All information about the American Express Platinum and Platinum American Express for Schwab cards has been collected independently by Miles to Memories.
American Express Platinum
The American Express Platinum may be the most polarizing premium card in our points and travel hobby. The boo birds came out with the significant devaluation three years ago (if they weren’t out already). At the time, I understood some of the criticism but didn’t think the changes were as terrible as they seemed. Meanwhile, others continue sticking with the card for a variety of reasons. I (and many others) do for one benefit – the superior cashout rate of the Amex Schwab Platinum, which more than covers the annual fee for some. But like most anything in our hobby, it’s worth questioning your loyalty every now and then. For many, the Platinum card’s other benefits seem less rewarding with every passing day. I’m sharing a few reasons why and a couple ways to mitigate the devaluation.
Note: This article was submitted prior to the announcement of the Amex Schwab Platinum’s Invest with Rewards benefit devaluation. I’ll share my thoughts on this development in a separate post.
American Express Platinum Devaluation
I primarily see devaluation via several weakening Platinum primary benefits. Here are just a few examples.
Digital Entertainment Credit
This $20 monthly credit remains active with a few official participants, including Peacock, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+. But Amex has done little to bolster the partner lineup, losing SiriusXM and Audible while only adding The Journal. The ever-changing pricing of these services makes using this credit even more challenging (but a few handy options exist).
Saks Fifth Avenue Credit
This $50 biannual credit has become increasingly tougher to use without going out of pocket beyond $50, essentially defeating the purpose of the credit for many. The inventory of sub-$50 items on the Saks site and in brick-and-mortar stores are slim pickens. Plus, Saks has tightened up on free shipping, now requiring a $300 minimum purchase (with coupon code FREESHIP). Understandably, my preferred way around these challenges takes more effort and patience than most Platinum cardholders want to give.
CLEAR Membership Credit
The Amex Platinum offers a free membership to CLEAR, but I understand using the service can be more frustrating than TSA PreCheck/Global Entry. (I’m not a member of any.) I often see CLEAR backups longer than normal TSA lines, and DDG has described how increased random ID checks by TSA can defeat the time-saving purpose of CLEAR.
Lounge Issues
Long lines getting into Centurion Lounges have been described ad nauseam, so I won’t do that here. While a variety of lounges have crowding issues, I’m confident most think of the long lines at Centurion Lounges first. And they have plenty of other service issues, some I still continue to experience.
Hotel Credit
Like the Saks credit, the annual $200 Hotel Credit redeemable on Fine Hotels & Resorts or two-night Hotel Collection stays is tougher to use without going more substantially out of pocket, particularly domestically. Rates continue to rise, but shocker, Amex hasn’t raised the benefit amount. Tools like MaxFHR assist in the search, but there’s no getting around the decreasing amount of deals.
A Newer Benefit…
….is questionable. Since the last major Platinum refresh and annual fee increase, Amex has added Walmart+ membership – something that they now offer on other cards, such as the Business Gold. Some individuals I’ve talked to even see the Walmart+ addition to the Platinum as a type of devaluation, taking something away from the Platinum’s regal perception (whatever of that still exists). I can see that viewpoint but have gladly enrolled for “free” Walmart+ with my Platinum.
Mitigating American Express Platinum Devaluation
As many late night ads say, “there’s got to be a better way!” Indeed, a few options exist to lessen the blow of these American Express Platinum devaluations. First, an existing cardholder can insist on a retention offer to keep their Platinum account open. I’ve had success with Amex retention offers via chat and phone. Such offers can lower the annual fee, from a substantial decrease to more than covering the cost.
The second option is to essentially pause one’s American Express Platinum membership. Without an acceptable retention offer, an apprehensive Platinum cardholder should close their account. If or when the individual needs a Platinum again for specific benefits, they can apply via a referral offer from a second player, such as a spouse or domestic partner. The referring individual picks up a substantial point bonus to mitigate part of the annual fee. Even better, re-applying leads to a new set of annual benefits which can be double- or even triple-dipped with optimal timing.
