TravelLux.be · Updated 20 April 2026

Wine Travel Through Europe: How Amex Platinum Takes Your Gastronomic Journey to the Next Level

Honestly: the combination of luxury wine travel Europe and a credit card sounds like something a marketer dreamed up after three glasses of rosé. I was sceptical myself. A card costing €780 per year that would improve your gastronomic trip? Sure thing. But when I started running the numbers for a week in Burgundy, the pieces fell into place.

Because that's the point: a wine trip is by definition a journey where you spend money on food, drink, hotels and transport. Exactly the categories where the Amex Platinum concentrates its benefits. Not as a luxury card to show off at the bar, but as a mathematical instrument that gives you back more than it costs. At least, if you approach it smartly.

Why a wine trip through Europe benefits so much from smart card perks

A wine trip is not a beach holiday. You drive from domaine to domaine, lunch in village bistros, dine in Michelin-starred restaurants, and stay in charming hotels that are just a bit pricier than the average Airbnb. In short: you're constantly spending money, spread across many categories. And that's exactly where a card like the Amex Platinum shines.

Let me be specific. Suppose you're planning a six-day wine trip to the Rhône Valley in France. Your budget looks roughly like this: flights from Brussels Airport or train tickets (€200-400 pp), car rental (€250-350 for the week), hotels (€150-250/night for something decent), restaurant visits (€80-150/day for two), and wine purchases (€100-300 over the entire trip). Add it up and for two people you easily reach €2,500 to €4,000.

On every euro you pay with the Amex Platinum, you earn 1 Membership Rewards point as standard. Activate the Booster option (€10/month extra), and that becomes 4 points per euro. On a trip of €3,000, that yields 3,000 or 12,000 points. Sounds modest? Fair enough. But it's the other benefits that make the real difference.

Fine Hotels + Resorts: free upgrades in European wine regions

The Fine Hotels + Resorts programme (FHR) is, honestly, the strongest argument for the Amex Platinum when it comes to gastronomic travel. The network includes more than 14,000 luxury hotels worldwide, and a significant portion of them are located in precisely the regions where wine lovers want to be: Burgundy, Bordeaux, Tuscany, Piedmont, the Douro Valley in Portugal, Rioja in Spain.

What you get with every FHR booking, regardless of the hotel:

• Free room upgrade (subject to availability, but it works out surprisingly often)
• Early check-in and late check-out
• Daily breakfast for 2 persons
• A welcome gift or hotel credit worth approximately €100

That €100 welcome gift is not a fruit basket, by the way. At many hotels in wine regions, you can spend that credit at the hotel restaurant or, even better, on a wine tasting organised by the hotel itself. I haven't personally experienced that specifically in a wine region yet, but at FHR hotels we've booked before, it was always a genuine benefit, not a marketing gimmick.

A single FHR booking of five nights can thus already recoup nearly half of the annual fee. Combine that with the other benefits and the equation quickly turns positive. Read more about how FHR works exactly in our comprehensive FHR guide.

Dining for 2 and the Belgian gastronomic scene as a warm-up

What many Belgian cardholders overlook: you don't have to go abroad to put your Amex Platinum to gastronomic use. The Dining for 2 programme gives you 3x per year a complimentary 2-course menu for 2 persons at selected top restaurants in Belgium. Value: up to €300 per year.

That may sound like a nice little extra, but in the context of a wine trip budget it's quite relevant. Those €300 saved on dinners at home can be redirected towards an extra wine tasting in Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Or towards that one bottle you actually thought was too expensive at that domaine in Provence but that you'd have wished you'd taken home after all. We all know the feeling.

On top of that, there's the Dining Experience at Black Pearls at Brussels Airport, where as a Platinum cardholder you can pick up a complimentary meal 2x per month. Handy just before departure, although it's not quite the same as a tasting with a vigneron overlooking the hills. But hey, pragmatism is part of travelling too.

Earning and smartly redeeming points for wine travel: the maths

Membership Rewards points only become truly interesting when you don't just burn them on random purchases, but deploy them strategically for flights. The Amex Platinum lets you transfer points to an impressive list of airline partners: Brussels Airlines, Air France-KLM, British Airways, Lufthansa, and about fifteen others.

For Belgian travellers departing from Brussels Airport, Brussels Airlines and Air France-KLM are the most logical choices. A return flight BRU-Lyon or BRU-Bordeaux in economy costs around €150-250 in cash. In points, that's less interesting (you get relatively little value per point). But if you book business class on longer European routes, or combine your wine trip with a transfer via a hub, the value per point rises significantly.

