Link: Learn more about The Platinum Card® from American Express
The Platinum Card® from American Express (review) has recently undergone a major refresh. With this, we’ve seen the card get an $895 annual fee (Rates & Fees), which is shattering records among premium cards. However, for once, I’d say this card refresh is actually legitimately positive, and I’m having a lot easier of a time justifying the card’s annual fee than in the past, despite the $200 increase.
Let me explain why I’ve never been this positive about the card before, and that says nothing of the massive welcome offer available to new cardmembers.
In this post:
The math on the Amex Platinum is now suspiciously easy
Prior to the recent refresh on the Amex Platinum Card, I was kind of lukewarm on the card’s value proposition. That’s not to say that you couldn’t get value from the card, but instead, it just wasn’t a slam dunk. The Amex Platinum is often referred to as a bit of a “coupon book,” given the number of credits and benefits it offers, and the hurdles you have to jump through to maximize them.
To be clear, the sheer number of benefits offered by the card was huge, from the credits, to the lounge access, to the elite status, to the travel booking perks. However, there was nothing I could easily point to and say “hey, look what a no-brainer this card is!”
However, with the card’s recent refresh, I feel very differently about this. In theory, the card can offer over $3,000 in perks and statement credits per year, but of course I wouldn’t value those anywhere close to face value. But thanks to the recent refresh, I’m coming out way, way, way ahead, on the annual fee. And that’s just based on the credits, and not even based on the perks like airport lounge access.
Let me specifically focus on the four credits that I can most easily maximize, and which make me not even think twice about cutting this card from my wallet…
The up to $600 annual hotel credit is a game changer
As a new perk, the Amex Platinum Card offers up to $600 per year in hotel credits. This is a semi-annual credit, so you get a $300 credit in January through June, and a $300 credit in July through December. Just book a prepaid hotel through Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts® (no minimum stay) or The Hotel Collection (two night minimum stay) through American Express Travel®, and you can receive up to a $300 credit semi-annually.
To me, this is really straightforward, and I’ll simply shift a couple of one-night luxury hotel stays per year to Amex, preferably at good value luxury hotels that belong to Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts®. For example, I frequently stay at some luxury hotels that can be booked for just over $300 per night, and then you can still take advantage of perks like a $100 property credit, complimentary breakfast, a room upgrade, etc.
Shifting a couple of one-night hotel stays per year is easy, and these short stays are especially rewarding, given the per-stay credits offered with Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts®.
The up to $400 annual Resy credit is easy to use
As a new perk, the Amex Platinum Card now offers up to $400 per year in Resy credits, with enrollment being required. This is a quarterly credit, so the idea is that you receive up to $100 worth of statement credits each calendar quarter toward dining at eligible U.S. Resy restaurants.
If you live in a major city (as I do), then Resy is a major platform that’s used for restaurants. Using this credit is easy, as it’s not like you have to book in a special way to use this. Just go to any Resy restaurant and spend $100+ with your card once per quarter, and you’ll get a $100 credit.
In fairness, I typically use a card for dining that maximizes my points, but remembering to use this card once per quarter is hardly a huge barrier, especially given that $100 is a significant amount to save (it’s not like I have to remember to use this card to get an $8 credit, or something).
The up to $300 annual digital entertainment credit is effortless
The Amex Platinum Card offers up to $300 per year in digital entertainment credits, with enrollment being required. This comes in the form of a $25 monthly statement credit on eligible purchases or subscriptions with a variety of services, ranging from Disney+, to Peacock, to The New York Times, to YouTube Premium.
The reality is that I do subscribe to multiple of these services, and since I’m auto-billed for them, there’s not really any barrier to maximizing this, as I just have to activate the benefit, and then I automatically receive statement credits. I’d consider this to be worth close to face value.
The up to $200 annual Uber credit is good as cash
The Amex Platinum Card offers up to $200 per year in Uber credits, with activation being required. This is a $15 credit per month, and then in December, you get a $35 credit. You can use this either for rides with Uber in the U.S., or for food with Uber Eats in the U.S.
