Some Amex cards including the Amex Platinum come with airline credits that can be used for incidentals such as baggage or upgrades. In this post we will cover how to use them for flights instead.

How to use credits

First, we’ll cover how to use the credits in general. You will need to go to your Membership Benefits and select an airline. Note, you need to do this before making any purchases, ideally a day in advance just to be safe. Now you can use your card to make a purchase with the specified airline and if the purchase is considered an incidental you will get credit 2-8 weeks after the purchase.

If you think you’ll need to pay for baggage or other incidentals throughout the year then this credit could be used for those though I recommend just picking up that airline’s credit card to get free bags.

If instead you would prefer to use these credits for flights then you can try the following approaches.

United Travel Bank

This is probably the easiest way to use these credits for flights. Simply go to United Travel Bank and use your card to load funds into your TravelBank. You can then use these funds to purchase flights. Note, you may want to test with a smaller increment before using your entire credit to make sure the credit is working.

Delta Pay With Miles or eCertificate

If you have a Delta credit card you have the option to pay for part of your flight with points. You can then pay the remaining cash portion with your card which will trigger the flight credit. Alternatively, if you have a Delta eCertificate in your account you can do the same by paying for part of your flight with the certificate and the rest with your card to trigger the credits.