Where it really pays off: when you transfer the 150,000 welcome points (via the TravelLux.be referral link) to an airline partner for a business class flight. 150,000 points transferred to British Airways Avios, for example, can get you a return in Club Europe. Or you save them up and combine them with points you accumulate throughout the year on daily spending.

Admittedly: that Booster option at €10/month is only worthwhile if you spend enough monthly. At less than €1,000/month, the extra cost per point becomes too high. I'm honest about that, because not everyone has the same spending pattern. More about points strategies can be found in our article on Membership Rewards optimisation.

The practical side: acceptance, insurance and what you definitely need to know

Here comes the nuance I can't avoid: Amex is not accepted everywhere in Europe. At larger restaurants, hotels, wine shops and car rental companies, it's generally not a problem. Hertz and Avis, where as a Platinum cardholder you enjoy Gold Plus Rewards Five Star and Preferred status respectively, accept Amex of course. But that small family domaine in the Luberon where you're buying three bottles and cash or Bancontact are the only options? That happens.

My approach: I use the Amex Platinum as my primary card for all larger expenses (hotels, restaurants, car rental, fuel stops), and always carry a Visa or Mastercard as backup for smaller purchases. That way I earn maximum points where possible, and I'm never left stranded. Incidentally: the Amex Platinum charges no foreign transaction fees on overseas payments, which is less relevant for euro-zone travel, but as soon as you head to the United Kingdom (a wine trip to the wine bars of London, anyone?) it's a welcome perk.

Then there's the insurance. When you pay with the Amex Platinum, a package of travel insurance is automatically active: cancellation insurance, flight insurance (for delays and missed connections), baggage insurance and medical expenses abroad. That saves you a separate travel insurance policy, or at least the basic version of one. Provided through Chubb and Europe Assistance, not exactly minor names.

And then there's the 24/7 concierge service. I've had mixed experiences with it. For restaurant reservations in popular cities, it works well: you call, explain what you're looking for, and they arrange it. For booking a private tasting at a small domaine in Piedmont, I wouldn't immediately count on it, but it's worth trying. You're paying for it, after all.

A realistic wine trip route from Belgium, with Amex benefits built in

To make this concrete, here's an example route that I would plan myself (and have partly planned, although it hasn't been executed in this exact way yet):

Day 1-2: Departure from Brussels Airport to Lyon. Fast Lane security at BRU (worth €169/year, included with the Platinum). Priority Pass lounge before boarding, together with your travel companion (cardholder + 1 guest free, from a network of 1,550+ lounges). Pick up rental car at Hertz with your Gold Plus Rewards status: faster service, chance of an upgrade.

Day 2-4: Burgundy. Stay at an FHR hotel near Beaune. Free breakfast, room upgrade, €100 credit that you spend at the hotel restaurant. Visits to domaines in Gevrey-Chambertin, Pommard, Meursault. Larger purchases with Amex (earning points), smaller purchases with backup card.

Day 4-6: Rhône Valley heading south. Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, perhaps a stop in Hermitage. Dining at Michelin-starred restaurants where Amex is accepted (check in advance via the app or call the concierge). Pay for the rental car fuel stops with Amex: they're small amounts, but they add up.

Day 6-7: Return via Lyon or Marseille. Priority Pass lounge on the return journey. At home, check your points balance and confirm that you're a few thousand points closer to your next trip.

And that's from a single trip. With two or three gastronomic getaways per year, plus the Dining for 2 programme at home, the total value comfortably exceeds the €780 annual fee. Not every trip yields the same return, I'll admit that. But if wine travel and gastronomy are your thing, there's a good chance you'll come out ahead.

Honest caveats you won't read anywhere else

I wouldn't be TravelLux.be if I didn't also discuss the less glamorous sides. First: €780 per year is and remains a substantial amount. If you only go away for one long weekend per year and otherwise don't spend much, it becomes difficult to recoup that cost. The card is most valuable for those who travel regularly and actively use the benefits.

Second: FHR hotels are by definition luxury hotels. Prices often start around €200-300/night. If your budget per night is more like €80-120 (and there's nothing wrong with that), then you'll rarely book via FHR and you'll miss out on that major benefit. Be honest with yourself about your travel budget before applying for the card.

Third: acceptance. I keep repeating it because it's the most frequently asked question I receive. In France, Italy and Spain things are getting better all the time, but you always need a plan B. That's not a dealbreaker, it's simply the reality of Amex in Europe in 2026.

Frequently asked questions about wine travel with Amex Platinum