American Express Ameriprise Platinum Launches New Welcome Offer
Nick at Frequent Miler dropped some knowledge on us this morning and I have to say that I am pretty unhappy about it. I don’t think I am alone in this thinking but not everyone will agree. American Express offers a few different varieties of Platinum cards and the Ameriprise version was unique. It came with no welcome offer but the $550 annual fee was waived the first year. The new offer matches the Charles Schwab Platinum and regular Platinum’s public offer of 60K after $5,000 in spend within the first three months. Most of you will think that 60K is worth more than $550 so what is the problem?
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So What Is The Problem?
My problem with the new offer lies in the other unique feature of the Ameriprise Platinum card. The Ameriprise Platinum version would allow you to add up to 3 authorized users for free the first year as well. Authorized users get all of the same lounge access that the main card carrier gets. If you had a group of 4 people that trusted each other then you could see what this means. You could have theoretically carried a Platinum card without a fee until the end of time.
The 100K Personal Platinum card offer is the white buffalo in this hobby. Everyone wants it and tries to get it early on. Once that is tackled you move onto the other flavors of the Platinum card. The Ameriprise version was my favorite of these other choices. You could still get the 2 airline incidentals when you were the main cardholder which was kind of like a $400 welcome offer without an annual fee. And when you were an authorized user you could get into Delta and Centurion lounges without any out of pocket cost. This also allowed my buddy, who I often travel with, to access the Delta lounge with me without having to pay the ridiculous $29 fee for guests.
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Why You May Not Care
If you have never had the Ameriprise Platinum card before then this change could actually be a good thing. The welcome offer gives you more value than the old fee free offer did. It does not offer as much long term value that someone with friends would have had but it offers you more in the short term.
Link to New Offer
Conclusion
If you have been around for a while then this is a big blow. Another trick of the trade has been sent out to pasture. It is a sad day for me and 3 of my closest friends and family. And with me striking out on the Charles Schwab version I may be in for some Centurion Lounge-less trips in my future :(.
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Exactly. I would do the same rotating with my wife
Yes sad indeed. Luckily I just got my wife the card two weeks ago so we get one more year fee free. I was honestly expecting this though as it was simply too good to be true. I am now going to try and get the 100k bonus on the regular version or else settle for the 60k. Luckily I have a year to do this.
Yeah keep checking cardmatch to see if you are targeted for the 100K. I would hold out for at least 75K which comes around via referrals etc. from time to time.
Ouch. I’ve been waiting 2+ years to pick up the personal Platinum before moving on to this one. Every time I finally have a shot at the welcome offer, $450/550 seems like too much cash to lay out. Looks like I’ll never get the Ameriprise.
Plan B I’ve been working on for some time: convince the boss to issue me a company Platinum card instead of the green one I have. Problems solved forever, since I’m really just interested in getting the perks for free.
Sounds like a solid plan! If your boss has the Platinum maybe he would let you just be the AU and offer to pay the much smaller AU fee?
Nooooo! Wife was going to apply but we waited too long! Wanted some cushion and not apply in Jan!!!!
🙁 Sorry to hear that Rich. Hopefully she hasn’t had it before so at least she can get the 60K
In addition to eliminating the fee for the first year, it looks like the option to apply for the gold card has also been eliminated! I was all set to apply for the platinum card but now I won’t as I don’t plan to spend five grand in the first three months for a measly 60,000 bonus points. Shame on American Express.
Yeah I just saw the gold card was axed. That card was pretty terrible outside of the welcome offer. Not sure why anyone would keep it long term.
agree with you Mark. This was one of the best things going. With a mid December application, you can actually get 3 * $200 incidentals. $600 in gift cards and free platinum benefits for 4 people with each application. Wow. I was dreading this day. I actually missed the mid december sign up last year and got it in January so we will only get $400 in gift cards. Still not bad for free. 🙂
It was a somewhat hidden gem – it will be missed!
Mark, did you histoically cancel this card before the AF came due in the 2nd yr, then later reapply?
I would wait till the AF would post and then close it. Then my wife would apply and add me as an AU and wash, rinse, repeat 🙂
AMEX lost me already, my AF is due in 5 months and then I’m gone. It’s just not worth it anymore.
They have playing a lot of games lately.
Yup, AMEX has, unfortunately, started playing the despicable “let’s see how we can take unfair advantage of the public” game by making approval of their sign up bonus something totally random without any upfront disclosure on how a person can or cannot qualify for it. It’s too bad that a company that was good in the past has become sleazy.
Creating uncertainty with your customer is about the worst thing you can do too.
If you thought the initial “offer” was so good, why didn’t you apply for the card? Nothing lasts forever.
I did, as well as my wife, just sad it is over. The article explains why.