Conclusion
In my experience, some annual Platinum benefits remain solid, such as the $200 Uber and $200 airline fee credits. But we can’t ignore the ever-decreasing value of many Platinum benefits. Again, my wife and I have no plans to close our Schwab Platinums, but closing our “vanilla” Platinums is an annual consideration. I encourage cardholders to reevaluate their options and take appropriate action before paying any annual fees, particularly on the Platinum these days.
Have you recently closed your Platinum or paid the annual fee for another year? What factored into your decision?
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I have been a member for more that 42 years. This year I have decided to get rid of the Platinum card for these reasons:
1. Amex did not want to offer me any retention offers.
2. The centurion lounges have really gone down hill, because of long lines and the food service.
3. I used to be able to go to these lounges with my wife, but now they want to charge a fee for her to enter.(totally pissed me off)
4. Priority club lounges are dismal and talk about lines- they are loooong.
I just down graded to the green card, which maintains the continuity in the membership and can let me upgrade back to the platinum in the future. Canceling the card outright may not be too prudent and may affect the credit score?
I have a personal Amex Platinium in France. As I assume in all European countries, Amex gives strictly no side benefits apart from the miles on expenses. I suppose it’s Amex US ultimate goal…
I still keep my AMEX Plat card for a couple of reasons. And yes, It is being devalued. I watch that carefully.
1. I like the access to the Priority lounges worldwide. My travels take me to many countries in Asia and the former eastern Europe and airports where that feature is great. Accessing a lounge is far better than sitting in an overcrowded terminal I agree that in the US the centurion lounges are becoming less than desirable.
2. I like the Walmart+ feature. I am finding I am buying about 50% of what I used to buy on Amazon on Walmart+ and getting same day, one day and at most 3 day delivery. The kicker is that the items I search for on Amazon are significantly cheaper at Walmart+. i.e. I bought a bilge pump (significant $$) at Walmart+ where the price was 27% cheaper than the same exact item at Amazon and way cheaper than at the national marina brands.
I am considering dropping Prime also. There is little I appreciate on Amazon prime TV and/or music and the cost to get a “maybe” 2 day delivery is exorbitant. And, have you noticed that many items 2-day delivery is now stretching out to three days.
That said, I watch Amex Plat and if devaluation continues, I will consider dropping it also.
I have dropped my Delta Amex Plat cards. in January and frankly have seen little difference in my DL experiences. I am Diamond and some years 360.
Let’s ignore all the benefits, credits, access, etc., etc. and look at the points themselves. Amex Plat gets 5x on airline tickets (whether purchased directly or via Amex Travel) and 5x on hotels (but ONLY if purchased thru Amex Travel). Everything else gets a single point per dollar. And this is a premium card???
The Amex Gold card gets 3x on airfare, 4x on restaurants worldwide, 4x on U.S. supermarkets and 1x on everything else with an annual fee of less than half that of Amex Plat. And which is the premium card???
The Delta Sky Club access is why we keep the card. The new number-of-times access limit may change our decision, but we’re keeping it for now. Most of our travel spend is on the CSR card and the insurance there (primary car, travel) along with the 3% back on travel and $300 travel credit makes it our primary high-end card.
Walmart+ ???? Really ??? Obviously aimed at new big users, supposedly Gen Z. Centurion Lounges have people sleeping on sofas…really? My analogy arriving on AF La Premiere and being driven to the Lounge in a Yugo.
This is a good summary – thanks for this content:
-For me the $200 FHR credit is a rare CC benefit worth more than face value – I’ve gotten truly great value out of these one-night stays.
-For years I’ve done the annual plat/green-or-gold merry-go-round downgrading from the plat and then getting an upgrade points spend offer on the day the green-or-gold annual fee comes due. I’m assuming this is still a thing?
I love my Amex Platinum card. Also have the Amex Gold, CSR and around a dozen other, mainly, hotel and airline cards. All are worth having for me but Amex Platinum is a key one.
