How I'm Using My Amex Platinum's £400 Dining Credit (Offers End Tomorrow)

If you've been sitting on the fence about getting The Platinum Card from American Express, tomorrow night is your deadline. The enhanced welcome bonus of 75,000 Membership Rewards points (worth 75,000 Avios) plus £250 in travel credit ends on 13th January 2026. But today I want to talk about one of the card's most underrated benefits: the £400 annual dining credit.

I'll be honest – when I first got my Amex Platinum, the dining credit felt like a nice-to-have rather than a must-use. But after actually putting it to work over the past year, I've come to see it as one of the genuinely valuable perks that helps justify the £650 annual fee.

The structure is straightforward: you get £200 per year for UK restaurants and £200 per year for international restaurants. Each allocation is split into two halves: £100 for January-June and £100 for July-December. The credit is cumulative, so you don't need to blow it all in one meal – you can use it across multiple visits.

Crucially, this is an opt-in benefit. You need to register for both the UK and international offers separately in the Offers section of your Amex app or online account. Miss this step and you won't receive any cashback, no matter how many eligible restaurants you visit.

There are over 2,000 participating restaurants across 20 countries, including the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Australia, the US, and more.

Rather than just explaining the benefit theoretically, let me share how I've actually used it.

One of my favourite uses was a Sunday roast at The Ivy in Guildford, Surrey. The Ivy restaurants across the UK are participating venues for the UK credit, making them an accessible option whether you're in London or the regions. It felt particularly satisfying to have what would otherwise be a fairly pricey Sunday lunch effectively subsidised by a credit I'd have otherwise forgotten about.

The experience reminded me that the dining credit doesn't need to be saved for some special occasion in the distant future. Sometimes the best use is simply making an ordinary weekend feel a bit more special.

For the international credit, I used a chunk of it on a wagyu tasting menu whilst visiting Tokyo. Japan is one of the participating countries, and there are some genuinely excellent restaurants on the list there. If you're planning any travel to Asia in 2026, it's worth checking what's available in your destination before you go.

The beauty of using the credit abroad is that it effectively becomes a travel perk, subsidising what would otherwise be a splurge meal that you might talk yourself out of. When you know you've got £100 of credit to use, you're more likely to treat yourself to something memorable.

Thailand is also a participating country, and I'm planning to use another allocation of the credit there on an upcoming trip to Bangkok. The city has some fantastic dining options, and knowing I've got credit to burn makes the trip feel even more worthwhile.

The Amex Platinum has a £650 annual fee, which understandably puts many people off. But when you factor in £400 of dining credit that you'll genuinely use, you're effectively paying £250 for everything else the card offers:

That's before we even get to the welcome bonus, which is currently sitting at an enhanced 75,000 Membership Rewards points plus £250 in travel credit.

Here's the urgency: the enhanced Amex Platinum offer of 75,000 points plus £250 travel credit ends on 13th January 2026. After tomorrow, the bonus drops back to the standard 50,000 points with no travel credit.

The Amex Gold offer also ends tomorrow – currently 40,000 points with the first year free. This is a great starting point if the Platinum's £650 fee feels too steep, though you won't get the dining credit perk.

The card makes most sense if you:

If you hold British Airways American Express cards, you can still qualify for the Platinum welcome bonus – it's only previous holders of Membership Rewards-earning cards (Platinum, Gold, or Amex Rewards) who are excluded.

If you do get the card, here's how to get the most from the dining benefit:

The Amex Platinum isn't for everyone. The £650 annual fee is substantial, and you need to be honest about whether you'll actually use the benefits. But if you travel regularly and dine out with any frequency, the maths can work strongly in your favour.

The dining credit has become one of my favourite perks precisely because it's so tangible. Unlike lounge access (which requires being at an airport) or insurance (which you hope never to use), the dining credit delivers immediate, visible value every time you use it.

If you're considering the card, tomorrow is your last chance to get the enhanced offer. The 75,000 points alone are worth around £375 if transferred to Avios at a conservative 0.5p valuation – and considerably more if you redeem them well. Add the £250 travel credit and the dining credits, and you're looking at close to £1,000 of value before you even start using the ongoing benefits.

For those looking at business credit card options, the Amex Business Platinum also offers dining credit as part of its benefits package. It's worth considering alongside the personal card depending on your circumstances.

Happy dining – and happy points earning.

Jack