American Express and Airbnb announced a partnership on October 22, 2026 that changes how Amex cardholders should book an Airbnb. Book through the new “Homes” tab on AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel app instead of Airbnb.com directly, and Platinum and Business Platinum cardholders earn 5x Membership Rewards points on the stay, with the card’s existing $600 lodging credit now stretching to cover Airbnb Luxe properties.
The Earning Rates, by Card
The rate depends entirely on where you book, not just which card you use.
| Card | Rate | Where you have to book |
|---|---|---|
| Platinum / Business Platinum | 5x points | AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel app only |
| Green | 3x points | Direct on Airbnb.com (unchanged, existing broad travel category) |
| All other Membership Rewards cards (Gold, Business Gold, etc.) | 2x points | AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel app only |
Two things trip people up here. First, the 5x and 2x rates are new and only trigger through the new Homes tab inside Amex Travel, more than one million Airbnb listings are searchable there as of launch. Book the identical listing on Airbnb.com with the same card and you fall back to whatever that card already earned on travel before this announcement (1x for Platinum on non-bonused spend). Second, Green’s 3x isn’t new. It’s the card’s existing third-party-travel-site rate, which already applied to Airbnb bookings made directly on Airbnb.com, and it stays that way, Green doesn’t get a bonus for routing through Amex Travel the way Platinum does.
Airbnb, not Amex, still owns the transaction. You search and compare in the Amex Travel interface, but the actual booking, cancellation policy, and host communication happen on Airbnb’s platform, same as any Airbnb stay.
The $600 Lodging Credit Now Covers Airbnb Luxe
This is the part that matters more than the points rate for anyone who already carries the Platinum or Business Platinum card for the travel credits.
The $600 annual lodging credit (up to $300 in statement credits from January through June, another up to $300 from July through December) previously applied only to Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection bookings through Amex Travel, our guide to the FHR/Hotel Collection side of that credit covers how that part works. As of October 22, Airbnb Luxe, Airbnb’s high-end tier of professionally managed villas and estates, is now a third eligible category. Book a Luxe stay of two nights or more through AmexTravel.com and it draws from the same $300 semi-annual pool as a Hotel Collection stay.
That means the credit doesn’t get bigger. If you already use your $300 first-half credit on a Hotel Collection stay in March, you have zero dollars of Luxe credit left until July. What changed is where you’re allowed to spend it, not how much you get.
One more date worth knowing if you use this credit on Fine Hotels + Resorts specifically, not Airbnb. Starting January 1, 2027, Amex is adding a two-night minimum to FHR bookings for this same credit, the Hotel Collection and Airbnb Luxe already required two nights, so that part of the rule isn’t new, but FHR currently allows a single prepaid night and will not after January 1. That change is separate from today’s Airbnb news and doesn’t affect an Airbnb Luxe booking either way, but if you’re the type to book a one-night FHR stay just to clear the credit before year-end, it’s worth doing before the rule takes effect rather than after.
The New $250 Experiences Credit
Complete an eligible Airbnb Luxe booking through Amex Travel and you unlock a separate statement credit, up to $250 per year, for Airbnb Experiences (guided activities and local excursions Airbnb sells alongside stays). This one only activates after the qualifying Luxe stay. Book a regular (non-Luxe) Airbnb and you earn the 5x points but do not unlock the Experiences credit.
What This Doesn’t Change
Membership Rewards points still cannot be redeemed directly for an Airbnb booking through the travel portal, this is an earning-and-credit partnership, not a redemption one. You pay cash (or points-as-cash through Pay with Points, at a worse rate than transferring to an airline or hotel partner) and earn points on top, the same mechanic as booking a flight through Amex Travel.
It’s also worth being clear about who this actually helps, and worth correcting a common assumption about the obvious alternative. Capital One Venture X earns a flat 2x on every purchase, Airbnb included, with no booking-channel requirement at all, that’s the simplest option if you just want points without routing through a specific portal. Chase Sapphire Reserve is a different story than most people assume: since the 2025 refresh, CSR earns only 1x on general travel booked outside the Chase Travel portal or direct with an airline or hotel, and an Airbnb booking is neither. Book an Airbnb on Airbnb.com with a CSR today and you earn the card’s base 1x, not the broad across-the-board travel multiplier a lot of cardholders still associate with the card from before the 2025 refresh retired it. CSR would need the same kind of portal-routing Amex just introduced, through Chase Travel, to earn its bonus 8x rate on the same stay.
None of that makes the new Amex rate a reason to apply for an $895-annual-fee card you don’t already have. It’s a reason for existing Platinum and Business Platinum cardholders to change where they click when booking an Airbnb, and for Luxe travelers specifically, a real reason to notice the lodging credit now has a third way to use it.
Bottom Line
If you carry the Amex Platinum or Business Platinum card and you’re booking an Airbnb, book it through AmexTravel.com’s new Homes tab, not Airbnb.com, to get 5x points instead of 1x. If the stay is an Airbnb Luxe property of two nights or more, it also draws down your existing $600 lodging credit and unlocks a new $250 Experiences credit for the rest of the year.
FAQ
Q: Do I need a new card or to enroll in anything to get these benefits?
A: No. The 5x/2x earning rates and the Luxe lodging credit eligibility are automatic for existing Platinum, Business Platinum, and other Membership Rewards cardholders as of October 22, 2026. You simply have to book through AmexTravel.com or the Amex Travel app rather than Airbnb.com directly.
Q: Does the Green card get 5x too?
A: No. Green earns 3x, and only on bookings made directly on Airbnb.com, not through Amex Travel. That 3x rate already existed before this announcement as Green’s standard third-party-travel-site rate; this partnership didn’t change it.
Q: Can I use the $600 lodging credit on a regular (non-Luxe) Airbnb?
A: No. The lodging credit’s new Airbnb eligibility is limited to Airbnb Luxe stays of two nights or more. A standard Airbnb listing earns the 5x points if booked through Amex Travel, but doesn’t draw on the lodging credit.
Q: What happens to the $250 Experiences credit if I don’t book another Luxe stay next year?
A: It resets annually and requires a new qualifying Luxe booking each year to unlock, it isn’t a standing credit you get just for holding the card.
Q: I already have an Amex Business Platinum. Does this stack with the new ZO coworking benefit?
A: Yes, they’re unrelated benefits on the same card. See our breakdown of the Business Platinum’s new ZO coworking membership for that separate Oct 22 benefit.
Q: Is this worth getting the Platinum card for if I don’t already have one?
A: Only if you were already weighing the $895 annual fee for the card’s other travel credits. Read our full Platinum worth-it breakdown before deciding based on one new partnership.
Q: Can I combine the Airbnb booking with transferring my points to an airline or hotel partner instead?
A: No. Transferring Membership Rewards to a partner and earning 5x on an Airbnb stay are separate uses of the same points. You either pay with the card and earn 5x toward your balance, or you redeem existing points elsewhere, not both on the same transaction. See our guide to Amex transfer partners if you’re weighing the two.