Change Amex Airline Fee Credit Selection

One of the bigger perks of The Platinum card from American Express, and the Amex Business Platinum, is the airline incidental credit. People use the airline credit to offset a big chunk of these large annual fees. We will get into just what these credits are, and how you can use them in a bit. I'll also cover how you make that airline selection initially. What if you change your mind after that first year though? Can you change your Amex airline fee credit selection? Yes you can, and I'll show you how you change your airline incidental selection with easy to follow directions.

What Is The Amex Airline Incidental Credit?

We have an in depth guide on the Amex airline incidental credits, what works for them and what doesn't. Be sure to check that out if you need a more in depth overview of the program. I'll give you a quick refresher here as well.

Which Cards Offer an Airline Fee Credit?

Currently, these two Amex cards offer an annual airline fee credit. It used to also include the Hilton Aspire card too but they recently changed how that card's airline credit works.

• Platinum Card from American Express ($595 annual fee)
  • $200 Amex airline credit each calendar year
• Business Platinum Card from American Express ($650 annual fee)
  • $200 Amex airline credit each calendar year
  • This selection also coincides with your airline selection for the 35% points rebate

Which Airlines Can You Select?

Next up we need to know which airlines are eligible for these credits. Here are the 8 different airlines you can select for the Amex airline incidental credit:

• United Airlines
• Hawaiian Airlines
• Spirit Airlines
• American Airlines
• JetBlue Airways
• Southwest Airlines
• Delta Air Lines
• Alaska Airlines

What Works For The Amex Airline Fee Credits?

According to the terms & conditions, the following purchases are not considered incidental fees and should not work:

“airline tickets, upgrades, mileage points purchases, mileage points transfer fees, gift cards, duty free purchases, and award tickets.”

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

And these are the types of charges that should work as they are usually charged as incidentals by the airline:

• Checked bags (including overweight/oversize fees)
• In-flight purchases charged by the airline (food, beverages, etc.)
• Seat assignment
• Pet fees
• Lounge day passes and lounge membership

As with all things though, there are some gray areas. We go over what actually works in reality in our Amex airline incidental fee guide.

How To Change Your Amex Airline Credit Selection Or Select It For The First Time

The process to change your Amex airline credit selection is the same whether it is the first time right after you got your card or if you needed to make a change down the road. That is if it is in January at least. See, American Express only gives current cardholders the month of January to change their Amex airline credit selection online each year. Don't worry, we will discuss what options you have if you miss that cut off date as well. I should note that for your first selection, right after you sign up for the card, you can do it online at any point.

Warning: Make sure you make this selection BEFORE you make any qualifying purchases. It is also best practice to give the activation a day or two before making the purchase. That is because it can take a little bit for Amex's systems to catch up.

Step By Step Guide On Changing Your Airline Incidental Credit

Here are the steps that you need to take in order to change your Amex airline credit selection. It is also the same process for first time users. I mention that changing the airline selection for the credit also changes the airline eligible for the 35% airfare rebate the Business Platinum card offers. That gives you 35% of your Membership Rewards points back when you book airfare for your selected airline through the American Express travel portal when you pay with points. This is only the case for economy flights, as it works for ANY airline for business or first class bookings.

Step 1: Select More From Your Account Portal Then Rewards & Benefits

After logging into your American Express account you will want to find the More drop down option at the top of your screen. It should be right next to your card image if you are on a computer. You then want to select Rewards & Benefits from the drop down list. It should be the first option listed for you.

Step 2: Select Benefits Again

The next page you will be taken to is kind of an overview of your card for the year. It will show some points earning numbers, Amex Offer credits you have used and list of some of the card's perks. You can skip all of this and just select Benefits in the upper right of the screen. This will take you to all of the card benefits. It should be located right below the card image.

Step 3: Change Selected Airline

After you get to the Benefits page you will want to scroll down a little bit until you get to the $200 Airline Fee Credit and 35% Airline Bonus perks. Remember that selecting the airline for one makes the change for both. You should see the Change Selected Airline option below the 35% airline bonus perk. Click this to go to the next page.

Step 4: Amex Airline Credit Airline Selection

On the next page you will want to click the Select An Airline drop down menu. This should pull up all 8 airline options to change your Amex airline credit selection to. Choose the one that works best for your needs. This will update your choice for the Airline Incidental Credit and the 35% Airline Rebate selection.

Step 5: Wait A Day Or Two Before Using The Amex Airline Incidental Credit

Last up I wanted to reiterate to give it a day or two after you change your Amex airline credit selection. It can take a minute for the system to update at American Express and you might miss out on earning part of your airline incidental credit if you use it too quickly.

How To Change Your Airline Selection After January

What happens if you have had The Platinum or Business Platinum card for a while and want to make a change to your Amex airline credit fee selection? Are you out of luck if it is past January? What if you even made a change back in January but it was the wrong move? You are not necessarily up a creek without a paddle. If you haven't used any of the credit yet then you can reach out to American Express and ask for them to manually change your airline fee credit selection. The easiest way is probably via Amex Chat. Here is what I would say in the chat:

I would like to change my Amex airline fee selection to (name your desired airline). I know the time has passed to do so, but I was wondering if you could make an exception.

This has always worked for me in the past, at least when I have not used any of the credit yet. If you have used some of the credit already then you are likely out of luck for them to do anything.

Change Amex Airline Fee Credit Selection: ToP Thoughts

Hopefully this guide on how to change your Amex airline fee credit selection has made the process easier for you. Remember to reevaluate your selection every year in January. That is when you can quickly make the change online. If it gets away from you a bit, then you still have a chance to change your Amex airline fee selection later in the year too. At least if you haven't used the credit at all yet. Also, remember that changing the airline for the credit changes the selection for the 35% booking rebate too.

Let me know which airline you selected for your Amex airline incidental credit over in the ToP Facebook Group.