Come Fry With Me

Quite right. But I find that the way one gets sucked into "luxury" things one doesn't really need is via a series of flashy-sounding low-value propositions which mentally conflate into a worthwhile whole (i.e. the inadequacy of a given benefit seems to be offset by the fact that there are a NUMBER of inadequate benefits!). After a month, I came to my senses and realized I'd bought an awfully pricey basket of things that weren't quite worth it - individually or in whole. And a few mundane customer service inquiries which turned maddening (i.e. the usual robotic rep drones) took much of the shine off the car and made me view the whole thing much more starkly and realistically.


Yup, good one. So much of my travel is alone that I nearly forget many people travel in pairs! That would, indeed, add up. But even so, my point, per above, is that if one has not been actually forking over the $50 guest pass fee nine times (or 4 or 5 times in pairs) per year without the card, the $450 card is NOT "saving" you money. Saving money on something you don't ordinarily do is not savings, of course.

OTOH, if you're flying much more than that, and have not been forking out for day passes just because the cumulative yearly total would be much higher than $450, then I could see it, sure.


Another good point that's not very relevant to me. Hey, this card is surely of use to someone. But one's stars need to be in the proper alignment (more exact alignment than I'd realized when I signed on).

sbm12

Right. But the things you cited - lounge access and the FHR program most notably - are not things that were hidden from you prior to your enrollment. You likely knew of your likely utilization of those bits prior to applying for the card, right?

Mostly the fact that it isn't English and doesn't actually have a definition that I'm aware of. I guessed it to mean that you expected to impress people by having the card and found that to not be the case. If I'm misinterpreting said use of the "word" please correct me.

I have no problems with the thread other than that it doesn't actually seem to provide anything new and you seem genuinely surprised that you were unable to derive value of the benefits offered even though they are very well defined and discussed. If the list of FHR hotels was a secret or no one knew what the upgrades really were I could understand it, but the list of properties is pretty well documented as are the benefits. That's the surprising part to me.

I'm glad that you figured out that it doesn't work for you before you got hit with significant expenses for the learning experience.

mia

Because this is Flyertalk we tend to focus on the lounge access and other travel benefits which provide a straightforward way to justify the $450 fee. However, this comment about customer service is the one that surprised me, and it's something Come Fry With Me could not have judged beforehand.

I avoid telephone contact with all mass market companies, but when I had a Platinum card I did have a few occasions to speak with American Express customer service, and there was a definite difference between the staff who answered the Platinum number versus the SPG credit card number. Has this changed in past couple years? Does it vary with time of day, or day of week?

ernestb

I have been an AMEX member since 1987 started as Green, then gold, they gave me a free year for plat, and now I am GOLD and quite frankly I think its better than Plat. At least for me anyhow

tondoleo

Although I have not spent a lot of time testing the time of day or week theory on a regular basis my recent conversations with Amex CSR's have been pleasant. The reps are very enthusiastic and knowledgeable. I have not had to ask for a supervisor's intervention. The conversations have ranged from getting MR or Starwood points credits to FHR info and reservations.

My hit or miss interactions have occurred when I send secure messages from the websites. It is my impression that they are all answered by the staff members that are overseas. They are robotic in their answers and force me to make a phone call. Which, as I stated earlier, has been satisfactory.

Colonel(Ret.)Wes

Have the AMX-P primarily for the cruise benefits--we generally cruise once or twice
a year on the lines that qualify for these benefits ($300 on board credit, bottle of
premium wine/champagne, bridge/galley tour). To get the cruise benefits you must
deposity with the AMX-P, but you can make final payment with another AMX card (we use Starwood AMX). Thus, for us, when taking two cruises per year it is well worth
the $450, but if we only take one cruise in a given year, our net cost is $150 but, in general, we use the airport lounges at least six times per year...AMX-P works for us.

Come Fry With Me

During the month I had the card, I spoke to maybe six reps about various things. It was a mixed bag. Three were real people (though not particularly capable-seeming) who spoke to me in plain language and were clueful as to what I was asking. Two were non-comprehending drones, and one was a snippy gimpy robot.

I guess that's actually not a bad ratio, come to think of it. I don't often get real human beings at all in other customer service scenarios. But not good enough.

The snippy gimpy robot call shook me free of the marketing sheen on the card (as described above, which can convince you that a basket of iffy - for me - perqs is actually a value). Realizing I was still in my first month, and could get my fee refunded, I canceled the card immediately after the call. Which actually may have been a mistake. Maybe should have waited and calmed down. The rep who handled my cancellation hinted that I could get the fee lowered or suspended for a while, but I'd steeled myself against grasping at the shiny things they'd inevitably offer me to stay on. It was grasping at shiny things which got me into this, after all. But a free year wouldn't have been a bad thing. Shrug.

mia

Do you mean an automated voice recognition system or a person?

Come Fry With Me

I mean a person virtually indistinguishable from an automated voice recognition system.

zaf

Like anything you purchase you must make sure beforehand that it suits you and your needs. Its like buying a sport car then getting disappointed for the lack of back seats.
Credit Cards are no different. You should make sure that whatever you are getting is something that really meets your budget and you will make use of it or enjoy it for what it is.

