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 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.
Top-of-the-line American Express cards like *amex platinum card* come with an annual airline fee credit of $200, helping offset sizable annual fees on these cards. But over the years, it's gotten harder for travelers to put these credits toward booking flights: They're designed mostly to cover ancillary fees like baggage and seat assignment.
And while that complicates things, there are still some ways to squeeze plenty of value out of these travel credits – including for booking flights on airlines like Delta, Southwest, and United. We've got some ideas for how to put these credits to use before the year comes to a close.
Struggling with other credits on your Amex cards? Read our guide on the best ways to put them all to use!
All About Your Amex Airline Credits
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 last year when Amex swapped in a simpler setup as part of a big card overhaul.
All of 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 as all-encompassing as the $300 you get from the Chase Sapphire Reserve, which kicks in automatically for any travel-related purchase. With Amex airline credits, only certain purchases on select airlines qualify. And you have to pick just one airline each year, though there are some reports that American Express will let you change mid-way through the year by chatting with Amex.
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 Amex 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 and Fees
When you use frequent flyer miles, you're not exactly flying for free. But 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 before making the purchase through your Amex benefits.
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 Delta Pay with Miles to Trigger Your Amex Platinum Travel Credits
A longtime loophole to buy gift cards from certain airlines using these credits is dead. But there are still ways to use your Amex airline credits toward airfare with Delta.
One easy way involves Delta's Pay with Miles travel feature, one of our favorite ways to use Delta SkyMiles. We've tested this travel method repeatedly and can confirm it still works in 2024. It goes like this:
Amex 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.
Our testing suggests that 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. A few days later, the credit should kick in.
Just remember: You need to select Delta as your preferred airline before going this route.
… Or Use a Delta eCredit!
This workaround to maximize your Amex airline credits 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. Just as you can use Delta Pay with Miles to trigger an Amex airline credit, the same is true with applying a Delta eCredit when booking a new flight.
We've tested this method repeatedly over the years and confirmed it still works as of 2024. 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 guidelines apply: Regardless of which card you're using or how much in Amex airline credits you've got left, be sure to charge less than $250 to your Amex travel credit card. And as with all these workarounds, your mileage may vary: There's no guarantee this one will work forever. But as of earlier this month, it was still going strong.
Buy Cheap Flights on Southwest with Your Amex Travel Card
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 Amex airline 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 summer 2024, this workaround is still working!
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 unavoidable. It even works to upgrade to the Spirit Big Front Seat – Spirit's pseudo-first class seat!
Amex Travel Credit Card Lounge Day Passes
There are a handful of ways to get into airport lounges when traveling, including some of the premier American Express credit cards. The American Express Platinum card opens more lounge doors than any other credit card. But if you don't have one of these cards – or 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 your Amex airline credits should kick in to cover the cost.
With *amex platinum card*, you can still get into Delta Sky Clubs for free when flying Delta that day … but guests now cost another $50 apiece as Delta cracks down on overcrowding. So you can use these airline credits to cover Delta Sky Club access for your friends and family a few times each year, if you're feeling generous.
Come Feb. 1, 2025, Delta will cap Platinum cardholders to just 10 visits a year. After you exhaust that allotment, you can pay your way in for another $50 per visit. Set Delta as your designated airline, and you could use your Amex Platinum airline credits to cover another four Sky Club visits.
Buy Your Cuban Tourist Card
It's time to get creative.
There's certainly 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 is 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 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. And many don't even require you to pay for your flight with that card to get the benefit.
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
It's gotten harder and harder to use these annual Amex airline credits each year. Yet new workarounds and 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.