The 8 Platinum Card® Benefits I Value Most

Having a newborn son Walmart +
Would be fantastic value for you

I ask every time, but how do YOU use the airline credit. I can't get value out of it. I don't check bags (or they are free) everything is free in First class...

Walmart+ is great, dont use it much but when i do its extremely convenient.

Yes, PLEASE. we need an answer to this. I often get $0 out of this since the gift card scheme was eliminated.

When this perk was added, I felt like it cheapened the Platinum Card brand (my opinion) but thought I'd try it out just to see. It's actually been great and super convenient. It worked out so well, I cancelled my Prime membership, as the only real benefit I was using with Prime was the free shipping.

travelbank at United or Jetblue, essentially a gift card for flight purchases.

We tried Walmart+ and it was plagued with incorrect items being sent. Returns were a hassle. The customer service people at Walmart stores didn't know how to handle returns. In the end, the monthly statement credit wasn't worth the hassle / labor. Amazon works just fine.

Walmart+ is actually amazing. I signed up when Amex introduced the benefit, and I honestly put in at least 1 order from Walmart weekly, sometimes even 2 or 3. I basically use it for all my non-perishable stuff which can range from Coke Zero to other things like extra towels or other random stuff. I wouldn't get the card for this, but I'm happily using the value from it.

I'm not saying this is the case with Ben or this is applicable to this statement credit but . . . the fact is that reward abuse teams at the airlines, hotels, and credit card issuers read these blogs. They are looking for methods that they determine are not intended for use. No one but people on those teams know what the next method is to be shut down. Now imagine that YOU have a method that works and it's not widely known. Do you share and risk it being shut down? Or, do you keep it to yourself in safety? You'd like to share but you don't want to hose yourself. Again, I'm not saying Ben is doing this. I encourage experimentation.

Yes, we have a 1 year old son and agree that Walmart+ via the Platinum has actually been really valuable. I've found that buying things other than diapers on Amazon is hit or miss (e.g., they often require you to buy a two-pack, or the pricing is crazy because it's a third-party seller).

I was using Target.com quite a lot, but in many cases Walmart is cheaper. And with the Walmart+ membership you don't have to hit $35 minimum as you do on Target and the items have always come in two days.

Ditto. Though reporting issues by phone got them resolved and didn't have to return anything. For example, ordered umbrella. Received bag of dog food. Ordered milk and couple of other items. Received $300 of groceries (many of which would never use) and none of my stuff.

Ditto. Though reporting issues by phone got them resolved and didn't have to return anything. For example, ordered umbrella. Received bag of dog food. Ordered milk and couple of other items. Received $300 of groceries (many of which would never use) and none of my stuff.

Buying priority boarding on SWA

@ mdande7 -- The FlyerTalk thread on this is a great resource as to what will anecdotally trigger credits:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1300475-airline-fee-250-200-reimbursement-reports-b6-only-jetblue-29.html

This was the most hated card I ever had because it was so stressful to keep tabs on the dozens (close to 100) transactions per year I needed to time correctly to get value from the card. Had this card for three years and it was honestly stressful; I even used a spreadsheet to make sure I didn't forget things. Figure you need to keep track of almost 100 credits/year when figuring in how many are monthly. I canceled the card two months ago and it's been a huge relief. No matter the value of the other things, this card would only be worth it if you use the lounges a lot, i.e. your home airport has a Centurion lounge that isn't too crowded and much better than the PP options or you always fly Delta and don't have status for lounges. Otherwise the stress and hassle just isn't worth it.

Damn they just credit me back and let me keep the incorrect item. Simple process i just took a photo of the wrong item on the app and i got an instant refund.

It requires a concerted effort to extract value from this card - it feels like work not perks.

Even 5x on points is meh - nearly all premium cards have met or exceeded that.
MR points really only seem useful for transfer - otherwise you're lucky to get 0.1/point for them through Amex Travel.

I've had the card since February. I've already generated $206 in cash back from the Amex offers on things I would have bought anyway.

I'm fully utilizing the Uber credit, though I use it on Uber Eats as opposed to rides; the CSR gives me better points through Lyft for trips.

I put Southwest down as my airline of choice and was worried I would regret it, but I've already used a little over $150 to pay the difference in changed flights or to pay the balance on flights for which I used stored credit. In Year 2 I may put it down again and, worse comes to worse, use gift card balance to pay enough of the fare to leave less than $100 pending to trigger the perk.

The hotel credit was easy to utilize on a one-night getaway. I didn't feel it was the best use of the credit, but after the $100 on site credit, it put a nice dent in what would have been a several hundred dollar expense.

I just signed up for Walmart Plus. I don't know how much value I'll get out of it but am willing to give it a shot. I've grown quite accustomed to Amazon, so it'll be an adjustment. If nothing else, I'll use it for groceries and stick to Amazon for other products to keep that 5% return with the Amazon card.

In general though, what I find most useful is the way the Platinum allows me to segment off purchases I would have made anyway. I pay up front an annual fee that will go toward things I would have bought throughout the year. I know people slam it for being a coupon book, but I find it's a useful way to prepay. Even Clear has come in more handy than I would have anticipated.

