All information about the American Express Platinum and Business Gold cards has been collected independently by Miles to Memories.
Amex SiriusXM Change
Amex always seems to be changing things up, for better or worse. One of the busier areas of Amex change has been on their consumer Platinum cards offering what they call the Digital Entertainment Credit. I’ve had fun optimizing these credits across multiple Platinum accounts in recent years, usually around Black Friday promotions. Certain Digital Entertainment Credit participants have come and gone, including Audible and the more recent Amex SiriusXM change. But there’s an easy, but not necessarily obvious, for SiriusXM lovers to keep getting their “free” with Amex. Let’s dive in.
No More “Free” with Platinum
As of 8 May, SiriusXM is no longer eligible for the Amex Platinum’s monthly $20 Digital Entertainment Credit. Now, only six services directly participate: Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Peacock, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.
To be clear, losing SiriusXM minimally impacts many, if at all. Plenty of Platinum cardholders didn’t use the service, and some who do pay for an annual plan, anyway. But, ever the optimizer, I switched from being a long-time annual subscriber to a monthly one. I was bummed about the recent Platinum change, of course. But I’ve found a solution.
Behold, SiriusXM Gift Cards at Office Supply
In recent years, I’ve visited office supply stores less frequently. But that changed with the refresh of the Business Gold card. Among other changes, Amex added a Flexible Business Credit to the Business Gold in return for the card’s newly-increased $375 annual fee. Here are the specifics of this credit:
Earn up to $20 in statement credits each month after you use the Business Gold Card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores.
A few days ago while running other errands, I passed by a local OfficeMax and decided to stop to use this Business Gold credit. I’ve used these credits on third party gift cards exclusively, and I just noticed that this location carries variable-load SiriusXM gift cards. Staples.com also carries SiriusXM gift cards with email delivery, albeit only in $25, 50, and 100 denominations. Those are just two options to purchase with the Business Gold. Individuals can essentially move their “free” SiriusXM from the Platinum to the Business Gold with the Flexible Business Credit.
Redeeming is fairly simple. After logging in and navigating to the Billing section, individuals can use a gift card by clicking “Redeem” next to “Have a prepaid or gift card?” at the bottom.
Amex SiriusXM Change – Conclusion
No doubt, this Amex SiriusXM change eliminating the service from the Platinum Digital Entertainment Credit is a negative development. But Business Gold cardholders have an option to keep the “free” SiriusXM going with the Flexible Business Credit and these gift cards at office supply stores. And, quite conveniently, many of us hold lots of Business Gold accounts right about now for unrelated reasons. Regardless, as a SiriusXM subscriber, I’ll be alotting some of these credits for their gift cards at OfficeMax.
How are you using your Flexible Business Credits these days?
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I have been able to negotiate my SiriusXM subscription much lower via their chat with agent. Refusing to renew unless I get a better rate has been working the last few years. Each year when I get my renewal email, I connect with Sirius XM via chat. Last year annual subscription fee was $82.08 all in.
I’ve had similar success there, CJH!
Nice trick to make it through year one. Wish 4x restaurants weren’t US only. Wish 4x gas stations didn’t exclude big box locations. Just dropped my last Business Gold. No longer a fit.
Understandable, Lee!