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.
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).
