Last updated: October 23, 2026
Three things changed for the consumer Platinum and the Business Platinum. Prepaid Airbnb stays can be booked on Amex Travel. The $600 hotel credit has a new name and a new kind of stay. Lufthansa lounges are already off the card.
The useful date is December 31. A one-night Fine Hotels + Resorts stay can still use this half’s $300 credit if the charge processes in 2026. On January 1, 2027, that one-night stay still gets the hotel perks. It does not get the credit.
The annual fee is $895 on both cards. The changes do not cut it.
Before you book: Run the stay through the credit card rewards calculator. A $300 credit is worth $300 only if you would have paid for that stay. The Points Guy’s October 2026 valuations put a Membership Rewards point at 2.0¢. That is the figure every MaxPoints tool uses. The points valuations page lists it.
What changed
| Change | When | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Airbnb on Amex Travel | October 22, 2026 | More than 1 million listings. Prepaid stays earn points. Points cannot be used to pay for the stay |
| Earn rates | October 22, 2026 | Consumer and Business Platinum earn 5× on a prepaid Airbnb booking through Amex Travel. Most other Membership Rewards cards earn 2×. The Classic Green is the exception, at 3× |
| Lodging Credit | October 22, 2026 | The $600 Hotel Credit is renamed the Lodging Credit. It is still two credits of up to $300, for January–June and July–December. Prepaid Airbnb Luxe stays of two nights or more now qualify, with Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection |
| Airbnb Experiences | October 22, 2026 | A qualifying Luxe booking makes up to $250 available for Airbnb Experiences. The credit lasts through the end of that calendar year |
| Two-night rule | January 1, 2027 | Every stay that uses the Lodging Credit needs at least two nights, including Fine Hotels + Resorts. One night still gets the Fine Hotels + Resorts perks |
| Lufthansa lounges | October 1, 2026 | Platinum, Business Platinum, and Centurion no longer get in on the card. Other lounge networks remain |
Sources, checked October 23, 2026: American Express lodging-credit page and hotel-program terms; Airbnb’s announcement; The Points Guy (October 22); NerdWallet (updated October 22); Upgraded Points (updated October 22); CNBC (October 22). The lounge row is Upgraded Points (updated October 1) and AwardWallet’s update.
The public card pages lag the travel pages. On October 23 the consumer Platinum page and the Business Platinum page still say “Hotel Credit.” Neither page mentions Airbnb in the credit or in the 5× line. Both do say that, from January 1, 2027, a Fine Hotels + Resorts booking needs two nights to use the credit. The lodging-credit page and the hotel-program terms are the pages that name Airbnb.
What you earn on an Airbnb stay
Book on AmexTravel.com or in the Amex Travel app. Start there, link an Airbnb account in the same name, and pay on Airbnb. Changes, cancellations, and messages to the host go through Airbnb, not Amex. The stay has to be prepaid. Airbnb calls that “Pay Now.” There is no pay-later option on these bookings. The cardmember has to be staying at the property. The longest stay is 27 nights.
Amex’s hotel-program terms, checked October 23, add prepaid Airbnb short-term rentals to the 5× category on both the consumer Platinum and the Business Platinum. Extra charges on that booking do not earn the extra points. Amex’s examples are a pool-heating fee and a pet fee. Points can take up to 12 weeks to post. The statement credit is a separate clock. Amex says the credit often posts in a few days and can take 90.
| Card | Rate on a prepaid Airbnb stay through Amex Travel | Return at 2.0¢ per point |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer Platinum | 5× | 10¢ per dollar, which is 10% |
| Business Platinum | 5× | 10¢ per dollar, which is 10% |
| Consumer Classic Green | 3×, including a booking made directly with Airbnb | 6¢ per dollar, which is 6% |
| Other eligible Membership Rewards cards | 2× | 4¢ per dollar, which is 4% |
5× and the “other cards earn 2×” line are in Amex’s hotel-program terms and in Airbnb’s announcement. The Points Guy (October 22) says the 5× covers Luxe and non-Luxe stays, and that 5× at its October 2026 value of 2¢ a point is a 10% return. The 2.0¢ figure is The Points Guy’s October 2026 valuation, the figure every MaxPoints tool uses. 5 × 2.0¢ = 10¢. 2 × 2.0¢ = 4¢. 3 × 2.0¢ = 6¢.
