Why the Amex Platinum should be in any traveler’s wallet
Today I’m here to tell you about the first true premium credit card I ever got into — the Amex Platinum. I originally got this card because my brother and his fiancé were traveling to Germany in late 2015, and he’s been so generous that I wanted to give him lounge access in return. At moment the Platinum sign-up bonus is 100,000 points after you spend $6,000 on the card in the first 6 months (i.e. $1k a month). Their points are presently valued at 2.2 cents each, making 100k points worth $2,200 in travel credits.
Here’s where it gets scary. The card has a $690 annual fee. I’ve negotiated this down after having the card for several years to only $50 for some years, and seem to be grandfathered into the $550 charge nowadays. I don’t use this card for most everyday purchases (beyond that it earns 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines, which is over 10% back) because it only earns 1 point per dollar in almost every other category. All that to say that this isn’t an everyday spend card. It is a luxury card with all of the perks you could ever want in a credit card.
The card grants you access to over 1,400 airport lounges worldwide. I am very much a commoner who hasn’t had a car payment in over a decade and drives a car that’s older than that, but it’s awfully nice to get to an airport and enjoy a free meal and drink (which was super great when I still drank, because there’s nothing quite like getting drunk then hopping on a flight!). The lounges are golden, however, it’s the Centurion Lounges that are where it’s at. They have chef prepared meals, pours of rare liquors, cappuccino machines, showers, and some even have pre-flight massages (DFW, for sure). The lounge at SFO has a wine wall stocked with your favorite Napa Valley reds. The centurion lounges in the US are at; SeaTac, SFO, LAX, Phoenix, Denver, Vegas, DFW, Houston Bush, Miami, Charlotte, Philly, JFK, & LGA. If you live in any of those cities or travel to them frequently I would highly encourage you to check out this card. I’ve missed several flights in the past because I didn’t want to go wait at the airport, but that is no longer an issue for me in the airports with lounges the Platinum grants me access.
Speaking of not missing flights — the card reimburses you $100 every 4 years for Global Entry (which is TSA PreCheck for the world and also gets you back from Canada crossings quickly if everyone over 18 in the car has it). That alone has been a massive time saver over the years as you don’t have to take off your shoes, pull out your laptop, or go through the scanny machine and put your arms up that shows a TSA agent how flaccid general boarding makes you! The Platinum now reimburses the $189 annual fee for CLEAR, which is a retina scan that literally whisks you to the front of the line, past all the commoners with mere PreCheck. You don’t even have to show a boarding pass or your face under a mask. I used it in Vegas last week to retrieve my friend Alexis’ bag from the claim and was back to the Centurion Lounge in 10 minutes.
The card also offers a $200 airline credit fee (not to be used on flights, although I have bought SW gift cards with success in the past) reimbursement. This year I set it on Frontier, because they’re a nickel and dime airline, but it covered my $59 change fee when I opted to fly into SFO a day earlier than I expected two weeks ago after realizing the Yankees were playing in Oakland that weekend. It also covered my baggage fees for the trip. The credits can be used for in-flight purchases as well.
The card is offering a $240 entertainment credit this year which I use for $15 towards an Audible account (I hate Bezos, but this is free and I need something to listen to while I travel) and $5 for my Sirius XM account (which, if you don’t know, you can totally haggle them down to $6 a month after taxes).
There’s a $12.95 Walmart + membership reimbursement. $200 in Uber credits ($15 per month, $35 in December). $100 Saks Fifth Avenue credit ($50 bi-annually) which I’ve used to find some deals on Herschel backpacks, North Face Sweatpants, cigar mugs for my friend Drew, and even dog toys for Bette.
There’s also a $200 hotel credit to be used at fine hotels. This was only implemented last year and I haven’t had the opportunity to utilize it yet this year, but it pays you back $200 automatically for the nicest 4.5 & 5-star hotels you can book on Amex’s travel portal, even if you use points. You’re given an automatic upgrade and $100 in either food or dining credits, IN ADDITION to free breakfast. I used this credit late last year when Curt and I made a snowboarding trip up to Whistler. I booked the JW Marriott Downtown Vancouver and it almost became a dare for us to try to use that much $ in food. We ate noodles and he had a beer that night, we had a robust breakfast the next day, and we ordered the most expensive room service we could get to finish off the $100 before we had to drive back across the border after the platinum guaranteed 4 PM late checkout at the hotel.
If all that weren’t enough, they have frequent offers for spend $300 off Marriott get $60 back, $200 with Hertz get $40 back, etc. The card offers cell phone protection for up to $800 with only a $50 deductible if you pay your plan in full with the card. It also offers 90 days of purchase protection should an item you’ve bought be damaged, become non-functioning, or is stolen. The card also extends manufacturer warranties by a year.
The card offers rental car status with Avis, Hertz, and National. You also can enroll to become a Hilton and Marriott Gold member. All of these things add up yearly to over $1,500 in value, and if you use only the hotel, Uber, airline, and Saks credit you’ve already made your money back. Not to mention the extensive lounge offerings provided by the card, you get a concierge on call that can book you reservations, and you get special early access to concert tickets, (I bought $800 worth of Zach Bryan Red Rocks tickets before they were on sale to the public), even the stupid US Open (if you’re into dumbshit tennis) has their own Amex Platinum booth at Arthur Ashe Stadium, and yes you get early access to those tickets too if you’ve got some sort of two people grunting and squeaking their shoes fetish.
Lastly, the card allows you and 2 guests access to the Centurion Lounges, although that changes next February to $50 per guest. You can, however, for $175 add up to 3 authorized users. Then it’s $175 per person from there. You can also add up to 99 Gold Card members for free. Gold card memberships include the perk of Global Entry reimbursement, but for a free card. Unfortunately, a gold card membership doesn’t grant you lounge access.
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