Users often ask questions like: Which credit card is right for me? Which one is recommended and for what reason? In the past, I have briefly touched on the Amex/Miles & More + Revolut model in response to your queries. Now I would like to offer you a (reasonably) detailed explanation.
What is it about?
This article covers the following topics:
1. the Amex Platinum credit card
2. Miles & More Gold credit card
3. miles/reward points?
4 Revolut current account
5. recommendation - Is it worth it?
6. payback points
7. conclusion
8. welcome bonus/current promotions (valid until 01.11.2023)
1. Amex Platinum credit card
There are not only advantages to the Amex Platinum card, but also two important disadvantages. Firstly, the card is not accepted everywhere, especially in restaurants. Secondly, it comes with an annual fee of €700 for the business version and €720 for the personal version. A lot of money for not much metal. What do you get in return?
Identical benefits Platinum Private + Business:
- 24/7 personal and telephone customer service
- Own booking portal for flights, accommodation and rental cars with exclusive offers for Platinum cardholders only
- 200€ travel credit per year, which is refunded by Amex after booking flights or hotels
- 200€ Sixt Ride credit per year
- Worldwide lounge access at over 1200 airports for cardholder and one companion
- Status upgrades and discounts at hotels and car rental partners
- Comprehensive insurance package, including international travel health insurance, travel cancellation insurance, travel interruption and trip interruption insurance, baggage insurance, travel accident insurance, travel comfort insurance (in the event of flight or baggage delays) as well as fully comprehensive car rental insurance and car protection cover
Platinum Private supplement:
- 150€ restaurant credit, which is reimbursed after payment by Amex
- 120 streaming credit per year, e.g. for Netflix
Platinum Business add-on:
- 200€ Dell credit per year, which is reimbursed after Amex purchase
Important differences between the private and business versions:
- With the Business Card, the insurance cover applies regardless of card use and there is no excess.
- The status with the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA Discovery) is only available for the private version.
- The second business card is free of charge (in my case I gave it to my mother as a gift, alternatively the costs can also be shared with someone else).
In addition to the benefits already mentioned, you receive 1 Reward Point for every euro spent. If you activate the "Turbo", you even get 50% more points. These points can either be converted into miles with various airlines or used for payment.
A question that many Amex Platinum customers ask themselves over time: What actually is a "limit"? Since the fees for the business card are tax-deductible, the question of whether the card is worthwhile is almost a milquetoast calculation.
The other benefits, such as discounts at various companies and special offers are constantly changing, so I won't list them here. You can easily find out about them yourself :)
2. miles & more gold credit card
The Miles & More Gold credit card also offers a range of benefits and is comparatively inexpensive with an annual fee of "only" 138 euros.
Benefits at a glance:
- No expiry of miles earned with Lufthansa
- You receive one mile for every 2 euros spent
- Comprehensive insurance package: travel cancellation and curtailment insurance, fully comprehensive cover for rental cars, international travel health insurance
Additional information on the insurance benefits:
The foreign travel health insurance is valid regardless of the use of the card. All other insurance benefits are only covered if the respective payment was made with the Miles & More Gold credit card.
3. miles/rewards points?
You can collect points for your purchases with both cards.
Lufthansa card: The deal here is pretty simple. You earn miles that you can use for purchases in the Lufthansa store or to book and upgrade flights. You usually get the best value if you use the miles for upgrades or take advantage of the offers on meilenschnaeppchen.de, especially those from the partner airlines.
Amex: With this card, you earn Reward Points, which you can also exchange for miles with various airlines. There are many bloggers who regularly give tips on the best way to exchange rewards for miles.
4. revolut current account
Revolut offers a free current account with which you can exchange foreign currencies at very good conditions. So if you go on vacation outside the eurozone, you can easily exchange your money and pay with it abroad. A special bonus is the opportunity to collect miles. How does that work? It's quite simple:
Normally you have to transfer money to your account in order to make payments. With Revolut, however, you can also use your MM Gold card to deposit money for free. This means that you can earn a lot of miles with your regular spending. Whether rent, cell phone contract, loans, insurance, taxes, gym or other subscriptions - simply have everything debited from your Revolut account. For example: If you spend €1,500 per month, you will earn 9,000 miles per year (1,500 x 12 x 0.5).
Why do I use both cards - Amex and Miles & More? I'll explain this to you using an example:
I book a flight with Lufthansa and collect miles thanks to my Miles & More number. I pay for the flight with my Amex and earn more miles (i.e. Reward Points). To load money onto my Revolut account, I charge my MM card and also earn miles. I then pay the Amex bill by transferring money from my Revolut account. In this way, I generate additional miles on my MM card for every transaction with the Amex.
5. recommendation/is it worth it?
Recommendations:
- Beginners and people with low turnover, at least one vacation per year: Miles and More Gold + Revolut. You no longer have mileage expiry, "low" fees and don't need an additional insurance package for rental cars. Ideal for anyone who wants to try it out first.
- High turnover and spending, at least one vacation per year: Amex + MM + Revolut. You can earn a lot of miles and will appreciate the benefits of upgrades and lounge access on your next trip at the latest.
- Business travelers: Amex + MM + Revolut. An absolute must. The card costs can be claimed for tax purposes, reducing the effective costs from €700 at a tax rate of 42% to €406 per year. That alone makes the card worthwhile, even if you don't use the reward points.
Is it worth it?
If you like to travel, the answer is a resounding yes. I love to travel myself and also enjoy taking short trips. I wouldn't want to miss out on lounge access at airports (free food and drink after security checks, comfortable seating etc.). There are also travel credits and special offers that I like to take advantage of. I also usually rent a scooter, motorcycle or car on vacation to be mobile (except in countries like Sri Lanka). So for me, the offer is definitely worthwhile from the very first vacation.
6. payback points
The AMEX Payback card is free and can be linked to your account. Every few months there are promotions such as "50x points at Rewe" etc.. In such cases, you can simply buy a few Amazon vouchers and enjoy the extra points you collect. Personally, I don't do this because the points generated elsewhere are already enough for me and I don't want to worry about more.
7. conclusion
I am extremely satisfied with both the benefits and the service at Amex. I have already used the 24/7 hotline several times, and each time all my concerns have been dealt with in an exemplary manner. I consider the annual fee to be justified and feel it is reasonable in comparison to the services received. Anyone who has looked into the subject a little or actively uses the card will probably come to the same conclusion.
8. welcome bonus/current promotions (valid until 10.10.2023)
Both Amex and MM often offer welcome bonuses in the form of miles or reward points. The amount of these bonuses varies and it is of course most worthwhile to apply for the cards when the bonus is particularly high.
This is currently the case with both providers; there are attractive bonuses for both the referral and the referrer.
I'll try to keep this post up to date - as soon as there are new offers, I'll add them.
Current offer MM:
- 30,000 award miles
- 2 Lufthansa Business Lounge vouchers
- Voucher for a weekend rental with Avis
Current offer Amex:
- Platinum Business: 75,000 Reward Points
- Platinum Private: 55,000 Reward Points
Please note: The bonus is usually linked to certain conditions, such as a minimum turnover in a specified period. You can find the exact details in the conditions of participation.
Ref links to receive the welcome bonus:
- Amex Platinum Business <- click on it
- Amex Platinum Private: As a business customer, I am unfortunately unable to make this offer.
- MM Gold: If you use a ref link for MM Gold, the bonus would be lower than the current offer, namely only 10,000 miles. Please use the Lufthansa offers, they are much better than the refer a friend offer.
I hope it is reasonably clear and offers you added value :) If you have any questions or something is unclear, just ask again!
