How I Use My Amex Platinum to Network at Exclusive Events

Last month I was standing in a private room above the Brussels rooftops, glass of champagne in hand, chatting with an Antwerp entrepreneur who had just sold a logistics company. Two seats over sat a consultant from an international firm who had already visited the Centurion Lounge in New York four times. It wasn't a chance encounter, not a LinkedIn event where you stick a name tag on your chest. It was an Amex Platinum event, exclusive to cardholders in Belgium. And honestly: it was exactly the kind of evening I didn't even know existed three years ago.

I'm not writing this to brag. I'm writing this because as a Belgian traveller I hesitated for a long time whether the Amex Platinum card was worth that €780 per year, especially for the networking aspect. Were those "exclusive events" really worth it? Or was it marketing speak? After two years as a cardholder I can say: it has concretely changed the way I travel and do business.

Let me take you through what that looks like in practice.

The First Time: An Amex Platinum Event in Brussels

It started unexpectedly. An email in my inbox, somewhere in September 2024. "You are invited to an exclusive Platinum Experience in Brussels." I clicked through half-sceptically. It turned out to be a private dining at a restaurant that normally has a three-month waiting list. Thirteen guests, all Platinum cardholders. The evening began with an aperitif in a space you won't find on Google Maps, followed by a five-course menu where the chef came to the table himself to explain what he was doing.

What surprised me most: the guests. No salespeople with elevator pitches. No forced networking. Just people with a shared passion for travel and a certain lifestyle. A couple from Ghent who book every year through Fine Hotels + Resorts and thereby already earn back that €650 in extra benefits per stay. A Brussels architect who saves his Membership Rewards points for business class flights to Tokyo via Singapore Airlines.

That evening I made two business contacts that later led to real collaborations. No hard sales, no exchanging business cards under fluorescent light. Just a good conversation over good wine.

Why Amex Platinum Events Are Different from Ordinary Networking Evenings

I've been to enough networking drinks to know that most of them are a waste of time. You stand in a room with lukewarm beer, talk for three minutes with someone who's actually looking for clients, and go home with a handful of cards you'll never call. It sounds cynical, but it's the reality for many Belgian entrepreneurs and professionals.

The Amex Platinum lifestyle events work fundamentally differently, and it comes down to three things.

The first: the selection. Not everyone can attend. The card costs €65 per month and requires a minimum gross annual income of €30,000. That automatically filters an audience that is serious about their time and money. The second: the setting. American Express invests in the venue, the food, the atmosphere. You don't feel like a visitor at a trade fair, but a guest at a private party. The third, and this is the most subtle: there is no agenda. No presentations, no sponsors, no mandatory programme. Just space to talk.

Honestly, I initially thought this was a marketing trick. Make people happy, then they'll keep paying. But after multiple events in Brussels, Antwerp and even London I realised: the connections I make here are more genuine than at any paid networking event I've ever attended.

How Airport Lounges Are Surprisingly Good Networking Spots

Okay, I didn't expect this when I applied for my Amex Platinum. But it has been one of the most valuable discoveries: airport lounges as a place to make business contacts.

With the Platinum card you have access to more than 1,550 lounges worldwide via Priority Pass Prestige. That's a benefit worth approximately €500 per year if you were to buy it separately. But the real value isn't in the free whisky or the buffet. It's in who's sitting next to you.

A concrete example. Last January I flew BRU to DXB for a short business visit. In the lounge at Brussels Airport, where I had arrived early thanks to the Fast Lane security (worth €169/year, included with the Platinum), I got into conversation with a Dutch entrepreneur who was heading to the same conference. We had an hour and a half before boarding. That conversation led to a project I would never have landed without that lounge.

And this isn't a one-off story. In the Centurion Lounge in Miami, in the Plaza Premium Lounge in Hong Kong, even in the smaller Priority Pass lounges at regional airports: everywhere you encounter an audience that travels with purpose. People who invest in their time. Who aren't sitting in row 34 waiting for a sandwich, but consciously choose a place where they can work quietly, make calls, or simply strike up a conversation.

My tip for Belgian travellers: always bring your business cards to the lounge. Or better yet, make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date. The best conversations happen spontaneously, not planned.

Dining for 2 as a Business Weapon

One of the Amex Platinum benefits I initially overlooked: Dining for 2. Three times a year a complimentary two-course menu for two people at top restaurants in Belgium. Value: up to €300 per year.

Sounds nice, but not immediately like a networking tool. Until I started using it differently.

Instead of reserving those dinners with my girlfriend (sorry, darling), I started using them as informal business lunches. Inviting a potential client for lunch at a restaurant that would normally be outside the budget for a "get-to-know-you meeting": that makes an impression. Not because you're showing off, but because it shows you invest in the relationship. You take the time. You choose a beautiful venue. And it costs you zero extra euros.

I've done this five times in the past year. Three of those lunches led to concrete assignments. The other two were simply enjoyable conversations with people I respect. Not once did it feel forced.

