Among the major perks that can help offset hefty annual fees on your top American Express travel credit cards, few go further than annual Amex airline fee credits. But using these airline fee credits isn't as simple as it seems – at least not without some guidance.
That's what we're here for.
American Express's top-of-the-line card, *amex platinum card* comes with an annual airline fee credit of up to $200, helping offset a good chunk of its sizable $695 annual fee (see rates & fees). But putting this credit to use isn't as easy as simply booking a ticket – read the rules, and you'll see they're designed mostly to cover ancillary fees like baggage and seat assignment.
But rules were meant to be broken. There are still some crafty ways to squeeze plenty of value out of these travel credits – including for booking flights on airlines like Delta, Southwest, and United. With harsh restrictions on Delta Sky Club access set to take effect come Feb 1, you could even use these credits to stretch your Delta lounge access further this year.
With a new set of credits in hand to kick off 2025, we've got some ideas for how to put these credits to use wisely.
Struggling with other credits on your Amex cards? Read our guide on the best ways to put them all to use!
How Amex Airline Credits Work
The airline credits you get from Amex travel cards are fairly straightforward … until they're not.
The Amex Platinum gets you $200 each year, as does the *biz platinum*. The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card previously got $250 a year in airline credits, though that ended just over a year ago when Amex swapped in a simpler setup as part of a big card overhaul. The *amex gold* lost its own airline credits a few years back, too.
These travel credits reset each calendar year, not based on the month you opened your account. So you can use up the credits from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31. Just beware that these credits don't carry over from year to year. You have to use them … or lose them!
These credits aren't nearly as all-encompassing as the $300 you get from the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which kicks in automatically for any travel-related purchase.
Only certain purchases on select airlines qualify. And you have to pick just one airline, though there are some reports that American Express will let you change mid-way through the year by chatting with Amex. Otherwise, your selection should automatically carry over from year to year.
Just log in to your American Express account and head for the “Benefits” tab to select your preferred airline. American Express has a handy meter which tracks how much of your airline credits you've used.
So what airlines make the cut? All the big U.S. airline carriers are eligible.
- United Airlines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Spirit Airlines
- American Airlines
- JetBlue Airways
- Southwest Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- Alaska Airlines
And what purchases will trigger the credit? Well, a lot. But it's important to stress that buying airfare outright generally won't work – with some workarounds, as you'll see.
Cabin upgrades, buying miles, and several other similar purchases also aren't eligible. Because most airlines have farmed out their connectivity to third-party companies, buying in-flight Wi-Fi generally won't work, either.
In short, these travel credits are meant to cover incidental fees. And that leaves us with a handful of great ways to use these credits every year. But keep reading for some workarounds that you can employ to use these credits to fly for free.
Cover Award Taxes & Fees
Any time you redeem frequent flyer miles, you're not exactly flying for free. These travel credits can change that.
Every award ticket gets hit with some cash fees and taxes. These vary widely, from the standard $5.60 on every one-way domestic flight in the U.S. to $1,000 or more on most business class flights departing London-Heathrow (LHR).
It may vary by airline, but you should be able to charge those fees to your Amex travel credit card and have the credit kick in to cover them. Just remember that you have to select your airline through your Amex benefits before making the purchase. And you'll have to book through a U.S. airline.
For example, you could automatically cover this $86 in taxes and fees so long as you select Delta as your preferred carrier, then use your Amex card to pay.
Use a Delta eCredit (or a Gift Card) to Trigger Your credits
A longtime loophole to buy gift cards from certain airlines using these credits is dead. But there are still ways to use your airline credits toward airfare with Delta … and this workaround was tailor-made for savvy travelers.
Thousands of travelers are still stuck with Delta eCredits and travel vouchers after canceling trips over the last few years – or taking advantage when prices drop after you book. You can use those credits to book a flight … and trigger the airline credits on your Platinum Card, too, bringing your final price tag even lower.
Here's the trick: Regardless of the sum of credits you've got left, be sure to charge less than $250 to your Amex card. So if your Delta tickets are $350, you'd want to apply at least a $101 eCredit to knock your final price down to $249 or less. Charge the balance to your Amex card and a few days later, the credit should kick in.
We've tested this method repeatedly over the years and confirmed it still works as of early 2025. In one recent example, it involved a $411 flight using a $266 Delta eCredit, bringing the balance down to about $145. We charged it to an Amex Platinum Card with $200 in unused credits and voila – those credits kicked in a few days later.
The same principles apply if you use a Delta gift card. Trying to book a $300 flight and use your airline credits, too? You could buy a $100 Delta gift card, apply it to that flight, charge the $200 balance to your card, and cover the full amount.
As with all these workarounds, your mileage may vary: There's no guarantee this one will work forever. But for now, it's still going strong and one of our absolute favorite ways to put your Amex credits to use.
Or Use Delta Pay with Miles
Just as you can use an eCredit to trigger these credits the same is true with using the airline's novel Pay with Miles feature – one of our favorite ways to use Delta SkyMiles.
We've tested this travel method repeatedly and can confirm it's still working. It goes like this:
Amex Platinum cardholders who also have one of Delta's co-branded American Express cards can use Pay with Miles, which allows you to put SkyMiles toward the cash price of your ticket. Every SkyMile is worth 1 cent using this method, so 5,000 SkyMiles knocks $50 off the price.
By applying some miles toward your purchase, you can then charge the remaining balance to your Amex Platinum or Hilton Aspire card – and the credit should kick in.
