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.