DoingHomework

I'm a relatively new AMEX gold card holder. I've had corporate cards before for a couple of jobs but have always used a UA visa signature card for personal use. This was mainly to concentrate mileage on UA since that airline is the most convenient for where I live (Tucson AZ). I used to be 1k with UA because I traveled a lot for work and we got a lot of free travel over the years from UA.

But a couple of years ago I took a new job and now rarely travel for work. We are also both very busy and can't get away too much for personal travel. When we do it is usually to Hawaii for a couple of weeks twice a year or to SF or LV for a weekend. We have a house in Hawaii so there are no hotel stays there. We take an international trip perhaps once every 2-3 years.

My main reason for switching cards recently was that we do not get to use the UA miles as much as we would like and I got concerned about losing them. I've currently got about 350k miles so I'm set for upgrades and such for a coupl eof years based on the travel we can get away for. I thought it was time to switch to a rewards program that is more flexible.

I'm trying to figure out if it would worthwhile to get amex platinum in a year or two. The annual fee is high and I am particularly annoyed that they would charge my wife another $175 to share the platinum account. We could probably use the international business class companion ticket every 2-3 years. I also pay for Hertz #1 gold ($60 a year). And, the lounge access would be nice...except that we usually fly United and they don't play that. When we do travel, to LV or SF for the weekend we usually stay at luxury places.

It seems like the platinum would not do much for us to be worthwhile now that they have cut back a lot in perks. I'd be comparing this to the amex gold and would still keep the visa signature which has concierge service, maybe not as good. And not living in LA or NY the entertainment and dining perks are not as useful, though Las Vegas is relatively convenient.

Spending is about $65k a year on card. This could go up a little but we already put most possible expenses on card. Household income is about $240k, credit is excellent. I'm assuming we would qualify for the platinum but perhaps I am mistaken.

I don't have to make this decision for a year or two. But does it sound like I would get much benefit out of the platinum? Personally I think $450 a year is just barely worth it but having to pay the extra for my wife to have a card swings it over to the ridiculous. Am I missing some benefits or usefulness? Any suggestions?

mia

Welcome to Flyertalk.

I don't think you're missing anything, the Platinum Card is not a good match for your stated requirements and preferences.

It is unlikely that you would use the international business class companion ticket every 2-3 years because it requires purchase of an unrestricted ticket which you probably don't need with that frequency of travel.

Which Gold card do you have?

DoingHomework

I have the new Premier Rewards gold card.

I was aware that the international companion ticket requires buying a full fare biz class ticket. We usually fly biz class for international.

If it is not a good fit for us...why not? And is there something that would be? Many of the perks, the lounge access and the better rewards would be good to have.

jdl196

If you were to upgrade from gold to platinum is it simply changing your card or do they have to approve you?

mia

I was assuming you do not buy full fare tickets for leisure travel. If this is incorrect the Platinum Card could pay for itself for several years on just one trip.

You already have the best card for earning Membership Rewards. Moving from Premier Rewards Gold to Platinum you would lose the bonus points earned when buying airfare, groceries, and gasoline, as well as the 15,000 point annual threshold bonus.

mia

You must be approved. My account shows that I am "preapproved" but when I click the link I see: It's simple - just click the "Upgrade Now" button below. Your account number will not change, and your existing Additional Card(s) will not be upgraded. If approved, you will receive your new Card(s) within 7 days. You can continue using your existing Card(s) until you receive the new Card(s).

DoingHomework

Ok, thanks. True, we do not usually buy the most expensive full fare tickets...but, we have, and could, especially considering the 50% discount from the companion ticket. I've seen the price differences when buying for business travel. I've also heard from others that sometimes you can get the 2 tickets through AMEX for less than what 2 restricted tickets would cost. But obviously that means the "benefit" is not the full price of the companion ticket. We paid $2300 each for F tickets to Tahiti a couple of years ago when the full fare F tickets were about $4000 so we would have saved $600 there. But I take your point that it might not be an extremely useful benefit for leisure travel.

I guess it is something I will have to think about and weigh the benefits of at the time. I used to be a UA Red Carpet club member and made good use of that. It would be nice to have access to that kind of thing again, even at a price.

I look at it this way - I'm paying $175 a year now plus $60 for Hertz, which I use. And I would be able to use probably at least one hotel special a year for a free night at say, $165 on average. That makes $300 - I could justify the extra $150 to myself on relatively slim grounds IF there were even marginal other benefits I would get even if I only used them occasionally.

But it sounds like what many are finding, based on discussions on FT and other places - that the platinum card has lost its shine since as AMEX scales back benefits. Maybe when the economy recovers they will need to offer more again to make it worthwhile. The first thing that would have to go would be the extra chareg for a spouse!

mia

Another approach would be to keep the Premier Rewards Gold card for spending, and try a Platinum card for a year strictly for benefits. The cost ($450 + $175) is exactly same as a pair of Platinum cards but you would earn more Membership Rewards points by continuing to use the Premier Rewards Gold card.