For an example, some people who Platinum or even Centurion cards and they rarely use the benefits, but the cards makes them feel better about achieving something in their life (like getting to a certain income, life style ..etc). Even if that is the reason someone is a getting a card, I am sure they would have thought about it before they put down the 450 or the 7500 dollars.

In your case, you are complaining because the benefits of the cards (which you have only kept with you for 1 month) are not worth the money. If you did you research well you would have known at least if it was something you'd want or not. Even then, you've only had the card for one month how do you expect the card to pay itself out in less than 1/10th the period? I would understand it if it was offered to you or you wanted to try it out, but even then, you should have at least have planned an FHR stay, lounge access in airports you're going to visit, a cruise getaway, a car rental insurance coverage, a stay at a starwood hotel (SPG gold benefits), shopped at MR mall, or even atleast collected MR points to redeem at various partner airlines. And to do so, you will need to at least keep the card for a year.

because for an example, if you like getting hotel benefits and you are not an elite member in any hotel chain. FHR and SPG gold maybe able to pay off that 450 in 3-4 nights. Room upgrades and late checkout can be worth 100 bucks a night if not more (depending on the hotel). Let alone 3 SPG points (rather than the regular 2) because of your Gold status.

In your shoes the only thing you can really complain about is customer service. If they were pretty bad and rude with you then you are entitled to cancel the card because they did not appreciate your business.

I hope you don't get my post as being offensive, all I am saying, although you are entitled to your opinion, you really did not experience the card enough and did not think about it suiting you beforehand.

Come Fry With Me

So from the aforementioned crusty veterans, two basic replies:

1. Well, the card's not for you, then

My reply: Yup, very good! That's right!

and

2. You should have known beforehand; you didn't give this enough thought before applying

My reply: you have no way of ascertaining how much consideration I applied. Or much else about me. And, in any case, I've lost nothing in this deal. In fact, I'd say my month-long free trial gave me a better basis for deciding than merely poring over a bunch of message board postings (which I also did, btw, for several hours). So my degree of consideration was actually quite high and quite smart, and I came away perfectly unscathed. So thanks for the castigation, but....

The verdict: Crappy customer service took the sheen off this proposition so I could see clearly that this was a case of a common luxury trap (which I've described several times, but no one seems to grok): offering special deals on things you'd not otherwise pay for (e.g. savings on airport lounges I'd only seldom spring for, savings on luxe hotels I'd only seldom upgrade to, etc). I was looking, I suppose, for an excuse to enjoy those things (nothing wrong with that, necessarily), and using the value proposition to justify it (which doesn't completely compute, but, whatever...), and figuring that that value justified a steep $450 cost (irrational, but enticing...until the sheen came off).

A large portion of upscale retail pushes that exact same button in that exact same way. It's a highly effective trap, and marketers know it. I fell for it. But got out in time.

To boil it down even more simply, when I was thinking of applying, I got excited and started thinking of reasons TO spend the $450 to unlock all this cool stuff, and I managed to just barely tip over into doing it. When my sentiment shifted and I cooled down to clear-eyed reality, I was looking for reasons NOT to spend the $450. And that triggered an absolute deluge. So....easy decision.

Your mileage may vary.

MJonTravel

The reasons for and against Platinum are as varied as the number of individuals who carry the card or are thinking about it. Have to do what works for you. I fly AA 50,000 miles per year, and DL 25,000 miles per year. As long as both of those airlines are lounge partners with Amex, I'll keep paying the $450. Add in that we do 2 to 3 cruises per year, at least one of which is usually on a cruise privileges partner, and I consider the annual fee paid for based on this alone.

I've never used FHR or companion ticket. I place a tiny bit of value in the SPG Gold, but I suspect I'll get at least that on my own this year.

I run the math every year on the value for the dollar for the Platinum Card. When it stops meeting my personal threshold for being worth it, I'll drop it. The end.

zaf

Well this is where everything starts. If you are a person that does not stay in lounges then lounge access is something you cannot put as a value of this card. If you do not occassionally stay and FHR similar hotels or simply get the lowest room possible and always have breakfast out side then this also does not count as a benefit. So on and so forth.

That doesn't make the card useless or worthless. Its just not for you. This does not only apply for Platinum, it applies for Green, Gold, Centurion or any other credit card/charge card in the market.
Its like getting a back up card to collect points but you never collected enough to make use of, then you are better of getting cashback card.

Come Fry With Me

I regret that my point about perceived and relative value was too subtle. Unfortunately I don't know how to make it any clearer.

Surprised, though, that you're able to persist in the notion that this can be reduced to a simple issue of "Hey, you don't want airport lounges or fancy hotels? Then why'd you get the damned card?" Cuz I'd have imagine that after reading through my several postings, which should have offered at least a glimmer of greater complexity (even if you don't grok the subtleties), you'd realize that it's not quite so moronic as that.

dtsm

Like other things, YMMVR.

I've actually been a cardholder since '77 (green), upgraded to gold in the '80s as we moved to Asia (they had monthly $5000 cash checking privileges), then about 10 years ago moved up one more time for the 2-1 airline tickets with select group of airline partners and their free up to 4 domestic companion tickets (which has not been discontinued). The cost for the 2-1 now doesn't always make economic sense but having access to AA, CO and other lounges for the few times I fly domestically is worth the ridiculous fee charged.

You need to do your own math and make your own decision, POV.