Morgan Stanley Amex Platinum, 125K Welcome Bonus

Update (Oct. 13, 2022) – There’s now a new offer for 125,000 Membership Rewards points. There’s also a new link for the Access Investing account, which helps you waive the annual fee.

• Earn 125,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Offer expires on 1/11/23.
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The Platinum Card from American Express exclusively for Morgan Stanley is one of the least talked about flavors of the Amex Platinum card. But right now, you can get the same big welcome bonus as the Schwab Platinum Card. This card does have some extra perks, such as the possibility of waiving the annual fee, adding an authorized user for free, and redeeming points for 1 cent each. Let’s see how this offer works.

Update (Jul. 1, 2021) – Annual fee is now up to $695, and so is the Annual Engagement Bonus. CashPlus account fee going up to $55 per month, effective 02/01/2022.

Offer

• Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards points will be credited to your account after you charge a total of $6,000 or more of eligible purchases on your Platinum Card from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley from American Express within the first 6 months.
• Earn 10x points on eligible purchases with your new Platinum Card from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley at restaurants worldwide and when you Shop Small in the U.S., on up to $25,000 in combined purchases, during your first 6 months of Card Membership. That’s an additional 9 points on top of the 1 point you earn for these purchases as a benefit of the Card.
• Annual Fee: $695
• Add an Additional Platinum Card to your Account for no annual fee. For the next 3 Additional Cards, the total annual fee is $175. Each Additional Card after the first 4 Cards, is $175.
• Application Page

Eligibility

The Platinum Card® from American Express exclusively for Morgan Stanley is only available for clients who have an eligible Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC brokerage account (“eligible account”). Eligible account means a Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC brokerage account held in your name or in the name of a revocable trust where the client is the grantor and trustee, except for the following accounts: Charitable Remainder Annuity Trusts, Charitable Remainder Unitrusts, irrevocable trusts and employer-sponsored accounts. Eligibility is subject to change. American Express may cancel your Card Account and participation in this program, if you do not maintain an eligible account.

Waiving Annual Fee

You can get the annual fee waived on the Morgan Stanley Amex Platinum with an eligible Morgan Stanley investment account and one of Morgan Stanley’s Platinum CashPlus accounts. This is done in the form of a $695 Annual Engagement Bonus. 

The cheapest investment account is a Morgan Stanley Access Investing account (new link available). It requires a minimum investment of $5,000. The annual fee for that account is 0.3 percent of your assets under management, which would be $15 for $5,000. The CashPlus account is free if you receive at least $5,000 in monthly deposits (or any amount of social security benefits) and maintain an average daily balance of at least $25,000. If not, the monthly account fee is $45 (going up to  $55 per month on 2/1/22). Even if you pay the monthly fee, it is slightly cheaper than the new $695 annual fee. 

You also need to spend at least $1,000 on your Morgan Stanley Amex Platinum each year in order to avoid taxes on the $695 annual fee rebate. If you do not meet a minimum spending requirement of $1,000 on your Platinum Card from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley, then Morgan Stanley may be required to report the $695 Annual Engagement Bonus as taxable income on your Form 1099.

Card Details

• Earn
  • 5X MR points on airfare booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel
  • 5X MR points on eligible hotels booked through Amex Travel
  • 1X MR points on all other purchases
• $200 in annual Uber savings ($15 in Uber Cash for U.S. rides every month plus a bonus $20 in December)
• $200 in statement credits per calendar year for airline incidental fees. Enrollment required.
• $200 Hotel Credit for prepaid bookings at Fine Hotels + Resorts(R) or The Hotel Collection bookings, which requires a minimum two-night stay, through American Express Travel.
• $100 in statement credits annually for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue or Saks.com. That’s up to $50 on a semi-annual basis. Enrollment required.
• $240 Digital Entertainment Credit ($20/month) on eligible purchases or subscriptions: The Disney Bundle, Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, Peacock, Audible, SiriusXM and The New York Times.
• Receive one Global Entry ($100) statement credit or one TSA Precheck ($85) statement credit
• $189 CLEAR Credit annually.
• Access to over 1,400+ airport lounges, including The Centurion lounge, Delta Sky Clubs, Airspace Lounges and Priority Pass Select membership
• Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status
• Hilton Honors Gold Status
• Walmart+ Monthly Membership Credit ($12.95/month) 
• $300 SoulCycle At-Home Bike Credit
• Get up to $300 in statement credits each year on a digital or club membership at Equinox.
• Complimentary membership in premium car rental programs, including Hertz President’s Circle status and other upgrades and discounts.
• 20% discount on Wheels Up Connect and a 40% discount on Wheels Up Core memberships. Plus, get a $500 or $2,000 credit added to your Wheels Up account to use toward your initial flight
• Resy Dining Benefit
• Platinum Card Concierge available 24/7 to help with anything from special dinner reservations to finding the perfect gift. 
• More perks and benefits.
• Annual Fee: $695

American Express Membership Rewards points are worth 1 cent each when they’re redeemed into an eligible Morgan Stanley account. You can also redeem points to cover charges on your card, but you only get 0.6 cents per point that way.

Guru’s Wrap-up

This is yet another big bonus that you can get from a different flavor of the Amex Platinum card, before the rumored fee increase. With the Morgan Stanley Amex Platinum card you can have the annual fee waived, you can cash out points at 1 cent each which is better than the 0.6 cents for the regular Amex Platinum, and you can add the first authorized user for free. The downside is that you need to have money locked in the Morgan Stanley accounts.