The AmEx airline fee credit is a valuable perk of a handful of American Express premium travel cards. This perk can provide cardmembers with up to $200 or $250 — depending on the card — in statement credits to reimburse eligible incidental airline expenses.

However, cardmembers can be frustrated by AmEx's lack of clarity about which types of transactions trigger the airline fee credit. AmEx only lists a few types of transactions that qualify and a much longer list of transactions that don't qualify. This can leave cardmembers guessing if an unlisted expense will be eligible or not.

Thankfully, AmEx provided us with a list of 11 expenses that qualify for the AmEx airline fee credit — and 13 types of expenses that don't. So here's everything that you need to know about how to utilize the AmEx airline fee credit.

Which cards offer an AmEx airline fee credit

Only three AmEx cards currently offer an airline fee credit. That means you'll only need to learn more about the AmEx airline fee credit if you have — or are considering getting — one of these cards:

The Platinum Card® from American Express: $200 annual airline fee credit.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: $200 annual fee credit.

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card: $250 annual airline fee credit.

Enrollment required. Terms apply.

The American Express® Gold Card used to offer a $100 airline fee credit, but that was discontinued in January of 2022.

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How the AmEx airline fee credit works

To get started using the AmEx airline fee credit, cardmembers of eligible AmEx cards first need to enroll in this card perk. You can open this page and log into your American Express account to see if your AmEx card is enrolled.

The AmEx airline fee credit is only valid on the qualifying airline you choose when you enroll. So make sure to choose wisely. Once you select an airline, you're stuck using that airline for the rest of the calendar year.