Yesterday I decided to make a New Year impulse decision and apply for the AMEX Platinum card. Yes, the one with the $550 annual fee. I was instantly approved. When I clicked the apply button you would’ve thought I just signed away my first born child. I was so nervous, and still am to a degree. Here’s why and also what I’m telling myself to make it better.
1. $5,000 minimum spend
One of the requirements of the AMEX Platinum card to earn the 60,000 Membership Rewards sign-up offer is to spend $5,000 in the 3 months subsequent to the account opening date. This works out to about ~$1,600 in monthly discretionary spend. I’m sorry but unless you’re making well over six figures annually, this amount is stretching it.
In my case, yes, I have a full-time job and I do decently well, but hitting the $5k mark is going to take a bit of creativity.
A couple of ways I initially plan to meet the spend, or at least get me close:
- ~$1,000: Pre-pay auto insurance for the year
- ~$1,000: I shop a ton at Amazon so I plan on buying gift cards and using them when I normally would.
- ~$1,000/month ($3k total): my normal monthly discretionary spending (outside of auto payments, etc).
One of the ways you can meet minimum spend if you’re close, but still need a little help is to Venmo some cash using your Platinum card to a friend or spouse. Of course, you’re going to incur a 3% fee, but I’d gladly pay the small fee to make sure I secure my 60,000 MR bonus.
After breaking it down, I’m not too upset anymore because I have a clear plan on how to get to that spend number. It also gives me an excuse to splurge a bit and buy some things I’ve really wanted 🙂
2. Charge Card
The AMEX Platinum card is a charge card, meaning you can’t carry a balance to the next billing period. You have to pay your card balance in full every month. This is fine for me as I always pay my balances in full, but I guess it’s the fact that I don’t have that safety net that makes me a bit skittish.
The silver lining is I see this as an opportunity to have peace of mind that I’ll continue to be at $0 balance at the start of the new billing cycle. Another good thing is that I’ve heard AMEX is pretty flexible if you give them a call and keep them informed with purchases you’re about to make and they’ll be able to possibly stretch the due date, etc.
3. A couple of the benefits only seem good if you’re wealthy
Included in the benefits package you receive with your AMEX Platinum card are a few perks that will benefit you if you’re higher class and not a pleb like me:
- Access to book travel through American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts
- Access to discounted premium class airline tickets (Business / First)
- Personal travel counselor
Look, make no mistake, Fine Hotels & Resorts properties are premium hotels often costing $400+ per night. I don’t know about you, but I’m not rushing to use this perk. However! And this is a big however. I’ve seen hotels through FH&R for around $200-300 per night in Europe that include excellent perks like $100 food and beverage credits, guaranteed early check-in/late check-out, and complimentary upgrades. This makes booking these hotels worth it.
I’ll probably never use the discounted premium class ticket benefit as I just don’t plan to spend $5k+ on first or business class tickets.
The jury is still out on the personal travel counselor. I like the idea of being able to pick up the phone and call someone at AMEX to get me out of a bind if say my flight is cancelled or I’m having trouble booking a restaurant/show. I’ll be sure to report back once I use this.
On the Plus Side
You’re probably wondering why I did get this card then. In my opinion, the other benefits far outweigh the cost. The $200 annual airline credit (though limited), $15 per month Uber credits ($35 in December), Centurion Lounge / Priority Pass Lounge / Delta Lounge access, medical evacuation coverage, rental car perks, and the SPG/Marriott/Hilton Gold status are a great value for the hefty $550 annual fee.
Also, I don’t know if this works, but I have a friend who calls AMEX to complain about the lack of use for the benefits and they waive or discount his annual fee. Worth a shot.
Do you have the AMEX Platinum card? What do you like / dislike about it?
Did your method of obtaining 60k membership rewards work for you? My understanding is that it would be have to be an eligible purchase for good and services and as such, cash advances will not qualify. Please let me know your thoughts at your convenience. Thank you.
-Maria
Did your method of obtaining the 60k membership rewards work for you? My understanding is that it has to be a qualified purchase such as goods or services, not necessarily cash advance. Please let me know your thoughts at your convenience. Thank you.
I’ve had the card for a year or so now and totally see the value.
Couple thoughts though:
Why sign up for a 60k bonus when 100k seems to come around at least once a year?