I use both Uber and Uber Eats a fair bit, and there’s not much of a hurdle to using this. I’ve had this card for years and continue to get full value out of this credit each month, so I’d consider this to basically be worth face value.
All the other Amex Platinum perks are the icing on the cake
As you can see, the above four perks alone can score me $1,500 in credits per year, nearly double the annual fee on the Amex Platinum Card. I’d also say these are all credits that are quite easy to use, especially the digital entertainment and Uber credits, where it’s just automatically linked to my account.
That $1,500 in value also says nothing of all the other benefits offered, like the up to $300 annual Lululemon credit, up to $200 annual airline fee credit, up to $100 annual Saks credit, Uber One membership statement credit, and much more (again, enrollment is required for all these perks, and you’ll want to review the perks). I do get value from several of those as well, but I generally consider them to be worth a bit less than face value. And then there’s the airport lounge access, which I haven’t even addressed…
In recent years, we’ve seen so many card annual fee increases, all with marginal new perks added. The way I view it, with many of these changes you can kind of make the math work if you try really hard, while I’d say these changes actually make it pretty effortless.
I think what makes these recent changes so remarkable is that we saw disproportionate value added in relation to the annual fee increase, and the main benefits that were added are actually easier to use than many of the past benefits offered by the card.
While a lot of premium card perks are funded by merchants, I think Amex made a bigger strategic investment here, and we’ll see how it pays off. When it comes to things like the hotel credit and Resy credit, clearly Amex hopes that it’ll gain wallet share in those categories by offering those beenfits.
The goal is likely that the $100 quarterly Resy credit will get people to use their Amex Platinum Card for all their dining spending, that the $600 annual hotel credit will get people to use their Amex Platinum Card (and hotel programs) for all their hotel bookings, etc.
Now, I continue to try to be strategic with maximizing value, so of course I’m not fully doing that. That being said, I’m happy Amex is investing in this way, and to me, the card’s math works better than ever before.
I do wish the card were more compelling for everyday spending, since that’s still a major weak point of the card, as I see it. I do use the Amex Platinum Card for my airfare spending, given the great rewards, but that’s about it — otherwise this is a card I use for the perks.
Bottom line
The Amex Platinum Card recently underwent a major refresh, and I’m very pleasantly surprised by the changes. While the card’s annual fee increased by $200, it now offers an extra $1,000 in credits annually that I’ll easily be able to maximize, and potentially even more than that.
It’s surprisingly rare to see a card refresh actually be this positive, so this definitely exceeded my expectations. Previously, I was on the fence about the value on the card, while now it’s basically making me money.
Where do you stand on the updated value of the Amex Platinum Card?
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees).
I would say it's a much more well-rounded card for various use cases. Much more so than CSR. I doubt many will max out the value but it has so many ways to offset the AF.
Lululemon credit might work for some in my family but not for me. We always end up using up the Uber Eats, Digital Entertainment and Saks credits, sometimes by chance. FHR hasn't been a great benefit for us...
I would say it's a much more well-rounded card for various use cases. Much more so than CSR. I doubt many will max out the value but it has so many ways to offset the AF.
Lululemon credit might work for some in my family but not for me. We always end up using up the Uber Eats, Digital Entertainment and Saks credits, sometimes by chance. FHR hasn't been a great benefit for us in the past. We had an absolutely miserable staycation at The London in NYC pre-pandemic, booked solely to use the FHR credit.
Where the card really shines for me is SkyClub access and National Executive status. I got it originally for the 5x on airfare and the DL lounges. It will stay in my wallet as long as I'm doing work travel and those benefits don't change.
Resy, I was surprised to find, has a very small footprint in the RDU area. The few restaurants are ok-ish, kind of meh and scene-y. What passes for a scene in NC.
CSR is looking downright unworthy for its AF these days. I plan to move all my UR to my Chase Freedom, wait a while and take advantage of a good SUB for CSP in a year or two.
Totally agree with your assessment, Ben. I’d love it if Amex gave me a reason to spend money on this card besides for flights, FHR, and to use credits. I totally would if so. But the card is worth it regardless!