The Classic Green is the odd one. Airbnb’s announcement says those cardmembers still earn 3× on travel, including a booking made directly with Airbnb. CNBC describes the same 3× as travel booked directly through third-party sites, including Airbnb. Upgraded Points says the Classic Green is closed to new applicants, and says American Express did not review that sentence. A direct Airbnb booking does not earn 5× or 2×. Those rates are for a prepaid booking that starts on Amex Travel.
You cannot pay for the Airbnb stay with points. CNBC and NerdWallet both say the partnership does not redeem Membership Rewards for Airbnb bookings. Amex’s Pay with Points page, checked October 23, lists flights, prepaid hotels, prepaid car rentals, vacation packages, and prepaid cruises. It does not list Airbnb. Amex does let you pay with points for a prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts stay. That path is hotels, not Airbnb.
Compare the Amex Travel total with the price on Airbnb before you book for the 5×. NerdWallet says Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection rates are often higher on Amex Travel, and that it is too early to know whether Airbnb prices will differ the same way. A 10% return does not help if the rate is 15% higher.
The $600 credit, renamed
Amex’s lodging-credit page calls it the $600 Lodging Credit. It says the old name was the $600 Hotel Credit. The amount did not change. A basic cardmember can get up to $300 in statement credits in January–June and up to $300 in July–December, for up to $600 in a calendar year. You do not enroll. The $300 cap is shared by every card on the account. The credit posts to the basic cardmember’s account.
What counts:
- A prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or Hotel Collection booking, on AmexTravel.com, in the Amex Travel app, or by calling the number on the card.
- A prepaid Airbnb Luxe booking of at least two consecutive nights, on AmexTravel.com or in the Amex Travel app. Phone bookings do not qualify for Luxe. The Airbnb account has to be linked, and the names have to match.
The Hotel Collection already required two nights. Airbnb Luxe does too. Fine Hotels + Resorts does not, until January 1, 2027. Until that date, a one-night Fine Hotels + Resorts stay can still take the credit. The Points Guy and NerdWallet both say the hotel perks continue on a one-night stay after the credit stops. Amex’s Fine Hotels + Resorts terms grant those perks on a new booking and do not add a night minimum. The two-night sentence is on the credit, and it starts January 1, 2027.
The perks Amex lists for Fine Hotels + Resorts are daily breakfast for two, a $100 property credit, guaranteed 4 p.m. checkout, noon check-in when available, a room upgrade when available, and Wi-Fi. The Hotel Collection’s perks are the $100 credit, late checkout when available, noon check-in when available, and an upgrade when available. Those already require two nights. Luxe is a home, not a hotel program. Amex does not attach that perk list to it.
A few limits that change the booking:
- The charge has to process by 11:59 p.m. Central Time on June 30 or December 31. You do not have to finish the trip by that date.
- Amex uses the date the merchant submits. A purchase on December 31 that the merchant submits as January 1 uses the next period’s credit. In 2027, a one-night Fine Hotels + Resorts stay is not eligible for that credit.
- Insurance, interest, cancellation fees, property fees, and charges from the property itself are not part of the credit.
- Cancel or shrink the stay and Amex can reverse the credit.
- On a consumer account, a companion Platinum card can pay for The Hotel Collection and Airbnb Luxe. It cannot pay for Fine Hotels + Resorts. Additional Platinum cards can pay for all three. The Business Platinum draws the same line between employee Platinum cards and employee expense cards.
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum cards are not eligible.
- The credit can show on the statement as “LUXE AIRBNB” with the description “Amex Hotel Credit.” The old name is still in the line.
Dollar amounts, dates, the Central Time cutoff, the companion-card rule, and the statement line are from the lodging-credit page, checked October 23, 2026. The same two-night date is on the hotel-program terms. The Points Guy and NerdWallet, both October 22, are the sources for “one night keeps the perks.”
The $250 Experiences credit
Book a prepaid Airbnb Luxe stay of at least two nights through Amex Travel, on the consumer Platinum or the Business Platinum, and up to $250 in statement credits opens for Airbnb Experiences. Airbnb’s announcement says you buy the experience directly from Airbnb, with the card, after the Luxe booking is confirmed. The credit runs through the rest of that calendar year.
The Points Guy adds operating details that the other writeups do not:
- The credit can be used once per calendar year.
- You do not have to put the Lodging Credit toward the Luxe stay.
- The experience does not have to happen during the stay, in the same place, or even in the same year. It has to be purchased after the booking is confirmed and before the calendar year ends.
