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One of the most valuable benefits offered by premium American Express cards like The Platinum Card® from American Express, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, and Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is a yearly airline incidental fee credit. When you use your card to pay for extras like checked baggage, seat selection, or inflight purchases on one eligible airline of your choice, you'll receive a statement credit toward the charge, up to a certain amount each year.
The maximum airline fee credits you can receive varies by card, but in all cases, the benefit resets at the end of the calendar year. They don't roll over to the next year; if you don't use them, you lose them.
Here's where things get a little tricky: American Express only publishes a partial list of airline fees that qualify for reimbursement. And although the terms and conditions for the benefit specifically exclude certain types of airline purchases, some cardholders have had success triggering the credit with transactions that aren't listed as eligible.
Depending on the Amex card you have, you'll receive up to a specified amount in airline incidental fee credits on your selected airline:
When you open the card, Amex allows you to choose one airline from a list with which to use the credit, and you can change your selection each January. You can make your selection under the "Benefits" section in your Amex online account, through online chat, or by calling the number on the back of your card.
Unofficially, it's possible to change your airline even if it's not January — in the past, many cardholders (self included) have been able to do so easily via online chat — but there's no guarantee this will always work. This can be handy if you've had a change of travel plans, or if it's near the end of the year and you want to use up the credit before it expires.
Once you've made your choice, you'll receive a statement credit toward eligible purchases made with the card on your selected airline, up to the yearly limit. The reimbursement typically posts within a few days of the transaction, although the terms say it can take up to four weeks.
Amex relies on airline transaction data to determine if a charge qualifies for the credit, so if you don't see a statement credit after four weeks, use online chat or call the number on the back of your card for help.
American Express is very clear about what will not qualify for the airline incidental fee reimbursement. According to the terms and conditions, you won't receive a credit for these types of purchases:
However, these exclusions haven't always been strictly enforced. For example, until mid-2019, gift card purchases from some airlines would trigger the reimbursement even though they weren't technically allowed. And some cardholders have reported receiving the credit for cheap airfare purchases (typically less than $100) on certain airlines. That doesn't mean similar purchases will work for you, so proceed with caution if you use the card to pay for a fee that isn't explicitly included.
Officially, the airline incidental fee credit reimbursement will cover the following charges:
Anecdotal reports from cardmembers suggest other incidental fees — not mentioned by Amex — are also eligible, including priority boarding, award ticket cancellation, and mileage-redeposit fees. However, be aware that because such fees are not on the official list, you may have trouble getting reimbursement if it doesn't appear automatically.
Remember, these purchases only qualify if they're with your selected airline.
Some people still aren't traveling as much as they used to, so cardholders might find themselves unable to use all of their Amex airline fee credits right now. Because these credits are a good way to partially offset the hefty annual fees on these cards, it's natural to want to maximize them before they reset at the end of the year.
Even if you don't have immediate travel plans, here are a few options (all of which are officially eligible) for using up your Amex airline fee credit:
If you are traveling but won't have any fees or purchases to make, you could always pay for someone else's bag fee at the check-in counter or treat your seatmate to an inflight beverage or snack. You'll have the satisfaction of using up your credits, and will make someone's day a little better at the same time.
Log into your Amex account and navigate to the benefits section to select your preferred airline. Note that you can typically change your airline selection once per year in January.
The credit can be used for checked baggage fees, in-flight refreshments, and Wi-Fi, seat selection fees, and other incidentals. Note that ticket purchases, upgrades, and gift cards are usually not covered.
Yes, as long as the charges are from the airline you've selected for your credit and fall under the eligible expense categories.
Check your Amex account statement. Credits for eligible purchases typically appear within 2-4 weeks after the transaction.
Unused credits do not roll over to the next year. It's important to utilize the full credit amount within the calendar year.