About a month back, American Express refreshed both consumer and business versions of their Platinum card. During their most recent earnings call, Amex CEO discussed certain aspects about the Amex Platinum Card refresh. What was interesting was his answer when an analyst asked about whether there’s any room for a card in between the Amex Platinum Card and the Amex Centurion Card.
Amex Platinum Card Refresh
While discussing some of their rcent card updates, one of the questions came up about whether there was any room to launch a card above and beyond the Amex Platinum Card but below the Centurion Card.
Daryl, Conference Operator: Thank you. Our next question comes from the line of Brian Foran with Truist Securities. Please proceed with your question.
Hey, maybe piggybacking a little on Craig’s question. If I think about the tiering of Gold, Platinum, and Black, you know, now that there’s more dining on Platinum, are you seeing any interactions with Gold that you would call out? On the other side, is there white space available for some enhanced or even new card between Platinum and Black now that it’s clear that a lot of consumers will jump at a pretty high annual fee?
The answer by Steve Squeri, CEO of American Express, was textbook CEO speak. He answered by saying that there’s some room there but they’re happy with where they are right now.
Steve Squeri, Chairman and CEO, American Express: Gold continues to be a very strong product for us, and we continue to acquire new cardholders there. We haven’t seen gold card acquisition go down. We have seen upgrades, but it’s still early. I mean, we’re only three weeks in here. We will see how that plays out. Part of our strategy is to provide card members with a path to higher-end products that potentially meet their needs. Is there a product between Platinum and Centurion? Maybe. If you have any ideas, we’re open to those ideas. It’s something that we talk about from time to time. We will see. We’re really happy with where Centurion is, and we’re happy with where Platinum is. I think this refresh will continue to cement our position as the leading premium product.
The Pundit’s Mantra
In the short to medium term, I don’t think American Express will come out with a card above and beyond the Amex Platinum Card. Based on the earnings call, Amex’s leadership surely seems to be happy with the way the Amex Platinum Card refresh has been received by customers.
For example, new Platinum account acquisitions are running at twice the level before the refresh. In the first three weeks, we saw very strong engagement in the new benefits and over 500,000 requests for the new Mira card. While the annual fee increase won’t go into effect for a few months, retention rates have been stable post-refresh.
If Amex launches a card one notch above the Platinum Card, would you go for it right away? Tell us in the comments secttion.
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