Update: The credit card offers in this post have expired!
Update: It’s too late to apply for a triple-dip, but don’t forget to use (or donate) your credit before the year is over!
Originally posted on 12/15:
-The AMEX Premier Rewards Gold Card
-The AMEX Platinum and AMEX Business Platinum each offer a $200 annual airline fee credit. You can register for an airline here.
The AMEX airline fee credit works on a calendar basis. If you apply for a card now you can use the 2017 credit by 12/31/17, the 2018 credit anytime in 2018, and the 2019 credit in January 2019. That’s $600 in airline fee credits in your first cardmembership year!
You can check to see if you’re targeted to earn 100,000 points for opening a new Platinum card via Cardmatch here by filling out the form and clicking on “Cardmatch special offers”. Or you can view credit card offers by hovering over the “Credit Cards” tab. You can then click on “Top Credit Card Offers“ and then hover over “Card Type” to find card offers from the bank you’re looking for.
You can use this link to check how much of your AMEX airline fee credit has been used. Just login and click on your eligible card.
Before using the airline fee credit:
After the gift card credit:
You need to register with a specific airline before spending. After you register for an airline you can officially only change your airline in January. However if you haven’t yet used your credit that year you can change it by chatting with AMEX online. You may also be able to change it if you have used the credit, but that may require some HUCA.
You can choose to register for the following airlines:
- Alaska
- American
- Delta
- Frontier
- Hawaiian
- JetBlue
- Southwest
- Spirit
- United
Note that if you have a Business Platinum card the airline you choose will also be the airline that will give you 35% of your points back when redeeming for coach travel. You may want to hold off on spending the $200 until the end of the year if you want to be able to change the airline more easily during the year. You also get back 35% of your points on all airlines in business and first class redemptions without having to register for an airline.
The following items have been reported to work for airline fee credit:
- Alaska Airlines tickets under $99. Note that tickets cancelled more than 60 days in advance of a flight can be deposited into your travel bank for future flight credit without penalty.
- American Airlines gift cards of $100 or less, if registered for American. You can purchase both gift cards in one transaction. Note that you can use up to 8 AA gift cards per airfare purchase.
- Award redeposit and change fees from airline of your choice.
- Baggage fees from airline of your choice.
- Delta gift cards purchased via their desktop site only of $50 each if registered for Delta. You can purchase 4 gift cards in one transaction. Note that you can use up to 3 Delta gift cards per airfare purchase.
- Flight change fees from airline of your choice.
- Food and drinks from airline of your choice.
- Hawaiian Airlines gift cards of $100 or less per transaction, if registered for Hawaiian
- Lounge access fees from airline of your choice.
- Phone reservation fees from airline of your choice.
- Seat selection or upgrade fees from airline of your choice.
- Standby fees from airline of your choice.
- Southwest gift cards of $100 or less per transaction, if registered for Southwest
- United gift registry of $100 or less per transaction, if registered for United: Register for a gift registry and create a goal in order to contribute travel funds to your United account for future ticket purchases. Unfortunately, the United gift registry has been down since September and will be unavailable until early 2018.
-The Premier Rewards Gold Card offers 25K points for spending $2K, triple points on airfare and double points on restaurants. gas stations, and supermarkets, and a $100 annual airline fee credit. The card’s $195 annual fee is waived for the first year.
-The Platinum AMEX offers 60K points for spending $5K, up to $200 of Uber credit annually, up to $200 in airline fee credit annually, 5 points per dollar on airfare, and allows you to add 3 cardmembers for $175/year ($58.33/each) that each get lounge access (Airspace, Centurion, Delta, and Priority Pass), Hilton, Marriott, and SPG Gold status, and Global Entry/Pre-Check membership. You’ll also get benefits like premium roadside assistance and lost item protection. There is a $550 annual fee.
-The Business Platinum AMEX offers 50K points for spending $10K and another 25K for spending another $10K, 10 annual GoGo in-flight WiFi passes, a 35% rebate on points used for coach tickets on the airline of your choice, a 35% rebate on points used for business/first class tickets on all airlines, and 50% bonus points on $5K+ purchases. You’ll also get lounge access (Airspace, Centurion, Delta, and Priority Pass), Hilton, Marriott, and SPG Gold status, and Global Entry/Pre-Check membership. You’ll also get benefits like premium roadside assistance and lost item protection. Plus getting the card won’t count against your Chase 5/24 count. There is a $450 annual fee.
