Review: American Express Platinum Card
Update: Read the new restrictions Amex has on the signup bonus for their other Membership Rewards earning cards.
The American Express Platinum is easily the most well known credit card out there. There’s a certain mystique about the card and it certainly lives up to its hype. But is it the right card for you? Let’s dive in.
Quick Facts
Welcome Offer: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 in 6 months.
Points Earned: American Express Membership Rewards which transfers to 20 different airline and hotel partners. Or you can use your points for a statement credit at a value of .6 cents per point or 1 cent per point on flights and .7 cents per point on other travel.
Earnings Structure:
5x on Flights
5x on prepaid hotels booked through airlines or AmexTravel.com
1x on all other purchases
This is not a card I put much spend on outside of flights and prepaid hotels. There are much better cards out there that earn more points on other purchases.
Annual Fee: $695 Rates & Fees
Foreign Transaction Fees: None
This card is packed with all types of perks that will make your travel much more enjoyable. There’s a hefty annual fee but if you use this card properly, the benefits can far outweigh that fee.
Welcome Offer
The publicly available welcome offer is to earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 in 6 months.
Benefits
If you are looking at this card just for the bonus points on flights, you would have to spend a little over $13,000 on flights each year to justify the additional points you earn from this card over the Amex Gold factoring in the Platinum’s $695 annual fee (Rates & Fees) vs the $325 annual fee for the Gold. However, there are tons of other benefits like statement credits, lounge access and elite benefits with hotels and car rental partners that can help take the bite out of the fee and even help you come out ahead.
$200 Annual Hotel Credit
This is a fairly easy benefit to use each year. All you have to do is book a prepaid hotel stay through Amex Travel’s Fine Hotels and Resorts (1 night stay minimum) or The Hotel Collection (2 night stay minimum) and you’ll receive a statement credit of $200.
The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island
There are some additional benefits booking through Fine Hotels and Resorts and The Hotel Collection including:
Room Upgrades
Late Checkout
Free Breakfast
$100 resort credit, etc.
I typically use this for a staycation at a fancy hotel each year but have used it for other luxury properties around the world.
$240 Annual Digital Entertaiment Credit
With this benefit you can earn up to a $20 statement credit for eligible purchases at the following partners each month. Enrollment is required
Disney+
ESPN
Hulu
The Wall Street Journal
The New York Times
SiriusXM Removed as of May 8th, 2024
Peacock
I have a Disney+/ESPN/Hulu bundle that costs $25 so my out of pocket is $5 a month.
$200 Uber Credit
This credit is automatically applied to your Uber account each month for $15 with $35 in December. This benefit will stack with your Amex Gold credit as well. It shouldn’t be too difficult for most people to take advantage of this credit as you can use it for rides or UberEats.
$199 Annual CLEAR Plus Credit
All you have to do is use your Platinum card to pay for your CLEAR Plus membership and up to $199 will be credited back to your statement as a credit. For those that don’t have CLEAR, this can be a huge time saver at a lot of major airports and sports stadiums throughout the United States. Already have TSA PreCheck? CLEAR works in conjunction with PreCheck to allow you to skip the line and keep your shoes on at security.
$200 Annual Airline Fee Credit
The Amex Platinum offers up to a $200 airline fee credit each year for incidentals and fees such as checked bags, change fees, etc. This is valid from January 1st through December 31st each year. You do have to elect the airline you want to use it for as it will only credit your account for fees on that specific airline.
Alaska Airlines
American Airlines
Delta Air Lines
Hawaiian Airlines
JetBlue Airways
Spirit Airlines
Southwest Airlines
United Airlines
The terms specifically state that this credit will not be applied for things like airline tickets, upgrades, gift card purchases, mileage purchases, mileage transfer fees, duty free purchases and award purchases. This is something I’m able to fully utilize each year.
$155 Walmart+ Membership Credit
With the Platinum you receive a monthly credit of up to $12.95 a month which covers the Walmart+ membership cost. You do need to register for this benefit. While I tend to use Amazon 95% of the time, you can find some good deals for the same products on Walmart. Additionally, with the Walmart+ app, you can get up to 5 to 10 cents off a gallon of gas at Walmart and Murphy’s as well as participating Exxon stations which is a great benefit. You also get a free subscription to Paramount+.
$100 Annual Saks Credit
This is another benefit you need to enroll in but is also something I take advantage of each year. Actually twice a year as the credit comes in the form of a $50 statement credit every 6 months. Just make a purchase through Saks and receive up to a $50 statement credit from January 1st through June 30th and the same from July 1st through December 31st. This is a little annoying as it is split up into two credits and Saks has raised their free shipping requirement to above $50 recently but it is still something I’m able to use each year.
