Please note that this does not work on every airline. For instance, with United, you have to donate to a gift registry to get your $200 airline fee credits. Use the link to the airline you want to use here – http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1183013-platinum-200-airline-credit-strategy-read-message-1-before-posting.html
I had used the link above to look at Alaska Airlines since 1) I live in Seattle and 2) I seem to be flying more with them than any other carrier. I then went to the very last page to get the latest updates on what works and what doesn’t. A person had mentioned that he had bought 2 x $50 GCs and 1 x $100 GC and got the fee reimbursed in a couple of days. Therefore, I did the exact same thing, and as you can see, the credit posted exactly 3 days later. That was for the 2014 calendar year benefit. For the 2015 calendar year benefit, just to save a step, I decided to order 2 x $100 gift cards, and I got the credits as well. No idea on whether a $200 GC works, but why even risk it. I plan to do this again in January 2016 to get the full $600 worth of credits to offset the $450 annual fee.
thought you could only get $400 for the first year since it spans over 2 calendar years, how do you get $600?
It’s all about the timing. If you apply for the card say December 2016, you can get it then, then again in 2017, and then one more time in January 2018. The AF will hit in December 2017 and you’ll just cancel in Jan 2018