Originally posted 5/7/26, reposting 6/12/26 since the timing is good now to apply for a Platinum card and maximize the semi-annual FHR credit and the quarterly Resy and Lululemon credits. (ht sixsillysquirrels)
The Offer
Schwab link | Morgan Stanley link
- American Express Charles Schwab Platinum is offering 150,000 bonus points after $12,000 in spend within the first 6 months.
- American Express Morgan Stanley Platinum is offering 150,000 bonus points after $12,000 in spend within the first 6 months.
Offers end 7/8/26.
Card Details
Card Details
- Annual fee of $895 is not waived the first year
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 5x points per $1 spent on purchases made with airlines directly
- 5x points per $1 spent on prepaid hotel & airline bookings made on the American Express travel website
- 1x points on all other purchases
- Lounge access:
- Centurion lounge access
- International American Express lounge access
- Delta SkyClub lounge access
- Priority pass select membership
- Airspace lounge access
- The Global Lounge Collection
-
Leaders Club Sterling status for Leading Hotels of the World, Marriott Gold status, Hilton Gold status, car rental status with Avis, Hertz, National
-
No foreign transaction fees
Card Credits
- $600 hotel credit ($300 from Jan-June and $300 from Jul-Dec), (FHR any stay; THC min. 2-night stay), more discussion in this dedicated post
- $400 Resy credit ($100 per quarter) – See the post, Maximizing The Resy $400 Dining Credit On American Express Platinum Card.
- $300 Lululemon credit ($75 each quarter) – See this post, Maximizing The Lululemon $300 Credit On American Express Platinum Card.
- $300 Entertainment credits – the Entertainment credit is being increased from $20 to $25 each month, and also expands what works to include the following: Disney+, a Disney+ bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Paramount+, Peacock, The Wall Street Journal, YouTube Premium, and YouTube TV. More discussion here.
- $120 Uber One credit
- $200 Uber Cash
- $200 Oura Ring credit. Oura does require a paid subscription, see more analysis in this dedicated post.
- $200 airline incidental credit
- $155 Walmart+ membership credit ($12.99 each month)
- $100 Saks credit ($50 Jan-Jun, $50 Jul-Dec) – this credit is ending soon
- $300 Equinox credit and $300 SoulCycle credit
- $209 CLEAR membership credit
- $85/$120 TSApre/GlobalEntry credits (once every 4-4.5 years)
Exclusives
Exclusive to the Morgan Stanley version:
- Get your first Additional Platinum Card Free (The annual fee for each Additional Platinum Card is $195. There is no annual fee for Companion Platinum Cards.)
- Redeem points as cash, credited to your E*TRADE or Morgan Stanley account, at a value of 1 cent per point. Unlimited.
- Morgan Stanley Annual Engagement Bonus – up to $895 annually into your Platinum CashPlus account offsetting the annual fee. (Must have Platinum CashPlus account, Morgan investment relationship, $5k monthly deposits + $25k daily cash balance requirements to avoid CashPlus fees.)
Exclusive to the Schwab version:
- Redeem points as cash, credited to your Schwab brokerage or retirement account, at a value of 1.1 cents per point. Limit 1M points (.8 cents afterward).
- Schwab Appreciation Bonus – an annual statement credit based on Schwab assets: $100 with $250k+, $200 with $1M+, $1,000 with $10M+.
Our Verdict
This is the highest-ever straight-up points offer on the Schwab and Morgan Stanley Platinum cards. They did also raise the spend from $8,000 to $12,000. Some people will also be interested in the cashout option, especially from the Schwab card with the 1.1 cent cashout rate.
The annual fee is massive at $895, but many people find it worth the fee with all the added credits. I’m considering applying. We will add this to our list of the best credit card bonuses.
Typically you can get one bonus per lifetime from AmEx, and so it might be easier to get these other flavors of AmEx Platinum if you previously had the vanilla AmEx Platinum card. In reality, I’m not sure how much any of this matters since AmEx introduced popup jail – if interested, simply submit an application and see if they offer you the bonus.
Note: the regular AmEx Platinum card offers “as high as” 175,000 points so you might want to try that one first and see if they offer the 175k offer for you.