Link: Learn more about The Platinum Card® from American Express
While premium cards are incredibly popular nowadays, this is really a market that Amex started, with The Platinum Card® from American Express. We’ve recently seen this card undergo a major refresh, whereby the annual fee was increased, but more perks were added as well.
I must say, I’m actually really impressed by the changes that have been made to the card, and would argue that the card’s value proposition is better than ever before. Yes, it takes some effort to maximize the card’s perks, but if you’re willing to put in the effort, the value is incredible.
In this post, I’d like to take an in-depth look at the card’s value proposition, and the perks that make this card worthwhile. The Amex Platinum is a card you should get for the rich benefits that it offers, and not necessarily a card you should spend a lot of money on under normal circumstances, since there are more rewarding cards for that.
Amex Platinum Card welcome offer & fee basics
The Amex Platinum Card potentially has a huge welcome offer, though the card also has a high annual fee. So let’s cover all those details first, including card eligibility.
Welcome offer as high as 175,000 bonus points
The Amex Platinum currently has a welcome bonus offer where you can earn a bonus as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 within six months. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer, so you’ll want to start the application, and then you’ll see what kind of an offer is available to you.
Personally, I value Membership Rewards points at ~1.7 cents each, so depending on your bonus, you’d be looking at almost $3,000 in value.
Card application restrictions & rules
The welcome bonus on the Amex Platinum isn’t available to those who currently have the card, or those who have had the card in the past (so the card has a “once in a lifetime” rule). If you’ve had the card in the past you’re still eligible to be approved, you just won’t get the bonus.
Note that this is a hybrid card and not a credit card, meaning that having this card won’t count toward Amex’s limit of five credit cards per person. Make sure you consider all of Amex’s standard application restrictions before applying.
$895 annual fee & $195 authorized user fee
The Amex Platinum has a $895 annual fee (Rates & Fees). Even among premium cards, this is among the highest annual fees out there, though for many people, the perks will more than offset the fee.
If you want to add authorized users to the card, you’ll pay $195 each (Rates & Fees). Fortunately there are some solid perks for authorized users, including lounge access, so some people might find that adding them is worthwhile.
Amex Platinum Card points earning structure
Personally, I think the Amex Platinum Card is worth having for the benefits it offers, though it’s not a card that I think is worth spending much money on, with limited exceptions.
Some other Amex cards offer big bonus categories. For example:
- The American Express® Gold Card (review) offers 4x Membership Rewards points at restaurants worldwide (on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, and then 1x points ) and at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 of spending per calendar year, and then 1x points)
- The American Express® Green Card (review) offers 3x Membership Rewards points at restaurants globally and on travel and transit
Unfortunately, the Amex Platinum isn’t as generous in that regard. However, there are still some useful bonus categories…
The information and associated card details on this page for the American Express Green Card has been collected independently by OMAAT and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
5x points on select flight bookings
The best bonus category on the Amex Platinum is that it offers 5x points on airfare purchased directly from airlines or through Amex Travel (on up to $500,000 of flight purchases per calendar year, and then 1x points), which is spectacular. This makes it the best card for airfare purchases, in my opinion.
Officially booking through online travel agencies (except amextravel.com) wouldn’t earn you bonus points, though in practice it may still sometimes code for 5x points. That’s because often online travel agencies still have the airline bill you directly when you book flights through them.
I value Membership Rewards points at ~1.7 cents each, so to me, that’s the equivalent of an 8.5% return on airfare spending, which is incredible.
5x points on prepaid hotels through Amex Travel
The Amex Platinum also offers 5x Membership Rewards points on prepaid hotels that are booked through Amex Travel. As a general rule of thumb, this isn’t worth it. That’s because you’re usually not earning loyalty points with your preferred hotel program when you book through Amex Travel, so that’s quite an opportunity cost.
The exception is Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts®, where prepaid reservations earn 5x points. That can be a good deal because of the perks you get, and also because you still earn points with your preferred hotel loyalty program. You can also combine this with the card’s annual hotel credit to really maximize value. I’ll talk more about that in a bit.
1x points on other purchases
The above are the only bonus categories — otherwise, the Amex Platinum offers 1x points per dollar spent, which isn’t especially good. There are other cards offering 1.5x-2x points per dollar spent, so I would much rather put my spending on those cards, or on another card that’s best for everyday spending.
Amex Platinum Card points redemption options
The Amex Platinum Card earns Membership Rewards points. This is one of the major transferable points currencies, and is a favorite points currency for many. While I love Membership Rewards, I’d say that not everyone should be earning these points.
The best way to redeem your points is to transfer them to one of the Membership Rewards airline or hotel partners. Points can be transferred to the below 21 partners, including 18 airline partners and three hotel partners.