Combine this with the 24/7 concierge service from Amex, which can make reservations for you at restaurants that are normally fully booked, and you have a combination that truly gives your business life a boost. The concierge has already secured me a table twice at restaurants where the waiting list was normally four weeks.

Fine Hotels + Resorts: Networking at the Top Level, Literally

It may sound over the top, but some of my best professional contacts have been made in hotels. Not in the lobby, but at breakfast.

Through the Fine Hotels + Resorts programme from Amex Platinum I regularly book at luxury hotels from the network of 14,000+ properties. The benefits per stay are concrete: complimentary room upgrade, early check-in, late check-out, daily breakfast for two, and a welcome gift of approximately €100. Total value per stay: up to €650.

Last November I booked three nights at an FHR hotel in London for a conference. Thanks to the complimentary room upgrade I was on the executive floor, where breakfast is served in a separate salon. Smaller space, quieter, and the type of guests you also encounter at Platinum events. I got into conversation at breakfast with a British investor. That would never have happened if I'd been sitting in the large breakfast hall downstairs.

For Belgian travellers who regularly travel to cities like London, Paris or Dubai for business: the FHR programme isn't just a luxury extra. It's a way to position yourself in the same spaces as people who operate at the same level.

The Points: How 150,000 Membership Rewards Finance Your First Event

Let me get practical for a moment. The Amex Platinum card gives you a standard 1 point per €1 spent. With the Booster option (€10/month extra) that becomes 4 points per €1. Those points never expire as long as your card is active.

When you apply for the card via the TravelLux.be referral link, you receive the maximum welcome bonus of 150,000 Membership Rewards points. That's more than with a direct application. Those 150,000 points can be used for a business class return flight BRU to Dubai with Emirates, or for multiple flights within Europe with Brussels Airlines or Lufthansa.

And there lies the crux. That flight takes you to the next event, the next conference, the next meeting. The points are not an abstract savings system. They are tickets to places where you meet the right people.

I used my welcome points at the time for a business class BRU to SIN (Singapore) via Singapore Airlines. In the lounge at Changi Airport I met a Belgian entrepreneur who had just launched a tech startup in Southeast Asia. We still speak to each other monthly. That conversation started with: "Are you Belgian too?"

My Honest Assessment After Two Years

Is the Amex Platinum card for everyone? No. If you go on a city trip to Barcelona once a year and don't fly otherwise, then €780 per year is too much. I want to be honest about that.

But for Belgian travellers who fly at least three to four times a year, who consider professional networking important, and who are willing to actively use the benefits: the value far exceeds the cost. A quick tally for my situation over the past year:

Total: well above €3,000 in concrete value on an annual fee of €780. And that's without even counting the business contacts and collaborations that have come from it. That value cannot be expressed in euros.

The travel insurance alone provides peace of mind. Trip cancellation, flight delay insurance, baggage insurance, medical expenses abroad: it's all automatically active as soon as you pay with the card. I no longer need to take out separate travel insurance, and that alone saves easily €100 to €200 per year for someone who travels regularly.

Practical Tips for Belgian Networkers with Amex Platinum

After two years I've developed a few habits that make the difference. No rocket science, but the kind of things you only discover once you've had the card for a while.

Keep an eye on your Amex emails. Seriously. The invitations for Platinum events come by email, and they are often limited in places. I once missed an event in Antwerp because I only saw the email three days later. Since then I have a separate label in Gmail for everything from American Express.

Use the concierge for restaurant reservations when you want to impress a business guest. Not to show off, but because it's practical. You call one number, 24/7, and they arrange it. No endless scrolling on OpenTable or The Fork.

Combine Dining for 2 with your Black Pearls benefit at Brussels Airport. Twice a month you can pick up food at Black Pearls restaurant at Brussels Airport, thanks to the Platinum card. If you regularly fly through Zaventem, that's a concrete saving and a nice way to make your travel time more pleasant. And honestly: if you're heading to the airport with a colleague or client, it makes an impression when you pop into a starred restaurant to pick up your lunch.

Use your points wisely. The 15+ airline partners (Brussels Airlines, Emirates, Qatar Airways, British Airways, Air France-KLM, Etihad, Singapore Airlines, Turkish Airlines, and more) give you the flexibility to fly wherever the network takes you. I hardly ever book economy for business trips anymore. Not because I can "afford it", but because the points make it possible.

And finally: always bring your Platinum card to events. Not to pay with (though that's handy, since there are no foreign transaction fees abroad), but because it's a conversation starter. It sounds odd, but at Amex events people recognise each other. The card is a kind of invisible business card that says: we're in the same world.

Frequently Asked Questions About Amex Platinum Events and Networking in Belgium

Ready to receive the maximum welcome bonus of 150,000 points?

Via the TravelLux.be referral link you receive the maximum welcome bonus. The card costs €65/month, regardless of how you apply.