The (1 X 1) --> quasihexagonal (HEX) phase transition on a clean Pt(100) surface was investigated by monitoring the time evolution of the Pt4f(72) core level photoemission spectra. The spectral component originating from the atoms forming the (1x1) metastable unreconstructed surface was found at -570+/-20 meV with respect to the bulk peak. Ab initio calculations based on density functional theory confirmed the experimental assignment. At temperatures above 370 K, the (1 X 1) phase irreversibly reverts to the more stable HEX phase, characterized by a surface core level shifted component at -185 +/ -40 meV. By analyzing the intensity evolution of the core level components, measured at different temperatures in the range of 393 - 475 K, we determined the activation energy of the phase transformation, E = 0.76 +/- 0.04 eV. This value is considerably lower than the one previously determined by means of low energy electron diffraction. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.