I live and travel abroad, so my benefits are pretty limited. I can use the digital credit and the hotel credit, and of course enjoy the Priority Pass/Centurion access, but it would be nice to have more benefits aimed at Americans who have sworn off living in the U.S.!
The welcome offer is very low in my case at 50k. (perfect credit, great income, existing customer with savings, checking and preferred credit card). Is the 175k welcome offer possible for most, or is it a carrot that few get?
Trying to get a definite answer regarding the 10 Delta Skyloung visits each year and as it pertains to authorized users on the primary member's account. An AMEX chat rep told me that the 10 visits are "shared" with the primary member and all authorized users. However, on many info feeds I am seeing on this benefit, seem to imply that the primary member gets 10 and each authorized user gets each, their own 10. Any body has a definite answer on this please?
Very close to being as much a no-brainer at the Amex Hilton Aspire.
Ben: do you expect improved benefits and credits to the Chase Saphire Reserve as a result? I mean, the CSR was never awesome to begin with when they revamped it, but now in comparison to the new Amex Platinum the CSR looks awful, terribly uncompetitive.
Is the $300 digital credit good for services like Sirius satellite radio?
Interesting POV you are sharing Ben, when it comes to the hotel credit. If I remember reading your sapphire reserve updated review, you were not so keen at its new The Edit hotel credit—not taking it as face value. Out of curiosity, what makes this Amex one different for you?
Also, I feel like the hotel prices on those platforms (FHR, LC, Edit, etc) are much higher than they were before—probably taking these credit cards...
Interesting POV you are sharing Ben, when it comes to the hotel credit. If I remember reading your sapphire reserve updated review, you were not so keen at its new The Edit hotel credit—not taking it as face value. Out of curiosity, what makes this Amex one different for you?
Also, I feel like the hotel prices on those platforms (FHR, LC, Edit, etc) are much higher than they were before—probably taking these credit cards perks/credits into consideration to increase “lost”revenue.
Finding a one night on FHR for around $300 is indeed a steal. Not sure there are actually many left at that price point. Except Las Vegas comes to mind.
I will get zero value from those things you love. Interesting they are choosing by which coupons to offer which customers they want to keep. Doesn't work for me.
Is this happening to others where AmexTravel is returning null results under fine hotels when searching?
I was told by amex that they are aware and will fix this but hasn't worked for over a week.
@ AC -- I'm not having that issue. What browser are you using, and what city are you searching?
Hi Ben,
Thanks, searched for HK and also Tokyo and both came up with zero results and nulled out.
And then there are times when I search the tool and it comes up with just the hotels but don't highlight the fine hotels benefits. (Using chrome).
@ AC -- I just pulled up hotels in both cities without issue. Are you using the standard Amex Travel website, searching hotels, and then filtering by FHR properties?
You mean the AmexTravel.com?
Or is there another site, I just tried it again and it still comes up with null, checked my card and also paid it off as well just in case there was any funny issue.
Did chat with Amex 2 days ago (after a few days of it not working), and was told that they were aware of the issue and they had logged a ticket, gave no further info. (Chat person wasn't that informative).
I was having that issue this past weekend. I'm not sure if the reason for me experiencing that lines up with yours as it's a very niche case but in case it does:
Coincidentally same time I started noticing this issue I asked them to forward the new plat cards to my location in Canada. For whatever reason they changed my billing (home) address to the Canada address, not the mailing address.
I noticed...
I was having that issue this past weekend. I'm not sure if the reason for me experiencing that lines up with yours as it's a very niche case but in case it does:
Coincidentally same time I started noticing this issue I asked them to forward the new plat cards to my location in Canada. For whatever reason they changed my billing (home) address to the Canada address, not the mailing address.
I noticed this few days later (this past Monday) and I reverted it myself in account services to USA address. Few minutes later.. I start seeing FHR/HC rates as I used to.
@Dmoon,
How did you revert the account services to the USA? I travel mostly between the UK and here so most of my mail does go to my UK address, and it seems odd that I have to do this to see the rates.
