Let's say the opportunity cost of putting $75,000 spend on Platinum is 75,000 points. I know it's more than that, but...
1. Would you redeem 75,000 MR points to waive the guest fees for a year? If not, how many points would you redeem?
2. Would you redeem 5,000 MR for a single guest pass?
No. Periodically I update calculations of the dollar value of the benefits of my cards with AFs including CSR and Amex Plat. (I think PointsGuy and other bloggers do this as well. My current valuation is $1245 for the CSR and $735 for Amex Plat).
For valuing lounge access I allocate $10 per person per visit. I would say my average visit on a domestic business trip is 30 minutes as I typically allocate a 30-60 minute margin of error for traffic and unforeseen contingencies. For family vacations the average is probably 45 minutes as I allocate additional time for checking luggage, parking shuttles etc. For international business trips it's 60 minutes. The lounge is a nice safe place to wait but I could easily wait in the gate area or a restaurant with better food options. The alcoholic beverages are not a draw. Amex is a nice option but not as useful to me as United Clubs and PP. For example we just flew home from PVR. No UC or Amex lounge there but my family easily enjoyed $10 each in food & bev. at the PP lounge during a 20min visit. And no wait list.
As an aside, I would value Amex points at .02 or higher based on typical redemption for international business class travel.
Amex incurs the primary costs of operating the lounges (rent and staff) regardless of who enters. So the incremental cost of any one cardholder entering is really only the F&B consumed on site.
Exactly - and children consume much less than adults and zero alcohol.
Originally Posted by
Mama
To people who are complaining about the new lounge guest policy, it's because the AF and the lounge policy don't calculate to your advantage. So, you are welcome to leave Amex Plat. Very simple.
For sure there will be significant customer loss. As I noted above, the cost to acquire a customer is quite high (I value the 100k signup bonus that I just received at $2000, not to mention the 10x grocery/gas bonus). It is penny wise, pound foolish for Amex to flush cardholders by charging $50 for kids who maybe use the lounge 2x a year.