American Express just increased the minimum spend requirement on the standard Platinum Card from $8,000 to $12,000 while keeping the same 80,000-point base welcome bonus. That’s a 50% jump in spending required for exactly the same reward.

The change appears to have rolled out within the last day, catching many in the points community off guard. While higher targeted offers of 125,000 or even 175,000 points still exist for some applicants, the base public offer now requires $12,000 in purchases within the first six months, up from $8,000 that’s been standard for years.

What This Actually Means

Let’s do the math. Previously, you earned 10 points per dollar spent toward meeting the welcome bonus requirement ($8,000 spend for 80,000 points). Now you’re earning just 6.67 points per dollar ($12,000 for 80,000 points). That’s a significant devaluation in earning efficiency, even though the absolute bonus amount hasn’t changed.

Put another way: you’re now spending an extra $4,000 to earn the same number of points. If you value Membership Rewards at 2 cents per point (a reasonable middle-ground valuation, though you can get much more), that 80,000-point bonus is worth $1,600. With the old $8,000 spend requirement, you were essentially getting a 20% return on your spending. With the new $12,000 threshold, that drops to 13.3%.

Should You Still Apply?

This comes just months after Amex raised the Platinum’s annual fee from $695 to $895 in September 2025. Between the fee increase and now this spending requirement jump, the value proposition has definitely shifted.

That said, the Platinum remains one of the most comprehensive premium travel cards available. The welcome bonus alone, even at the higher spending threshold, can still represent solid value if you were planning to spend that much anyway. But if you were on the fence or would need to manufacture spending to hit $12,000, this change might tip the scales toward other options.

Competing premium cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve (125,000 points after $6,000 spend) or Capital One Venture X (75,000 miles after $4,000 spend) now look more attractive by comparison when you’re purely evaluating welcome bonus efficiency.

The Bottom Line

Amex has been aggressively repositioning the Platinum as an ultra-premium product, and this spending requirement increase is another step in that direction. For existing cardholders, nothing changes. But if you’re a new applicant, you’ll need to decide whether the Platinum’s benefits justify both the $895 annual fee and a steeper path to earning that welcome bonus.

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