You can find a chart comparing the consumer and business Platinum card here.
You can check to see if you’re targeted to earn 100,000 points for opening a new Platinum card via Cardmatch here by filling out the form and clicking on “Cardmatch special offers”. Or you can view credit card offers by hovering over the “Credit Cards” tab. You can then click on “Top Credit Card Offers“ and then hover over “Card Type” to find card offers from the bank you’re looking for.
What travel credits have you been credited for on your AMEX card?
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195 Comments On "Last Chance For 2017: Here Are The Ways You Can Spend Your AMEX Platinum Or Gold Airline Fee Credit"
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If I use my airline credit and purchase a $100 american airlines gift card..Do you know if I can use the gift card to buy baggage, or the gift cArd is only used for buying a ticket?
It’s just for airfare.
Is there a list of which airlines you can choose from? Can I choose Norwegian Airlines? I’m about to spend 200 on baggage with them
I’ve added the list to the post.
only US-based Airlines
in regards to this: Southwest gift cards of $100 or less per transaction, if registered for Southwest..Dan, have you tried this yourself?
Everything in this post has been tried and tested.
I have 3 platinums and I did full $200 gift card for southwest and all of them got fully reimbursed. Last one was earlier this month.
Who’s GC are reselling for the highest %
AA fot 85%
Can I buy 2 delta gift card of 50$ each ?
You can buy as many as you want, just make the transaction $50 each.
the grand mehalech didn’t work for me a few months ago, is that because it cost more than $50? is this a new max?
Is it dead, anyone to chime in?
I know was revmoved the details from the forum…
Just tried one and it didn’t credit me
What does just mean?
It takes 2-14 days for credit.
So did you get your credit by now?
Ok just if anyone still wants to know. I got credited for Delta Gift Cards within 2 days since the charge was posted. (I bought many $50.00 Gift Cards, & checked out separately for each one. I was credited for all of them).
Hi dan i did it for 2 x 50$ for the delta gc and they dont wanna credit me it because its not a incidental fee! Do you know what i could do?
Did you buy it on the desktop site or the mobile site?
I’ve tried it a couple of months back and it worked fine.
I don’t see “Cardmatch Special Offers” anywhere. I only see “get matches”
Is that what you are referring to?
Should it be an e gift card or can it be a physical gift card for AA
Doesn’t matter.
How long does it usually take for you to get the credit on your credit card
Anywhere from 2 days to 2 weeks.
Doesn’t it also work it you choose UA and use MPX for $50 or less?
I purchased 2 $100 Alaska girt cards a few weeks ago- American Express refuses to reimburse- any success stories?
How can I get the credit again in 2019 with 1 annual fee?
alaskaair caput as far as reimbusement of GC/Flyertalk Wiki
Any other ideas for using the credit for United? Thanks!
i always book an “in-cabin” pet on united, then cancel the ticket (within 24 hours)
I must do it with a nonrefundble ticket ?
every ticket on united is refundble with in 24 hours
Do you book a ticket and then subsequently add a pet afterwards? If so, if you cancel the ticket, isn’t the pet fee also refunded back to your Amex Platinum card?
exactly! thats this the coolest way to “spend” ur credit, cuz ur not spending it ur basically converting the $200 travel credit to a $200 anything statement credit
But isn’t the pet fee also refunded as well after you cancel the ticket? I guess I’m going to have to try this out.
yes everything is refunded but the sec. u book the ticket it automatically triggers the $200 credit, so ur getting refunded from the airline and from amex, so u now have $200 to spend on anything u want!
HI can you explain… does the old way work to book a flight … while booking add economy Plus fre for $100 each way… cancel the ticket within 24 hours / immediately … and amex will automatically provide the statement credit? Or have they changed and now they wait till the charge posts … so if I can cancel ticket within 24 hours will I Not receive the statement credit?
