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USA: New (2017) personal Platinum benefits; Higher annual fee ($550)

Old Mar 2, 2017, 8:48 am
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Last edit by: Centurion
American Express press release is HERE.

American Express product site is HERE.


Price change dates for new and existing accounts:
When is the fee increasing for Platinum Card Membership?

Beginning on March 30th, 2017, the new annual fee for Platinum Card will be $550. For Existing Platinum Card Members, the annual fee will take effect on their annual renewal date on or after September 1st, 2017.

Unpublicized change to Priority Pass benefit:
At any visit to a Priority Pass Select lounge, you may bring in two guests for no charge.
Terms of the Uber benefit:
Only Basic Card Members on a Platinum Card account are eligible for Uber VIP and monthly ride Credits. To receive this benefit, you must have downloaded the Uber App version 3.219 or later for iOS or version 3.126 or later for Android and your eligible Platinum Card must be a method of payment in your Uber account. If you are assigned a new Card number, you must update your method of payment in your Uber account. Cards added to your Uber account through a third party such as Apple Pay or PayPal will not be eligible. A Platinum Card account may receive this benefit on one Uber account. If the same Card is added to multiple Uber accounts, only the first Uber account to which the Card is added will receive the benefit. Uber VIP is available in select cities and is governed by Ubers terms and conditions. To redeem monthly ride Credits, you must select to use the Credit in your Uber app prior to completing the Uber ride. The discount will not apply to previous Uber rides. New and existing Uber users are eligible. Uber will apply discount at the point of sale. There is no limit to the number of rides you may apply the Credit to each month, up to a total of $15 in Credits per month. Each year in December, you may apply up to $35 in Credit. The discounted cost of a ride will be displayed on your post-ride email receipt. If you are eligible to receive additional Membership Rewards points on your ride, points will be awarded on the balance of the cost of the trip after Credits are applied. Credit may be applied to all Uber car types and cannot be applied to other Uber services. Credit may only be applied to rides within the United States. Monthly ride Credit expires at 11:59 PM local time on the last day of each month. Unused Credit will not carry over to the following month. Credit will be applied for the month in which the ride is completed. If ride is eligible for another promotion that you have added to your Uber account, the promotion will be applied before the Credit. Certain Uber-branded credits may be applied to your ride balance prior to this Credit.
*If you do not see a $15 credit appear and you receive a message your card may be the registered payment to another Uber account and you must delete your card from all Uber accounts and reenter your card on the Uber account your want the credit benefit.

Metal card availability:

How can Platinum Card Members get the new metal Card?

The new metal Card will be issued to Platinum Card Members 60 days prior to their Card expiration date or can be requested beginning on March 30th, 2017 by calling the number on the back of the Card or requesting a replacement card after you sign in to www.americanexpress.com and click on replace lost damaged card.
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USA: New (2017) personal Platinum benefits; Higher annual fee ($550)

Old May 15, 2017, 12:51 pm
  #496  
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Originally Posted by mia
It does not. All USA Platinum benefits are listed here.

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/c...w-all/platinum

There is a benefit for lost, damaged, or stolen baggage, but not for delay.



I don't recall that that either card would pay for the new ticket.
Good point, I always assumed it would but I would have covered the new hotel we needed in ATH (our re-route was JTR - ATH - FCO with an overnight at ATH) plus the transportation and food around all of that. There are also some reports out there that Citi's trip protection will pick up new flights/bus tickets/train tickets in this kind of situation.

Originally Posted by MNSWEEps
Good point...I never noticed it...AMEX is in the pits..I am canceling in next few days before AF hits first week of June.
I just always (incorrectly) assumed they would provide the same level of insurance as the two biggest competitors at this price point.
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Old May 15, 2017, 3:33 pm
  #497  
 
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Originally Posted by dhuey
Not sure if your score is high enough yet, but regardless, I would wait for a really good bonus offer before applying for the personal Platinum. As you can see in another thread, it is very likely that you will only get one bonus in your lifetime per card type. I'd wait for at last a 75,000-point bonus offer, and maybe even 100,000.
Thank you, good advice. ^
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Old May 15, 2017, 3:47 pm
  #498  
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: USA
Posts: 1,084
Hi guys what do you think about doing this to maximize points:

For cash united purchases, fund the ticket by funding gift registry with Amex plat and then doing a small copay with citi prestige in order to get trip delay coverage. The trip cancelation will only be funded up to the amount paid by prestige but it's usually the delay that is a bigger risk most of the time.

//edit. Or would it be better to find third party insurance and prepay for a year of coverage for trips up to X days.
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Old May 15, 2017, 4:19 pm
  #499  
 
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Originally Posted by slivrflyr
For cash united purchases, fund the ticket by funding gift registry with Amex plat...
Do you get 5x with gift registry?
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Old May 15, 2017, 4:34 pm
  #500  
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Originally Posted by slivrflyr
//edit. Or would it be better to find third party insurance and prepay for a year of coverage for trips up to X days.
This is what I do. Or more accurately, I buy per-trip 3rd party insurance for the one or two big trips/vacations where I want to be able to quickly recover from IRROPs, lost luggage, etc. and move on with my trip without having to think about it.

