American Express Membership Rewards - Using Citi Plat Amex instead of Amex Plat, but owning both

hi all,

this is my first time exploring the amex threads here, wandered through via the FHR thread...

i currently have the citi plat amex and the spg amex cards... now i'm thinking about the amex plat.

i'm currently in my first year of my citi plat amex, which gets me 3 free airport lounge passes (basically, although less uniform coverage than amex plat), and free 3-bureau credit monitoring. i really like credit monitoring, so there's reason to keep the citi plat amex even with its $125 annual fee.

i've noticed that some people on FT use their amex plat when they call pts and fhr, and then when they pay at the hotel front desk, they use a different amex (i.e. spg amex).

it strikes me that the citi plat amex is a better card than the amex plat for purchases, considering the power of the 'thank you' program, and aside from potential devaluation concerns.

MY 1ST QUESTION IS: does anybody have the amex plat, and not really use it on a daily basis because they don't care for the MR points? in other words, you just use it for airport lounge access and fhr? what amex do you prefer to use for daily purposes instead?

(i'm just not sure whether i want to take the leap and pay another $450 in annual fees when i'm already paying $170 for spg and citi plat amex...)

MY 2ND QUESTION IS: for all you amex plat cardholders, what MC/V card do you prefer carrying?

I carry an HH Visa. It is free.

To your first question, how much would the credit monitoring cost without the Citi card? If you are looking at the AmEx Platinum only for FHR, which it seems you are, there is also the Virtuoso program (I think) that should get you very similar benefits without the $450 annual. At least that's what I've been led to believe reading here.

Amex plat is overrated. It only make sense to carry that card is if you travel a lot. You get SPG Gold, FHR and airport lounges. Membership Rewards can be usefull but limited, I have seen countless "I have this many MR points, what should I do with it" threads.

On the lounges.. You can only access them if you fly the respective airline.
On FHR.. You do not always get the lowest rate and they dont price match.

Priority Pass (Citi Plat Amex) is more flexible, but you have to pay for guests and limited to 3 times a year.

MY 1ST QUESTION IS: does anybody have the amex plat, and not really use it on a daily basis because they don't care for the MR points? in other words, you just use it for airport lounge access and fhr? what amex do you prefer to use for daily purposes instead?

Yes, and yes (actually, Centurion and SPG Amex). There are several other Centurion cardmembers that I know of that use SPG Amex for most spending. What you mention about FHR is not only possible but a specifically-permitted aspect of the program: As long as you have a Platinum (or Centurion) card, you can pay at the hotel with any Amex product.

I'm not the only one that finds SPG points far more valuable than MR points. But, I do have a free Amex Platinum business credit card (not the charge card, so it has essentially no benefits) that earns MR points, and I find the balance between MR and SPG points to be a good one. I redeem MR points mostly for Southwest Airlines credits, but sometimes transfer them to CO. With SPG, I mostly transfer them to AA, but will occasionally redeem for free rooms if the cash asking price is very high.

(i'm just not sure whether i want to take the leap and pay another $450 in annual fees when i'm already paying $170 for spg and citi plat amex...)

Only you can answer that question as it pertains to you, but generally speaking, I don't think it's unreasonable to have more than one card with an annual fee or to participate substantially in more than one program if such a combination suits your needs.

MY 2ND QUESTION IS: for all you amex plat cardholders, what MC/V card do you prefer carrying?

I have a Citibank AA MasterCard to handle transactions where the merchant won't take Amex, or for Internet purchases (since Citi still supports virtual account numbers). But even if I want to earn AA miles, the SPG Amex is the better way to go if the above two situations don't apply, as it gives you 1.25 miles / dollar spent.