Apr 17, 2017, 12:45 pm
Last edit by: C W
General Information:
Please note this thread only currently applies to US-issued personal Platinum cards. There have been no official announcements of foreign-issued metal cards. It also applies to all co-branded personal Platinum cards such as Mercedes and Morgan Stanley.
All new and and replacement cards are now stainless steel, as of March 30, 2017.
Amex Press Release
This thread is for discussion of the physical metal card. Please see this thread for all other new Amex Platinum features:
USA: New personal Platinum benefits; Higher annual fee ($550)
Contactless
There are contactless (NFC) and non-contactless version of the Platinum Card.
If you previously had a contactless card and requested a replacement you will receive a contactless replacement.
If you previously had a non-contactless card and requested a replacement you will receive a non-contactless replacement unless you ask specifically for contactless.
Some reps do not know about contactless, HUCA or speak to a supervisor. If you are told you cannot request a contactless card because you requested another replacement within 10 days, ask to speak to fraud prevention and they will override this restriction.
When you apply for a new Platinum account you will be sent a non-contactless card by default.
The contactless and non-contactless cards are physically different. Detailed description and photos in Post 204.
Welcome Kit
Some members have received a Welcome Kit with a wooden display for the card that can be repurposed as a phone stand.
Pictures and description in Post 282.
All new cardmembers should receive the Welcome Kit whereas replacement cards generally seem to arrive in an envelope.
Please note this thread only currently applies to US-issued personal Platinum cards. There have been no official announcements of foreign-issued metal cards. It also applies to all co-branded personal Platinum cards such as Mercedes and Morgan Stanley.
All new and and replacement cards are now stainless steel, as of March 30, 2017.
Amex Press Release
This thread is for discussion of the physical metal card. Please see this thread for all other new Amex Platinum features:
USA: New personal Platinum benefits; Higher annual fee ($550)
Contactless
There are contactless (NFC) and non-contactless version of the Platinum Card.
If you previously had a contactless card and requested a replacement you will receive a contactless replacement.
If you previously had a non-contactless card and requested a replacement you will receive a non-contactless replacement unless you ask specifically for contactless.
Some reps do not know about contactless, HUCA or speak to a supervisor. If you are told you cannot request a contactless card because you requested another replacement within 10 days, ask to speak to fraud prevention and they will override this restriction.
When you apply for a new Platinum account you will be sent a non-contactless card by default.
The contactless and non-contactless cards are physically different. Detailed description and photos in Post 204.
Welcome Kit
Some members have received a Welcome Kit with a wooden display for the card that can be repurposed as a phone stand.
Pictures and description in Post 282.
All new cardmembers should receive the Welcome Kit whereas replacement cards generally seem to arrive in an envelope.
American Express personal Platinum (USA) metal card
Apr 27, 2017, 10:53 am
#317
Join Date: Nov 2012
Posts: 3,537
The contactless card can be used in contact-only terminals as well. There is no security risk to having a contactless card, unlike fearmongers sometimes claim.
Apr 27, 2017, 1:34 pm
#318
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: LON, PDX
Programs: DL PM, AS MVP 75K, HH/SPG/MR Gold, Amex Plat, PRG, CSR
Posts: 2,064
I iust dont don't like how the contactless card looks and feels. See comparison linked in the wiki.
Apr 30, 2017, 4:05 am
#319
Join Date: Mar 2017
Programs: HHonors, TrueBlue, Delta SkyMiles, Hyatt Discoverist, Starwood Preferred Guest, American Airlines.
Posts: 2,035
The contactless Platinum does seem to look uglier than the non-contactless version, which is weird because my contactless PRG looks better than the non-contactless version.
May 5, 2017, 5:28 am
#320
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: BOS/PVD/BDL
Programs: PC Plat, SPG Gold, Marriott Gold,HHonors Diamond, Avis PC, Hertz PC, National Exec Elite
Posts: 726
I want to say that having the metal card for the month in my wallet with little use, the card is now stained all over and the mag swipe is gone in a lot of spaces. This doesn't happen with my plastic cards. The card went from something cool to something embarrassing to show people.
May 5, 2017, 7:43 am
#321
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: RDU
Programs: DL(PM), UA(Silver), AA(EXP) Marriott(Ti), HH(Gold), Hertz(PC)
Posts: 2,667
I want to say that having the metal card for the month in my wallet with little use, the card is now stained all over and the mag swipe is gone in a lot of spaces. This doesn't happen with my plastic cards. The card went from something cool to something embarrassing to show people.
I must live on a different planet. For all I care, all cards could go back to the days of plain looking plastic things. As long as the purchases go through and I get my points/miles/cash back/rewards/etc, I'm fine regardless of how cute/precious/wallet candy the cards are.
</rant>
Had to get that off my chest. So far, my three week old metal Plat Amex looks pretty much as it did when I got it.
May 5, 2017, 7:48 am
#322
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: DL Scattered Smothered Covered Medallion, Some hotel & car stuff, Kroger Plus Card
Posts: 10,745
Being from ATL, I grew up using credit cards as ice scrapers for car windshields in the winter. Can metal cards still serve this purpose or would they scratch the glass?
