American Express Launches Massive UK Welcome Bonuses: 85,000 Points + £250 on Platinum, 45,000 Points on Gold

American Express has just launched what might be their most generous UK welcome bonus package we've seen this year. Running until 13th January 2026, the offers include an enhanced Platinum Card bonus of 85,000 Membership Rewards points plus £250 in travel credit, and a boosted Gold Card bonus of 45,000 points with the first year free.

For context, the standard Platinum bonus is typically 50,000 points, whilst Gold usually offers 20,000 points. These enhanced offers represent a significant opportunity for anyone looking to boost their points balance heading into 2026. The public offers are slightly lower at 75,000 and 40,000 points respectively, but our referral links unlock the higher bonuses.

The headline offer here is impressive: 85,000 Membership Rewards points (which convert 1:1 to Avios) plus £250 to spend at American Express Travel. You'll need to spend £6,000 within three months to unlock this bonus.

Let's be honest about the maths here. The £650 annual fee is substantial, but when you factor in what you're getting, the numbers tell a compelling story.

First, there's the 85,000 Membership Rewards points. At a conservative valuation of 1p per point for Avios redemptions (though they're often worth considerably more on premium cabin bookings), that's £850 worth of travel right there. Then you've got the £250 travel credit, which is valid for 12 months from bonus activation and can be used on flights, hotels, or car hire at travel.americanexpress.co.uk. On top of that, there's £400 in dining credits split evenly between UK restaurants (£200, paid as £100 per half-year) and international restaurants (another £200, also £100 per half-year).

Even before considering the other benefits, you're looking at £1,500 in value from bonuses and credits alone against a £650 fee. The crucial detail here is that Amex still offers pro-rata fee refunds if you cancel, so the financial risk is minimal if you decide it's not for you after a few months.

Having held British Airways Gold status for a while now, I'll admit the Priority Pass benefit is less valuable to me personally – I'm already accessing oneworld lounges. However, for those without airline status, the Priority Pass membership (covering you plus a guest across 1,400+ lounges globally) is genuinely useful.

What I do value is the hotel status. Permanent Gold status with Hilton Honours and Marriott Bonvoy, plus Premium with Radisson Rewards. As a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium member myself, I know how much value these elite tiers deliver. Room upgrades, late checkouts, and bonus points add up quickly across multiple stays throughout the year.

The travel insurance is another benefit I rely on heavily. Comprehensive family cover is included, which eliminates a separate annual expense. I've been using my Amex Platinum Business for this very reason, and it's saved me hundreds annually compared to purchasing standalone travel insurance policies.

Car hire insurance with full coverage is included, which is particularly valuable if you rent frequently and would otherwise pay for the rental company's excess insurance.

The Fine Hotels & Resorts programme is where things get interesting for weekend travellers. The guaranteed 4pm late checkout alone can be worth the annual fee if you take several weekend city breaks. No more scrambling to pack by 11am on a Sunday when you want to enjoy your last morning in a city.

Finally, there's Eurostar lounge access in London, Brussels, and Paris regardless of ticket class. If you travel to Europe frequently by train, this adds genuine value to each journey.

Here's the good news: having a British Airways American Express card does NOT disqualify you from this Platinum bonus. The rule is simple – you must not have held a personal Platinum, Gold, Green, or Amex Rewards Credit Card in the 24 months before applying.

You will still qualify if you hold British Airways American Express cards, Nectar American Express, Marriott Bonvoy American Express, or any Business Amex cards (Business Gold, Business Platinum, etc.). You'll also qualify if you're only a supplementary cardholder on someone else's Amex, as far as American Express is concerned, the card belongs to the primary cardholder and doesn't make you an 'existing cardholder'. Use our tool for easier understanding on this.

The Gold Card offer is arguably even more compelling for those who qualify. You'll get 45,000 Membership Rewards points (more than double the usual 20,000) when you spend £5,000 within six months, and the first year is completely free (normally £195).

At £0 cost in year one, the risk-reward ratio here is exceptional. Even if you converted your 45,000 points to the worst-value redemption (£225 in High Street vouchers), you're still £225 ahead. Convert them to 45,000 Avios and you could book return flights to multiple European cities, or put them towards a more ambitious redemption. For example, an off-peak economy return to somewhere like Barcelona or Rome would cost you 23,500 Avios plus taxes, leaving you with enough points for another European return flight.

You can check how many Avios you'd need for various destinations using our Avios flight calculator tool.