The reason this represents such a good option is that you can get outsized value toward premium airfare, especially for travel in first and business class. These tickets are often super expensive if paying cash, while they can be a good deal with points.
On top of that, Amex often has transfer bonuses, which can get you even better value.
I’d note that while you can redeem Membership Rewards points toward the cost of merchandise or gift cards, or to pay off your statement, these aren’t good uses of your points. You’ll typically get less than one cent of value per point, so that’s not how I’d redeem them.
I’d recommend earning Membership Rewards points if your primary interest is transferring points to partner programs.
Amex Platinum Card credits & perks
This is where the Amex Platinum Card really shines, as the card potentially offers thousands of dollars in annual credits. As you can see, for some people this alone will more than justify the annual fee. The catch is that there are some hurdles to using all of these, so don’t consider most of these credits to be worth face value.
However, I’d argue that with the recent refresh to this card, it’s easier than ever before to recoup your entire annual fee on these credits alone. So let’s take a look at what you need to know about these credits, and how you can maximize them. (Enrollment is required for select benefits)
Up to $600 annual hotel credit
The Amex Platinum 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. This is actually a pretty easy perk to use — 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.
If you ask me, this perk alone can help recoup most of the card’s annual fee. So a major point in deciding whether this card makes sense is crunching the numbers as to whether you can get full value from this.
Up to $400 annual Resy credit
The Amex Platinum offers up to $400 per year in Resy credits, and enrollment is 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.
There are no hoops you have to jump through, so as long as you dine at an eligible Resy restaurant and pay with your card, you can receive the statement credit. Personally, I’d consider this benefit to be worth close to face value.
Up to $300 annual digital entertainment credit
The Amex Platinum 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 any of the following:
- Disney+
- Disney+ bundle
- ESPN+
- Hulu
- Paramount+
- Peacock
- The New York Times
- The Wall Street Journal
- YouTube Premium
- YouTube TV
I’d consider this to be quite valuable, since there’s an impressive variety of partners with which you can maximize this perk.
Up to $300 annual Lululemon shopping credit
The Amex Platinum offers up to $300 per year in Lululemon credits, with enrollment being required. This is a quarterly credit, so the idea is that you receive up to $75 worth of statement credits each calendar quarter toward purchases at Lululemon stores in the U.S. If you’re in the market for some athleisure wear, this is a great option.
Up to $300 annual Equinox credit
The Amex Platinum offers up to $300 per year in Equinox credits, and enrollment is required. This comes in the form of up to $300 in statement credits each year on a digital or club membership at Equinox. If you’d otherwise pay for an Equinox membership, this is a great, while otherwise, it’s probably of limited value.
Up to $300 SoulCycle credit
The Amex Platinum offers a $300 credit when purchasing a SoulCycle bike. This credit can be used toward the purchase of a SoulCycle at-home bike, and it can be used for the purchase of up to 15 bikes per year.
You need to make the entire purchase of a bike in one transaction on your Amex Platinum in order to qualify for these savings. Suffice to say that this will be of limited value to most cardmembers.
Up to $209 annual CLEAR® Plus credit
The Amex Platinum offers up to $209 per year in CLEAR credits. When using your card to pay for a CLEAR membership, you’ll receive statement credits of up to $209 per calendar year. For those not familiar with CLEAR, this company can save you time at security, by allowing you to use your biometric data to skip the ID check.
Up to $200 annual airline fee credit
The Amex Platinum offers up to $200 per year in airline fee credits, which can be used toward airline incidentals and fees. The credit is offered every calendar year, so it follows a strict January 1 through December 31 calendar.
Every year you can designate on which airline you want to receive the credit, of the following:
- Alaska Airlines
- American Airlines
- Delta Air Lines
- Hawaiian Airlines
- JetBlue Airways
- Spirit Airlines
- Southwest Airlines
- United Airlines
You can change your airline selection in January of each year. If you don’t change your selection then you automatically keep the same airline choice as the previous year.
Unfortunately, you can’t use your credit toward the following:
Airline tickets, upgrades, mileage points purchases, mileage points transfer fees, gift cards, duty free purchases, and award tickets are not deemed to be incidental fees.
So this is useful for airline ticket change fees (of which there aren’t many nowadays), baggage fees, and other costs you may incur with an airline. Personally, this is something I have no trouble maxing out.
Up to $200 annual Oura Ring credit
The Amex Platinum offers up to $200 per year in Oura Ring credits. This is valid if you use your card to purchase an Oura Ring through ouraring.com, and enrollment is required. I’d say this is very niche, but if you’re in the market for this product, it has the potential to be valuable.
Up to $200 annual Uber credit
The Amex Platinum offers up to $200 per year in Uber credits. The way this is broken up, you get a $15 credit per month, and then in December, you get a total of $35 in credits. You can use this either for rides with Uber in the US, or for food with Uber Eats in the US.