$300 Annual Soul Cycle Credit
For this credit, you need to charge your Amex Platinum for a Soul Cycle bike of up to $300 per year. This is probably of limited value for most people.
$300 Annual Equinox Credit
The final statement credit on your Amex Platinum comes in the form of a $300 annual Equinox credit. All you need to do is charge your Equinox digital or club membership to the card and you’ll get reimbursed up to $300.
TSA/Global Entry Fee Credit
TSA PreCheck and Global Entry are easily what I value most when traveling. This credit is worth $85-100 depending on which route you go.
Global Entry
TSA PreCheck is a much less painful security check at airports where you don’t have to take your shoes and belt off, don’t have to remove your laptop, and you don’t have to go through the body scanner while holding your hands above your head.
Now, Global Entry is one of the unsung heroes of travel that a lot of people probably haven’t heard about. Not only does this allow you to skip the immigration line when returning home and just use a self service kiosk, it also comes with TSA PreCheck!
The American Express Platinum offers a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee credit every 4.5 years which is how long each program is valid for. All you have to do is charge the fee to your card and it will get reimbursed.
American Express Lounge Access
The Platinum card offers one of the most extensive networks of lounges out there and could be one of the main reasons to pick up this card if you travel a lot. Most airline lounges cost at least $550 a year and aren’t much to write home about. Let’s dive in to what airport lounges you have access to with this card.
American Express Centurion Lounge
Some of the nicest lounges out there are the American Express Centurion lounges. There are currently 14 in the United States and a few abroad with more to come. Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Los Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York LaGuardia, New York JFK, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, and Seattle. You can access these lounges up to three hours before your flight, or at anytime on a connecting flight. Previously there was some crowding issues at many of these lounges due to how great they are so American Express has implemented some new restrictions earlier this year where only those cardmembers who spend more than $75,000 a year can bring guests. I do not think it is smart to put that much spending on this card just to get your guests in. The better play is to have your would be guests get their own card for access as well as all the great perks that come with the card.
Delta SkyClub Access
Delta has recently gutted their frequent flyer program which also came with restrictions on how you can access their SkyClubs. Delta’s lounges are typically some of the better airline lounges out there (not as good as the Centurion lounges), but they had a major crowding issue thanks to how easy it was to get in with different premium credit cards. There would usually be lines out the door with people waiting to get in. A large part of that was thanks to the American Express Platinum where you can visit the SkyClub as long as you are traveling on a Delta flight. Well a few weeks ago Delta changed the unlimited access to only allowing Platinum cardholders to visit only 6 times per year. That’s not a lot if you fly with any frequency. You may want to visit when you inevitably connect in Atlanta on the outbound and also on the return. That means you only get to visit the SkyClub on three roundtrips a year. Either way, some lounge access is better than no lounge access.
Priority Pass Membership
This is another great perk of the Platinum. Priority Pass is a huge global lounge network with over 1,300 lounges worldwide. Some are great and some are just ok. But again, any lounge access is better than sitting in the terminal before a flight. You do have to enroll in this benefit and they’ll send you a Priority Pass card in the mail that you use to access their lounges.
The Club at CLT, a Priority Pass Lounge
Plaza Premium and Escape Lounges
These are two other lounge networks that you’ll have access to with your Platinum card. Their footprints aren’t as large as Priority Pass but they are consistently pretty nice. You can also bring a guest in for no fee. Just present your Platinum card and you’ll be allowed in.
Hotel and Car Rental Elite Status
The Amex Platinum comes with elite status at two hotel and two car rental partners. All you need to do is enroll online.
Hilton Gold- offers free breakfast, late checkout, preferred rooms, and 80% bonus points on stays. You’ll probably get an error when you register online but just call the number on the back of your card and they can enroll you.
Marriott Gold- offers late checkout, 25% bonus points on stays, and a room upgrade
Hertz President’s Circle- Guaranteed car upgrades, choose any car you’d like in the President’s Circle lot, amongst other benefits
National Executive Club- Choose any car on the lot and just drive off
Access to Amex Offers
This is a fantastic benefit to all American Express cards. Even if you didn’t use any of the annual credits, having access to Amex Offers can pay for the card itself with all the savings you can receive. I’ve saved over hundreds of dollars on this card alone since I’ve had it.
Is it Worth It?
The signup bonus alone far outweighs the annual fee, so from that standpoint, yes. Additionally, all the credits you get, if you use them properly can also more than pay for the fee too. Every year I get at least $1,284 in fee credits from this card which makes it a keeper for me. That doesn’t consider the lounge access and other perks I get as well.
Want to Apply?
The best publicly available welcome offer is to earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 in 6 months.
Check out my review of the other top American Express Card, the Amex Gold.
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
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