First of all I only charge airfare, hotel to get $200 FHR credit and cell bill (for insurance) on the card. IMHO not a good everyday card. I get value from the Uber credit, airfare credit (UA travel bank is a no brainer), digital credit (Disney plus bundle covers that and I have all the streaming services). I also use the Saks credit. Don’t understand cheap people that complain about spending more than the credit w Saks or FHR. I get great value and regularly buy nicer things and stay in great hotels so these are discounts on things I would already spend. I don’t use the Walmart+ much except for some gas discounts (I drive a Tesla but wife has a gas car) and Paramount+. International Airline Program can save thousands on J and F international flights which easily covers the AF. Finally I love the Centurion Lounge (one at my home airport CLT is rarely packed and never seen a line to enter). Lastly Platinum concierge has gotten me great advance concert tickets and reservations at leading, hard to book, restaurants.
This is a card for people with a certain lifestyle. If you are cheap don’t use it – stick w Gold to earn MR points. BTW anyone that would sell MR points for 1.25 or 1.1 cent is wasting them. I regularly get 5 cent a point or more w Emirates J tickets
You use the card and you use it for its intended purposes and you capture value. You are smart. You hit the nail on the head when you mentioned “cheap people” and the Saks credit. These are the coupon-clippers who are simply after cheap airport lounge access.
I think that’s a very prejudicial way of describing that point of view.
If you aren’t “cheap” as you say and drop hundreds or thousands of dollars at Saks regularly, then the $50 is a drop in the bucket to you. It’s about relative value, and this provides little.
+1
The point AC was making was about individuals “that complain about spending more than the credit w Saks or FHR.” This is who he describes as “cheap people.” I don’t think AC was talking about anyone else. And, I’m not talking about anyone else. We’re talking about a very specific subset of cardholders. Throw into this subset the type of person who brings an empty gym bag or shopping bag into the Centurion Lounge to load it up with food from the buffet.
I have the Schwab and have cancelled about 4 business platinum cards. I’m not sure if I’ll keep the Schwab once the fee is due again in January. I have the Delta Reserve so that covers my lounge access as I live in a Delta hub and use Delta about 90% of the time. When I first got the platinum it was $325.
As you summarized, the personal Platinum has just lost a lot of its’ sheen. This is even more true for me as myself & P2 both have Business Platinum cards. As a matter of fact I just closed down my next-to-last Business Platinum a couple of days ago. I wasn’t even offered a retention offer. Closed Personal Platinum for P2 a couple months ago. I used to have three biz cards and will keep the one unless Amex degrades the card notably but it’s difficult not to notice the ongoing cavalcade of devaluations on both the business and personal Platinum cards.
Do you actually use the cards or do you just coupon-clip? Not being judgmental, just curious. Best of luck.
I have a bunch of Amex cards, both personal and business. I sometimes use my Business Platinum for charges of $10K+ for the 1.5 MR’s per dollar. I spend on various other Amex business cards for things like Hilton free night certificates (another good thing recently killed off) but for general spend I just don’t see how either the Platinum or Business Platinum are as good as alternatives, let alone better. Please tell me if I have some huge blind spot and there really is great value on spending on either for normal spend like paying business sales tax or insurance for a few grand at a time.
Consider @AC’s comments. In your reply, you did not mention airfare or hotels (other than Hilton FNCs). Nevermind “all other spending,” it sounds like your not using the Platinum Card for its intended purpose . . . travel . . . and thus it’s not a fit.
Retired Gambler/AC normally couches things in such insulting terms that I generally skip his comments. Hidden within his insults in this case are some benefits that help offset the annual fee but IMO they don’t cover it and if you have the business card then some benefits become redundant and make the card worth less. Then there’s things that are best put on other cards. I get 5x points on my cell charges through my Ink card for example. There’s a lot of YMMV.
For some people, it works. For others, it doesn’t. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. We have a Business Platinum and two personal Platinums in our household. Given our use of the cards, we are significantly positive after the annual fees . . . to the extent that we don’t even think about the annual fees. I maintain that if someone actually uses the card (or most any of the usual suspect cards for that matter), the person will garner value well in excess of its annual fee. But, if someone is just coupon-clipping for cheap lounge access, perhaps not. And, cash-back oriented hobbyists must rethink strategy after the recent change to the Schwab version.
The state of Centurion Lounges suggests to me that all too many Platinum cardholders are coupon-clippers who wring their hands every time the annual fee comes due. If there’s been any loss of reputation, Amex did it to themselves.