- There is no minimum purchase. A $20 tour can use it. So can one experience of $250 or more.
- For 2026, that means a Luxe booking now, and an experience purchased by December 31, even if you go in 2027.
No standalone American Express terms page for this $250 credit turned up on October 23. Airbnb’s announcement, CNBC, NerdWallet, Upgraded Points, and The Points Guy all describe it. The once-a-year rule, the “any destination” rule, and the “the activity can be next year” rule are The Points Guy’s. Treat those three as reported, and confirm them in the card account before you buy a Luxe stay in order to use them.
NerdWallet’s practical point is the calendar. A Luxe booking in December leaves days, not months, to spend the $250. A booking in January leaves the rest of the year. The stay still has to be a trip you would take. Luxe is Airbnb’s expensive tier. The Points Guy’s test search found a two-night house in Gatlinburg for $874. NerdWallet says nights often start around $1,000. Neither number is a rate you can demand. Read the listing.
The $250 amount, the Luxe trigger, and the calendar-year window are from Airbnb’s announcement. The operating details and the $874 example are from The Points Guy, October 22. The “often around $1,000” line is NerdWallet, updated October 22. Checked October 23, 2026.
Who comes out ahead
You come out ahead if one of these is already true.
You already book two prepaid nights at Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection. The credit still works. Airbnb Luxe is another door, not a new chore. The Platinum card page and the Business Platinum card page are the rate tables. The side-by-side is the difference between the two cards.
You would book a prepaid Airbnb Luxe stay of two nights or more anyway. Up to $300 comes off a stay you were going to pay for. If the booking is confirmed early in the year, up to $250 more can come off an experience you were going to buy. At 5×, a $1,000 stay also earns 5,000 Membership Rewards. At 2.0¢ that is $100. The credit and the points are separate. The points do not pay the Airbnb bill.
You book ordinary prepaid Airbnbs through Amex Travel. Non-Luxe stays do not take the $600 credit. They do earn 5× on these two cards, which is 10¢ per dollar at 2.0¢, if the Amex Travel price matches Airbnb’s price.
Who does not
You use a one-night Fine Hotels + Resorts stay to clear the $300. That works only while the charge processes in 2026. From January 1, 2027, the credit needs two nights. The breakfast, the $100 property credit, and the late checkout can still be there. The second night is money you have to spend. If you would not stay the second night, the credit is not paying you. It is discounting a night you did not want.
You fly Lufthansa Group in economy and used the card for the lounge. That ended October 1. A business-class ticket or airline status can still get you in. The card no longer does.
You wanted to redeem Membership Rewards for an Airbnb stay. You cannot. Transfer partners are unchanged. The Amex transfer partners page is the list. This booking path does not add Airbnb to it.
You would book Luxe only to open the $250. The house costs more than the credit. Skip it.
Lufthansa lounges ended on October 1
Upgraded Points, updated October 1, 2026, says the consumer Platinum, the Business Platinum, and the Centurion card no longer get into Lufthansa lounges. AwardWallet says the same, and quotes American Express from April: access would end October 1, and cardmembers would still have more than 1,550 lounges, including what was then 32 Centurion Lounge locations.
The consumer Platinum page, checked October 23, still says the Global Lounge Collection is over 1,550 lounges. It names Centurion Lounges, 10 Delta Sky Club visits when you are flying an eligible Delta flight, Priority Pass membership after you enroll, and “other select partner lounges.” It does not mention Lufthansa. A footnote on that page dates the “more than any other credit card company” line to January 2026. The lounge page dates a similar line to August 2026.
Upgraded Points’ remaining list, after the Lufthansa cut, is:
- Centurion Lounges
- Delta Sky Club, 10 visits a year when flying Delta the same day, with a path to unlimited visits
- Priority Pass, after enrollment
- Plaza Premium
- Escape Lounges
- Aspire Lounges
- Some Virgin Clubhouses
Amex’s own card page, checked the same day, names the first three and then says “other select partner lounges.” Plaza Premium, Escape, Aspire, and Virgin Clubhouses are Upgraded Points’ names for that remainder. The card page did not print a dollar amount for the unlimited Sky Club path.
Some Lufthansa lounges still take Priority Pass. Upgraded Points names Detroit and New York Kennedy, and says Lufthansa’s other U.S. lounges do not. Check the Priority Pass app for that airport. Enrollment is still required.