Does the old boos and cancel work Ken did that change
adding an economy plus will not trigger a credit. upgrading your seat is not part of the “airline reimbursements”. Pet fees however are able to trigger the amex airline reimbursement
I just got a 199 reimbursement for economy plus upgrade…I used a phone agent for the upgrade…could be that changes things
I’m in the process of trying this, but not sure it will work. I booked the ticket yesterday and must cancel now since nearing 24 hours. But unsure since the charge has not officially posted yet- it’s still a pending charge (AMEX says “these are charges that usually post within 72 hours”). So if I cancel before the charge has even officially posted, will that still trigger the reimbursement?
Any answer to this question? My post is also pending now and it’s nearing 24 hours to cancel my flight
Yitzy, did it work for you?
Yes it worked! No need to wait till payment posts….amazing!
Yitzy, please confirm exactly what you did. You added an in-cabin pet? All the details would be appreciated. Thanks.
I booked a United flight on the website and added an in-cabin pet each way and then submit the payment and then I waited about 12 hours then cancelled the flight and two days later you’ll have your answer and you’ll have your money
nice, thanks for the responses.
can i buy 2 $50 delta gift cards and then combine them?
How long from when I get the annual fee can us till cancel and get a full refund?
Southwest $200 gc also worked for me and spouse 2 weeks ago.
How do I know how much of a credit I still have left?
Can AA gift card be used later for award fees?
I purchased a $150 gift card from American airlines and got reimbursed.
@dan – is there an issue with AA gift cards in the account address is in NJ?
Just to clarify this is not like the Delta American Express card worth $50 Delta skip certificate would trigger the hundred and dollar credit? Am I correct? Thank you
The American airlines gift card link does not work can you please fix it
is there anyway I can use JetBlue airline credit before the end of the year?
any other ideas for delta?
What do u mean by “per transaction”? Should I do 4 seperate 50 dollar transactions on Delta or can I buy 4 – 50 dollar ecards on the same transaction.
Jeff,
Did you got an answer?
If so please post it, i need the answer as well.
any answer on this?
You do 4 separate transactions, each of $50.
So Dan writes in his post “per transaction”. now people want to know if it means per transaction or per card?! read it again, and if you still have the question, read it again.
did anyone have success this year with cancelling $200 upgrade with delta?
Anyone?
Can you help me understand this better in order to take advantage? “Note that if you have a Business Platinum card the airline you choose will also be the airline that will give you 35% of your points back when redeeming for coach travel”
The business Plat has a reward/feature that gives you a 35% rebate if you use your points toward travel in coach through amex travel. so you would spend 20,000 points for a $200 ticket, but then get back 7,000 points, meaning you spent only 13,000 points.
you need to choose one, and only one airline for this to apply to.
that will be the same airline your $200 fee credit applies to
I called American Express and they told me that i cant use the $200 towards airline tickets for amercian airlines. Can you please help me with that? If it can be used for tickets, I was thinking of buying gift cards with american airlines which i can use later on to buy a ticket. Can I purchase now to use later?
Of course.
read the post.
no, airline tickets are not included
yes, AA gift cards *usually* are credited. most people report only transactions $100 or less working.
so first, make sure american airlines is the one your account is set to (dan helpfully included a link). then, go to the aa site (dan helpfully included a link for that too) and purchase a $100 giftcard. repeat.
sit back and hope it credits. if it doesn’t, you didn’t lose, you paid $200 for $200 on aa
What about Jetblue? Is there anyting that I can do with my unused credit?
Is there anything I can do with United? I have about $75 remaining. Thanks!
Any other idea for united?
“Have been reported…” what happens if it doesn’t work -will Delta refund a gift card purchase if it wasn’t used?
Bump from me on the United question
I just opened a business platinum card and received it today. Is it bad if I make the 2 hundred dollar purchases for the two AA gift cards for the credit this year as my first purchases ever on the card?
Does the credit go by the date I made the transaction or by the date it posts? (If i make the transaction on the 30 & it posts on the 1st will it count towards 17 or 18?)
Delta will not work if I did 50×4 on the same purchase?
who knows?
but for everyone else’s data points, you probably should have done in four separate transactions
I can confirm that 4×50 certificates will post as 4 transactions even if done one transaction (4×50) I just had the m post (I had done it that way as per FT).
How about the Ritz Carlton $300. Anything still work for using that? Thanks Dan
Is it still possible to get the CSR and get. 2x the $300 credit with one annual fee thanx for last yr it worked for family member
just this morning, i purchased one delta $200 gift card. Is it safe to say that wont work?
