arshi007

You should be able to see if the $200 credit is available to you just by logging into your account and on the home tab of the Platinum card, it will show in the right column. It will show up after you renew your card (depending on your renewal date).

worldwidedreamer

Am I the only person who feels like my renewal date is discriminatory? My AF posted just before the 2020 deadline...

arshi007

When is your renewal date ? If it before April, then you will just be getting the credit a bit late - i.e you will get it in March 2021. The disadvantage of course is that you have much less time (about 9 months) to use the credit.

cfabar1

I actually think it isn't downright impossible. The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Credit functions that way. I'm not sure why Amex couldn't have the Platinum Airline Fee Credit work that way, or even if they divide it out the perk quarterly that would be an improvement.

Particularly with change fees going away, the benefit of this has basically been reduced to a baggage fee reimbursement. Are you allowed to use Spirit for the benefit? They offer so many opt-up fees, maybe that would be the best way to go...

mia

There is also lounge access and in-flight internet on airlines which bill the service directly.

Spirit discussion is here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/amer...irit-only.html

worldwidedreamer

Oh that's good to know. I'll have no trouble spending $200 on travel. To be honest, with the streaming credit + mobile phone credit I've felt like Amex has done a great job trying to add value during the pandemic.

My new wish? I'd love to have an excuse to buy a Peloton, and 24 $49 statement credits would make it a sale for me.

synzero

People who constantly complain that the $200 credit is hard to use and why don't they do it the way Chase does it seem to miss the obvious, that if it was like Chase's credit it would cost Amex much more, and therefore they couldn't provide the same level of credit. For Chase, the "travel credit" is really just a reduction in the AF. The card is really a $250/year card.

Whatever Amex does to replace or change the credit, it has to still be somewhat difficult to use or they will have to reduce the amount.

Personally, I never have any difficulty using the entire credit. There are still ways to do it, discussed in FT itself if you do the legwork. However, I would welcome a different credit, but I DON'T want it to be too easy to use, because then Amex would have to cut back on other benefits.

PointsPanda

We're not saying the travel credit should be totally open like Chase CSR, but they really should open it in scope. Perhaps allow it to be used in airport restaurants, seat selection, upgrades (officially, as I know sometimes Delta skymiles redemption gets taxes auto-covered by the $200 credit), onboard food, etc. I mean basically now its limited to bags which is pointless as amex platinum/biz platinum are road warriors that doesn't usually check bags and when they do its often included, and then even then you need to add it at the airport, if you add it is part of your ticket no guarantee its getting processed correctly. Lounge fees are also included, but we all have priority pass, and amex own lounge selection anyways, so whats left, maybe pet fees? Its impossible to hit without cheating and buying gift cards or similar (which most of those loopholes closed now). Or at least put the $200 credit for Amex travel to encourage people to use it.

We're not saying make it super easy, just move the needle down to something more reasonable. Amex platinum does not bring much to the table right now, they got rid of 10 gogo passes, they got rid of boingo, wework benefits expire soon, and they raised their annual fee and virtually no bonus categories. (OK 5x on plane tix whoopy, i'd much rather get 3x on my CSR and be covered with much better bag and delay insurance). Also hilton and marriot have extremely diluted what "gold" status earns you and usually doesn't even get you into the lounge or breakfast anymore. Amex has failed to address this by upping the status level or adding more benefits.

The card just isn't competitive, and is just riding on the fact that some less informed babyboomers think the amex platinum is still some kind of status symbol and proudly throw it to pay for dinners to "impress people" even though amex dishes them out like candy and literally nobody is impressed. Personally I don't think this brand value will last that much longer, nobody in my group (30s digital nomads) uses amex, virtually everyone has a CSR or similar. Oftentimes when we split the bill here in Mexico with other expats its not uncommon 5 people all throw a CSR on the bill tray table. Consumers are smart and want bang for their buck. Amex as a premium brand is fading with time, and rather then get competitive they are just raising the fees and scraping benefits, I don't think its going to end well for them in this competitive market. Not only do they have Chase breathing down their throat but now Capital One has gotten in the game, Citi is still a competitor and you have some other minor competitors like Barclays too. Amex bean counters are still acting like its 2007 where they were the only game in town for a membership rewards program that transfers to airlines, its not going to end well for them.

