American Express has retooled its Platinum card. Let’s walk through the changes and then I will explain why I am keeping it.
Here’s what changes, effective 30 March 2017–
- Two complimentary lounge guests when using Priority Pass benefit
- $15/month Uber credit ($35 in December)
- 5x points on hotel bookings via amextravel.com
- Complimentary American Express Gold cards for up to 99 authorized users
- Metal card
- Anual fee rises $100, from $450 to $550
Why I Can Live With These Changes
In January, I wrote about my American Express strategy for 2017. There, I calculated that $250 annual fee (I subtracted the $200 airline credit) meant that my 42 lounge visits in 2016 cost $5.95 each.
> Read More: My American Express Strategy for 2017
Even if I do not use any of the new benefits, that means each lounge visit will cost $8.33 each ($350/42). I can live with that.
I don’t care about the metal card. In fact, I prefer to keep my card with raised numerals because my favorite steakhouse in Frankfurt still has an old credit card imprint machine that cannot process these new cards.
I also do not care about the complimentary gold cards: my employees use my card and the Gold card has little going for it now that the Platinum card earns 5x per dollar on travel and the Platinum Business card earns 1.5x points on purchases over $5,000 and 50% back using Membership Rewards Pay with Points (in any cabin for your chosen airline or in business/first for all airlines).
I do not care about the 5x hotel benefit since I would never book a hotel through amextravel.com. Why? Because these third-party bookings do not count as qualifying stays and under World of Hyatt I am not even entitled to my elite benefits. Furthermore, the 5x bonus does not apply to the AMEX Fine Hotels & Resort program.
While I appreciate that two guests will now be permitted as part of the Priority Pass Select benefit, my Chase Sapphire Reserve card already has me covered.
So that leaves the Uber benefit. Sure, I’ll use it, though if I get $15/month that means I have to pay for the other direction. In looking at my ride history, the majority of my rides are outside of the USA. In LA, I’m just used to my car and rarely use Uber. Washington DC is another story…
CONCLUSION
I neither celebrate nor condemn these changes. This is still a card worthy of my wallet and a card I will charge all my airline travel on. I simply note that the Chase Sapphire Reserve is still a much more valuable card and now $100/year cheaper.
Can current holders of the plat card receive these benefits? I just paid my annual fee!
@Andy – Yep, current holders will get them starting March 30th. These are purely additive changes – nothing is going away.
What’s the steakhouse in Frankfurt?
Buffalo
It remains the best way for individuals to access the Delta Sky Club in my opinion. I added my wife as an AU so she has her own club access as well. Even with the higher annual fee, it’s cheaper than buying a Executive membership to the Sky Club, and you get the other benefits of the card too. I’ll continue to keep the card as long as I’m routinely flying Delta. The new benefits are just gravy for me.
You’re right — I did not even mention Delta since I never fly on Delta…
Agreed. This is, for me, the most useful card benefit.
An ego thing I think but you are still young so if it makes you feel good in crowded AMEX lounges to be noticed hope you never age.
I think access to fast internet, decent coffee and hot meals while I am (frequently) traveling is more of an issue of practicality than ego.
I agree that if you get that much use out of the Centurion Lounges, then you’re still receiving excellent value, even at the higher fee. If AMEX thinks these changes make the card more compelling for the average customer, though – they really need to think again. I would imagine most people who would consider or already have this card travel frequently enough that they have status in one of the hotel chains, and most of their Uber use comes overseas. That makes both the 5x points on hotels and the Uber benefit of dubious value.
But the bigger reason I haven’t considered this card, and why I still won’t, is the restrictive nature of the airline credit. Restricting the credit to only “fees” makes it pretty much useless for frequent flyers, and restricting it to a single airline limits utility to less frequent “airline free agents” like me who might actually want to use it to pay for things like Economy Plus. And I’m not one that wants to try and game the system by buying gift cards, and hoping AMEX doesn’t notice the difference. So color me disappointed that the “exciting changes” being talked up by others doesn’t address the primary limitation of the card.
I live in northern Virginia and currently have both the Amex Platinum and Chase Sapphire Reserve (CSR). None of the D.C. area airports have a Centurion lounge, so while it’s nice to see pictures of the Las Vegas and Dallas lounges, it doesn’t benefit me. The Platinum’s $200 annual reimbursement for travel incidentals is clearly inferior to the CSR’s $300/year all-encompassing travel credit. When we visited Australia/New Zealand last year, there were a fair number of establishments that either didn’t take Amex or charged a surcharge to use Amex. The CSR is the new gold standard in my opinion.
Amex has pulled through for me when I really needed them a couple of times. I’ve gone through some rough patches, and they’ve been compassionate and helpful. I doubt I utilize the card efficiently enough to justify the $550, but I’ll still be keeping it.