Is it possible to refund the purchase?
i just chatted with amex and they told me that i can not use my delta airline credit to purchase gift cards why do you say yes
“Fragen is Treif”
as per the the rules you can’t.
however, most people report that it credits anyway.
just make sure each transaction is $50
I used 50$ at JetBlue already earlier this year what can I do with the rest now?
Did you try getting them to change the airline?
Trying to use the grand mehalech
If I buy Delta trip insurance will I be credited ?
A hig level AMEX rep told me last night they as a courtesy they would credit my Delta GC but if the future they have completely stopped crediting Delta GCs
Not true.
Did you buy $50 from the desktop site?
IF I i used a secondary card holders card to purchase delta gift cards. Will I have issues since it’s not the main card?
I bought $100 cards from the desktop. You are correct. However they told me- and I did not ask- that they are doing away with All GCs being credited
FYI: Lest year i got credit for $200.00 Delta Gift Cards.
Do you only get the refund after you use the gift to purchase a flight or is purchasing the gift card enough to get credit?
anybody else use the credit to book in-cabin pets on united then cancel within 24 hours but still triggers the $200 credit? or am i the only one?
Can you post specific instructions how to go about doing that?
go to https://www.united.com/web/en-US/apps/booking/flight/searchPet.aspx
make sure the cost for the pet is $200 (or whatever the amount of travel credit u want to redeem) than book the flight, once u get email confirmation u can can go ahead and cancel the ticket (within 24 hours its refundable) but u will still get the a $200 credit from amex (and from united cuz u canceled the ticket)
is it better to book the pet separately after you book the reservation? or can you do it at the same time? (will the pet charge be listed as a separate charge)
tried! wrote up a whole comment but i guess the moderator dosnt wana post it, not sure y though
My charge is still pending and it’s nearing 24 hours, what should I do?
That’s what’s I do w economy Plus fees – does it still Work ?
try it and tell us! no risk involved
Ritz carlton? Anyway to use the $300 still?
If I purchase a ticket on United and add a pet and then cancel ticket within 24 hours, do I get the $200 from amex? Thanks
sure u do!
Can I add the pet online or do I have to call United and add it to my already booked flight? I can’t seem to find where to add the pet online.
how long after you add the pet can you cancel?
hi dan, what does 3 traditions for delta at 50 dollars each transactions
i have 200$ delta airline credit
transactions*
if i buy delta gift cards and i still have the 200 airline credit how many can i buy ?
Delta site says not valid towards purchase of gift cards.
i purchased yesterday to $50 gift cards from Delta in 1 transaction, then i realized that i’m not registered with any airline so i called right away amex to register with Delta, so 2 questions..1) will it work with 1 single transaction since its 2 x $50?
2) i registered right after purchasing the cards before charge post will i receive the credit?
keep us posted
Was about to buy when I noticed that Flyertalk wiki says to wait 36-48 hours from when you activate the card and designate your airline until you actually purchase the GC. I just chose my airline tonight and normally I’d be happy to wait, but I’m worried that if I don’t buy GCs until after Shabbos, they may not post until 2018. Any recommendations? If I buy GCs tomorrow afternoon (< 24 hours) will I get reimbursed?
That’s #fakenews
great article!!!
Language directly from the Benefit Terms section:
“Airline tickets, upgrades, mileage points purchases, mileage points transfer fees, gift cards, duty free purchases, and award tickets are not deemed to be incidental fees. The airline must submit the charge under the appropriate merchant code, industry code, or required service or product identifier for the charge to be recognized as an incidental air travel fee. Please allow 2-4 weeks after the qualifying incidental air travel fee is charged to your Card Account for statement credit(s) to be posted to the Account.”
So how do you reconcile this with your advice that gift cards will be reimbursed?
If I did everything in my life by the rule book, then I would have gotten nowhere.
You misunderstand I’m all for using any angle to take advantage of my card benefits. However I’m under the impression AMEX will have a way to verify whether I used the credit for incidentals versus gift cards. I don’t want to make the purchase and not get reimbursed, that’s what I’m getting at. Are you saying that they cannot tell the difference?
The items in this post are verified as things that will be credited.
The end.
