2021 Amex Platinum Card Benefits – Don’t Lose Out on Great Perks!
So you got a new Amex Platinum card – welcome! If you haven’t, review the great Amex Platinum card welcome offer currently available here. For those of you who just got a new Platinum card, the real work begins. Okay, maybe not work, but it’s quite a task to understand and maximize Amex Platinum card benefits. Amex has also enhanced Platinum cards, which were already loaded with benefits, due to the pandemic. Indeed, there’s so much to cover with these cards, we will be focusing on the personal Platinum card benefits in this article. I plan to dive into the Amex Business Platinum in the future. How do you eat this Amex elephant, though? One bite at a time. Let’s take separate bites in terms of priority. I’ll start with the most important stuff first.
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High Priority
Credits
- Uber Credit: Once you’ve activated your Platinum card, enroll the card for the $15 monthly Uber/Uber Eats credit. This is probably the Platinum’s most time-sensitive ongoing benefit. You can easily activated it by logging in to your Amex account, navigating to Benefits, and clicking “Add My Card” under the Uber Rides with Platinum section. Next, simply add your Platinum card info to the Uber or Uber Eats app to automatically have your monthly credit added. And don’t forget that this benefit raises to $35 each December.
- Saks Credit: Similar to the Uber credit, navigate to the Benefits tab within your Amex account to activate your Shop Saks with Platinum credit. This credit is $100 annually, but it’s split up as $50 for each half of the year (resetting 1 July for the second credit). Therefore, plan to make at least two separate purchases at Saks during the year – January through June, and July through December.
- Airline Fee Credit: Again, go to the Benefits Tab, then select your preferred airline under the $200 Airline Fee Credit section. Carefully consider your travel plans and potential methods for using this credit prior to selecting your airline. While it’s been possible to change the preferred airline after this selection, there are no future guarantees. Unlike Uber and Saks credits, you have the whole year to consume this entire credit.
- Limited Time Credits: Get up to speed on Amex’s limited time credits and offers due to pandemic. Currently, Amex is providing personal Platinum cardholders a $30 monthly PayPal credit. Mark has created an excellent spreadsheet covering all Amex credits here.
Centurion and Other Lounge Memberships
- Lounge Memberships: Enroll in the Global Lounge Collection section for Priority Pass Select Membership. The Platinum card enables your access to a variety of lounges beyond Priority Pass, also. You can view a list of all participating lounges here. After you enroll in Priority Pass, you should receive a membership card in the coming weeks. In order to enter Amex’s superior Centurion lounges, simply show your Platinum card at lounge check-in. The same goes for Delta lounges, when you are flying on a Delta flight.
Medium Priority
Elite Status and other Benefits
- Hilton and Marriott Elite Status: If you don’t already hold Hilton or Marriott Gold status or better, enroll under the Benefits tab. Ensure to include your accurate membership number for each program.
- Car Rental Benefits: You can obtain various car rental benefits, including special upgrades and savings, in premium car rental programs of Avis, Hertz, and National Car Rental. Also, you can enroll for Executive status with National Car Rental.
- Global Entry/TSA PreCheck: Review Amex’s terms for a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit. You can receive one Global Entry statement credit ($100) for every 4 years or one TSA Pre statement credit ($85) every 4.5 years for an application fee charged to your Platinum card. Of course, some of you have received or may receive this benefit from other cards. Incorporate your plans for this credit with other cards in your overall application strategy.
- Amex Offers: Like other Amex cards, you can easily attach special spending offers called Amex Offers to your Platinum card at your convenience. While some offers may be unique to your Platinum card, carefully decide where you add other offers. For instance, you may earn points at better rates with an Amex offer on your Blue Business Plus rather than your Platinum card.
Travel Booking Benefits
- The Fine Hotels & Resorts program is a collection of luxury hotels that give you awesome perks for booking through Amex Travel.
- Room upgrade upon arrival, when available
- Daily breakfast for two people
- Guaranteed 4pm late check-out
- Noon check-in, when available
- Complimentary Wi-Fi
- Unique amenity valued at $100, such as a spa or food and beverage credit
- Book The Hotel Collection with Amex Travel and get the following benefits at participating properties when you stay at least two consecutive nights:
- $75 Hotel Credit, to spend on qualifying dining, spa, and resort activities
- Room upgrade upon arrival, if available
- Pay with your Platinum Card and get 5X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent
- Pay with Points for all or part of your hotel stay
For information on other travel booking benefits, check out Bethany’s article here.
Low Priority
The low priority category includes benefits that may not be as widely useful to all Platinum cardholders but can definitely provide great perks for those in specific situations.
Services
- Concierge Assistance: How much value you get out of this benefit really depends on you. The concierge service saves you time and get tasks accomplished for you. Check out this thread on Flyertalk for interesting request/outcome stories.
- Global Dining Collection: Restaurants included in the collection set aside reservations exclusively for Amex Platinum and Centurion cardholders. Check out more here.
Complimentary Memberships
- ShopRunner: This service offers free two day shipping with select merchants.
- InCircle: Another shopping benefit that allows you to earn points on purchases from Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, and more without having a store card.
Shopping Benefits
For a comparison of some popular cards protection benefits, check this out: Complete Guide to Credit Card Shopping Benefits
- Extended Warranty: Amex will extend the manufacturer’s warranty of five years or less for an additional 12 months.
- Purchase Protection: Protect eligible purchases made on your card when they’re accidentally damaged, stolen, or lost, for up to 90 days from the date of purchase.
- Return Protection: If you try to return an eligible item within 90 days from the date of purchase and the merchant won’t take it back, Amex may refund the full purchase price (excluding shipping and handling), up to $300 per item, up to a maximum of $1k per calendar year per Card account, if you purchased it entirely with your eligible Amex Card.
Travel Protections
- Trip Delay & Cancellation Insurance: American Express added trip delay insurance to many of their premium cards in January 2020. This will come in handy if you book a flight to earn the 5X Membership Rewards.
- Premium Global Assist Hotline: This is an excellent benefit of the Platinum card that may be useful in sticky travel situations.
- Baggage Insurance Plan: You can be covered for eligible lost, damaged, or stolen baggage when you purchase the entire fare for a common carrier ticket (e.g. plane, train, ship or bus) on your eligible card.
- Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance: When you use your eligible card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver at the rental car counter, you can be covered if the car is damaged or stolen.
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Amex Platinum Card Benefits – Conclusion
The personal Amex Platinum cards are swamped with benefits, and that’s a great win for consumers. On the flip side, getting one’s head around all the benefits is a chore. I know I’m easily overwhelmed by all of the Platinum card’s benefits. Thankfully, even using just a small subset of the benefits can easily outweigh the card’s hefty annual fee. For my situation, maximizing the high priority and maybe a few medium priority areas alone make the Platinum card easily worth holding. What’s your favorite Amex Platinum card benefit?
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