We’ve reached that time of year again—the annual tradition of panicked realizations. Many AMEX Platinum and Business Platinum cardholders are scrambling because the $200 Airline Fee Credit resets at the end of the year, and they haven’t used a cent.
If you’re in this boat, don’t worry. There’s still time, but you’ll need to get creative since AMEX doesn’t make it easy to use these credits.
Step 1: Assess Your Situation
First, figure out your starting point:
- Which airline did you select for the credit earlier this year?
- Have you used any of the credit yet?
That determines how straightforward (or annoying) this will be.
Important: Officially, American Express allows you to change your selected airline once each year in January. If you picked the “wrong” airline and it’s not January, some people report success changing it via chat (especially if you haven’t used any of the credit), but that’s not something you should count on at the last minute.
Step 2: Do Your Research
Before diving in, invest some time in research. While plenty of websites, videos, and podcasts promise to guide you, your best resource is often real-world data points.
FlyerTalk has dedicated threads for each airline with real-time reports on what works, what doesn’t, and how long credits take to post. You can explore the FlyerTalk AMEX section here. Frequent Miler also maintains an updated list of what’s working, which you can find here. Additionally, the AMEX subreddit often has current discussions and fresh data points.
Step 3: Know What’s Covered (and What’s Not)
AMEX is pretty clear about the intent of this credit: incidental fees charged by your selected airline.
One crucial detail: incidental fees generally need to be separate charges from the airline ticket itself. Also, fees not charged by your selected airline (for example, wireless internet or charges that run through an alliance/partner airline) typically won’t qualify.
Approved expenses may include:
- Checked baggage fees (including overweight/oversize)
- Itinerary change/cancel fees (when charged)
- Phone reservation fees
- Pet flight fees
- Seat assignment fees
- In-flight amenities (e.g., food, beverages, pillows/blankets, headphones)
- In-flight entertainment fees (wireless internet generally doesn’t qualify)
- Airport lounge day passes and annual memberships (when sold and charged by your selected airline)
On the other hand, these are not eligible:
- Airline tickets
- Upgrades
- Mileage points purchases or transfer fees
- Gift cards
- Duty-free purchases
- Award tickets
Step 4: Enter the Grey Zone (Carefully)
Here’s where it gets interesting. Over the years, travelers have found purchases that sometimes trigger the credit because of how they’re coded or processed. Those options come and go, and what worked last month might fail this week.
If you’re considering anything that isn’t clearly listed as an incidental fee, keep a few rules in mind:
- Follow instructions to the letter. Read, reread, and read again the specific steps provided by your source. Skipping or modifying any step can ruin your chances.
- Understand the risks. Grey-area attempts aren’t guaranteed. Even when something works for others, it may not work for you.
- Be patient. Credits don’t always post immediately. Check your sources for recent timelines and updates.
- Don’t cut it too close. If you want to use the credit before it resets, give yourself a few days of cushion before December 31.
Step 5: The Golden Rule: DO NOT CALL AMEX (About Grey-Area Attempts)
This cannot be stressed enough: do not call American Express to argue that a borderline/grey-area charge “should” qualify. If you attempt something questionable and it fails, contacting AMEX to question why your charge didn’t qualify is a great way to draw unwanted attention to that method.
Exception: If you used the credit the normal way (bag fees, seat fees, onboard food, etc.) and nothing posts after a reasonable amount of time, that’s a different situation—and calling/chatting is fair.
Closing Thoughts
Ideally, you would’ve used the credit earlier in the year to avoid this end-of-year scramble. But if you’re trying to use it now, stick to legitimate incidental fees when possible, do your homework, and give yourself enough time for the charge (and the credit) to show up.
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