No, the items in this post are verified as things that HAVE BEEN credited. You have no idea whether there isn’t some new adherence to the rules in the works. As you know very well from the rules of MS, things change all the time. If someone has a choice between things that are specifically excluded, like GCs, and things that are not, like pet fares, he might be well advised to use the latter.
If there were changes I would know about them.
Well I made 2 separate purchases for $100 gift cards on the 29th and AMEX reimbursed them on 12/31. I suppose the way the transaction is coded when it posts, AMEX has no way of telling whether the items were gift cards or not. Thanks for the great advice. Hopefully it works next statement so that I can get 2018 out of the way before they put an end to it.
Thanks for backing me up as that’s all I was trying to say. By the way I got lucky and the transactions went through and I received the credit. Hopefully your luck was the same.
Please help: American Express website says that the airline credit CANT be applied towards airline ticket. See link – https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/benefits/detail/airline-fee-credit/platinum
This is true.
So?
Read the post. Follow the intructions.
The post gives you a bunch of ways to use the credit, including the basic “hack” of buying gift cards
How long does it normally take for Amex site (on the link above) to show when part of the credit was redeemed? As soon as its pending, or posted, or?
or 2-3 days later
aargh I mistakenly bought the gift cards from AA before i assigned them as my airline. If i assign right now think will be a problem?
A lot of people have posed this question but I haven’t seen a reply. If we are getting the card late December and make a GC purchase on the card ASAP (Amex gives you a digital copy of it before it arrives by mail) and the statement posts as no longer pending or the credit is applied in the next calendar year, will it still count as 2017 credit?
any way to spend the uber credit today? (brand new platnium card)
By Adding your card to your uber account and getting in an Uber:)
can you do the pet trick with southwest (95 each way….) and if im just choosing an airline now, will it work? someone worte something about waiting 36 hours…
36 hours is #fakenews
I chatted with a rep online today and he was willing to give me a manual credit for the airfare. So now I don’t even have to make any airline charges
I already selected and spent some on JetBlue anyway to spend the rest?
Did you try chatting to switch airlines?
if I process a gc purchase today, it wont post until 2018. Will Amex go by the transaction date or post date when determining which year’s allowance to deduct the credit from?
Transaction date in my experience.
Does the credit go by the date I made the transaction or by the date it posts?
I purchased the gift cards yesterday, the 30th, if it doesn’t post before the 1st will it still count towards the 2017 credit?
Still waiting for an answer.
Transaction date in my experience.
Seems to go by posted date. I did 4 $50 delta gift cards on Dec 31st. It posted on jan 1st and it seems to have gone towards 2018 credit.
Try calling/chatting with AMEX?
Next time don’t wait until the last day, this post was bumped 3 times in December…
I know, I know. Chatted. Guy said it should credit for 2017. Gonna escalate it and find out why it’s coming up as 2018 credit. Will see what happens
Anyone have any rock solid data points for the Chase Ritz. I just got mine in the mail this past week. My u Dre’s tan ding is that the airline credit is calendar year, not card member year….
*My understanding is
I already selected United and used half of my $200. Because the United registry is down, I was looking at MileagePlus Award Accelerator for an existing ticket. Anyone have experience with purchasing this and getting reimbursed?
Did you try chatting to switch airlines?
If I bought tickets in December but flying in 2018 do I get the credit for this year or for next year
Tickets are not eligible. Eligible items are listed in this post.
its accualy too late to charge it today, credit must come in 2017 if you doing it today you gonna get the 2018 credit
It has gone based on transaction date for me in the past.
NOT IN MY EXPIRIANCE…………
HAD IT POSTED AFTER THE FIRST (with transaction date)
and i didint recived the credit again that year
Did it have a 12/31 transaction date?
YES
Strange.
Did you call or chat to investigate why it didn’t count for the previous year?
was a cancelled economy plus………………..
was better not the call
LOL, true.
Hi bought the gc on 12/31, but transaction didn’t post till 1/1. I called and they told me it was authorized on 12/31 but delta didn’t ‘charge’ amex till 1/1 so that’s the date… anyway around that?
Used American Airlines 2x$100 gift cards as dan states one transaction works , but on my Amex account there is 1 transaction of $200 pending American Airlines . So I’m confused
That’s OK.
It will still work.
