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Hey, everyone. Welcome back to Smart with Points.

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I'm Jack, and if you're listening to this podcast right now instead of filling out an American Express application, I hope you've got a very good reason because as of midnight tonight, that's the 13th of January 2026, some of the best credit card welcome bonuses we've seen in the UK for years are about to disappear.

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And honestly, I'm not being dramatic here. This is genuinely your last chance.

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So let's get straight into it because time is literally money in this case, or rather, time is points, which as we all know, is basically the same thing when you're traveling smart. Right. What exactly is ending tonight?

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American Express UK has been running enhanced welcome bonuses on two of their flagship cards, the Platinum Card and the Preferred Rewards Gold card.

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And when I say enhanced, I mean properly enhanced, not just a few extra points thrown in for show. Let's start with the Platinum Card.

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Through our link, you can currently get eighty-five thousand Membership Rewards points. Now, the public offer is seventy-five thousand, so that's already ten thousand points better just by using our link.

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But here's where it gets really interesting. On top of those eighty-five thousand points, you also get two hundred and fifty pounds in American Express travel credit.

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This isn't some restrictive voucher that only works on Tuesdays in February. This is actual money you can spend on flights, hotels, car rentals, or entire holiday packages through Amex Travel Online.

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Now, what do you need to do to get this? You need to spend six thousand pounds within the first three months. Yes, that's quite a lot. I'm not going to pretend it isn't. But here's the thing.

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If you've got business expenses coming up, if you're planning to book travel anyway, or if you've got large purchases on the horizon, it's very doable. And here's a pro tip.

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You can add a supplementary cardholder, and their spending counts towards your six thousand pound target. So if you're doing this with a partner, you're both working towards the same goal.

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After tonight, this offer drops to just fifty thousand points with no travel credit. Let me repeat that. Fifty thousand points, no travel credit.

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That's a difference of thirty-five thousand points and two hundred and fifty pounds. If we're being conservative with valuations, that's roughly six hundred pounds in total value just vanishing at midnight. Gone. Poof.

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Now, let's talk about the Preferred Rewards Gold card, which in my opinion is actually the bigger no-brainer of the two. Currently, you can get forty-five thousand points via referral.

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That's forty thousand publicly when you spend five thousand pounds in six months. And here's the kicker. There's no annual fee in the first year. Let me say that again. No annual fee in the first year.

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You're essentially being paid to try the card. The standard bonus after tonight, just twenty thousand points. You'd be leaving twenty-five thousand points on the table.

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That's twenty-five thousand Avios if you transfer to British Airways, which could easily cover a return flight to Europe in business class for free with zero annual fee in year one. I mean, come on.

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Now, some of you might be thinking, "Okay, Jack, these point numbers sound impressive, but what can I actually do with them?" Excellent question. Let me break this down. Membership Rewards points are incredibly flexible.

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They transfer to loads of airline and hotel programs. If you got the full eighty-five thousand points from the Platinum Card, you could convert those into eighty-five thousand Avios.

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That's enough for a return Club World flight to New York with change to spare or eighty-five thousand Virgin points, which is perfect for upper class to the Caribbean,

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or eighty-five thousand Flying Blue miles, which opens up Air France La Première availability. You can also transfer to multiple hotel loyalty currencies, including Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and more.

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We've actually got an Avios calculator on our website that lets you see exactly how far your points could take you. It's really useful for planning. Right. Now, this is crucial, so please pay attention.

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Do you actually qualify for these bonuses? For the Platinum Card, you qualify if you haven't held any other personal Amex card that earns Membership Rewards points in the past twenty-four months.

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That means Platinum or Gold. But here's something important. If you've got a BA Amex card, you do still qualify for the Platinum bonus.

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British Airways Amex cards are treated differently because they earn Avios directly, not Membership Rewards points. For the Gold card, the rules are stricter.

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You qualify if you haven't held any personal American Express card at all in the past twenty-four months. So if you've got a BA Amex, unfortunately, you don't qualify for the Gold card bonus.

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Now, here's something interesting. Business Amex cards don't affect your eligibility for personal card bonuses at all.

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They're treated completely separately by Amex, and if you've only been a supplementary cardholder on someone else's account, you're still eligible for your own welcome bonus.

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If you're not sure what you're eligible for, we've actually got an Amex welcome bonus eligibility tool on our website that can help you figure it out.