Anyways I think Amex is crazy for sending their annual fees through the roof while cutting benefits while all their competitors are doing the opposite.

eponymous_coward

I've used over $330 in AMEX airline credits ($250 on Hilton Aspire, $80.20 on a Gold card) on, respectively, WN and AS. Used to pay $0 in bag fees. I'll probably knock off the last $19.80 in a week or two. DL isn't that tough either (I may switch the Aspire to DL and the Gold to WN). Go read some threads.

Other than an Uber credit (which wasn't a thing in 2007, where you say AMEX is stuck), adding things during the pandemic like $20 a month for streaming and $20 for cell phones, revamping the Gold to the PRG, revamping the Green to match the CSR as a 3x travel card (but for only a $150 AF), adding a lot of Centurion lounges since 2007... do these things not count?

I don't disagree on the Platinum not being ideally suited for some against the CSR- I carry Green/Gold and that's my preferred set of charge cards based on my spend pattern. If I wasn't LOL/24 I'd probably consider a CSR. But AMEX's financials are doing fine. SOMEONE is making money for them using their cards.

dayone

My pre-COVID visits to the SFO Centurion Lounge suggest otherwise.

MSPeconomist

In the case of DL, AmEx Plat gives you DL lounge access (SC) when flying DL and AFAIK inflight wifi isn't charged directly by DL. If you travel much or also have a DL AmEx card, you also get a free bag, advanced seat selection, and somewhat early boarding. With nothing being sold on board now, it's hard to imagine how someone uses the $200 credit and even harder if the person has status with DL or partners.

mailbotx

Yep, confirm that, hordes of peeps. Jacking up the AF did nothing around here to thin the herd. If anything, it took 5 minutes just to find a place to sit at SFO T3 pre-covid.

Doppy

I'm not sure what airline you're flying, but at least on AA and UA, the credit is good for seat selection, onboard food and wifi, and, on AA at least, it works for upgrades.

That's if there was a seat available at all!

synzero

Totally disagree. The value I get from the card vastly eclipses the AF, every single year. Definitely get more outsized value from it than my CSR. As I said before, and I don't want to jinx things by posting the details here, but it is far easier to use the entire $200 credit than you are making it out to be. You need to do your research, and let's not ruin it by talking too much in detail here. The info is all over FT. I have thus far had zero difficulty easily getting the full value of the credit - I would be happy if they changed it but your comments actually make my point for me - a lot of people, even folks like you who know about FT, don't seem to know how to use the credit, and that makes it more valuable for folks like me.

I use the Saks credit every year -- there's always something there I can use the $100 for. Same goes for Uber (in a non-pandemic year), I typically use Uber every month, or Uber Eats, and it's a real credit. All in all the card has an effective AF for me of $50, maybe $75 if you want to get picky (like I could probably buy the same things I get from Saks a bit cheaper elsewhere etc).

What do I get for that? Lounge access is VASTLY better than the CSR for domestic travel. In normal times I use the Delta SkyClubs and Centurion Lounges and Escape Lounges, etc., many times in a given year, easily hundreds of dollars worth of value, not to mention the intangible value of having a really nice place to rest and eat before and sometimes after a flight in many of the cities where I flew/will fly into and out of.

The return and purchase protection have saved me on multiple occasions, also far better than Chase's benefit.

The concierge has come through with amazing recommendations and snagged sold out restaurant reservations on multiple trips abroad and within the US for me. Again, not something that even really has just a monetary value.

It has a much better emergency medical evacuation coverage than the CSR. I tend to use the CSR for flights and hotels -- though for FHR reservations, because you get elite benefits and hotel status credits for that, it's a good option in many cases.

All of that for $50/year? It's one of my favorite cards. It's a membership program that gives me far more value than the cost, some of which can't be purchased easily at any price.

Make the credits too easy to use, however, and Amex wouldn't be able to offer all these benefits. In fact, I think most people don't even realize they have a lot of these benefits, or never use them.

And during coronavirus they've added a ton of credits that easily make up for the fact that I'm not traveling (except within Korea, where I'm staying right now). Far MORE credits than usual, like the Amex Travel $200 credit, the $200 "appreciation credit", the Dell credits on the business card, etc. Doing the math for 2020 for me at least the cards have an even lower AF for me despite my not traveling much.

SP03

I agree with above. As much as I want to ditch my Platinum card, the return through various credits is actually much higher than the annual fee. Amex makes it harder to get the credits, which allows some to benefit much more than others. My friend really doesn't care and puts all his spend on his Platinum card and doesn't even bother with the credits. I'm sure there are plenty of people like to to allow Amex to continue to offer these benefits.