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

As reported by thepointsguy,

• $200 in annual Uber credits ($15 per month and $35 in December)
  
• 5x MR on hotels booked via Amex travel
  
• complimentary gold cards
  
• annual fee increased to $550
  
• metal card

https://thepointsguy.com/2017/03/hug...-improvements/

TPG: New US Platinum Benefits; Higher Fee
 

Haven't seen this anywhere, not even at boarding area

http://thepointsguy.com/2017/03/huge...-improvements/

Starting March 30 2017

• 550 AF
• 15/mo in Uber credit (35 in Dec)
• 5x on Prepaid Hotels through Amex
• Metal Card
• Complimentary Gold Cards (not PRG)

Meh...not looking forward to this. It'd be so much better if the Uber credit were given in one lump sum at the beginning of the yearly billing cycle instead of this $15/mo nonsense.

Amex is king at maximizing breakage of benfits!

I really don't like the metal card trend. I'm one of those weird people who wants contactless on the actual card as opposed to just using Apple Pay though. (I imagine contactless is not a high priority for most people who want this card, however, assuming it's not an absolute dealbreaker.)

Also, the higher AF is kind of a hard sell, though if you use Uber often and take advantage of the airline credit it might still pay for itself.

Not impressed.

5x hotels but limited to just prepaid through AMEX is a joke, Uber credit could be useful but my Uber usage is highly variable so the monthly statement instead of a lump sum means there is likely to be breakage, could care less about metal card - it's 2017 half the time the actual card doesn't even come out of my wallet when I use it.

I can make a strong case to keep my Prestige (have gotten over $450 back in 4th night fee credits with ease each year, 3x travel/restaurants) and the CSR (net of $150, better transfer partners, 3x restaurants/travel, strong to hold alongside a Freedom and Freedom Unlimited to max UR) but AMEX Plat is harder. The DL SkyClub is great when traveling alone (and I've been flying more Delta recently) and the AMEX lounges are great but apart from airfare, this card sits in my wallet vs it's competitors

I feel Amex is doing this to say they have the highest consumer card on the market. It's seems like a prestige thing. I'm also hoping that some people drop it and the centurion lounges aren't as crowded (wishful thinking).

I was so excited when I read that then saw it was prepaid through amex only and was disappointed.

I travel every week for work and while the company pays for airfare directly, I pay for the hotel and submit receipts. The CSR lives on!

Ugly ..will cancel both our cards before the AF hits later this year..

My card is still in the mail... so I'm curious which fee I'll be paying... hopefully the lower of the two fees... but the Uber benefits are almost zero for me. The handful of times I would use an Uber would be from an airport into town where there was light rail or metro and the Uber cost is steep! I was estimating fares and unless I go for the cheapest UberX or whatever the cost in from LAX to studio city, or SEA to downtown is like $60 to $90, and that was estimating RIGHT NOW on a week night. $15 off that is nothing. Now if they let the Uber credits build up all year and then expire at the end it would be better. There would probably be some breakage still (especially people like me that don't live in a big city and use it weekly) if people saved a few months to get to $60 or something to cover a whole ride and then ended up not using Uber before the end of the year. But the way they did it now was basically a for sure thing people would not use the uber credit OR they would end up always also paying some portion for an Uber ride... probably got a negotiated deal with Uber so that $15/mo really isn't costing Amex $15 but instead a lower amount paid out to Uber. Heck, % discount on rental car probably would have been better... 30% off Silvercar or something to match CSR.

The metal card is kinda nice... but eh, it would have been a nice perk if the fee wasn't going up. I was kinda hoping the travel credit would jump by $50 at least or something to help offset. The points... well I think the CSR as more value in spending the points then the Amex... maybe if they offered redemption via their travel programs that equalled $0.015/ point or something like the CSR, but other wise great, I wasn't actually planning on using the Amex to gain a bunch of points.

Hope the lounges get less busy or they announce a more aggressive buildout. Two new ones are great, but lets get six or seven more domestic ones this year, that would go a long way to helping ease the pain of the fee. (PDX really really would be nice to have one!)

Also, something tells me Chase isn't going to be worried one bit...

For me the enhancements will be a net positive. I use Uber enough every month (usually for short rides that are <$15 anyway) that the new Amex credits will offset the increased annual fee.

Of course the #1 benefit for me that justifies the annual fee whether it be $450 or $550 is the SkyClub and Centurion Lounge access. If I were to change careers and do less business travel, I'd switch back down to the gold card in a heartbeat.

The Uber I'll use every month on Airport rides. Initially, I was excited for the 5X hotel bonus, until finding out it's limited to the prepaid rate via the MR site. Though, it's a nice feature for 5X on FHR.

PS - Assuming this benefit will be conferred to the Centurion without a fee increase?

It's really a shame that they can't add a dining multiplier like everyone else. If they could do 5x at restaurants, this would be a killer card and stay at the top of my wallet.

Does anyone know if the 5x at FHR works for postpaid? I like getting Starwood points.

I wonder how the Uber benefit will work for AUs?

I don't quite understand the logic wherein Amex gives complimentary hotel status to cardholders - status that really only comes in handy when you make direct bookings - then gives cardholders a strong incentive to eschew direct bookings in favor of their OTA. Seems like this would anger their hotel partners.

You can't call and add your SPG or Hilton number after the booking?