With travel grounded and travel benefits a primary perk of several cards, American Express got creative this week with new category bonuses and statement credits. But do the new benefits still justify the annual fee?
New Perks For American Express Platinum Personal Card
Annual fees will not be reduced, but up to $320 in statement credits will be available in two fairly useful categories at a rate of $20/month per category from May through December 2020.
- Streaming services
- Wireless telephone services from U.S. service providers
Eligible streaming services include:
- Amazon Music Unlimited
- Apple Music
- Apple TV+
- AT&T Now
- Audible
- CBS All Access
- Disney+
- ESPN+
- Fubo TV
- HBO Now
- Hulu
- iHeartRadio
- Kindle Unlimited
- Luminary
- MLB.TV
- NBA League Pass
- Netflix
- NHL.TV
- Pandora
- Prime Video
- Showtime
- Sling TV
- SiriusXM Streaming and Satellite
- Spotify
- Stitcher
- YouTube Music Premium
- YouTube Premium
- YouTube TV
U.S. Wireless telephone service providers include the big four, but many smaller companies as well.
- AT&T
- Sprint
- T-Mobile
- Verizon
These must be purchased “direct” and not via authorized retailers or resellers.
Is It Worthwhile?
If you uses these services, the $320 in savings you will receive nicely make up for the fact that travel has been halted and airport Centurion lounges are closed. If you’ve already used your annual travel credit, this nearly negates your annual fee.
In my case, Netflix plus Apple Music add up to $20/month and my mobile phone is certainly more than $20/month, so this represents a good value proposition.
New Perks For American Express Platinum Business Card
Annual fees will not be reduced, but up to $320 in statement credits will be available in two categories at a rate of $20/month per category from May through December 2020.
- Shipping charges
- Wireless telephone services from U.S. service providers
Shipping includes:
- FedEx
- UPS
- United States Postal Service
But AMEX notes this list is not exhaustive, but excludes moving services, local trucking, and trash removal.
Business Platinum cardholders can also receive an additional $200 in Dell credit ($100 through June 30, 2020 and another $100 between July and December 2020). This is in addition to the $200 in credit Business Platinum cardholders already receive each year on Dell purchases.
New Perks For American Express Green Cards
Earn up to $80 in statement credits ($10/month between May and December 2020) on wireless telephone services purchased directly from providers.
Good deal? Yep. Would I keep the card ($150 annual fee)? Yep.
New Perks For American Express Delta Cards
Delta SkyMiles co-branded American Express Cards can earn four SkyMiles per dollar at U.S. grocery stores though July 20, 2020.
Use your Chase cards instead, particularly the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
New Perks From American Express Hilton Cards
Hilton Aspire and Surpass cardholders can earn 12x Honors points at US grocery stores through July 2020 (for spending up to $7,500). You can also use elite status on all base points and use free night rewards during the week (through December 31, 2020). Finally, Aspire cardholders can use their $250 in annual credit at restaurants in the USA, including for takeout.
Worthwhile? I just don’t see the value. If you have an Aspire card, you already have Diamond status, so I’m not sure how earning elite status points is much of a benefit.
New Perks From American Express Marriott Cards
With toilet paper shortages, I’d now put the value of Bonvoy points under that of a toilet paper. In other words, feel free to but I don’t even want to write about it.
Put simply, the Bonvoy Brilliant card earns 6 points pre dollar at grocery stores. Use your Chase cards instead.
Bonvoy Brilliant cardholders can also use their annual $300 Marriott statement credit at restraints in the USA, including takeout. That’s nice…I’ll give them that.
CONCLUSION
American Express was forced to adapt with the times and on the whole, the changes are worthy of praise. Unlike the Uber credits, I think the streaming service and mobile phone credit will be quite useful. I’ve never been enthusiastic about Delta, Hilton, or Marriott cards and the latest incentives, while better than nothing, do not make me any more likely to use these cards. That said, I don’t cancel credit cards and will not be cancelling any products over the novel coronavirus.
Will you be using your AMEX cards more now due with these latest incentives?
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To use the American Express cell service discounts requires a choice between cost reduction and the loss of cell phone protection for damage or theft. It is a difficult choice….
Paul, how do you figure if you are just making monthly charges on your Plat? And I bought my phone and laptop on my Plat due to the extended warranty and theft protection.
@Paul, no it doesn’t.
All you have to do is make a separate $20 (or $10, or both if you have more than one type of Amex card) payment to your cell phone provider during the course of the month. You’ll see your regular monthly bill reduced by that same amount. Then pay your remaining monthly bill balance with whatever card you normally use.
I think the streaming credit only applies to Personal Platinum. The Biz Platinum gets a shipping credit. Your article above should clarify that. If you have any details on what qualifies for the shipping credit, that would be great.
Thanks Nate, you are right. I just glossed over that on the press release. I’m looking for what is encompassed by shipping.
Sucks to be right in this case. Streaming credit would be more useful than shipping. I guess I could buy $20 of stamps every month, but even that is only marginally useful.
Why do you not consider $250 in free food to be a good thing for the Aspire card?
I disagree 100% on the Aspire and Bonvoy cards. You even missed a big part of the Delta card proposition
1) The #1 challenge for many for the Aspire was that their $250 resort credit could only be used at resorts – many would rather stay in other hotels. If you don’t have the Aspire now, picking it up would get you 150,000 Hilton points, a free night that can be used through 2022 for a net fee of $200 ($450 less the $200 credit). This ignores the value of Diamond status, airline fee credits, etc. If you can get another 40,000 Hilton points through spend or other means, that’s 3 nights at the Waldorf Astoria Amsterdam or something similar, which is a $1,500-$2,000 value for $250 bucks.
2) The Brilliant card is always a decent card as it is basically a $150 fee card for a free night that can be worth $300 or more – plus the card is the best way to earn Marriott points on an ongoing basis given Marriott only transfers 1-1 from Amex and Chase. The $300 credit is now more flexible, and 6x Bonvoy points in July (once the Chase Sapphire and Freedom bonuses expire) is a decent benefit
3) You are right that the Delta cards didn’t get much of a boost. However, the most important boost to the Delta Platinum and Reserve cards was Delta’s announcement of rollover for 2021. All MQM earned in 2020 roll over to 2021. So you are still highly incentivized to spend $30,000 on your Delta Reserve as you are building up miles for 2022 status while still in 2020.
FYI I believe the increased earn rates on delta cards are only on personal ones.
Really stinks that Amex still hasn’t brute force added Google Fi charges to its phone credit scheme. Chase went to bat for customers and fixed this some time ago.
Wonder if Google Fi’s cell service will count towards the credit? If not I lose that one…it’s never worked in the past, so I don’t expect them to change that.
If you haven’t been able to redeem other Amex offers (e.g., 10% off cell phone bill) on your wireless charge, don’t expect these credits to post. T&C’s specifically exclude what the call “bundled packages” like AT&T U-verse and Verizon FIOS, so expect Google Fi to be lumped in with that. In my experience, my bundled AT&T charge (even though 80% of the cost is wireless) is coded as AT&T U-Verse so not eligible for these credits.
Yea, Fi isn’t bundled, the issue according to AMEX was how Fi put it through, for a while it was going through as “internet services” but here lately it’s now showing as Fi phone. So hopefully Amex will note the change.