A few weeks back, I wrote about Saks’ financial struggles after it had declared bankruptcy. Back then, I’d also predicted that this could be the end of the benefit on the Amex Platinum Card. Over the last few weeks, Amex has quietly made some changes to the benefits on the Amex Platinum Card. Some are visible in plain sight while others were done rather quietly. Here’s what’s going on.
Amex Platinum Card: Saks benefit is gone for new cardholders, starting now
As per Frequent Miler, the Amex Platinum Card will be discontiuing the $100 Saks Fifth Avenue Credit benefit on the Amex Platinum Card. To be clear: existing cardholders still have the Saks benefit for now, until June 30.
Saks Global, the parent of Saks Fifth Avenue, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2026, weighed down by its acquisition of Neiman Marcus and lagging sales. Inventory on Saks.com has been visibly thin ever since, and vendor relationships have frayed. Amex dropping the benefit at this moment is not a coincidence.
Saks has already been struggling to honor the spirit of this credit, cardholders have been complaining for months that useful products under $50 have been chronically out of stock. In practice, the credit had quietly become harder to use.
Events by Amex To Be Axed
The “Events by Amex” benefit is being removed on June 10, 2026. This is the perk that gave Platinum cardholders access to presale tickets, exclusive experiences, and invitation-only events. Amex has said that cardholders will still be able to access “special tickets, unique offers and exclusive card member experiences”, but the dedicated, named benefit is going away.
Critics may rightly point out that the distinction between “Events by Amex” and whatever vague “access” remains is hard to define. When a named benefit disappears, the accountability goes with it. This matters more than it might seem, it’s the difference between a guaranteed perk and a discretionary, best-effort program.
Uber Benefit Change
There’s also a third change bundled in: Uber VIP status, included as part of the $200 Uber Cash benefit, is being removed on May 7, 2026. It will be replaced with “Signature Support for Amex”. This is essentially priority customer service within the Uber app. Hardly equivalent to VIP ride access.
What’s Next For The Card?
The Amex Platinum card’s pitch has always been that its laundry list of statement credits offsets the steep annual fee. The math only works if you actually use those credits. Saks was never a crowd-pleaser, plenty of cardholders found it annoying to hunt for something under $50 twice a year but $100 of tangible value is $100 of tangible value.
The Events and Uber VIP cuts are less financially significant, but they chip away at the card’s aspirational identity. The Platinum was never just about statement credits, it was about status, access and experiences. Every time a soft benefit like events access gets quietly retired, that identity gets a little harder to justify at $895 a year.
The Pundit’s Mantra
I’m hopeful that Amex replaces the Saks benefit with something more useful. While the events by Amex and Uber benefit changes are not huge, removing them still diminishes the value proposition of the card, which positions itself as a card that gives you ‘exclusive’ access.
For a card that now charges a hefty annual fee of $895, do you still think that it’s worth holding on to it for another year? Tell us in the comments section.
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