And the newish delivery fees/service charges from Uber have made this Amex “benefit” pretty marginal for people like me who don’t tend to order in food otherwise.

I used the restaurant benefit maybe 3-4 times a year at Capers in PDX. Sometimes with my wife, so double benefit. I never “double-dipped” at Capers Market and I also deliberately alternated between my CSR- and Plat-linked PP accounts. Overall, I am not surprised that this benefit proved to be too popular (reading about people’s grocery shopping trips on FT), but it will be another negative factor when I reconsider whether to renew my Plat card next time around. I started tracking my own usage of benefits a while ago to make a rational data-driven decision. Just like the banks

HUH? There are (and have always been) lots of lounges at LAX: AS, UA, AA, the three alliance lounges in TBIT, and those of departed airlines such as NW and TWA.

I never thought about it, but now I'm wondering whether AmEx pays PP an annual fee per PP card/account, per visit (maybe even with a different fee for the restaurant use?), or maybe even per unique person entitled to PP membership through AmEx, so that someone with both Plat and Centurion card would count as only one unique individual. If it's per visit, then AmEx has probably been hosed with people doing so many restaurant visits.

If the Centurion lounge and Escape networks expand, limiting the number of annual visits (including guest visits in the total number) would make sense. Better would be to permit a limited number of PP restaurant visits per year (including counting guests and counting multiple restaurants on the same day or at the same airport to discourage people taking advantage of the terms). If there's no lounge, the restaurant option could be nice but I suspect people have been abusing it heavily.

I'm now wondering about the PP PGA lounge at MSP (in addition to an Escape lounge, which I like). I've never used the PGA PP lounge as it seems like a combination of sports merchandise store and sports bar, but my understanding is that that lounge issues restaurant vouchers as it seems to not have food but just be a (sports) bar.

I've never used the restaurant benefit, not even once.

PP and the AmEx lounge program are meant IMO to be a sort of insurance that you will have lounge access if you're ever stuck in a place far from your own airline lounge network or where your carrier doesn't provide lounges even for premium cabin passengers. This purpose is negated if they start to impose restrictions regarding terminals or permitted carriers. It's already frustrating when there's a lounge, but you cannot get to the door or must go through airport security an additional time or two in order to use the lounge.

IMO this is abusive unless the person is facing a very long wait in the airport. OTOH I don't approve of the three hour rule. If lounges are crowded, eliminate free access for families and guests (and especially count family as normal guests, so that two guests means spouse and one kid, not spouse and unlimited numbers of children below some age) and raise the price charged for guest access and for those with AmEx cards other than Plat/Centurion.

There must be airports where the Centurion lounge is much farther than a restaurant option for some passengers. For example, it can take a very long time (especially now with the construction) to get between the DL gates and the Centurion lounge, although of course DL passengers with AmEx Plat/Centurion cards should have access to a couple DL lounges at LGA.

Those are all big airports.

I hope AmEx Plat will be repositioned. When I first got mine, it was a big deal to be invited. Now everyone and his/her dog can apparently get the card and many people have taken advantage of AmEx by churning. (I'm glad AmEx is getting smart and limiting this.) In addition, in the past, there was some self selection in that if one didn't travel enough and have certain travel patterns, it didn't make sense to pay the Plat card annual fee since a lot of the benefit consisted of airline lounges, PTS, FHR, emergency assistance (which I think was better then), worldwide rental car coverage including some luxury models, etc.

I can imagine cases where takeout from the restaurant or some quick grocery items are reasonable and justified, for example if you'll be going from airport to hotel too late to get dinner or even room service, but serial abusers ruin it for the rest of us. I really wish AmEx would fire such people, just as IMO they should fire the churners (which I know won't be a popular view here, but IMO when you accept a credit card sign up offer, you do so implicitly with the idea that you will try the card and keep it if you're satisfied, not ditch it as soon as the sign up bonuses post).