The 8 Platinum Card® Benefits I Value Most

American Express Platinum Card® (review) is one of the most perks-rich premium rewards cards out there. While the card has a steep annual fee (Rates & Fees), it offers benefits that will more than help offset it for many.

I’ve had the Platinum Card® for years, and it’s one that I’ve never even considered canceling. In this post I wanted to share the perks of the card that get me the most value, and why I’ve never even considered canceling it. Of course everyone will have a different take on this, so I’d love to hear from OMAAT readers in the comments.

More from OMAAT Amex Platinum Hotel Credit Devaluation: Two-Night Stay Required As Of 2027 Read more

The best Platinum Card® benefits & perks

In this post, I wanted to take a look at the Platinum Card® perks that I value most, including plenty of credits, airport lounge access, and so much more. (Enrollment is required for select benefits)

$200 annual Uber credit

The Platinum Card® offers up to $200 in Uber Cash annually. The way this works is that you get a $15 Uber credit every month, except in December, where you get a $35 Uber credit. This is valid either toward Uber rides in the United States or it can be used toward Uber Eats. I easily maximize this benefit with Uber Eats every month, and therefore consider this to be more or less worth face value. An Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit

$200 annual airline fee credit

The Platinum Card® offers an up to $200 annual airline fee credit. While there are restrictions on what you can use this credit for and you need to designate an airline, I’ve been able to get the full $200 worth of value out of this every year. Yes, there are more valuable annual travel credits, but I’ve still received great value from this.

$600 annual hotel credit

The Platinum Card® offers a useful $600 annual hotel credit. There are some restrictions, but this is still quite easy to use. You just have to book a hotel through Amex Travel — this could include a prepaid Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts® booking (no minimum stay), or you could reserve through The Hotel Collection (two night minimum stay required), and then you’ll automatically receive an annual credit of up to $300 based on your spending. This credit is offered semi-annually for a total potential value of $600

You can use this credit toward a single stay or multiple stays — whichever you prefer.

$219 annual CLEAR+ credit

The Platinum Card® offers up to $219 per year in statement credits toward eligible CLEAR+ membership charges. If done correctly, that’s potentially enough for both a primary member and a family member to sign up for a year.

CLEAR+ offers expedited access to select airport security lines. Rather than having to wait in line to have your ID checked, you can instead use your biometric data to cut the line.

5x Amex points on airfare

The Platinum Card® offers 5x Membership Rewards points on airfare purchased directly with airlines (on up to $500,000 spent per year). This is in addition to the card offering great travel coverage for airfare purchases, making this the all-around best card for airline purchases.

The best airport lounge access benefit

The Platinum Card® offers the most comprehensive lounge access perk of any card. For having the Platinum Card® you receive:

• Access to Amex Centurion Lounges
• Access to Delta Sky Club when flying Delta same day
• A Priority Pass™ membership (Enrollment required)
• Access to Plaza Premium lounges
• Access to select Lufthansa lounges when flying a Lufthansa Group airline same day

The ability to add authorized users

Authorized users on the Platinum Card® will cost you $195 each (Rates & Fees).

Those authorized users get Priority Pass™ memberships, Delta Sky Club access, Amex Centurion Lounge access, Hilton Gold status, Marriott Gold status, and more. (Enrollment is required for select benefits)

Platinum Card® perks I’m not factoring in

The above are only some of the perks of the Platinum Card®, and to me more than justify the annual fee.

There are other Platinum Card® perks that some others will value, but which I don’t necessarily get much value out of, or at least don’t factor into my overall calculation of the value proposition of the card. The Amex Platinum also offers (Enrollment is required for select benefits):

• Up to $300 in statement credits each year on a digital or club membership at Equinox; since I’m not an Equinox member and don’t have interest in becoming one, this isn’t worth much to me as of now.
• Up to $300 per year in SoulCycle credits, which can be used toward the purchase of an at-home bike; personally I don’t value this since I’ve never used SoulCycle
• Up to $300 per year in digital entertainment credits, in the form of a $25 monthly statement credit towards Disney+, a Disney+ bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Paramount+, Peacock, The Wall Street Journal, YouTube Premium, and YouTube TV when you purchase directly from one or more of the providers
• Monthly Walmart+ credits, in the form of a $12.95 monthly credit toward a Walmart+ membership; maybe I need to look more into this, and can take advantage of this in the future
• Hilton Honors™ Gold Status and Marriott Bonvoy® Gold Status for as long as you have the card; the reason I don’t value this much is because I have Hilton Diamond elite status and lifetime Marriott Platinum status, so I don’t get much use out of that
• A Global Entry fee credit; this perk is worthwhile, though many cards offer this benefit, so I don’t consider it a reason to get this card
• Access to Amex Offers, which offers all kinds of amazing savings and bonus points opportunities; I do value this significantly, though don’t factor it into my valuation of the card
• The Amex International Airline Program (IAP) offers a ton of value for international premium cabin airfare; some years this saves me hundreds or even thousands of dollars, while other years it saves me nothing

Crunching the numbers on the Platinum Card®

In my situation, the math very easily checks out on the Platinum Card®. Let’s just crunch some very basic numbers:

• The $200 Uber credit is more or less worth face value, since I spend at least $15 per month with Uber Eats
• Let’s conservatively value the $200 airline fee credit, $600 hotel credit, and $219 CLEAR+ credit at 75% of face value, to apply some discount to it; those credits alone are worth just over $700 then

That already puts the value I get out of the card at over $900, which is more than the card’s annual fee. That doesn’t factor in all the other perks, from the savings through the Amex Offers program, to the amazing lounge access perks, to the 5x points on airfare.

Bottom line

I’ve had the Platinum Card® for years, and consider it to be more than worthwhile. While the card has a steep annual fee, I find that the value of the perks more than justify it.

If you don’t yet have the Platinum Card®, this is a great time to pick it up. And if you do get approved, see this post for what to do when you get your card in the mail.

For those with the Platinum Card®, how does the math work out on the card for you?

The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: American Express Platinum Card® (Rates & Fees).