Originally Posted by
Boraxo
Bingo! This is me too. Though I actually have $5k sitting in an AAA account but I gather that isn't worth jack for this analysis.
I see no reason to jump through all these hoops to avoid the monthly fees - the easier course is just to eat the AF which is offset by the coupon book credits.
As noted elsewhere in my view the only reason to hold this card is for Amex airport lounge access and DL lounge access. The remaining perks are useless to me and duplicated by other cards.
And the Amex & 3rd party lounge experience has been so poor that we plan to jettison the Amex MS Plat card for P2, add P2 as the free AU, and eliminate the free AU cards for my kids. This will substantially reduce the coupon book nonsense for us.
I still get enough value out of the Plat to justify the cost of the AF, and as long as my pre-existing and ongoing relationship with MS allows me to hold the MS version, I'll continue to do so and take advantage of the free AU. If or when that changes, I'd still probably go back to the vanilla Plat, but I don't think I'd pay an additional $195 to keep the AU.