From lucrative bonus spending categories to significant statement credit perks, the American Express® Gold Card is a heavyweight when it comes to rewarding food lovers.

Editor's note: In late October 2024, Finnair dramatically increased award prices for flights within the continental U.S. and Canada. Economy award rates increased from 11,000 Avios to 16,500 Avios, and first-class rates increased from 30,000 Avios to 40,000 Avios.

American Express Membership Rewards points are not only one of the most valuable credit-card currencies, they’re also quite easy to earn. The points are especially useful if you’re a Delta Air Lines flyer.

Membership Rewards is a transfer partner of the Delta SkyMiles program as well as several airline loyalty programs whose miles can be used to book Delta-operated flights for fewer miles than what the SkyMiles program would charge.

LifeMiles is a frequent flyer program of Avianca, Colombia’s biggest and oldest airline. Avianca is one of the Star Alliance member airlines so when you earn or redeem LifeMiles, you have access to the biggest airline alliance in the world and its extensive networks. Theoretically, you can get anywhere in the world with LifeMiles. 

The program has lots of fans, but it’s not the easiest to use. Airlines don’t grant all of their partners the same access to award space, and LifeMiles’ website also leaves a lot to be desired.

If you’re looking for a solid, do it all travel card, then The Platinum Card® from American Express should be on your radar. This one card brings you great airport lounge access, hotel status, and more.

Let’s keep it short, because there’s a lot to get into with this great card and we’re going to take a deep dive into everything you need to know about the Amex Platinum.

The Basics of The Platinum Card from American Express

Before we dive deep into the perks of the Amex Platinum, we need to go over all the basics.

With a wallet full of credit cards, it's best practice to commonly assess your credit card portfolio to ensure that the benefits you receive from the cards outweigh the annual fees that you pay. If not, it's time to close that card or cards in most cases.

If you have The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees) or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees), you’ve probably poked around the benefits page and came across the Fine Hotels + Resorts program. 

The FHR program provides elite-like benefits at select properties for hotels booked through the program. In order to get all the benefits, you do need to book through the FHR program and not directly with the property.

Chase Ultimate Rewards is one of our favorite flexible rewards currencies, and today’s news adds a much needed boost for Ultimate Rewards.

Avianca’s frequent flyer program, LifeMiles, is a program many people love to hate. Yes, there is a somewhat quirky web interface, hard to reach customer service and often the program doesn’t show the same award space as other Star Alliance partners.

Many travelers have Australia on their bucket list. There really is something for everyone, from the snorkeling and diving at the Great Barrier Reef to wineries, cool cities and spectacular beaches. 

The competition for the very limited number of award seats to get there, however, is fierce. Airlines’ frequent miler programs certainly don’t make it easy and finding award space on the nonstop flights from the U.S. could be quite a challenge.