If you are in the hobby, #2 should never be a worry.
I too just signed up for the card on Monday for the same reasons. If I somehow get the card in the next few days I can easily meet the spend because of the situation I am in right now of living in a hotel. Fingers crossed it’s in the mail.
Hi Darlene, you should be getting it quick. I applied Monday and mine is on the UPS truck today and will be delivered today.
I also see value in adding additional cardholders – up to three people for $175 total. My wife and 2 children have them. Between airline club access, TSA pre-check enrollment reimbursement and helping to establish the kid’s credit, these are other strong benefits of the card, IMO.
A quick heads-up: I just got the AmEx Delta Gold, and they specified that gift cards don’t count toward the minimum spend. You should check the fine print before assuming your plans will work. Mine was a breeze, with auto insurance for the year and year-end donations, with some Christmas shopping. But I could also have used utility payments, and more regular spend. My health insurance doesn’t accept AmEx but many other regular charges are fine. Re charge card vs credit card: if you’re running a balance, you shouldn’t even consider getting a card for miles. Straighten out your spending… Read more »
That $5,000 is very high. AMEX has some high spending requirements. I was looking at the business platinum which gives 75,000 but you must spend $10,000 in 6 months. Unless you are doing something very creative (those paths get smaller and smaller every month) you have to wait for a huge purchase like a car or expensive vacation, etc. I am lucky where I can pay rent & light bill with a credit card, but they don’t accept American Express which makes AMEX spending requirements even more difficult.
Biz Plat provides some pretty solid value with the 35% (although it used to be 50%) back on redeemed points for airfare. Also, it’s great for purchases over $5k and has a lower AF than the personal Plat.
I am a pleb like you and just got the card last month – fortunately for me I have a family ski vacation coming up and I am charging all the expenses to this card. The ski vacation alone will easily blow past $5K (hotel, car rental, ski rental, lift tickets, food, airfare, etc.) so I suppose it is all about timing as my average monthly discretionary spending is very similar to yours. FHR, while many hotels are insanely expensive, does have value in some areas. Again the ski vacation, we are spending a night in Vegas before driving up… Read more »
$5,000 spend within three months (1,666 a month; $19,500 a year) is stretching it unless you make well over 6 figures? Man I wish I could have the minimal expenses that you do to only be spending less than $20k a year.
Mortgage/rent, car payment, all utilities (electric, gas, water, phone, cable, internet) might alone be easily $2k a month. $5k In 3 months should be a breeze for anybody blogging about travel/credit cards.
That is true, however, majority of those utilities, car payments, and the mortgage (rent in my case) charge a fee to use credit cards for payment. All of mine, are auto-deducted directly from my checking account.
I can’t wait for the day where we can make those payments using a credit card and start earning miles on those at no cost.
I love my platinum card, I only use it for my large purchases because I also got 2 other Amex. The centurion lounges got to be my favourite, which I use quite a bit because I fly out of Seattle. I never had one bad experience. My platinum is an CDN version so I can use my $200 credit on flight tickets, therefore I use it for a random Vegas trip every year. That being said the only thing I don’t like is I wish mine was the US version, because I want the metal platinum card haha.
That’s an awesome perk! I wish the US version would allow it for tickets….though there are ways around it.
OH PLEASE whats with the post header? Really ?
Meaning?
A little melodramatic don’t you think ? If you got the card for all the right reasons than there should not be an issue, I have been a PLT since 2002 averaging a 30K monthly burn and happy but I got it for what it does and not points. Having said that I am pissed they did away with the companion fare for international first/biz THAT I used
It is definitely melodramatic, but by design. I thought my snark would’ve transferred better! Other than the now lost companion fare, what’s your favorite feature of the card as it stands? Curious, especially from a frequent traveler like yourself. I feel there are a lot of not-so-apparent benefits to this card.
Got it. The card for a real traveler works well, clubrooms, emergency issues that come up from time to time, Amex travel is good if you know how to use it properly and not just go along with the agent, of course the points are good. At the end of the day it’s security when traveling. Now having said that I use my Sapphire internationally as well. I just got back and used it exclusively for the instant notification of a charge, Many times in Europe I got the message before the clerk handed the receipt to sign !! Happy… Read more »