Four free Priority Pass visits per year make this perfect for occasional travellers who don't hold airline status. The £120 annual Deliveroo credit comes as two £5 credits per month when you spend £5 or more on Deliveroo, which effectively gives you £120 off your food delivery costs throughout the year. There are spending bonuses built in too, with an additional 5,000 points when you hit £10,000 spend and another 5,000 at £20,000 spend each card year. The double points on flights when booking directly with airlines is genuinely valuable if you purchase revenue tickets regularly, as it effectively gives you 2 Membership Rewards points per £1 spent on flights.

The eligibility rules are stricter here. You cannot have held ANY personal American Express card in the previous 24 months. This includes British Airways Amex cards, which disqualifies many of our readers who actively collect Avios.

Both cards earn Membership Rewards points, which is where the real flexibility lies. Whilst we often focus on the 1:1 transfer to Avios, you can also convert to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club at 1:1, Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer, Emirates Skywards at 1:0.75, and Etihad Guest at 1:1 for airline programmes.

For hotel programmes, you can transfer at 2:3 to Marriott Bonvoy, 1:2 to Hilton Honours, and 1:3 to Radisson Rewards. Having a convertible currency is genuinely more valuable than being locked into a single programme. You maintain flexibility to capitalise on sweet spot redemptions or transfer bonuses across multiple loyalty schemes depending on where you want to travel and which programme offers the best value at that moment.

Choose Platinum if you can comfortably spend £6,000 in three months, you travel frequently enough to use the hotel status and travel insurance, the dining credits would get used (especially if you live in or regularly visit London), and you want the Priority Pass and Centurion lounge access.

Choose Gold if you can't justify the £650 Platinum fee, you're testing the miles and points hobby without significant commitment, you only need occasional lounge access (four visits per year), or you want a free trial year to decide if Amex works for you.

For those with existing BA Amex cards, Platinum is your only option, but it's still an excellent deal given you qualify for the full 85,000 point bonus.

A few things to remember before applying. The spending requirements start immediately – the clock begins when your application is approved, not when you receive or activate the card. Plan your application timing around upcoming larger expenses to make hitting the threshold more natural.

The £250 travel credit must be used on a single purchase of £250 or more at travel.americanexpress.co.uk, and you have 12 months from when you trigger the bonus to use it. It's applied as a statement credit after your purchase, not as a discount at checkout, so you'll need to pay the full amount upfront and then receive the credit on your next statement.

For dining credits on Platinum, you've got just weeks to use the remaining £100 UK dining credit and £100 international dining credit for H2 2025 (both expire 31st December 2025). If you apply soon, you could benefit from these before they reset, effectively giving you an extra £200 in value during your first few weeks of card ownership.

Both cards offer pro-rata refunds on the annual fee if you cancel, which significantly reduces the risk. If Platinum doesn't work for you after six months, you'd only pay £325 of the fee, and with the bonuses you've received, you'd still be substantially ahead financially.

Why are these offers running now? American Express typically launches enhanced bonuses during competitive periods or when they're pushing for new customer acquisition ahead of year-end targets. Whatever the reason, they rarely get significantly better than this on UK cards.

The 13th January 2026 deadline gives you two months to decide, but if you're planning to apply, I'd suggest doing so sooner rather than later. Firstly, you'll be able to use the remaining 2025 dining credits on Platinum, adding an immediate £200 in value. Secondly, you'll have more time to meet the spending requirement naturally rather than having to manufacture spending in the final weeks.

These are genuinely strong offers by UK standards. The Platinum bonus of 85,000 points plus £250 travel credit pretty damn good, whilst the boosted Gold bonus of 45,000 points with a free first year is an easy win for eligible applicants.

For someone who's never held an Amex before, this could be an excellent entry point into the world of transferable points currencies. For existing cardholders who qualify (particularly BA Amex holders looking at Platinum), the numbers stack up convincingly even with the £650 annual fee.

As always, the key is being honest about whether you'll actually use the benefits. A £650 card only makes sense if you're extracting £650 or more of value from it. But with this welcome offer, you've got substantial headroom to work with even if you don't maximise every single benefit. Between the points bonus, travel credit, and dining credits alone, you're already looking at £1,500 in value before touching any of the other perks.

Whatever you decide, these offers close on 13th January 2026, so you've got time to consider carefully – but not so much time that you should procrastinate indefinitely. If you're going to apply, doing it in November rather than waiting until January means you'll capture more value from the time-sensitive benefits like the 2025 dining credits.

For more credit card recommendations, check out our guides on Best Avios-earning credit cards in the UK, Best business credit cards for Avios, and our Virgin Atlantic credit cards guide.