The Amex Platinum Card polarizes opinions in our community. I picked up the Amex Platinum Card back in 2014 when it still had the $450 annual fee (seems unbelievable right?). I then canceled the Amex Platinum card and then picked up the Charles Schwab Platinum card late in 2021 once things started picking up again after Covid as I was about to resume my travel again.
Also Read: A massive dud – much vaunted Amex Platinum Concierge fails to deliver
Amex Platinum Card: Most loved to most hated?
I was talking to a friend who has the Indian version of the card and asked him how it was. He said “Crap, I cancelled it after one year.” Why? He said that just too many vouchers and a scrambled value proposition.
If you’re curious, you can have a look at the Indian Amex Platinum Card. I didn’t find it very impressive and it charges a massive annual fee of almost $900 once you add up the taxes. Coming back to the US version, are there benefits that you really love and really hate? In our community, I barely hear anyone who is sanguine and balance about this card. People either love it or loathe it. So what’s really the beef here? “Coupon book”, “useless”, “too expensive’, are some of the common comments I often get when I write about the card. So let’s look at the good, the bad and the ugly.
Also Read: Why I decided to renew my Amex Platinum Card for another year
What I Love
- Fine Hotels and Resorts Benefit: I book a minimum of two stays each year in the FHR portfolio. That makes the $200 credit pretty easy to use. Also, a lot of my travel is around Asia, so there are plenty of FHR properties that are reasonably priced.
- Centurion Lounge Access: This is a fantastic benefit to use during my corporate travel around the world. Some of the international lounges are simply amazing. Also, the Priority Pass Select is a good backup in case there’s no Centurion Lounge.
- 5x points on flights: Amex Membership Rewards points is my favorite transferable points currency. Because I book flights directly with airlines, 5x points is fantastic as it lets me earn a decent stack of points each year with minimum effort.
- Trip Cancellation & Interruption Insurance: I hope you don’t have to, but I had to use it once back in 2022 when P2 fell sick before a trip. Thankfully, the process was pretty smooth and we got reimbursed in 2 weeks.
What I’m neutral about
- Hilton Honors Gold Status: There’s overlap here because I also have the Hilton Aspire card. However, I feel that if you don’t have the Hilton Aspire Card, then the Amex Platinum Card’s complimentary Hilton Gold elite status benefit is fantastic as it grants you complimentary breakfast at non-US properties and a daily breakfast credit in the US.
- $200 airline fee credit: While this is easy to use thanks to TravelBank reloads, the funds expire after 5 years so I won’t quite put this benefit in the ‘love it’ bucket.
- $100 Saks Benefit: It’s easy to use but I find most items overpriced. A bit meh, but still something better than nothing.
What I dislike/don’t use
You’ll see a trend here. I really dislike all the coupons and I don’t use them much.
- $200 Uber Cash: I barely use rideshare apps and prefer eating out as opposed to ordering in. So I tend to rarely use this benefit.
- $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: While I’ve enrolled for the WSJ subscription, I haven’t made much use of it. Barring Netflix every now and then, I don’t really watch much of streaming services to the benefit isn’t that useful to me.
- $155 Walmart+ Credit: This is a good benefit if you shop at Walmart anyway. I’m not a Walmart shopper, so don’t use it.
The Pundit’s Mantra
So, in which camp are you? Love it, IDK or hate it? I must say I’m somewhere in between love it and IDK. However, FHR credit and Centurion Lounge access are probably the top two reasons why I still keep renewing the card. However, like many others, I hate the monthly and bi-annual coupon book like credits.
In my case, the Charles Schwab Platinum card also offers a $100 statement credit for each successful referral, up to a maximum of $1,000 per calendar year. In addition to the benefits I use, I’m able to earn enough statement credits to offset almost all of the annual fee each year.
What are some of your favorite benefits of the Platinum card? Tell us in the comments section.
I just received my platinum card, and I live in DC, I saw the capital one lounge. Looks awesome, I didn’t have my card them, they told me only capital venture card can get in unless u pay, ill have to see. I will check on the global entry next. Thanks for the info guys.
I am an original Amex Platinum member..no way I would ever change..look if you are going to bitch about fees and changes that coincide with time then go somewhere else. I have only benefited in my travels worldwide over the past 40 years..yes 40 years a Platinum member..loyalty matters.
Hahahaha, huge difference between pointing out shortcomings in a card product versus the word you used. To each his own!
I’m new to Amex Platinum, just got one a couple weeks ago because they gave me the 175k points SUB offer. So far my CSR definitely beats it in points earning, points value, and statement credit usefulness. FHR does seem like it will offer a lot more than Chase’s The Edit does, and I’ve heard that Amex’s concierge service far outclasses the Visa Infinite one, so I’m hoping that will make the card worth it for me. It would definitely be nice if Amex’s statement credits could be made less specific to add value to the card.
175k bonus is great! I’m yet to use the Edit, but I agree, in my opinion, I love the FHR benefit.
Do not sign up for AMEX Platinum card for the Priority Pass benefit. It does not exist. Priority Pass Select benefit is declined 80% of the time we try to use it. The clubs rooms usually claim they are over capacity. AMEX concierge service and Priority Pass customer support are not helpful in this event.
Do not sign up for AMEX Platinum card for the Priority Pass benefit. It does not exist. Priority Pass Select benefit is declined 80% of the time we try to use it. The clubs rooms usually claim they are over capacity. AMEX concierge service and Priority Pass customer support are not helpful in this event.
At which location were you denied entry? I’ve had no issues getting access to PP lounges.
Almost all lougnges at SFO that are listed will deny you with different reasons
I got if for the lounges but have been mostly disappointed, especially DCA , very bland food , do like the option of comfortable seat waiting for flight but feel high price to pay for comfortable seat 5-6 times a year
It depends on the location of the lounge. I agree, certain lounges are definitely better than others.
Be careful because the benefits vary among the Personal, Business and Corporate cards. I have a Business Platinum, and do not get either the Personal or Corporate benefits; same goes for the various Gold cards.
This post is only about the Platinum Card, which is the consumer card.
I use to love my platinum Amex card but since they now limited the use of the delta skymiles club access to 10 per year unless you spend $75,000 a year is ridiculous especially since they increased their annual membership to $695. They haven’t increased their benefits to go along with the high membership fee. The customer service is always great which I have always loved but just wish they would either decrease their annual membership fee or increase the benefits.
I doubt they’ll decrease the annual fee, but it would be great if there are some more useful ‘travel’ related benefits as opposed to the shopping/entertainment benefits that are there currently.
LOVE LOVE LOVE this card. Don’t forget the Free Clear membership and an Equinox $300 credit.
Nice!
I’m on the fence.. Amex points work better with my usual airlines than Chase points as a transfer partner, I’m able to utilize the FHR, Uber cash, Saks, Digital, and Clear credits, try and go to the Centurion lounge if my travel itinerary permits, but Airline credit is hard to use for me as I don’t travel on a single airline and don’t know which I will use at the beginning of the year, don’t regularly stay at Hilton/Marriott to use the Gold perks, and don’t shop at walmart.
I also have a Global Entry renewal coming up so I should probably use that first if I’m considering cancelling..
Great that you can get value out of all those credits. I always have tough time with them. GE credit is a benefit that can only be used once in 5 years anyway.