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But even if you don't qualify yourself, think outside the box for a moment. Could your partner apply? Your adult children? Your parents?

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If any of them are in your British Airways Executive Club household account, those points can be pooled together.

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The new cardholder could issue you a free supplementary card on their account, and your spending would count towards triggering their bonus. It's a perfectly legitimate way to maximize these offers.

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Now let's address the elephant in the room. The Platinum Card has an annual fee of six hundred and fifty pounds. That sounds steep. I completely understand if you just did a little intake of breath

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But let's actually do the maths on this welcome offer specifically. Eighty-five thousand points equals roughly eight hundred and fifty pounds in travel value, and I'm being conservative there.

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The two hundred and fifty pound Amex travel credit is straight-up money. Then you've got the two hundred pound UK dining credit. That's one hundred pounds per half year.

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There's also a two hundred pound international dining credit. You get two Priority Pass cards with unlimited lounge access, which is easily worth two hundred pounds or more per year if you travel with any regularity.

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Plus you get hotel elite status with Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold, and Radisson Premium. That's variable but genuinely valuable.

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Add all that up, and you're already well over one thousand five hundred pounds in first-year value against a six hundred and fifty pound fee. And here's something critical that not everyone knows.

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Amex offers pro rata refunds if you cancel. So if you try the card for a few months and decide it's not for you, you get most of your annual fee back. The risk is actually quite minimal.

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As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium member myself, I can tell you that hotel status genuinely delivers value.

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Room upgrades, late checkouts, bonus points, these things really do add up across multiple stays throughout the year. I'm not just saying that because it sounds good. Look, I'm going to be completely honest with you.

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These are genuinely excellent offers by UK standards. We don't often see bonuses this high, and when we do, they don't last long.

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I've been doing this for years, and I can tell you that enhanced offers like this typically come around once, maybe twice a year if we're lucky.

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The Gold card at forty-five thousand points with no first year fee is, in my opinion, an absolute no-brainer if you qualify. You're literally being paid to try the card with zero risk.

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I can't think of a reason not to apply if you're eligible. The Platinum card requires more consideration given that six hundred and fifty pound fee.

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But if you travel frequently, particularly if you don't already have airline lounge access through status, the Priority Pass benefit alone can justify a significant chunk of that cost.

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I've got lounge access through my British Airways Gold status and my Amex Platinum business, so I'm pretty well covered. But for those without airline status, the personal Platinum is genuinely compelling.

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Now just quickly on business cards, the enhanced Business Platinum, which was offering one hundred and twenty thousand points, and Business Gold, which was offering sixty thousand points, those offers actually ended back in October.

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The current standard offers are still solid, fifty thousand points for Business Platinum and twenty thousand for Business Gold. Not as spectacular as these personal card offers, but still decent.

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The good news about business cards is that following a rule change in two thousand and twenty-four, if you're accepted for any business Amex, you will receive the sign-up bonus. No ifs, no buts.

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It doesn't matter what other Amex cards you have or recently had. That's a big change from how it used to work. Right, so the clock is genuinely ticking here.

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Applications must be approved by tonight, the thirteenth of January two thousand and twenty-six, to qualify for these enhanced bonuses. After midnight, we're back to the standard offers.

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If you're going to apply, do it now. Don't leave it until eleven fifty-nine PM and risk some technical glitch ruining everything. That would be absolutely gutting.

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You can get the Platinum card with up to eighty-five thousand points plus the two hundred and fifty pound travel credit, or the Gold card with up to forty-five thousand points and the first year free by clicking the links in our show notes.

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Whatever you decide, make sure it's an informed decision rather than just letting these offers slip away through inaction.

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That's the worst outcome, not making a deliberate choice either way, but just running out of time. All right, that's everything you need to know. Thanks so much for listening to Smart with Points.

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If you found this useful, please do subscribe to the podcast.

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We're on all major platforms, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you're listening right now, or you can subscribe directly on our website at smartwithpoints.co.uk.

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And finally, here's a quick message about Award Travel Finder. Looking for the best award flights? Use awardtravelfinder.com to search availability across Qatar Airways, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, and more.

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Try it for free with our link in the show notes. Right, I'm off to make sure I've told everyone I know about these offers before midnight. Happy collecting, everyone.