To activate this benefit, you need to enter your Amex Platinum Card number on your Uber account, and then you should see the benefit unlocked. You’ll see an amount added to your Uber Cash balance every month, and the discount will automatically be applied to the first eligible ride or food delivery.
An Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit
Up to $120 annual Uber One credit
The Amex Platinum offers up to $120 in statement credits each calendar year after purchasing an auto-renewing Uber One membership with the card. This is separate from the card’s $200 annual Uber Cash benefit, which remains available.
An Uber One membership offers all kinds of benefits for rides with Uber and deliveries with Uber Eats, so if you use the platform with any frequency, this is pretty valuable.
Up to $100 annual Saks credit
The Amex Platinum offers up to $100 per year in Saks credits, and enrollment is required. This is broken up into a semi-annual credit, so that you get a $50 credit for the first half of the year, and a $50 credit in the second half of the year.
It’s valid for Saks purchases in-store or online, and there’s no minimum purchase amount. So you could make a $50 purchase and have the entire purchase reimbursed.
Monthly Walmart+ credit benefit
The Amex Platinum offers up to $12.95 per month in credits toward a Walmart+ membership, which covers the full membership cost. Enrollment is required. (Up to $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax. Plus Ups not eligible.) With Walmart+, you can receive free deliveries on groceries and more, gas stations, video streaming, and more.
Amex Platinum Card airport lounge access
The Amex Platinum Card offers one of the most comprehensive lounge access benefits of any card. This is called the Global Lounge Collection®, and it offers access to over 1,550 airport lounges across 140 countries for eligible cardmembers. This includes proprietary Amex lounges, as well as access to lounges run by other airlines and companies.
Amex Centurion Lounge access
Amex is well known for its Centurion Lounges, and the Amex Platinum can get you into these lounges. These are significantly better than what you’ll find in most U.S. airline lounges, with a solid selection of hot food and cocktails.
Currently, U.S. locations include Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York JFK, New York LaGuardia, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, with more to come. There are also Centurion Lounges in Hong Kong, London, and Tokyo, among other international destinations.
You can access these lounges up to three hours before departure if your flight (if you’re connecting, then the three-hour limit doesn’t apply). Please note that you’re only eligible to bring in guests on a complimentary basis if you spend at least $75,000 per calendar year on the card.
Delta Sky Club® access
The Amex Platinum also offers access to the Delta Sky Club®, with some limitations. Card members can receive access within three hours of a departing or arriving flight, and must present their card, a boarding pass showing a confirmed reservation for an eligible Delta flight, and a government-issued ID.
Eligible cards issued in the United States receive 10 visits to the Delta Sky Club® each year, to be used from February 1 until January 31 of the next calendar year, with all visits within a 24-hour period counting as a single visit. It’s also possible to earn an unlimited number of visits by spending $75,000 in eligible purchases on a card account in a calendar year.
Priority Pass membership
The Amex Platinum Card offers a Priority Pass™ Select membership, which gives you access to lounges around the world. You can bring up to two guests into these lounges. While these aren’t the most exciting and high quality lounges, there’s no denying that this gives you access to a comprehensive collection of lounges.
Plaza Premium Lounge access
The Amex Platinum offers access to Plaza Premium Lounges. Just present your Amex Platinum, and you’ll be admitted, and you can even bring one guest with you at no additional cost. This is hugely valuable, as Plaza Premium has dozens of lounges around the world, which are among the highest quality contract lounges you’ll find.
Escape Lounge access
The Amex Platinum offers access to the growing network of Escape Lounges. Just present your Amex Platinum Card and you’ll be admitted, and you can even bring in guests.
Select Lufthansa Lounge access
The Amex Business Platinum also offers access to select Lufthansa Business & Senator Lounges. Cardmembers receive access to lounges when flying on a Lufthansa Group flight (Lufthansa, SWISS, and Austrian).
In addition to access to lounges in Frankfurt and Munich, several other lounges are also part of this agreement, including in North America and Europe. You can find all the eligible lounges through Amex’s lounge finder webpage.
Other Amex Platinum Card travel benefits
Beyond the annual credits that potentially more than justify the annual fee, as well as an incredible lounge access program, the Amex Platinum Card also offers status with three hotel loyalty programs, status with two rental car loyalty programs, access to a program that gets you valuable hotel perks, and discounts on many premium cabin airline tickets. (Enrollment is required for select benefits)
Hilton Honors™ Gold status
Those with the Amex Platinum receive complimentary Hilton Gold elite status for as long as they have the card. This status is useful, and offers the following perks:
- Free breakfast and/or executive lounge access (or a food & beverage credit at properties in the United States)
- Late check-out, subject to availability
- Preferred rooms
- 80% points bonus
- Fifth night free on award stays
Marriott Bonvoy® Gold status
Those with the Amex Platinum receive complimentary Marriott Gold status for as long as they have the card, which offers the following perks, among other things:
- 25% bonus points on hotel stays
- 2PM late check-out
- A room upgrade
Leading Hotels of the World Sterling status
Those with the Amex Platinum receive Leaders Club Sterling status from Leading Hotels of the World. Leading Hotels of the World is a collection of independent, luxury properties, so this offers perks at some properties that don’t otherwise participate in major global hotel groups.
