Amex Airline Fee Reimbursements. What still works?

The American Express Platinum cards have airline fee reimbursements of up to $200 a year. Readers wonder which methods still work and which charges will cause these credits. We have removed older data points and replaced them with newer ones in many cases. We will change it as soon as we have verified negative data points. Readers are always appreciated. Data points can be shared in the comments.

We have changed this post to include a section of key things to know and we have separated, standardized and cleaned up the tables so that we could add a master table of contents at the top for easier reference. Clicking through to the website will allow you to use the table of contents.

Platinum card holders can get up to $200 in fee credits for charges made up until December of this year and another $200 for charges made next year.

If you don't select a preferred airline, you can change it at any time in January.

If you want to get reimbursed, you have to make purchases with your airline.

Things you need to know about Amex airline fee credits

There are a few helpful notes for airlines.

1. Be sure to select your chosen airline at least one calendar day before attempting to use the credit. We sometimes see a lag before eligible charges are credited. Waiting for the email confirming that you’ve selected an airline is not always enough.
2. Wait at least 2 weeks before assuming failure. While credits often post within a few days and/or the benefit counter typically moves before the credits post, there are frequently periods where things post more slowly than usual. Wait at least two weeks before attempting a different charge, contacting Amex, or reporting a negative data point.
3. Charges are reimbursed based on the date of charge and count toward the allotment for the year in which the charge is dated. For example, a charge that posts to your statement dated December 29, 2022 will count against your 2022 airline incidental credit even if the charge itself doesn’t reimburse until early 2023. However, don’t wait until the very last minute — I once charged United club passes late at night on 12/31 and the charge posted with a 1/1 date and I missed using the airline incidental credits.
4. While Amex officially says that you can change your airline once each year in January, chat agents are often willing to change it for you if you ask nicely, even mid-year (and sometimes even if you’ve used part of the credit already).

What purchases count… officially?

Fees that are eligible are:

• Checked baggage fees (including overweight/oversize)
• Itinerary change fees
• Phone reservation fees
• Pet flight fees
• Seat assignment fees
• In-flight amenity fees (beverages, food, pillows/blankets, headphones)
• In-flight entertainment fees (excluding wireless internet because it’s not charged by the airline)
• Airport lounge day passes & annual memberships

The purchases are not considered to be fees.

• Airline tickets
• Upgrades
• Mileage points purchases
• Mileage points transfer fees
• Gift cards
• Duty free purchases
• Award tickets

What purchases count… unofficially?

Sometimes purchases of gift cards seem to be dead with an occasional exception when the purchase does not code as a gift card, award fees, or even low cost airfare are reimbursed even though they shouldn't be.

The unofficial stuff that works or doesn't work with each airline is shown in the table.

Alaska Airlines

There have been reports of Alaska charges not being paid on time. It seems that many have had success getting charges for premium seat selection and things that normally should be included manually credited via the chat function, but only after 2 weeks has passed since the transaction date. You should be aware that you may need to chat with a friendly agent. You can see more data in this thread.

What works to trigger Amex airline incidental credits on Alaska Airlines?

What fails?

American

What works to trigger Amex airline incidental credits on American Airlines?

What fails?

Delta

What works to trigger Amex airline incidental credits on Delta Air Lines?

What fails?

Frontier

What works to trigger Amex airline incidental credits on Frontier Airlines?

What fails?

Failure reports for Frontier charges are not yet available.

It is possible that you will need to wait until the next day after selecting United as your airline. Most of the other uses are not interesting since TravelBank works.

What works to trigger Amex airline incidental credits on United Airlines?

What fails?

Please report your results!

Let us know if it worked if you try any unofficial options. If you don't get the credit for the purchase, please don't report it.

If you forget to set your preferred airline, you will not be reimbursed by Amex.

If you don't get reimbursed for things that are allowed, contact Amex.

Other cards that offer fee reimbursements

We would like to setup pages like this for each of them.

If you have experience earning or not earning airline fee credits with other cards, please let us know. Here are some reports that have been made.

CNB Crystal Visa Infinite 7/30/17 $54.86 Delta award fee reimbursed 8/3/17 (Greg)
CNB Crystal Visa Infinite 6/1/18 $56.02 Southwest fee to change from anytime to Business Select (Justice Jen)
CNB Crystal Visa Infinite 2019-Feb-14 $50 AA eGC — reimbursed 2019-Feb-20 (Jeph36)
CNB Crystal Visa Infinite 2019-Feb-20 $200 AA eGC — reimbursed 2019-Feb-27 (Jeph36)
CNB Crystal Visa Infinite (P2) 2019-Mar-03 $250 AA eGC — reimbursed 2019-Mar-13 (Jeph36)
PenFed Pathfinder 2019-Mar-04 $100 AA eGC — reimbursed 2019-Jun-06 (Jeph36)

Previous Post Updates

According to reports, United Travel Bank purchases are dead. To skip the rest of the post, click here.

Data points for most airlines have been updated. Don't panic if a few days pass and you don't get reimbursed. It is possible that it still works if there are positive data points in the chart. Sometimes it takes two or three days for reimbursement to happen. Data points can be reported in the comments. Thanks a lot.

eGift cards no longer work with any airline, but a number of other options are still available. The table of contents was added to make it easier to find your preferred airline. Wait a few weeks to be sure your credit posts or doesn't post before reporting it as dead or alive.