Let's face it: American Express' top travel credit cards have become not-so-luxurious coupon books, loaded with an overwhelming number of benefits and credits that many travelers (us included) have difficulty keeping track of.
Staying organized with all these perks is the key to coming out ahead as annual fees increase. But considering the many money-saving credits might lapse each month, quarter, or year, it requires a lot of extra work to make sure you use them – and don't lose them.
While we wish it weren't necessary, it can be done with some extra legwork. We've got you covered.
Here are a few tips and best practices to ensure you get the most out of your Amex travel cards and all those statement credits.
Track Your Benefits With Amex
Want to see just how bad it can get? Look no further than *amex platinum* .
It comes with monthly credits for streaming services, Walmart Plus, and even Uber Cash . Then there's the card's semi-annual Saks Fifth Avenue credit and the credits for airline fees , which reset annually on Jan. 1. Oh, and don't forget about the credits for CLEAR® Plus as well as Fine Hotels + Resorts bookings either – both yearly credits, too.
Thankfully, there's a built-in tool for that can help you stay organized right in your Amex account. For access to a comprehensive list of benefits for any of your Amex cards, you can click “ Rewards & Benefits ” on your cardholder homepage.
Next, you'll want to click “Benefits,” which will lead you to a page showing the spending progress of each statement credit. The progress bars of each statement credit will be tracked for the entire year or the current month. This is a great way to keep updated with how much of the credit you have left to spend – and whether it resets monthly, yearly, or on another schedule.
If you click “Show All” you can view the entire list of card benefits. For the Amex Platinum and many other cards, there will be statement credits that are available on an annual basis like the $200 airline fee credit and on a monthly basis like the $20 Digital Entertainment Credit .
Just beware: Some of these statement credits require you to enroll first .
If you make purchases prior to enrolling, you won't receive a credit at all. Be sure to scroll down and enroll in all the benefits you plan to use – or better yet, enroll in all of them, just in case! Typically, it only takes a few seconds.
As you can see above, I've enrolled in all the previously mentioned statement credit benefits.
Other Ways to Track Your Credits
Notes & Calendar Reminders
If you prefer a more rudimentary approach to keeping track of your credits, I've found that keeping a running list in the notes app on my phone will do the job.
Each month I check off the credits that I've already used and set a calendar reminder for a one-week warning, just in case I've fallen behind.
It's far from a perfect system, but it works. Sure, routinely logging in to my Amex account would probably be easier. You know what they say about teaching old dogs new tricks…
Award Wallet
The Award Wallet app is a great tool for tracking your credit cards, points, and travel plans all in one place.
It also has a helpful feature that tracks your spending towards Amex's various statement credits and lets you know how much time you have left to use them.
From the screenshot above, you can see all the statement credits still available across various Amex cards. Time to get to work on that Adobe benefit before it's gone for good !
CardPointers+
CardPointers+ is another helpful app for keeping track of your Amex credits as well as letting you know when and where you should use a certain card in order to earn the most points on your purchase.
Much like Award Wallet, CardPointers+ will track all of Amex's monthly, annual, and one-off statement credits so you can ensure you're not missing out on any of your card's benefits.
Unfortunately, this service isn't free. To get the full benefits of CardPointers+, you'll need to pay $60 per year. I haven't tested out the full version myself so can't say for sure whether or not it's worth it. But there are a lot of really cool (and helpful) features that come with it.
Make Sure Your Statement Credits Post
Sometimes, it's not even enough to make purchases in time to use all these credits. In some cases, you might need to ensurethey actually work.
You'll want to be sure that you see the credits posted on your statement in a timely manner – and preferably before your credit card payment due date. This will help you avoid paying extra for purchases or letting the credits simply go to waste, despite your best intentions.
The *bonvoy brilliant* comes with a monthly $25 dining statement credit and as you can see below, I was credited back just a couple of days after making an eligible purchase.
In some cases, though, it can take much longer.
Waiting a week or longer for these credits to kick in can be the norm. if it drags out, you may want to contact an Amex customer service agent to inquire about the issue. On the bottom right hand corner of your Amex cardholder account, click on the chat icon to initiate a conversation. Enter the word “representative” to expedite the process and follow the prompts, providing information for the representative to review.
In my case, I paid for a seat selection but the fee didn't automatically trigger my card's airline fee credit. I had to have a representative to manually credit it to my card account, which wasn't an issue. In my experience chatting with Amex reps, they've always been incredibly professional and happy to help. Plus, using the online chat feature sure beats being put on hold when calling in.
It's one thing to know what benefits you have and how much you need to spend. Unfortunately, it's a whole other task to make sure the credits actually post as they should.
Bottom Line
You don't necessarily need to be a spreadsheet wizard to track your Amex credit spending progress … but it might help.
The built-in features in your Amex account can get you started and help you track your progress to ensure these (potentially) valuable credits don't go to waste. But if that's not enough, it might be well worth it to enlist the help of another, third-party tool.
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