It's a travel card. IAP discounts on business class fares, always greater than 10% from my experience. $200 FHR statement credit plus the $100 (minimum) hotel experience credit. I gift lounge day passes to my friends with the airline credit. Everything else is gravy. Also helps that NYC (LGA/JFK) is home.

I don't find the Saks credit useful since it is not $100. It's really two $50 credits. Not much useful things there for only $50. Uber is useful but it has gotten increasingly annoying to use. First it was a monthly amount, but now the monthly amount is divided into a few dollars per ride. That means you would need to have a handful of rides each month to get your monthly money. The additional users is only a good deal if you add three people! $175 but only one person, not a good deal. What I think you are missing from the list is that this is not a credit card. It is charge card. There may be a transaction limit but there is generally no credit line limit. I think their travel center is overpriced for both points and cash compared to other cards.

I never quite understand the hate/complains around Amex Platinum and its perks.

First of all, this should be view as a "lifestyle" card rather than mere "travel" card. I know I know, it's like splitting hair, but once you view it as a more holistic status in life, it kinda makes more sense. Think Amex Gold, right? It gives 4pt for grocery. Why? Because it's not *just* a travel card. It's all about "enjoy things in life," so to speak.

Second, I personally find the discounts to be smart. Look, guys, money has to come from *somewhere*. It's either your pocket or someone's pocket. Imagine if you have an entire team looking for where you can save, but in a stylish, cool way. That's, I think, what Amex is aiming for: providing you with a coupon book for a certain lifestyle. If you like it, cool, welcome, it will cost $695, thank you very much. If you don't, well, coupon books are still cool, yo?

I personally find the value proposition of Amex Platinum to be relatively decent. Not overly lucrative (it's not budding competitor looking for market share, yo!), but not terrible either. Personally, I never fail to finish the Uber credit, the media credit (who doesn't have either Hulu or Disney+? I also have NYTimes & Audible from way back when), the Saks credit (hand lotion for the eczema!), and the CLEAR credit. Walmark+ is... interesting? I tried it out (because it's free), but it's not exactly useful useful. So I *think* I make the fee back. Plus the lounge (I am in love with SkyClub these days for some weird reasons; they are so nice! To my baby, too!) and the chat help and the occasional questions to concierge. So if I had failed to make money back (i.e. paying a few tens of dollars), it's completely worth it.

A lot of people out there can gobble up the airline credit and the hotel credit (which I personally find annoying to use; why pay $500 to get $200 back when there are perfectly good choices at $150?), and I think some would make way more uses of the lounges and concierge than I do. So the card is reasonably valued.

Again, Amex isn't Capital One (or Chase when they released CSR). They don't need to win market share. They don't need to provide crazy value proposition. Their cards are solid, if a bit confusing.

(on that note: I swear these days Chase is sleeping on their laurels; in the last 6 months, I can't think of a time I want to spend on Chase cards outside of the introduction bonus).

Can’t wait until February, 2023 and the Great Centurion Lounge Clear Out!

The U.K. card is a similar price but far fewer benefits and much poorer value for money since they increased the fee, Benefits are hard to justify if now travelling less post pandemic, especially if you live outside London. You also only ever get x2 bonus points at most and have steep foreign exchange fees on the UK card.

I would still consider the platinum if it was still around £350/75, but it is not worth over £500 unless you have a very high spending. single high socialising family free lifestyle and based in Greater London area.

Yes, we have a 1 year old son and agree that Walmart+ via the Platinum has actually been really valuable. I've found that buying things other than diapers on Amazon is hit or miss (e.g., they often require you to buy a two-pack, or the pricing is crazy because it's a third-party seller).

I was using Target.com quite a lot, but in many cases Walmart is cheaper. And with the Walmart+ membership you don't have to hit $35 minimum as you do on Target and the items have always come in two days.

Yes, PLEASE. we need an answer to this. I often get $0 out of this since the gift card scheme was eliminated.

travelbank at United or Jetblue, essentially a gift card for flight purchases.

I'm not saying this is the case with Ben or this is applicable to this statement credit but . . . the fact is that reward abuse teams at the airlines, hotels, and credit card issuers read these blogs. They are looking for methods that they determine are not intended for use. No one but people on those teams know what the next method is to be shut down. Now imagine that YOU have a method that works and it's not widely known. Do you share and risk it being shut down? Or, do you keep it to yourself in safety? You'd like to share but you don't want to hose yourself. Again, I'm not saying Ben is doing this. I encourage experimentation.

Buying priority boarding on SWA

@ mdande7 -- The FlyerTalk thread on this is a great resource as to what will anecdotally trigger credits:
https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/american-express-membership-rewards/1300475-airline-fee-250-200-reimbursement-reports-b6-only-jetblue-29.html

We tried Walmart+ and it was plagued with incorrect items being sent. Returns were a hassle. The customer service people at Walmart stores didn't know how to handle returns. In the end, the monthly statement credit wasn't worth the hassle / labor. Amazon works just fine.