Thanks fully stacked up
2x$100 AA
3x$50 delta
2x$100 AA
Does citi prestige airline credit have anything with Dec 31 for previous year ?
I used a secondary card holders card to purchase delta gift cards. Will I have issues since it’s not the main card?
My account shows “credit available until Dec 2018”. I’m in Israel now. Is that because my laptop is on Israeli time, or is spending for 2017 closed?
Still shows 2017 for me in the EST.
Thanks for confirming. Gonna get some gift cards for those which I didn’t fill yet on other fees.
Rep said if I switch airline now, it may not take affect until 24 hrs. Is that a concern?
No.
I switched and did it right away.
Is there anywhere I can sell my delta gift cards? Because I’m notbl planning to fly in the next year .
Sell on DDF.
Or donate: https://www.dansdeals.com/advertisement/turn-airline-gift-cards-amex-travel-fee-credit-everlasting-investment-helping-patients-desperate-need-medical-care/
I bought four $50 Delta gift cards in one transaction, and it shows as one pending $200 charge on Amex.
Is this a problem, or will it still trigger the credit?
What ended up happening?
What is better to buy a physical delta gift card or a delta shift card?
just booked Alaska $99 transaction date on credit card showing already as January 1st
any way to still get the 2017 credit?
Just booked today, but showing as January 1 date.
Anything I can still do?
Can Alaska credit $200 be used on Virgin? AA can be used on USAirways, right?
Hi Dan
If I down grated my chase sapphire preferred can I open such a card again?
if I purchase 4 $50 delta gift cards in 1 transaction would it work cause the total would be more than $200 because theres a $4.95 shipping charge
I bought 2 southwest 50$ giftcards on dec 28th and still didnt get reimbursed any tips?
Did you register for Southwest beforehand?
I have gold card and registered for delta. American Express will not reimburse me for $100 gift card purchased on the card. What should I do?
I didn’t write that $100 Delta gift cards would work.
I have a Premier rewards gold card and registered for delta. American Express will not reimburse me for the $100 airlines travel!i purchased 2×50$ gift cards!. What should I?
Did you buy them on the Delta mobile or desktop site?
1. Dan tnx for taking the time to reply to me i really do appreciate it! And 2. I honestly don’t remember! If it was mobile what could i do?
Hi dan Could you pls reply tnx!
I placed the order and Immediately after I set delta as my airline Did I do it too late
Hi I just paid for the delta gc (4x 50 ) in one transaction and it’s showing up as 1 200$ charge, is that a problem?
Will Delta work for a $30 GC as well? since i have $30 still avail for airline credit.
Sure. The post is cautioning that the Delta GCs should not EXCEED $50 each.
FYI on delta GC site it says “Enter eGift Card value in $5 increments, Min.$50-Max.$1,000”
As far as gift cards go guys, I bought one for Southwest just a couple days ago (March 9th) and was immediately credited two days later. Not only that, it was an actual gift CARD and the total charge was 102.95 with shipping. I got nervous when I found out everyone was buying the e-gift cards, because I hear a lot of talk about the e-gift cards for the exact amount of $100 or $200 but apparently a plastic gift card works too. People were like, “Oh, you can trick Amex by buying in $50 and $100 increments because it looks like a baggage fee! Ha ha!” But Southwest doesn’t charge for checked bags, and if you read the fine print, the reimbursement is activated according how it’s coded, not the amount of the sale. PS, I’m sure Amex knows about this. It’s not like we’re tricking them, come on guys. Bottom line is it seems to work with Southwest! Good luck!
United chat about upgrade miles+fee
‘m sure, and assure you. Here is the list of ineligible charges.
Duke – Jul 5, 2018 7:42 PM
•Airline fee charge transactions billed to the account prior to airline selection •Airline tickets •Award ticket fees •Charges processed by Merchants other than the airline the Card Member has selected in (for example, in-flight Internet services providers such as GoGo) •Charges made by airline partners (for example, Card Member purchase tickets on selected airline Delta, but purchases food on an Air France flight) •Duty-free purchase •Frequent Flyer purchase •Gift Cards issued by airlines •Point transfer fees •Trip insurance / baggage insurance •Ticket upgrades (Including American Airlines Upgrade Stickers) •Travel agent fee