$0 annual fee Amex Platinum Card glitch, what’s really going on?

amex platinum card
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Four years back, I wrote about this glitch on the Hilton Aspire card. Back then, some card members were seeing offers on their cards with the ability to upgrade to the Hilton Aspire Card. The only issue was that it was showing a $0 annual fee. I’ve written extensively about the dreaded $695 annual fee on the Amex Platinum card and why many love to hate the card. However, there’s some chatter on Reddit about Amex Platinum card offers showing up with a $0 annual fee. So what’s really going on? Let’s have a look.

No annual fee on the Amex Platinum Card, really?

As per the OP on this thread on Reddit, some people were seeing $0 next to the annual fee column while applying for a Charles Schwab version of the Amex Platinum card. In case you missed it, the Amex Platinum Card (Charles Schwab version) and the Amex Platinum Card (Morgan Stanley version) are both offering higher than usual welcome bonuses.

As per the OP, the $0 annual fee shows up after you apply for the card and get approved.

Some users are seeing $0 (None) annual fee on the Schwab Platinum with the elevated offers. Most likely a glitch, and only seems to be after card approval. Amex honored the Aspire $0 AF five years ago and those lucky enough to get that had a gift that kept on giving

If you want to have a look, head over to the application pages for these cards:

Now, I checked the application page and the benefit terms for both offers, the Morgan Stanley and Charles Schwab versions. In both cases, I’m seeing the usual $695 annual fee.

However, there seems to be a wider issue. As some people pointed out in the thread, the cardmember agreements seem to be showing a $0 annual fee, even on cards that usually carry an annual fee. I checked for myself and I saw that this indeed was an issue. I currently carry three Amex cards that charge an annual fee and checked my cardmember agreement to verify for myself.

Here’s how you can also download your cardmember agreement:

  • Log into your American Express account
  • Select your card from the top right menu
  • Click on the Account Services Tab on top
  • Once the tab opens, click on ‘Request Cardmember Agreement’ on the bottom of your screen

Charles Schwab Platinum Card

amex platinum card

amex platinum card

Business Gold Card

amex platinum card

amex platinum card

Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card

amex platinum card

amex platinum card

The Pundit’s Mantra

I can’t make any prediction about the legal ramifications of this glitch and whether American Express will end up honoring this glitch with the cardmember agreements.

In the past, Amex honored the glitch with the Hilton Aspire card $0 annual fee while upgrading. However, in this case, cardmembers are seeing $0 in annual fee (as in my case) on existing Amex cards that carry an annual fee.

Have you been able to apply for any of these offers which originally did not show the annual fee on the Amex Platinum Card? Tell us in the comments section.

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8 comments
  1. Yes. I received the bonvoy brilliance card this week and the annual fee says NONE in the rates and fees paperwork terms.

  2. Schwab Amex platinum card is essentially free if one has $10 million across all their Schwab accounts. The entire fee is refunded. For those with 1 to 10 million $200 is refunded annually

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