Again, the final charge to your Amex travel card (after using Pay with Miles) should be under $250 for this method to work. So if your plane tickets are $350, you'd want to apply at least 15,000 SkyMiles to knock the price down to $200 before charging that balance to your Amex card. A few days later, the credit should kick in.
Buy Cheap Flights on Southwest
Until recently, Southwest was one of the few remaining airlines from which you could buy a gift card with your airline credits. But when one travel loophole closes, another one opens.
There is plenty of research that buying airfare straight from Southwest will trigger your credit … so long as the charge is under $100. That could get tricky. In most cases, it would require buying one-way flights separately rather than a round-trip fare.
Still, it's an elegant way to use up these credits for flights on Southwest. Once again, be sure to pick the right airline by logging into your American Express before you check out.
Load Up Your United TravelBank
This might be the easiest method of all. But be warned: It's an on-again, off-again loophole to easily put your Platinum Card's airline fee credits toward airfare. Sometimes it may work, and other times it won't.
United Airlines has a novel program called TravelBank, which allows you to park cash in an account to use on future United flights. Best of all, any money you put in your TravelBank account won't expire for five years – unless if you go 18 months with no account activity.
Still, this is an easy way to put your airline credits toward airfare. Just select United as your preferred airline, then use your Amex card to load your TravelBank funds. You can purchase in six increments: $50, $100, $250, $500, $750, and $1,000.
That way, you load up your TravelBank a few times over the years (or with multiple Amex cards) and put it all toward a flight with United. As of early 2025, this workaround is still working!
Buy Yourself Some Extra Sky Club Visits
Delta is dropping the hammer on travelers waltzing into Sky Club lounges this year.
Starting Feb. 1, cardholders with the *delta reserve card* will be capped at 15 visits a year. It's worse with the *amex platinum*: You'll be limited to 10 trips.
… or will you? Here's the thing: Once you've exhausted your annual lounge allotment, Delta will let cardholders pay their way into the club for $50 a pop. That's tailor-made for using the Amex Platinum's airline credits, extending your annual quota to 14.
Just pay at the door with your Platinum Card and your credits should kick in a few days later. You can also cover the $50 guest charge this way.
You'll just need to ensure you've selected (or changed) your preferred airline to Delta in your Amex account in order to make this work.
Read more: Strict Delta Sky Club Limits are Coming, Use this Tip for More Visits this Year
Or Purchase Day Passes at Other Airline Lounges
From Sky Clubs to Amex Centurion Lounges to 1,200-plus Priority Pass locations and more, American Express Platinum card opens more lounge doors than any other credit card. But if you're at an airport with precious few lounge options, there's another way to get into some airline lounges.
United and American Airlines both sell single-visit day passes at some lounges for $59 each if you're flying with them that day. While that may be steep, it could easily be worth it to survive a long layover.
So long as you've designated that airline on your American Express benefits, simply pay the lounge fee with your card and these credits should kick in to cover the cost.
Pick Your Seats – Or Fly Up Front with Spirit
Whether you're flying on a budget airline or on a basic economy fare, paying to pick your seat on the plane is the new normal.
Paying for a seat could easily be worth it. It sure beats playing middle seat roulette, and it's a great way to make flying United basic economy, American basic economy, and Delta basic economy a bit more bearable.
These big airlines typically charge between $9 and $29 or even more for a seat assignment on domestic flights. That means you can use your American Express airline credits to pick your seat on dozens of flights each year.
Just pay for your seat on your designated airline with your American Express Platinum Card, and the travel credit should kick in to cover the cost.
Note that this also works on budget airline carriers like Spirit and Frontier, where seat selection fees are generally unavoidable. It even works to upgrade to the Spirit Big Front Seat – Spirit's pseudo-first class seat!
Buy Your Cuban Tourist Card
It's time to get creative.
There's a lot to know before you travel to Cuba … but as long as you follow the rules, you shouldn't run into any issues. And regardless of which airline or city you are flying to Havana (HAV) from, you will be required to purchase a Cuban travel visa (also known as a tourist card). Think of this as your ticket to enter Cuba, which can be purchased directly from your airline either at check-in or at the gate of your flight departing for Havana.
These tourist cards cost $50 to $100, depending on the airline. On a recent trip to Cuba, we purchased our tourist cards through Delta using our Platinum Card from American Express. Delta charges $50 for the tourist card. And since Delta was our selected airline, it was automatically reimbursed five business days later.
It isn't clear whether this will work for all other airlines flying to Havana, but we'd be shocked if it didn't.
Reduce Baggage Fees
We saved the worst for last.
This is the quintessential airline fee that these credits were designed to cover. And with airlines now charging at least $35 each way for checked bags domestically, it's not a bad way to save some money.
But there are better ways. Namely, most major U.S. airlines have a co-branded credit card that offers free checked baggage on every flight. Many don't even require you to pay for your flight with that card to get the benefit. Otherwise you could just … not check a bag and pack in just a carry on instead.
So while you could use your American Express card to wipe out checked baggage fees, there are simply better options to get a bag for free.
Bottom Line
Using your $200 annual airline credit on the Amex Platinum Card isn't exactly automatic … but there are a handful of savvy ways and easy workarounds you could employ to put them to use wisely. And new strategies to use these travel credits wisely seem to pop up every year, too.
This list should show you that it's still fairly easy to maximize these travel credits.