NEWS & OFFERS: Amex Platinum reduces PP benefits, Get oneworld status from hotels & new BA codeshare

Amex Platinum reduces Priority Pass benefits

For frequent travellers without status or those like me who use low-cost airlines, Priority Pass can be a great asset for lounge access in hundreds of airports around the world. Along with high status in many hotel chains, this is the main reason I have stuck with holding my Amex despite the eye-watering £600 a year fee.

Now, with American Express announcing a substantial reduction in Priority Pass benefits for those who are not high spenders, it may be time for people to evaluate whether the card is still worth the fees.

Today Amex has announced that unless you spend £30,000 a year on the Platinum card, your Priority Pass benefits will be slashed. The change starts from 1 January 2028 regarding the number of Priority Pass visits you get, but they start counting your spend from 1 January 2027. Spend from supplementary cardholders does count towards the £30,000. Interest, annual fees, other fees and cash-equivalent transactions don’t count. Any refunds and credits will be taken off your total.

Instead of unlimited access for you and a guest, if you spend less than £30,000 in 2027 you will get:

• 20 complimentary Priority Pass lounge visits each year for the Primary cardholder.
• +10 additional passes for each of your Platinum Supplementary Cardmembers, if applicable.

The only good news is that you will still have access to other participating lounges in the Global Lounge Collection, including The Centurion® Lounge, Plaza Premium Lounges and Eurostar Business Premier Lounges, which are not affected by your spend (yet!).

You will be able to track your eligible spend progress at any time by reviewing your monthly statements.

The real kicker for me from the wording is the fact that it says that the 20 visits are only for the primary cardholder, so no guests. While your supplementary cardholder will still get 10 visits, if you are not travelling with them, you won’t get a free guest.

Personally, I find this very disappointing from Amex. The card is extremely expensive, and they are massively reducing one of the key benefits for me. It will probably be just enough for my travel needs since one of the airports I travel from regularly has no lounge; otherwise, I would be considering whether buying a Priority Pass would be a much cheaper option. It creates an embarrassing dynamic if travelling with someone other than your supplementary cardholder, as they would have to pay to enter, or you would have to pay for them, which you may not want to do, or they may not be comfortable with. If the 20 and 10 visits could include visitors as long as they are accompanied by the PP holder, this would be a much fairer and more flexible scenario.

What do you think of these changes? Let us know in the comments below.

Oneworld status match for hotel status – ends 7 November

Statusmatch.com and Royal Jordanian Airlines are again offering a status match for those with elite status in many hotel and airline loyalty programs to an equivalent frequent flyer status in Royal Club: Gold Sparrow or Silver Jay. 

• Gold Sparrow = Oneworld Sapphire (BA Silver) so offers lounge access and free seat assignments
• Silver Jay = Oneworld Ruby (BA Ruby) – can book seats for free 7 days before on BA, priority check-in etc

To be eligible, the status holder must also live in the listed countries and hold ID documents such as a passport or driver’s license for the eligible country.

The countries are: Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Egypt, France, Germany, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Netherlands, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, UAE & UK.

A Royal Club membership number is required first to apply, and you can enrol in the Royal Club program here.

The offer has no end date for airline status matches, but if you are relying on hotel status, you need to act quickly, as it closes on 7 November. You should hear back within 3 days on whether you have been accepted. If you are approved, you will receive the corresponding frequent flyer status in the Royal Club Program within 5 business days, which is valid for 12 months.

The application fees are USD $149 for Gold Sparrow tier and $49 for the Silver Jay tier, for the airline matches. See below for the hotel status match cost.

Airline status holders

Hotel status holders

You can find the status match page here.

British Airways introduces new codeshare in Mexico

British Airways and Viva, the Mexican airline, have announced a new codeshare agreement for customers travelling between Mexico, the UK and Europe. This will mean you can travel to more destinations within Mexico on a single ticket and collect Avios and Tier points on the whole journey too.

British Airways customers will be able to book connecting journeys to or from 13 destinations across Mexico served by Viva, including Guadalajara, Monterrey and Puerto Vallarta, when travelling via Mexico City (MEX) and Cancun (CUN) to London (see full list below). Tickets are available to book now for travel from 28 March 2027.

Viva is one of Mexico’s low-cost airlines, with a 20-year history and a fleet of 110 Airbus 320 and 321 aircraft. Viva connects its passengers to over 60 destinations in Mexico, the US, Colombia, Costa Rica and Cuba. Viva also offers its customers ‘Flex-SÍ-bility’, giving them greater control over their travel plans with options to change their flights, change or transfer their tickets, and more.

Neil Chernoff, Chief Planning and Strategy Officer at British Airways said: “We’re excited to launch our new codeshare partnership with Viva, opening up more of Mexico to our customers and providing greater choice when planning their journeys. Mexico has been an important part of our network for over 60 years, and this agreement marks a new moment in that long history. By bringing together Viva’s extensive domestic network with British Airways’ global connectivity, we’re making it easier for customers to travel between Mexico, London and destinations across our wider network.”

Routes included in the codeshare agreement: