a $30,000 annual cap across the card’s four bonus categories. The moment you cross that threshold and spend over $30,000 across all four categories combined within a 12-month period, any subsequent purchases will earn you 1 mile per $10 spent (instead of at every $5).
While caps on bonus categories are usually a drawback, the fact it’s set so high at $30,000 annually means it’ll be hard to max out unless you’re a high-volume spender who spends an average of $2,500 in those categories every month. And, even if you do hit the cap, the devalued earn rate of 1 mile per $10 spent is still strong and falls in line with some of the best Air Miles Cards out there.
For comparison’s sake, the next highest-earning Air Miles credit card is the BMO Air Miles World Elite Mastercard, which earns a flat 1 Mile per $10 on everything with no bonus categories year-round.
Bonuses at Air Miles Partners
Here’s the kicker: if you pay with the American Express Platinum Card when shopping at Air Miles Partner stores while also showing your Air Miles Collector Loyalty Card at the same time, you’ll earn Miles twice.
For example, when you shop at Sobeys, you would earn 1 Mile Per $5 spent on your credit card and another 1 Mile per $20 spent on your Collector Card. That’s an earnings boost of 25%. Plus, when considering many Partners regularly offer in-store promotions that let you rack up additional Miles on select items, your earning potential goes up even more.
Air Miles’ list of Partners is long, and includes several dozen retailers and service providers. Some let you collect Air Miles when making purchases in-store (like Sobeys, Metro, Shell) while others earn you bonus Miles when shopping online through the online shopping platform airmilesshops.ca.
While the ability to rack up Miles twice at Air Miles Partner stores isn’t unique to the American Express Platinum Card (it’s something you can do with all other Air Miles credit cards), it’s a benefit worth calling out in this review nonetheless.
Annual travel redemption benefit
If you love to travel, American Express Platinum Card’s annual travel benefit is easily one of the card’s best features.
Here’s how it works: the first trip you book on airmiles.ca each calendar year (whether it’s a flight or vacation package) can be redeemed using 25% fewer Miles than normally required up to a maximum of 750 Miles.
For example, instead of requiring the standard 3,600 Miles to fly from Ontario to Vancouver during low season, you would only need around 2,850 Miles. That means you’ll get far more bang for your buck out of each Mile.
The best part is that it’s an annual benefit that is renewed at the start of every new calendar year. Just note, it will only apply to the first trip you book per calendar year, so if you travel more than once a year, you can’t pick and choose which flights receive the discount.
Redeeming Miles (and what’s an Air Mile worth?)
The short answer: it depends.
You can redeem Air Miles in one of two ways: as Cash Miles or Dream Miles.
Cash Miles is arguably the more straightforward of the two, and can be redeemed for cash discounts from Air Miles Partners in-store (e.g. Sobeys, Metro, Staples, and Shell) or online for eVouchers gift cards (e.g. Hudson’s Bay, Uber Eats, Starbucks etc.).
The value of Cash Miles is fixed at 95 Miles = $10, or 1 Cash Mile = 10.5 cents.
On the other hand, Dream Miles can be redeemed for flights, vacation packages, merchandise, and more.
The values of Dream Miles aren’t fixed, and in the case of travel rewards, can even vary depending on the time of the year and your destination.
According to our calculations, Ratehub has determined the average value of 1 Dream Mile = 12.1 cents (though it can climb up to 17 cents if you put in the work and scope out the right flights that offer more value).
Here’s a quick breakdown to help you understand how much you’d earn on a per-dollar basis with the American Express Platinum Card.
|
As Cash Miles (store discounts) |
As Dream Miles (flights) |
| Groceries
Gas
Daily Transit
Dining |
- 2.1 cents per $1 spent
- 2.1%
|
- Avg. 2.4 cents per $1
- 2.4%
|
| Everything Else |
- 1.05 cents per $1 spent
- 1.05%
|
- Avg. 1.2 cents per $1
- 1.2%
|
Note though, these are the base values you would get from your Miles. When factoring in bonus Miles you can rack up when shopping at Air Miles Partner stores and the fact you’ll get up to a 25% Miles discount on one flight every year, you can reap far higher returns on every dollar you spend.
Eligibility and interest rates
When it comes to eligibility and fees, the American Express Air Miles Platinum separates itself from other premium rewards cards in two ways.
For one, you won’t need to earn a specified minimum income to qualify for the American Express Air Miles Platinum (for comparison’s sake, most other comparable cards would require an annual income of at least $60,000 to $80,000 to get approved).
Second, while the card does have a pretty standard $120 annual fee for the primary cardholder, it won’t cost anything to add authorized users. You can therefore share access to the account with a partner or family members and pick up additional cards at no extra charge (most other annual fee credit cards would charge around $30-50 every year for each additional authorized user).
In regards to everything else, the American Express Platinum is pretty standard. It comes with a $120 annual fee and 20.99% annual interest rate on purchases (which will only kick in when you carry a balance), and 20.99% on credit card cash advances.
Insurance benefits
The American Express Air Miles Platinum comes with a slew of insurance benefits including:
| Car rental insurance |
$85,000 in theft and damage insurance for 48 days |
| Travel accident insurance |
$100,000 |
| Purchase protection |
$1,000 |
| Buyer’s assurance |
Automatic extended warranty |
The card’s insurance stands out in a few areas. For one, its built-in car rental insurance covers theft and damage of vehicles with an MSRP of up to $85,000 versus the standard $60,000 offered by most competing travel cards. The comprehensive Purchase protection will also cover purchases up to $1,000 in the event your item is stolen on accidentally damaged within 90 days of the purchase date.
However, the card does fall short for its lack of complimentary travel emergency medical insurance. You won’t be covered in the event you fall ill or are injured while abroad and you’d need to purchase travel insurance out of pocket. In our eyes, that’s a significant drawback for a premium rewards credit card with an annual fee.
American Express Acceptance
American Express cards are accepted at thousands of locations and virtually all major retail chains across Canada, including all Air Miles Partners as well as Canadain Tire, Walmart, and more. That said, Amex cards aren’t as universally accepted as Visa or Mastercard especially when it comes to smaller, independently-run groceries, corner stores, or food establishments. If you’re carrying the American Express Platinum Card, you’ll want to have a backup payment method (like a debit card or another no-fee credit card from Visa or Mastercard) just in case.
