This article was contributed by reader Lulu Jie and was originally published on KUKU’s personal WeChat account, "Meika Gonglve."

Recently, several friends applied for the Hong Kong American Express Platinum Charge Card and were approved. Some were even instantly approved, which makes it seem like approvals may have loosened up.

There are two Hong Kong American Express Platinum products: the Charge Card and the credit card. Based on the size of the AMEX centurion portrait on the card face, cardholders often nickname them the “Small Head” card and the “Big Head” card. Both are MR cards, while Blue Cash is a cash back card. Here’s a guide to the main details.

Small Head Card (Platinum Charge Card)

Metal card, 17g, annual fee HK$7,800

Welcome bonus

From now through July 31, if you apply through the referral link, you can get a welcome bonus of 700,000 points (vs. 600,000 points through a non-designated link).

Application link (earn 700,000 points)

Make one purchase to earn 700,000 points (500,000+100,000+100,000).

Note: The Small Head card requires annual income of HK$1 million. Don’t make up your income; they may ask for proof of income (payroll/bank statement).

Card benefits

The benefits are the familiar Centurion Platinum-style benefits. You can check the official website here:

A few points worth highlighting:

  • Priority Pass card, with one guest allowed
  • Shangri-La status is no longer included
  • Purchases made with the card get an extra one-year extended warranty benefit, but only for purchases made in Hong Kong. This differs from the US version, which covers purchases worldwide.

Big Head Card (Platinum Credit Card)

Plastic card, annual fee HK$2,200

Welcome bonus

  1. Base offer: Spend HK$5,000 in the first 3 months and get HK$500 in citysuper vouchers. You also earn 5x points in the first 3 months, capped at 600,000 points total (which requires HK$120,000 in spend). Upon successful approval, you also receive 4 Hong Kong movie tickets.
  2. Extra offer: Apply through the referral link and you can earn an extra 60,000 points on top of the standard welcome offer after making one purchase.

Application link (earn an extra 60,000 points)

Note: The Big Head card requires annual income of HK$300,000. Don’t make up your income; they may ask for proof of income (payroll/bank statement).

Card benefits

One important detail: the Big Head card earns 5x points in the first 3 months, then 3x points afterward. If your annual spending exceeds 12w, spending above that threshold only earns 1X.

The Small Head card earns 2X on the first 16w each year, then 1X above 16w. So for spending in Hong Kong, if you have both the Big Head and Small Head cards, it makes sense to use the Big Head for the first 12w, then the Small Head for spend above 12w up to 16w, and beyond 16w it doesn’t really matter which one you use. If you are spending in mainland China, the two cards are basically the same, both earning 3x.

Blue Cash (cash back card)

Plastic card, annual fee HK$980, first year waived

Welcome bonus

1️ Base offer: Currently, if you spend HK$6,000 in the first 2 months, you can get HK$500 cash back (which can offset purchases).

2️ Extra offer: You can also earn an additional HK$300 (200+100) cash back, for a total of HK$800 cash back.

Application link (earn HK$800 cash back)

Card benefits

Blue Cash is a cash back card and has the lowest bar to entry among all of them. It earns 1.2% cash back on all purchases, including purchases made outside Hong Kong:

How annual fees work for Hong Kong AMEX cards

One thing to note is that for all Hong Kong American Express personal cards, if you hold multiple cards, you only need to pay the annual fee on the card with the highest annual fee. The others will not be charged an annual fee. For example, if you hold both the Big Head and Small Head cards, you only need to pay the Small Head card’s annual fee.

Application tips

Recently, based on some application DPs (using the Small Head card as the example, though the advice applies to all card applications), here is the summary: if you do not have a Hong Kong credit history, then you must have a Hong Kong ID card to apply. In other words, in that case, passport applications are not accepted (after you apply, AMEX may call and ask for your Hong Kong ID card).

If you do have Hong Kong credit history, generally at least six months, you can usually apply with a passport. If you have more than one year of credit history, a good record, and low debt, your chances of instant approval are quite high.

When filling out the application, there are a few possible scenarios:

1️ After finishing the first page with your name and ID number and moving to the next page, before you even submit the full application, a green-font message appears saying you are temporarily approved. In this case, you will usually be instantly approved.

2️ After finishing the first page with your name and ID number and moving to the next page, there is no green temporary approval message. Instead, blue-font text asks you to continue filling in information. In this case, you usually will not get instant approval, and after submission it will most likely say you will be notified of the result in 5-7 days.

3️ After submitting the full application, the page shows temporary approval and an upload button. If you click in and it says you do not need to submit any documents, that is a true instant approval, meaning the final result is approval and you can just wait for the card to arrive.

4️ The page says you have temporary approval and shows an upload button. If it does not ask for proof of income and only asks for identity documents, that means the system has already approved you and you are basically good. After uploading the requested documents, manual review of the passport’s authenticity should lead to approval.

5️ The page says you have temporary approval and shows an upload button, but asks for identity documents, proof of address, and proof of income. This is less secure; manual review may still deny the application unless you provide strong financial documentation.

6️ If the page does not show temporary approval and there is no upload button, and it only says you will be notified in 5-7 days, then the system did not approve the application and it has been sent directly to manual review. In most cases, that means denial.

For applications that have already received temporary approval, you will generally be approved as long as you provide the requested real documents. Once the documents are manually verified as authentic, the application should go through.

Editor’s note

First, to apply for a Hong Kong AMEX card, you need a Hong Kong billing address in order to receive the card. Otherwise, you cannot apply successfully.

Why go after Hong Kong AMEX cards? Using an MR card as an example, you can transfer points to a US MR account via GT (Global Transfer). 390,000 HK MR is equivalent to 50,000 US MR. So getting 700,000 HK MR from a single purchase on the Small Head card (through the refer link in this article) can be extremely valuable if you GT those points to the US. In addition, when GTing to the US, you can also receive the welcome bonus on a US credit card.

Conversely, you can also use a US AMEX card to GT in the other direction and open a Hong Kong AMEX card account (the process is more complicated and has more restrictions). In theory, GT applications are eligible for welcome bonuses. Of course, the big prerequisite is that you need a real Hong Kong address, which is indeed difficult. Most rented addresses are no longer workable. At present, Hong Kong AMEX does not accept business addresses or non-residential addresses for applications.