One page has not caught up. The Lufthansa campaign page still describes Platinum and Centurion access. That URL does not confirm the end. The October 1 date comes from Upgraded Points and from AwardWallet’s update, not from the campaign page.
Lounge counts and the named networks: consumer Platinum page and Upgraded Points, checked October 23, 2026. The “32 Centurion locations” figure is AwardWallet’s quotation of Amex from April, not a count taken on October 23.
What to do before December 31
- Spend a leftover July–December credit on a one-night Fine Hotels + Resorts stay, if you would take that trip. Book it prepaid through Amex Travel. The stay can be in 2027. The charge has to process by 11:59 p.m. Central Time on December 31, 2026. Do not leave it to that evening. If the hotel submits the charge as January 1, it uses next year’s credit, and a one-night stay will not qualify.
- If you want the 2026 Experiences credit, confirm the Luxe booking and buy the experience by December 31. The Points Guy says the activity itself can be in 2027. A late-December booking leaves little time to spend the $250.
- Link the Airbnb account, in the same name, before you pay. Amex requires the link for the booking, the 5×, and the Luxe credit.
- Compare the Amex Travel total with Airbnb. Pay the higher rate only if the 5×, and any credit you will actually use, covers the gap.
- Do not plan on a Lufthansa lounge. Look up that airport in Priority Pass after you enroll.
The Platinum guide has the rest of the credits. The fee-increase note is the earlier change, from $695 to $895. This article does not rerun that math.
The fee is still $895
The consumer Platinum page lists an annual fee of $895 for the basic card. An additional Platinum card is $195. A companion Platinum card has no annual fee. The Business Platinum page lists $895. Checked October 23, 2026.
Five times points on a hotel or an Airbnb stay is 10¢ per dollar at 2.0¢. That does not pay an $895 fee. The fee is covered when the credits match spending you would do anyway. The Platinum break-even and the Business Platinum break-even are the worksheets. The calculator is the place to see whether these two cards still belong in the wallet.
The short version
Book prepaid Airbnb stays on Amex Travel if the price is close to Airbnb’s and you hold a Platinum card. That is 5×, worth 10¢ per dollar at The Points Guy’s October 2026 value of 2.0¢. You cannot redeem the points for the stay.
The $600 credit is now the Lodging Credit. It is still two credits of up to $300. Airbnb Luxe stays of two nights or more qualify, with Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection. A qualifying Luxe booking also opens up to $250 for Airbnb Experiences through the end of the calendar year. No American Express terms page for that $250 turned up.
Use a leftover 2026 credit on a one-night Fine Hotels + Resorts stay before the charge would process in 2027. After January 1, 2027, every lodging-credit stay needs two nights. One night keeps the hotel perks.
Lufthansa lounge access ended October 1. Centurion Lounges, 10 Delta Sky Club visits, and Priority Pass are still on Amex’s card page. The fee is still $895.
Point value of 2.0¢ is The Points Guy’s October 2026 valuation for a Membership Rewards point, the figure every MaxPoints tool uses. It is a planning figure, not a rate American Express guarantees. Benefit rules change. Read the lodging-credit terms and the price on your own booking before you pay.
Keep planning. Compare the consumer Platinum with the Business Platinum, or with the Sapphire Reserve. Then run the wallet through the calculator.
This article covers U.S. consumer Platinum and Business Platinum benefit changes checked October 23, 2026. Airbnb bookings on Amex Travel, the 5× and 2× earn rates, the Lodging Credit rename, the two credits of up to $300, the Airbnb Luxe two-night rule, and the January 1, 2027 Fine Hotels + Resorts two-night rule are from American Express’s lodging-credit page and hotel-program terms, Airbnb’s October 22 announcement, The Points Guy, NerdWallet, Upgraded Points, and CNBC. The $250 Experiences credit is in those same reports. A standalone American Express terms page for it was not found. The once-per-year rule and the rule that the experience can take place in a later year are The Points Guy’s. The $895 fees are from the consumer and Business Platinum card pages. Lufthansa lounge access ending October 1 is from Upgraded Points (updated October 1) and AwardWallet’s update. The consumer card page still lists Centurion Lounges, 10 Delta Sky Club visits, and Priority Pass, and does not mention Lufthansa. The Lufthansa campaign page still describes the old access. Plaza Premium, Escape, Aspire, and some Virgin Clubhouses are Upgraded Points’ remaining-network list. Points cannot be redeemed for Airbnb bookings, per CNBC and NerdWallet. Amex’s Pay with Points page does not list Airbnb.
