Originally Posted by
Super Mario
Not that it isn't possible, I just haven't seen a ton of examples of it. They are both very good credit cards, but both generalized. How many people would honestly get $1000+ of value each year by having both? Where might one be better? Where might a co-branded card maybe complement better? Tough to tell. We seem to follow this rule where we automatically deduct benefits from the fee like it's a given that everyone will hit them. The $200 platinum airline credit has a ton of restrictions. The Uber credit has restrictions too. They are imposed so not everyone will hit, yet advertised amounts make us do the math, assuming we will.
I think most people want to make it work because we all love the best cards with the best perks. American Express has done a good job with marketing. The Platinum is a huge status symbol, whether people want to admit it or not. We love showing it off. I have no place telling others what they should spend their money on. Heck, for those who travel often, $550 may be well worth it to them to use the Centurion lounge alone.
For me, I keep telling myself I want the Platinum too. At least once a month I try to justify it. The CSR's vast travel and dining categories are huge spending buckets for me (not to mention the rest of the UR cards). I have so many UR points that I never pay out of pocket for airfare the few times a year I fly leisurely, unless I do a cheap carrier like Spirit. It's also rare that I come across a Centurion Lounge, and even more rare that I have time to go to any lounge. I get a bunch of IHG points through work which pays for my hotel stays. I can't book my own hotels directly. The Platinum AF requires a certain investment to "break even" that doesn't fit my profile. The CSR requires zero effort to "break even". Not that I am the standard to be based around.
Well, it does sound like it might not make sense for you. But that doesn't mean it doesn't make sense for anyone, which was the implication of your earlier post.
Really the core value proposition of the Amex Plat is one of two things: either you have a lot of airfare spend, and/or you fly Delta regularly and value lounge access. With either of those things, I think the Amex Plat is pretty easy to justify even in addition to a CSR. With neither, you can still make a case (if you happen by Centurion lounges a lot for example), but it gets a lot harder.
But don't sleep on the value of the airfare bonus on the Amex Plat, either. Assuming you value both UR and MR points at 1.5 cents each (some value them at more), you get $30 in incremental value for every $1000 in airfare spend that goes on the Amex Plat rather than the CSR, so in theory the Amex Plat is breakeven with the Uber and airline credits and $5K of airfare spend. (If you don't have a CSR and your next-best option for airfare spend is even less rewarding than the CSR, the breakeven for the Amex Plat is even lower.) Granted, $5K is still a sizeable amount of airfare spend, but it's achievable for a lot of regular travelers, especially obviously for those who are able to charge some reimbursable expenses to a personal credit card.