Over the years of writing about the AMEX Platinum Charge, I’ve lost count of how many questions I’ve received from confused foreign readers asking what on earth a “Platinum Charge” is.
You see, officially speaking, the card’s name is “The Platinum Card by American Express” — and that’s how it’s known in other countries.
In Singapore, however, saying “The Platinum Card” is a recipe for confusion. Are you talking about the AMEX Platinum Credit Card? The AMEX Platinum Reserve? Or that metal one with the four-digit fee? Whoever’s doing the branding at American Express probably didn’t think this through.
So we’ve defaulted to calling it the AMEX Platinum Charge, as a way of avoiding ambiguity. But that term may now need to be retired…
The Platinum Card is now a credit card
According to an update on the American Express website, The Platinum Card has been changed from a charge card to a credit card.
As a credit card, The Platinum Card will offer an interest-free period of 22 days from the statement date. All fees and benefits remain exactly the same, except for the lounge benefit for the first supplementary card (more on that later).
This only affects new card applications.
- If your application was received prior to 19 October 2026, The Platinum Card will be issued as a charge card
- If your application was received on or after 19 October 2026, The Platinum Card will be issued as a credit card
All existing cards are unaffected. Existing cardmembers have the option to change their card from a charge card to a credit card, but are not obliged to. In other words, The Platinum Card will now exist in two “flavours”: one credit card and one charge card.
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If you need to replace your card due to loss or fraud, the replacement card will be the same type. In other words, if you have The Platinum Card (charge card), the replacement card will continue to be the charge card version. If you have The Platinum Card (credit card), the replacement card will continue to be the credit card version. |
FAQs about the change can be found here.
What’s the difference between a credit card and charge card?
Credit cards give you a revolving line of credit. Every month, you have the option of paying the full statement balance, a minimum payment, or anything in between. Whatever is unpaid rolls over to the next month and accrues interest. In the case of The Platinum Card, this is 27.8% p.a., the same as the AMEX Platinum Reserve and AMEX Platinum Credit Card.
Charge cards require that you pay the statement balance in full each month, with no option to carry it over. If you don’t pay in full, you aren’t charged interest, but rather late payment fees. Repeated non-payment can result in your card being suspended or cancelled.
The other difference is that credit cards come with a fixed credit limit that you can see and request changes to. Charge cards are usually marketed as having “no preset spending limit”, but that doesn’t mean unlimited. The issuer sets a dynamic limit on the back end, based on your spending history, payment record and financial profile. A large purchase may still be declined, or you may need to call in to pre-approve it.
When The Platinum Card was a charge card, it was possible to check your “spending power” to see if a certain-sized transaction was likely to be approved…
…which turned out to be quite the flexing tool, in some quarters!
As a credit card, the answer is more straightforward. Your transaction will be approved so long as you’re still within your overall limit (unless there’s some other reason to decline it such as suspected fraud).
As to why this is happening, I can only speculate. Converting to a credit card would allow American Express to earn interest income that it couldn’t earn before. Even if only a small share of cardholders revolve, 27.8% p.a. is no small amount.
Having a revolving credit line also makes it easier to offer instalment plans, balance transfers and similar products. In any case, the idea of “no preset spending limit” is already diluted in Singapore, since MAS rules only allow this to be offered to anyone earning at least S$120,000 anyway.
So what changes?
For most cardholders, this should really be a non-event because all other eligibility criteria, fees and benefits remain unchanged. While you now have the option to carry a balance, rolling over credit card debt isn’t exactly the epitome of financial prudence. If you really need the money, there are far cheaper ways of borrowing.
The only difference worth flagging relates to the Priority Pass benefit offered to the first supplementary cardholder.
| Priority Pass for 1st supp. cardholder | 8 visits each calendar year | 8 visits each membership year |
| Note: American Express refers to the benefit as “4 complimentary visits, with one guest for each of the 4 complimentary visits”, but in practice, it’s really 8x visits you can use any way you wish — even with multiple guests |
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That’s a small devaluation, because it means you can no longer “double dip” in the first year.
For example, if you’re on the calendar year system and the Priority Pass of the first supplementary card is approved on 1 November 2026, you would have 8x visits to use from 1 November to 31 December 2026, and then another 8x visits to use from 1 January to 31 December 2027.
But if you’re on the membership year system and the Priority Pass of the first supplementary card is approved on 1 November 2026, you would have 8x visits to use from 1 November 2026 to 31 October 2027.
What if I want to change from a charge card to a credit card?
If you have the charge card version of The Platinum Card and want to change it to a credit card, you can — but beware!
According to the FAQs (no. 29), if you convert from the charge card to credit card version, all the Membership Rewards points earned on the charge card will be forfeited within 24 hours of card cancellation.
That’s right, they’re forfeited, not transferred!
Conclusion
Customers who apply for The Platinum Card from 19 October 2026 will be issued a credit card, instead of charge card.
Existing cards will remain as charge cards, but we’ll probably have to stop referring to it as the AMEX Platinum Charge, since two different versions now exist.
Like I said, this should be a non-event for most people — just because you can carry over your balance doesn’t mean you should. The interest will more than offset any rewards you earn, and the golden rule should be to treat any kind of card like a debit card, in the sense that you don’t spend more than you have.
Maybe just call it the 1744?