Recent reports suggest American Express no longer reimbursing expenses on United TravelBank, but since this was just a “loophole”, it’s hard to cry foul.

What was the deal with United TravelBank?

The most succinct way to summarize the noise around United TravelBank is this: it was a way for people to get outsized value on their annual $200 Airline Fee Credit on their American Express Platinum Card. Loading up to $200 annually didn’t appear to be an official use of the credit, but it worked.

The United TravelBank is a way to fund future travel for yourself over time. Add funds to this personal account and you could eventually spring for that flight you’ve been dying to take. However, do note that funds added to your account will expire in 5 years.

But, hey, a 5 year expiration policy is far better than the 1 year you’re allowed with this incidental fee credit. Plus, you could use it on more things than intended.

Official uses of the American Express $200 Airline Fee Credit

It’s worth reminding exactly what the American Express $200 Airline Fee Credit is and what it isn’t. You’ll only find this feature on the American Express Platinum Card (or business version of the card). A airline must be selected before you can benefit from the credit each year, and you can only use it for what people commonly refer to as “incidental” fees.

• Qualifying airlines: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines, and are subject to change.
• Notable inclusions: checked bags and in-flight refreshments.
• Notable exclusions: airline tickets, upgrades, mileage points purchases, mileage points transfer fees, gift cards, duty free purchases, and award tickets.
• Timing of statement credit: typically within a few days, but can take up to 6-8 weeks after charge posts to your card.
• Other rules:
  • Incidental airline fees must be separate charges from airline ticket charges.
  • Fees not charged by the Card Member’s selected airline (e.g. wireless internet and fees incurred with airline alliance partners) do not qualify for statement credits.

American Express doesn’t say much about where the Airline Fee Credit can be used aside from two specific examples. However, realistically, incidental fees can also include things like change fees, seat selection fees, airline lounge day passes, priority services, and pet fees. The credit is deliberately restrictive; they have the ability to expand the scope but choose not to do so.

One major downside that exists with the credit, and a downside that has existed since its inception, was that it can be tough to use up if you have airline status. Things like seat selection fees and bag fees can be waived if you have status with the airline you most commonly fly, making it tougher to use up this credit.

What remains a potential “loophole”?

That difficulty in using up the Airline Fee Credit has made a little bit of a game out of what works and what doesn’t. You see, when an all-inclusive list doesn’t exist on what officially counts, you never know what is an intended use of the credit. Hence, we’ve stuck to the quotes around “loophole” because to be honest no one is quite sure. Things just work or they don’t.

Arguably there are two large gray areas remaining that do not seem eligible per the terms:

• Buying an airline ticket (such as Delta) using a combination of your Platinum card and a gift card. The smaller the charge that goes onto your Platinum card, the more likely it will trigger the statement credit.
• Outright buying tickets on JetBlue, Spirit, or Southwest, provided the tickets cost no more than ~$100.

Additionally, there are things that seem inconsistent:

• Purchasing Main Cabin Extra on AA, Comfort+ on Delta, or Economy Plus on United. It’s anyone’s guess as to whether this is truly an “upgrade” or just a “seat selection fee”, but this has a better chance of success than moving up to first class. Still, it’s not a guarantee by any means.
• Award fees might trigger the statement credits if the fees themselves are under $200 per ticket.
• Purchasing a seat upgrade on a refundable fare, then canceling the fare. The seat upgrade reimbursement typically isn’t clawed back.

This is all part of the game and has been since the start

I get it that there are people disappointed by this news. Look, when I had plenty of American Express Platinum credit cards, I frequently also loaded unused amounts to my United TravelBank account. Finding an opportunity to bank that money for future use added value to the card. Value that I otherwise might not have been able to capture.

But let’s be serious: you have no right to complain about a loophole closing. Everyone who loaded money to their United TravelBank with the intention of getting a reimbursement knew that this wasn’t an intended use of the funds. Whether you found out about it on your own, through an online forum, in a YouTube video, or on a website, the end result is the same. You took advantage of it in the past and the gravy train had to end sometime.

This isn’t the first time that American Express closed a “loophole” with its airline incidental credit. Lest you forget, there were several other major edits to what worked in the past:

• In 2019, AA gift cards stopped working for reimbursement, one of the last holdouts for reimbursement on gift cards. However, they worked for a period of time with all airlines.
• In 2017, the United MileagePlus X app stopped working for reimbursements (seemed silly since it was just a way to purchase gift cards for other merchants like Amazon).

With each of those past changes, there were plenty of people ready to cut up their cards and protest about how unfair this is. Yes, it’s disappointing to not have something work anymore, but it wasn’t ever intended to be a feature of the card. It’s hard to call foul on this. And while you might want to go blame someone about it, the story isn’t that clean cut, especially if you yourself learned about it from others. Imagine all the other “secret tricks” out there that you don’t know about and then they closed before you ever knew about them. Would that have been a better outcome for you?

No, “loopholes” ending is just the name of the game in this hobby. There will be other opportunities that come and go. You roll with the punches and adapt.

If you’re upset about the value proposition the American Express Platinum now gives you, contact them when your annual fee posts and be direct with them that you don’t get the value they claim to offer. If enough people do it, they might consider a change to the card benefits. Of course, it also helps your story if you put your money where your mouth is and don’t use up all your incidental credit when you say you can’t find uses for it. And your story is more effective if you don’t say this is all driven by a “loophole” they closed.

Vote with your wallet, and eventually there might be something else they offer that intrigues you more. Or not. You’ll feel less stress if you just let it go.

Suggested reading:

• The Citi Strata Elite Blacklane Credit is Easy to Use
• Keep or Cancel: How to Handle Too Many Credit Cards
• Pro Tip: Keeping Your Credit Cards Open With Five Simple Tasks