Nice if you meet the requirements. How many times per month might you fly AA, CO or DL/NW?

elizabean

I just downgraded from Platinum to Gold. Feels like a got the monkey off my back. I think the Platinum card is overpriced. As far as I can tell, none of the Platinum card perks are actually perks. Two examples: 1. International 2 for 1 business class fares generally cost double what you find directly with the airline. That is because you must purchase an unrestricted fare. Litlle to no value in my opinion. 2. FHR is a bit of a scam. With the exception of Las Vegas hotels, the FHR rate is higher than a rate you would get directly with the hotel. The way I see it, the perks ("free" breakfast, room upgrade, ect) are not free, you actually pay for them. If you travel often, at least twice per month, maybe the Platinum card has some value. I feel like a just saved myself a few hundred dollars.

DoingHomework

Yeah, I get it. That might be the way to go. I guess it just irks me that AMEX would treat spouses diffeently in this day by only giving the platinum card to one of them and treating the other like a second class citizen (not that the gold card is second class). It's the principle! (They don't seem to do this in other countries. The offers I have seen from Europe usually have teh same benefits and similar cost but the spouse gets a card free.)

Just reading between the lines - the platinum seems to be aimed at the frequent business traveler while the gold is more for others with moderate spending that preferto get points as reward rather than other perks. What about the class of people that are well off, spend, and like some perks and access to specials etc...but don't travel as much for various reasons and don't care as much about points. Seems like a different version of the platinum might be of interest. Even though I have played the point game to great benefit over the years I would be happy not getting points and getting some of teh other platinum benefits instead.

Not enough to justify joining for a fee anymore. I fly only about 8-10 times a year now compared to almost that much a month 3 years ago. I know about priority pass and various other programs. It would be a nice perk with the platinum mostly when flying international. But since we usually fly biz class we get in then anyway. And to be honest I don't miss the flying, just the perks when I do travel.

On a separate note, I am trying to find a better way to get to Hawaii - United is just getting too annoying recently. But flying out of Tucson gives us few reasonable options - With AA we'd have to fly 3 hours in the wrong direction to DFW. DL might be an option with a change in SLC. CO doesn't go we need to. We can drive to Phx but that is not fun. So, living in the backwoods has become challenging! But if DL pans out we might be flying with them more and that might make access to their lounges more valuable to us.

Just out of curiosity, do you know if the mainland-Hawaii flights are treated as international to get the companion ticket? I know HI is part of the US - but it is treated differently in many ways - Marriott etc put the HI properties in teh international business segment for example and the fare structure for Hawaii on airlines is more like an international structure. If those tickets were eligible for teh companion ticket that would make all the difference@

I guess it is all just wait and see how things play out.

mia

Read this thread for an alternative approach to lounge access. If you start at the beginning be aware that "3 times per month" is now "once per month", but it may still be good value for in your circumstance.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...lege-club.html

Planereality

I found Amex Plat to be a waste-99% of the time I can buy 2 deep discount international business class tix for less than the price of one full fare that Amex requires you to buy. In addition, if you plan ahead...i.e. call in Sept. for Jan. travel, Amex will tell you they have not re-newed their airline contracts and don't know which airlines will be part of the program--lounge access is cool but you have to flying that airline; a straight Delta Crown Room card (or whatever it�s called now) gives more flexibility with reciprocal privileges

DoingHomework

Thanks. That looks nteresting. But it's $200 a year per person - so 2 of us would be $400 and gets us close to the Amex platinum cost when the other bennies are considered. It doesn't look like there is any guest priv.

I appreciate the help and pointers -It just looks like there are many ways to skin this cat and they all have similar cost - it's just a matter of figuring out which makes most sense otherwise.

mia

I agree it's not good value if they actually charge that price. If you skim the thread you'll see promotional rates as low as $29.xx per year.

MarshKing

Welcome to Flyertalk, DoingHomework. It's always nice to have another Tucsonan on the boards.

Although I cringe when the annual fee hits my card, I still keep paying it. Here are some of the biggest reasons for me:

• Fine Hotels & Resorts -- While you can get similar (sometimes better, sometimes not as good) amenities via Virtuoso, Signature or Ensemble, I really like having the option of taking advantage of the FHR amenities. I especially like the guaranteed 4:00pm check-out. As elizabean mentioned, sometimes the rates are higher. However, I have had excellent luck getting FHR rates which are equal to or less than the hotel's published rate. (Arizona resorts in the summertime are especially fun -- the amenities can sometimes be worth more than the cost of the actual hotel room.)
• Airline clubs -- Is this benefit as good as having an actual membership with CO/AA/DL? No. But it is nice to have the flexibility of airlines, especially since those that I have as added card members have different airline preferences.
• Buyer's Protection -- The Platinum Card adds coverage to lost items (as opposed to just covering stolen or damaged items). For example, this past year I bought a $70 hat which blew off while sailing in San Diego. It was my own dumb fault. But one phone call and I had the $70 credited back to my account. (Only a fraction of the $450 annual fee, but it helps.)

FWIW, while the $175 for the additional card holder is tough to swallow, there is no additional fee for the 3rd and 4th cards. I have gone ahead and added my wife, my father-in-law and my sister to the account. They each enjoy all of the perks, and it brings the average price down to around $150 per year per card.

If you're paying for Hertz Gold status, you should explore ways to get it for free. There are usually several promotions available where Hertz will give it away. Usually, once you have it, they don't charge a renewal fee.

As others have mentioned, I have found the 2-for-1 international ticket option to be pretty worthless. In some unique scenarios, it may work out to be financially advantageous, but that's not common. If you're traveling for leisure and have a little bit of time to plan your trips, you can almost always find two discounted business class tickets for less than the cost of one full-fare ticket.