Doctor of Credit (H/T) reported late yesterday that the Ameriprise American Express Platinum Card is not accepting new applicants. Ameriprise quietly stopped applications for their flavor of the American Express Platinum Card. The cards were replaced by two new Visa Signature cards issued by Elan Bank. It is currently unknown whether the card is discontinued. But I think it is because Ameriprise also discontinued their flavor of the American Express Gold Card in February 2019.
The Demise of the Ameriprise Platinum
The Ameriprise flavor used to be very popular because its annual fee was waived for the first year. That meant you can “test drive” the Platinum Card for the first year at no cost. Amex also treated the Ameriprise Platinum Card as a separate product from the other flavors. Furthermore, the Ameriprise Platinum Card’s unique advantage was the fee waiver.
However, February 2019 marked the beginning of the end for the Ameriprise Platinum Card. Its unique advantage was taken away and replaced with a 60,000-point sign-up bonus. Thereafter, consumers had no incentive to get the Ameriprise Platinum Card over the regular one. This is why I am not surprised to see this flavor stop accepting new applicants just months later.
Other Platinum Flavors
The American Express Platinum Card comes in three flavors, not including the Business Platinum Card. Each flavor has a unique advantage:
The Charles Schwab Platinum Card is the most lucrative flavor of the bunch. That’s because you can redeem MR points for 1.25 cents apiece (CPP) into your Schwab bank account. This is nice for cash back lovers, investors, and those who don’t know what to do with MR points. The best way to get cash back for MR points is having the Schwab Platinum Card. Some people combine this redemption option with the earning structures of cards like the Blue Business Plus Card.
Conversely, the Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley flavors are almost identical to the regular Platinum Card. The only difference is that cardholders will receive a bonus after spending $100,000 within a cardholder year. The Goldman Sachs bonus is worth 40,000 MR points and the Morgan Stanley bonus is worth $500 in cash.
Final Draw
The Ameriprise Platinum Card appeared to be doomed since February 2019. This is because its unique advantage was taken away from it and the Ameriprise Gold Card was discontinued.
Fortunately, prospective cardholders can apply for any of the four flavors of the personal American Express Platinum Card. And the Business Platinum Card is available for business owners and entrepreneurs. All flavors have sign-up bonuses worth at least 60,000 MR points. The Business Platinum Card also has offers worth at least 100,000 MR points.
Update: Doctor of Credit (H/T) has reported that all Ameriprise Platinum Cards are being converted into regular Platinum Cards on March 26, 2020.