I would think they might actually work better after an actual ice storm (vs. just a frost dusting).
I would think they might actually work better after an actual ice storm (vs. just a frost dusting).
May 5, 2017, 8:59 am
#323
Join Date: Sep 2015
Location: Chicago
Posts: 244
May 5, 2017, 9:17 am
#324
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: DL Scattered Smothered Covered Medallion, Some hotel & car stuff, Kroger Plus Card
Posts: 10,745
It was only partially a joke
. I've used cassette tapes too! Whatever works.I had an ice scraper once. I left it in the shed behind by house in Maryland when I moved back home, along with my snow shovel. Sort of a symbolic gesture of one of the reasons I left that area.
May 5, 2017, 10:16 am
#325
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: LON, PDX
Programs: DL PM, AS MVP 75K, HH/SPG/MR Gold, Amex Plat, PRG, CSR
Posts: 2,064
Stainless steel and most other metals cannot scratch glass. If there are any coatings on the windshield it may scratch them. Metal may also be more likely than plastic, due to its greater strength, to press gravel and grit against the glass in a way which may result in scratches.
May 5, 2017, 11:25 am
#326
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: ATL
Programs: DL Scattered Smothered Covered Medallion, Some hotel & car stuff, Kroger Plus Card
Posts: 10,745
Stainless steel and most other metals cannot scratch glass. If there are any coatings on the windshield it may scratch them. Metal may also be more likely than plastic, due to its greater strength, to press gravel and grit against the glass in a way which may result in scratches.
Kidding, of course. That's a good point about the coatings and stuff. Though I've had instances where sand or something actually gets "stuck" in a plastic card and then that drags across the windshield.
I should just stay at home if there's frozen stuff outside.
May 5, 2017, 2:49 pm
#327
Join Date: Sep 2016
Location: LON, PDX
Programs: DL PM, AS MVP 75K, HH/SPG/MR Gold, Amex Plat, PRG, CSR
Posts: 2,064
Jeez, dude. Way to be all smart and on-topic. Here I was just having some Friday morning fun.
Kidding, of course. That's a good point about the coatings and stuff. Though I've had instances where sand or something actually gets "stuck" in a plastic card and then that drags across the windshield.
I should just stay at home if there's frozen stuff outside.
Kidding, of course. That's a good point about the coatings and stuff. Though I've had instances where sand or something actually gets "stuck" in a plastic card and then that drags across the windshield.
I should just stay at home if there's frozen stuff outside.
May 7, 2017, 6:50 pm
#328
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: IPT
Programs: DL Diamond, Hilton Life Diamond, Hertz Presidents, former US former Charimans
Posts: 131
OK, where else would one keep such a card? All of my other cards are in my wallet and the notion of keeping one or more in a separate location doesn't appeal. I'm still having trouble imagining what I'd gain from a contactless card over Apple Pay. It seems like a solution in search of a problem.
Contactless (NFC) payments are ISO/IEC 14443 protocol defined by EMVCo:
http://www.emvco.com/specifications.aspx?id=21
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contactless_smart_card
The physical cards with contactless chips in them have been around for more than a decade. At some point, the phone manufacturers realized they could put a chip in the phone that did the same thing as the chip in the plastic cards, with the added security of a PIN or fingerprint scan before the chip activates itself.
May 7, 2017, 7:16 pm
#329
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2014
Location: San Diego, CA
Programs: GE, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 15,507
You're misunderstanding the order in which the technologies came in to existence. Apple Pay (and Android Pay, and NFC Samsung Pay) are phone-based implementations of contactless. Cards came first, phones came later - we just didn't get them here in the USA.
Contactless (NFC) payments are ISO/IEC 14443 protocol defined by EMVCo:
http://www.emvco.com/specifications.aspx?id=21
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contactless_smart_card
The physical cards with contactless chips in them have been around for more than a decade. At some point, the phone manufacturers realized they could put a chip in the phone that did the same thing as the chip in the plastic cards, with the added security of a PIN or fingerprint scan before the chip activates itself.
Contactless (NFC) payments are ISO/IEC 14443 protocol defined by EMVCo:
http://www.emvco.com/specifications.aspx?id=21
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contactless_smart_card
The physical cards with contactless chips in them have been around for more than a decade. At some point, the phone manufacturers realized they could put a chip in the phone that did the same thing as the chip in the plastic cards, with the added security of a PIN or fingerprint scan before the chip activates itself.
May 7, 2017, 9:31 pm
#330
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: IPT
Programs: DL Diamond, Hilton Life Diamond, Hertz Presidents, former US former Charimans
Posts: 131
How do I get a plastic one again?
So my question after reading this whole thread - does anyone know how to get a plastic card again? I thought I was good for another 5 years but my number was stolen so Amex had to replace - and the new card I got is naturally metal. Except I don't want metal, and I'm being told there's no option for plastic. Clearly there must be some option - I just want the same plastic card as the rest of the world has, I don't need to "show off" with a metal card. And more importantly, I need to walk through a metal detector on a regular basis without a problem.
Does anyone know someone I can call or write to get a plastic card again?
Does anyone know someone I can call or write to get a plastic card again?