When you reach billionaire status, surely money is no object?

So it appeared when Chinese tycoon Liu Yiqian, 52, bought Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani’s ‘Reclining Nude’ after a frantic bidding war at a Christie's auction in New York last week.

But his wife has revealed he will be paying for the $170.4million purchase with his American Express Centurion card on a one-year payment plan - so his family can fly for free with the points collected.

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Chinese tycoon Liu Yiqian bought the Modigliani nude for $170million last week and his wife Wang Wei (pictured together) has revealed he will pay for it with his American Express Centurion card for the points

Liu bought Amedeo Modigliani’s 'Reclining Nude' or 'Nu Couche' for $170.4million after a frantic bidding war at a Christie's auction in New York last week

‘We are on a one-year payment plan for the painting,’ Wang Wei told the New York Times. ‘If we had to pay cash upfront, that would be a little difficult for us.’

She added: ‘I mean, who has the money for that?’

Last year, Liu used his AmEx to pay $36million for a 500-year-old Ming dynasty ceramic ‘chicken cup’.

According to Bloomberg News, that purchase earned him 422million American Express points – which can be used for more than 28million frequent flyer miles for Liu, his wife, their four children and two grandchildren.

Based on that figure, his latest purchase could see him earn up to two billion points on his card - or 132million frequent flyer miles.

A first-class round trip from London to New York costs 180,000 miles so Liu would be able to take the trip 733 times. If he cared to fly coach, he could make the round-trip 2,200 times.

However, a spokesman for American Express declined to confirm to Daily Mail Online exactly how many points or miles Liu's latest purchase will earn.

Liu – a handbag seller turned billionaire art collector – snapped up the famed Modigliani nude after a nine-minute bidding war on November 9.

Liu’s wife said she knew it was her husband who bought the painting when she heard the buyer was Asian – and agrees it was 'definitely' worth the price

‘Nu Couche’ or ‘Reclining Nude’, painted between 1917 and 1918, is set to go on display at Liu’s Long Museum Pudong in 2017 to mark its fifth anniversary.

But despite making a string of extravagant purchases for his two museums in Shanghai, Liu happily admits he knows nothing about art.

His most high-profile acquisition until now, was $36million for the tiny Ming Dynasty cup – known as a ‘chicken cup’ - featuring a rooster and hen tending to their chicks – a record for Chinese porcelain.

But he faced a furious backlash on social media after he posted photographs of himself sipping tea out of the cup - because he wanted to ‘see how it felt’.

However, Liu has said he does not care if he is branded a philistine and even calls himself a ‘tuhao’ – a Chinese term for a person who came into money, but has yet to reach the same level of cultural refinement.

Liu faced a furious backlash on social media after he posted a picture (above) of himself sipping tea out of the 500-year-old cup

Born into a working class family in Shanghai, he dropped out of school at 14 and helped his mother selling handbags on the street before working as a taxi driver.

He made his first fortune in his 20s speculating in Shanghai’s newly established stock market in the 1990s – and now runs a huge conglomerate.

Now, he is among the ranks of the new Chinese super-rich with a vast personal wealth of $1.38billion, according to Forbes magazine.

And he and his wife have splashed their extreme wealth on rare and expensive artwork for their two exhibition spaces in Shanghai.

But when he started buying artwork at auction, he admitted he knew very little about what he was purchasing.

‘Whenever, I saw others bidding, I just competed,’ he once said. ‘After I made the buy, I would ask them "why is this piece good?"'

In one of his most high-profile acquisitions, Liu set a record for Chinese porcelain last year by paying just$36million for this tiny Ming dynasty cup with a rooster and a hen tending to their chicks

Liu (pictured with his 'chicken cup') admits he knows very little about art and even calls himself a 'tuhao' – a Chinese term for someone who came into money but hasn't acquired the same level of cultural refinement

But he has sought to justify some of his extravagant purchases as patriotic, saying he is returning objects that were looted or taken from China back where they belong.

Last year, he paid a record $45million for a 15th century Tibetan ‘thangka’ tapestry, later claiming to was part of his bid to bring historic art back to the mainland.

Beijing has ruled Tibet since 1951 after invading the year before and considers the Himalayan region an integral part of its territory.

However, the Tibetan government in exile as well as some scholars dispute China’s claims.

Other purchases include $14million for a 600-year-old album of Ming dynasty Buddhist art and calligraphy in March.

A month later, he paid $14.7million for a 800-year-old Southern Song dynasty vase tinted a milky blue.

But his $8.2million purchase of a scroll of nine Chinese characters supposedly dating back to the Song dynasty of 960-1279 was derided a fake by Chinese experts.

Since a New York Times series on China’s art market that branded him a ‘new collector’, Liu has largely shunned the media spotlight.

He was thrust back into it after his purchase of the Modigliani.

Christie's auctioneer Jussi Pylkkanen auctions Amedeo Modigliani's 'Nu couche' during a curated auction called 'The Artist's Muse' in New York on November 9

Beatrice Hastings (right) inspired some of Italian painter and sculptor Amedeo Modigliani's (left) best work

The painting became the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction, following Picasso’s ‘Les Femmes d’Alger’ for $179million in May.

It joined the ranks of nine other works that have reached price tags exceeding $100million.

And Liu’s wife said she knew it was her husband who bought the painting when she heard the buyer was Asian – and agrees it was worth the price.

‘It was definitely worth it,’ she told The Times.

Meanwhile, Hu Xiaofie, a spokesman for the Long Museum, dismissed concerns that the sensual painting could run afoul of Chinese authorities, who have previously shut down exhibits considered pornographic.

‘It’s art and the duty of the museum to share cutting-edge art with everyone,’ she said.

Critics have suggest Liu’s taste is eclectic with a collection extending from ancient to modern art.