This status typically requires $5,000 in annual spending at these hotels and offers perks such as five pre-arrival upgrades per year.
Hertz Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle status
The Amex Platinum offers Hertz President’s Circle elite status, which is Hertz’s top-tier status. Your status is valid as long as you remain a cardmember. This should take the pain out of renting cars and offers the following perks:
- Guaranteed car upgrades, a minimum of one-class, at participating locations
- Freedom to choose any vehicle in the President’s Circle section of the Hertz Ultimate Choice lot on the spot at no extra charge
- No additional driver fee for a spouse or domestic partner in the United States
- 50% bonus on Gold Plus Rewards points on all qualified rentals
- Expedited vehicle pick-up at over 1,000 locations worldwide
- No stopping at the counter at over 50 airports
- eReturn, whereby you don’t have to wait when returning your car
- Hertz Valet, whereby you can take advantage of a terminal drive-back service at participating locations up to four times per year
- A dedicated President’s Circle call center line
National Emerald Club Executive status
The Amex Platinum offers National Emerald Club Executive status. You have to enroll to take advantage of this, and it’s valid for as long as you have your card. National is my favorite rental car company, and Executive status lets you pick out your car from the lot, and skip the counter altogether.
TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit
The Amex Platinum offers a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck statement credit (every 4.5 years for TSA PreCheck, or every four years for Global Entry). Simply charge the membership fee to your card, and it will be automatically reimbursed. It doesn’t matter who the fee is being paid for, as long as you charge it to your eligible card.
Amex International Airline Program access
With the Amex International Airline Program, you can save on the cost of international first class, business class, and premium economy airfare, on nearly two dozen airlines. This typically provides discounts even on already discounted tickets, so is a spectacular value.
If you book paid international premium cabin travel with any frequency, this could pay the card’s annual fee over and over.
Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts® access
With the Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts® program, you can receive extra perks for stays at over 1,000 luxury hotels around the world. These benefits include the following:
- Daily breakfast for two people
- Room upgrade upon arrival, when available
- A unique property amenity (usually a $100 property credit, free massage, car transfer, etc.)
- Guaranteed 4PM check-out
- Noon check-in, subject to availability
- Complimentary in-room Wi-Fi (exclusions apply)
Best of all, the rate is typically in line with the best available rate. Having the Amex Platinum gets you access to this, and if you prepay your reservation, you even earn 5x points. You can even stack this with the card’s up to $600 annual hotel credit.
Amex Platinum authorized user benefits
What benefits do authorized users on the Amex Platinum get? They receive most of the same perks as primary cardmembers.
This includes all the lounge access perks, access to Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts®, Hilton and Marriott Gold status, Leading Hotels of the World Sterling status, access to the Amex International Airline Program, additional Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credits, and more.
The main things that authorized users aren’t getting is incremental credits, so they’re not receiving extra airline fee credits, digital entertainment credits, Uber credits, etc.
Is the Amex Platinum Card worth it?
The Amex Platinum Card recently underwent a full refresh, whereby the annual fee was increased, and new perks were introduced as well. Of course there’s never going to be any “one size fits all” answer as to whether a card makes sense, since we all value perks differently.
However, speaking only for myself, I’d argue that this card is actually easier to justify than ever before. To start, let’s just take a look at the credits. Personally, I’m able to get full value out of the $600 annual hotel credit, $400 annual Resy credit, $300 annual digital entertainment credit, $200 annual airline fee credit, and $200 annual Uber credit. That’s $1,700 in value right there, and it actually doesn’t take much effort for me to maximize that.
That also says nothing of all the other perks offered by the card, from the bonus points on airfare, to the lounge access, and more. So yeah, I’m really finding this card to be pretty great, even better than in the past. Admittedly everyone has to crunch the numbers for themselves, but I think the math works out very nicely on this product.
Bottom line
The Amex Platinum Card has recently changed, as it has a higher annual fee, plus new perks. This isn’t a card that you should get for the return on spending it offers, but instead, it’s a card to get for all of the perks and credit that it offers.
While the $895 annual fee is obviously steep, personally I’m able to get outsized value thanks to all the credits offered, which offer outsized value. And that says nothing of the bonus points on airfare, the lounge access, and more.
So even if you haven’t been able to make the math on this card work in the past, it might be time to give it another look.
If you want to learn more about the Amex Platinum Card or want to apply, follow this link.
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).