On an addiitonal note, does anyone (Ben?) have any knowledge as to why the Amex Travel site is just so glitchy? If it wasn't for the benefits, it is a broken site at best and wouldn't make the grade as a search tool.
I’m super excited to hang out at the Centurion lounge with everyone in matching lulu gear.
And with matching oura rings.
Ben - How sustainable do you think the new $600 FHR and $400 Resy credits are? Unlike some of the other credits (Saks, Uber, etc.) that are merchant-specific, I wouldn't think these credits would be merchant-funded to the same extent. IE did each of the 10,000 Resy restaurants agree to pay for 50%+ of the $100 quarterly if a Platinum card member dines there? FHR properties pay a commission (5%? 15%?) on bookings to Amex,...
Ben - How sustainable do you think the new $600 FHR and $400 Resy credits are? Unlike some of the other credits (Saks, Uber, etc.) that are merchant-specific, I wouldn't think these credits would be merchant-funded to the same extent. IE did each of the 10,000 Resy restaurants agree to pay for 50%+ of the $100 quarterly if a Platinum card member dines there? FHR properties pay a commission (5%? 15%?) on bookings to Amex, but doubtful they are otherwise paying a meaningful percentage of these credits. Is Amex's calculus that most people who actually use the FHR credits (a minority of cardholders will use them at all) are booking $1k/nt+ properties, so the commission is enough to fund the credit? Or is Amex just considering these new generous credits to be a marketing expense? It's just interesting, as you point out, that Amex suddenly is providing more lucrative credits.
@ LP -- All great questions! Regarding hotel credits, all the major credit card companies are trying to massively increase the volume of bookings on their travel platforms, so that's the motivation here.
I assume Amex's thinking is that this $300 credit will get people to book their $10K luxury hotel stay in St. Tropez or Paris through Amex Travel, and the commissions there are significant (minimum 10%, probably much higher for most properties for...
@ LP -- All great questions! Regarding hotel credits, all the major credit card companies are trying to massively increase the volume of bookings on their travel platforms, so that's the motivation here.
I assume Amex's thinking is that this $300 credit will get people to book their $10K luxury hotel stay in St. Tropez or Paris through Amex Travel, and the commissions there are significant (minimum 10%, probably much higher for most properties for Amex, given the volume of business it does).
I imagine the people booking one-night stays at hotels costing just over $300 are the exception, rather than the norm. Could we eventually see restrictions added, requiring a larger minimum booking amount, or a multiple night stay? Maybe, but I think on balance, Amex will do pretty well here.
Personally, I'm much more curious about the math on the Resy credit. I know Amex is getting big into dining and has acquired dining platforms, but it doesn't seem like this benefit is funded by any third party. So is the $100 quarterly dining credit designed in hopes that people will just consistently use the Amex Platinum for dining (rather than the Amex Gold, for example, where they could earn a lot more points), or...?
Is the play to get AMEX Plat holders who do not also have the Gold to use this card in place of say, their CapOne or Chase cards? Maybe they know savvy people will use this the Plat once per quarter (i.e. me) then default back to the Gold if they also hold it. But capturing share from the other aforementioned cards would be more beneficial in the long run right? They want people to pay with any flavor of AMEX when dining regardless of which card.
None of us have optics into the economics behind any of these cards. The people at Amex are big kids and they know what works and what doesn't. Besides, do we really care whether Amex will turn a profit? The credits are here now. Use them now. The same goes for those predicting the imminent demise of Bilt. I don't really care as long as I get my points.
For those who just had the $695 annual card membership fee hit this month’s statement (instead of $895), it’s a good year to keep the card; but still I would curious if there are retention bonuses for some such customers.
Gold just renewed. Then, just days prior to the refresh, I received a 50k upgrade offer from Gold to Platinum . . . at the $695 AF. Good year indeed.
I think your hotel credit section needs a bit of a redo. Shifting one night stays doesn't trigger a two night min credit (although the overall point of the value being there is quite valid regardless).
@ Nitty McNit -- A one night stay qualifies, assuming it's Fine Hotels & Resorts (which is where I intend to use the credit).
The Hotel Collection requires two nights.