One of the perks of owning a premium American Express charge card is the yearly Air Travel Credit. For those holding an American Express Personal or Business Platinum card, this means a $200 credit. While many see this as an easy way to offset the hefty annual fees, I’ve always been skeptical. As I’ve explained here, these credits aren’t exactly cash in your pocket.
American Express has also become stricter about what the credit is meant to cover: incidental fees charged by your chosen airline. So, what exactly are these credits good for in 2026 — and which airlines make it easiest to actually use the full $200? Spoiler: it’s not always the airlines you’d expect.
Eligible Airlines
You can use the credit with the following carriers:
- Alaska
- American
- Delta
- Hawaiian
- JetBlue
- Spirit
- Southwest
- United
You can only receive the fee credit for one airline. After your card approval (or at any point if you haven’t selected one yet), you must select your preferred airline in your Amex account benefits section.
Important: Amex’s official policy is that you can change your selected airline once per year in January. If you don’t change it, your selection carries over.
What Counts (and Doesn’t Count)?
AMEX offers a list of reimbursable fees, excluding certain expenses like tickets, upgrades, and gift cards (full details here). Eligible charges can include:
- Ticket change/cancellation fees (when charged separately)
- Lounge day passes or memberships (when charged by the airline)
- Checked bag fees (including overweight/oversized bags)
- Seat selection fees (e.g., preferred seats, extra legroom seat fees, etc.)
- In-flight purchases (food and drinks)
One key distinction to remember: seat selection fees may qualify, but cabin or fare upgrades generally do not. In other words, paying a fee to pick a seat is different from paying to move into a higher cabin or a bundled fare that includes a bunch of extras.
Best Airlines to Maximize the Credit (2026 Edition)
Here’s where it gets interesting. In my experience, the easiest airlines to use the credit with are still JetBlue and Spirit — and in 2026, Southwest is now firmly on that list too.
Why? These airlines are more “à la carte,” meaning you’ll see more charges that fall into the incidental-fee bucket (seat selection, bags, and onboard purchases).
Examples of Smart Credit Usage:
Southwest extra legroom seat
- Southwest:
- Seat selection fees (Southwest now offers assigned seats, including Extra Legroom options on many flights)
- Checked bag fees (especially if you don’t have status or a fare/card benefit that includes free bags)
- JetBlue:
- Even More Seats (when added to a Blue or Blue Basic fare after booking in Manage Trips or during check-in)
- Checked bag fees
- Spirit:
- Seat selection fees
- Checked bag fees
- Big Front Seat (note: Amex excludes “upgrades,” so this may depend on how the charge is processed — don’t count on it as your only strategy)
Pro Tip
For the credit to apply reliably, it usually helps to book the flight first, then add services afterward — because Amex generally requires incidental fees to be separate charges from the airfare.
It might seem counterintuitive to use premium card credits on low-cost carriers, but these airlines’ pricing structures provide plenty of opportunities to actually use the full benefit.
Final Thoughts
If you have a card with an airline fee credit, remember that AMEX credits reset at the beginning of the year. You also have until the end of January to switch your selected airline for the year if you want to change it.
So, how do you use your AMEX Air Travel Credit? Share your strategies in the comments below!
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