For small domestic trips I basically just "self insure", and for work trips I'll get reimbursed for critical needs (maybe not for replacing clothes, but if that ever happens I assume I'll get to keep the clothes for personal use afterward so I don't necessarily mind having to buy them).
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Old May 15, 2017, 6:11 pm
  #501  
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Originally Posted by Troopers
Do you get 5x with gift registry?
I did when I funded mine a month or 2 ago.

It was a great earnings month, nearly everything on my plat was 5x. GR, a first class upgrade, some virgin Atlantic award taxes and fees.
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Old May 15, 2017, 6:18 pm
  #502  
 
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: USA
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Originally Posted by Troopers
Do you get 5x with gift registry?

Yes. Hasn't posted yet but the pending points reflect 5x
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Old May 29, 2017, 5:52 pm
  #503  
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My wife (personal Plat holder) and my daughter just visited the Escape Lounge at the Oakland (OAK) airport. I won't cross-post about their experience, but if you're interested, it's here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/28375909-post147.html

What I'll say here is that this is a very valuable new benefit to me and my family, and it makes it seem like there is no annual fee at all for the personal Plat.

$550
-$200 airline credit
-$200 Uber credits (very likely that we will use all of it)
-$150 for airport lounge access we would otherwise not have had

=$0. That's not even getting into the FHR benefits, the signup and retention bonuses, and a bunch of other stuff.

I'm a really big fan of Amex Platinum. I can easily see why it would be much less compelling for others, but for me (no airline status* or carrier lounge membership), it's delightful.

* I'm United Silver (not sure how that happened), but there's almost nothing there in that status.
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Old May 29, 2017, 7:07 pm
  #504  
 
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Had a DL AMEX for awhile. I bit on the large MR bonus with the personal platinum. More than going to use benefits.

However how long does it take to get points posted? It's beyond absurd. I did their spend requirement almost instantly. Plus purchases. What is the wait? 45, 60 or more days to post? Does it ever get better?
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Old May 29, 2017, 7:34 pm
  #505  
mia
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Originally Posted by dinanm3atl
....r how long does it take to get points posted? ...
See here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/ameri...ints-post.html
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Old May 30, 2017, 12:16 am
  #506  
 
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Originally Posted by dhuey
$550
-$200 airline credit
-$200 Uber credits (very likely that we will use all of it)
-$150 for airport lounge access we would otherwise not have had

=$0.
I'm unsure how much this math extends to the general case:

$200 airline credit - Judging by the number of posts on the thread about how to break apart the charges so AA gift cards look like "airline fees", it looks like there are quite a few having difficulty making use of this benefit.

$200 Uber credits - This is only valuable if you were going to take $15 worth of Uber rides per month plus $35 worth of Uber rides in December. If one is trying to figure out how to make use of the benefit with UberEATS, one is having difficulty using the benefit.

$150 for airport lounge access - Again, this expense would only have been incurred if you were going to enter the lounge regardless of whether or not you had to pay for it. I think far fewer are willing to pay to enter lounges but are using them since it's an included benefit.

Even with the higher annual fee, I get the benefit from the card, but from all of the other threads about how to use the benefits it seems as though some people struggle to justify the annual fee. Contrast this with Chase Sapphire Reserve with its $450 fee:

$300 travel credit - Would I have at least $300 worth of travel category spend annually, regardless of this benefit? Yes. Taking the net annual fee down to $150:

$150 vs $95 for the Chase Sapphire Preferred so $55 more - Let's value Ultimate Rewards conservatively at 1 since that is their cash back redemption value. Do I spend at least $5500 per year in the travel and/or dining category? Yes.

The CSR is far easier to justify mathematically for me than the Platinum.
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Old May 30, 2017, 12:51 am
  #507  
 
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Originally Posted by Majuki
I'm unsure how much this math extends to the general case:
The CSR is far easier to justify mathematically for me than the Platinum.
I absolutely agree. The $200 airline credit that AMEX gives is FAR from cash, especially compared to CSR's $300. And for me, AMEX's lounge access is worth very little since I gave PP from other cards. And I don't fly Delta.

I may still keep the AMEX Plat, depends largely on retention offers they give. I also like the protection and the benefits (got Hamilton LA tickets on presale).
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Old May 30, 2017, 8:35 am
  #508  
 
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Originally Posted by Majuki
this expense would only have been incurred if you were going to enter the lounge regardless of whether or not you had to pay for it. I think far fewer are willing to pay to enter lounges but are using them since it's an included benefit.
This.
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Old May 30, 2017, 10:54 am
  #509  
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With the value received of lounge access, it's not simply whether you would have paid for access. It's also whether you got food, drink and reading materials you otherwise would have paid for outside the lounge.
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Old May 30, 2017, 11:10 am
  #510  
 
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Originally Posted by dhuey
With the value received of lounge access, it's not simply whether you would have paid for access. It's also whether you got food, drink and reading materials you otherwise would have paid for outside the lounge.
Correct. Having said that, I still wasn't using Sky Club enough to justify keeping the Personal Plat. I may apply for the Biz Plat as I would use the go go passes and Sky Club benefits. I have CSR for Priority Pass.
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