Credit Card Review: American Express Platinum

by joeheg

The American Express Platinum Card is one of the “Big Three” premium travel cards. The AMEX Platinum, along with the Citi Prestige and the Chase Sapphire Reserve all earn flexible award points which you can transfer to many different travel partners.

You can sign up for the American Express Platinum card by using our referral link and we receive a bonus for everyone who gets the card. Thanks!

Since the Sapphire Reserve has kept the same benefits since its introduction and Citi is acting bipolar with their offerings, what about the Platinum Card. Time to give it a look once again.

AMERICAN EXPRESS PLATINUM CARD

Annual Fee – $550 per year

Sign Up Benefits – This card currently has a sign-up bonus of 60,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $5,000 in purchases for the first three months.

Spending Bonus Categories – The Platinum Card earns five Membership Rewards points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel, five Membership Rewards points on eligible prepaid hotel bookings made with amextravel.com and 1 point per dollar everywhere else. The 5x points for airline tickets is the highest return offered with any card; the only drawback is the charge has to be directly with the airline or AMEX Travel (not with any Online Travel Agencies). The lack of other category bonuses is a bit disappointing for the premium travel product from American Express.

Immediate Benefits – Here’s where the Platinum Card starts to show some value. The card gives you hotel benefits like Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status and Hilton Honors Gold status. For rental cars, you get National Emerald Club Executive status and codes that provide extra benefits during rentals with Avis Preferred and Hertz Gold Plus.

No Foreign Transaction Fees – As you would hope a card that’s marketed towards travelers would, the Platinum Card does not charge any foreign transaction fees.

Credits – To offset the large annual fee, American Express offers several ways to get back money in the form of statement credits.

Lounge Access – American Express Platinum cardholders have access to many lounges.

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Centurion Lounges are operated by American Express in several U.S. airports and are widely touted by most bloggers as the best of the domestic airport lounges. They have buffet style food with a menu created by a local chef, craft cocktails, and stylish seating. Some of the lounges also have complimentary massages or manicures.

Centurion lounges are located in these airports:

  • Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
  • IAH/Intercontinental Houston Airport
  • Las Vegas McCarran International Airport
  • Miami International Airport
  • New York’s LaGuardia Airport
  • Philadelphia International Airport
  • San Francisco International Airport
  • Seattle-Tacoma International Airport
  • Hong Kong International Airport

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American Express Platinum Cardholders also are given a membership card for Priority Pass. With this membership, you can enter any of the Priority Pass network clubs with up to two guests. We’ve visited some of the clubs and the quality can vary. We like the Club MCO locations in Orlando but the Wingtips Lounge at JFK left something to be desired.

Platinum Cardholders also get access to Delta SkyClubs when flying on a Delta ticket. We’ve used this occasionally but access is only for the cardholder and additional guests have to pay $25 each. Since it’s usually Sharon and me traveling together, getting into most of the SkyClubs just isn’t worth the money.

There are other lounges you can access with the Platinum card and we keep an updated list on this website.

Other Perks – Platinum cardholders can book rooms through the American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts website. This site gives extra perks and credits when staying at hotels that are usually way out of our price range. I had a room booked through this program for a stay in Las Vegas but I changed my mind when I found a great rate somewhere else.

Like other American Express cards, the Platinum Card lists various AMEX offers on your account throughout the year.

You will also get access to the American Express Concierge with your Platinum Card. Up until this year, I had only contacted them once, when I wanted to get a reservation at the French Laundry in Yountville, CA. AMEX has a contact with them so I only had to tell the concierge the date and time I wanted, and I received back an email confirming my reservation. Otherwise, I would have needed to sit at the phone the exact minute reservations opened up on the day they were available.

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The only other time I’ve contacted them was when the concierge had access to tickets to Hamilton on Broadway at face value.

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FINAL THOUGHTS

For a long time, I held the American Express Platinum Card. I didn’t charge much money on it, but I liked the perks it provided. I justified the annual fee by considering all the credits available. Eventually, between AMEX making the credits harder and harder to use and getting overlapping benefits with other cards, I decided to cancel it.

I’m not saying that I think that no one should get the card. Depending on your situation, it could be a great value. For example, if you are able to use the Centurion Lounges on a regular basis, that alone could make it a must-have card in your wallet.

With American Express adding travel coverages to the Platinum Card in 2020 (which I still can’t believe it doesn’t have) and Citi removing those coverages from their cards, I might give the Platinum Card another look.

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary

9 comments

Credit Card Review: Chase Sapphire Preferred – Your Mileage May Vary November 2, 2017 - 8:01 am

[…] is coded as dining). The card earns one point per dollar for all other spending. Unlike the American Express Platinum card, the travel expenses do not have to be directly from the airline. Chase rewards 2x points from […]

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This Travel Rewards Card Always Is In My Wallet - Your Mileage May Vary December 14, 2018 - 6:00 pm

[…] taxis and trains (not including charges covered by the $300 travel credit).  Unlike the American Express Platinum card, the travel expenses do not have to be directly from the airline. Chase rewards 3x points […]

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z o October 2, 2019 - 3:41 pm

oh oh, looks like someone got a new conversion-rate target for the AmexPlat…

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joeheg October 3, 2019 - 1:51 am

I wish I was at a point where I had to worry about things like that. Instead, I am really looking at getting the card again for myself.

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Ron October 5, 2019 - 2:01 pm

Suuuuure you are. You’re gonna pay a $550 fee and not get a signup bonus because why? Because airline fee credit is harder to use, and the Uber credit is a pita to use? Because the few Centurion lounges out there are bursting at the seams and are harder to get in? Gimme a break. This is as sleazy a credit card pimp/shill job as it gets.

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David-in-Florida October 3, 2019 - 7:40 am

$29 for SkyClub guests that enter with the AmEx Platinum Card holder – not $25. I have paid for my wife several times recently. It was reimbursed because Delta is my chosen carrier for the $200 airline fee credit.

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Zj12 October 5, 2019 - 2:29 pm

For a family the platinum card can make even more sense- while it is $175 for an authorized user, that one $175 charge allows you to add up three additional users. Each user gets their own global entry reimbursement fee, priority pass membership, access to centurion lounges, and ability to enter delta lounges. Amex is also unique in that you can assign a credit limit to each user, as low as $100, so you don’t need to worry about handing your kids a card. For a family of four, the ability to enter delta or centurion lounges without fees can quickly pay off.

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James Vetrone November 19, 2019 - 3:14 pm

You start the article mentioning $550.00 fee “not waived the first year”… this implies that it can be waived AFTER the first year?! If so, HOW!? I’ve been a Platinum card member for 34 years and have never had my annual fee waived. It started out at $100 a long time ago and every increase they assess, I question my loyalty. 🙁

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joeheg November 19, 2019 - 11:04 pm

The meaning of the “not-waived” was to differentiate it from cards which do waive the membership fee for the first year. I agree that it’s unnecessary and have removed it from the post.

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