Adelphos

I assume Amex Platinum just offered lounge access, 1x spending rewards (if any rewards at all), various Amex protections, and the simple ability to charge globally (which was a big deal in 1984). But obviously the market has changed significantly since. Amex Platinum now basically offers all of this but with a lot more benefits

Its amazing that only this card can generate thousands of posts like this. If there are obviously better cards out there (and for many, there are) just cancel and move to those products

GUWonder

The card product’s focus is less concentrated than it used to be. The competitive landscape’s impact on product focus won’t change that the Plat card’s focus is less focused on travel than it used to be.

The Amex card rebate currency program was around during Clinton’s first term as POTUS. I think it was called membership miles then and the MR name was a post-implementation rebrand.

Maybe Amex will rebrand the Platinum card after the fee-hike and a more diverse “focus”? Perhaps it’s time for an “Instagram Amex”?

Adelphos

I’m not sure that’s a bad thing as long as travel benefits aren’t removed. Remember the rumor was that the airline fee credit would be replaced with the hotel credit - it was actually added. Other than tinkering around lounge access (guest policy, Priority Pass restaurants, etc), which travel benefits have been cut?

Super Mario

No. $20 a month is a piddly credit to a $250 a month membership. Marketing teams understand the psychology behind people feeling like they got "free stuff." In general, AMEX cardholders are a solid demographic that could become long-term Equinox members. It makes sense to throw some marketing budget at them. AMEX also knows the power of their offers and is absolutely using that to their advantage. The relationship is very likely that they do not pay much of the $20, if at all, and/or they get residuals on member signups/renewals.

mia

There were no credit card rewards in 1984. Membership Miles (as it was originally called) debuted in 1991 with these transfer partners: Continental, Delta, Midway, Northwest, M.G.M. Grand Air, Pan American and Southwest. There was a $25 annual fee for the rewards program, but this was waived for Platinum cardholders.

Beckles

I got the AMEX Platinum Card almost 25 years ago, it was by 'invitation'. I had to call in and get my invitation as an existing member, according to this 20+ year old post the criteria was 10 years as an AMEX member or $5k in spending over a year in 1999. I got it primarily for lounge access and at the time the Membership Rewards program was very good in terms of partners and earning rate, there weren't other cards out there offering 2x/3x/5x on spending. I was also required to use an AMEX Corporate Card for all my work related travel expenses, so my personal AMEX Platinum Card allowed me to keep my personal pool of Membership Rewards points earned on both cards.

The justification for the $300/year annual fee were those benefits.

Now I get lounge access, a totally different Membership Rewards (worse in some ways (less transfer partners, fewer transfer promotions), better in other ways (5x on airfare)), and a whole bunch of credits and promotions that allow me to completely offset the annual fee.

dayone

When did the Platinum Card change from invitation to application?

TravelingZoomer

I am curious what mpclaw said in 1999 now…

also, amazing I was in diapers that year. This forum seems to have existed in this similar forum for decades!

mia

Click here: https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/1292783-post11.html

diesteldorf

If mpclaw is listening, I am dumb enough to pay over twice that amount today. I guess this forum is full of idiots....

Completely joking, but would've never thought in 1999, when I got my first credit card, that I would be paying $695.00 for one Amex card in 2021.

I really "blame" the CSR when it was released in 2016.

Chase announced they were lowering the bonus from 100,000 to 50,000 but you could still get the higher offer "in branch" I took a long weekend and took a road trip to apply for that "magical" credit card and so began my long descent into madness.

Thanks Beckles and Mia for sharing some of the historical context on the Platinum. It is clearly a mass market card now, but one that has given me a lot of value.

By the way, my first credit card in 1999 was a Chase E-Card....I was elated because it gave 5% credit back on all online shopping and I loved ordering from Amazon, Reel.com, and CDNOW.com. Should've paid more attention to Amazon, but alas.

To TravelingZoomer....don't be ashamed....we were all in diapers once....If Flyertalk lasts another 50-60 years, we may all be in diapers again....

MojoGuru

No, I'm pretty sure we're allowed to discuss such topics on Flyertalk. I see this quite frequently on the cruising blogs, probably 10X worse because they work in packs, "don't criticize our cruise line, just leave!"

Adelphos

Perfect illustration of the democratization of travel and finance. A “luxury,” “exclusive,” “by invitation only,” “travel” card launched in the 80s and 90s with solid travel benefits. 30 years later, the card offers at least the same amount of travel benefits, plus a lot of other benefits, to millions more people for the same inflation adjusted fee. Now millions holding a “mass market card” have access to lounges, status benefits at hotels, ability to earn and redeem points, etc, and not just due to Amex but to others. Hard to see how any of this is really bad

notquiteaff

And Beckles was doing their research using Altavista


Those were the days. I walked by AltaVista’s HQ in downtown Palo Alto many nights on my way to get dinner or coffee. Never paid with a Platinum card, but I did have and used a green card … member since 1993

naumank

I am new to AMEX Platinum - just got my card a week ago. I understand the card awards 5x points for flights. But I also realized that AMEX doesn’t offer common carrier accident insurance. My Chase Sapphire Reserve offers up to $1m in travel accident insurance benefits. Of course, I only get 3X points with CSR.

Do people take into consideration that AMEX doesn’t offer this insurance when they decide which credit card to use to make flight purchases?

diesteldorf

I definitely do.....in my opinion, Chase offers better travel, trip delay, and trip cancellation insurance than Amex, so Chase gets a lot of my travel spend. On the other hand, Amex offers better purchase and return protection, so there are times, especially if it is an expensive item, where Amex will get the charge, even if the multipliers are lousy.

Also....and hoping someone can verify...I think Amex offers some travel protections to members, simply for holding the card, even if the trip may not have been entirely paid for by Amex, but I've never used this and am unable to find the documentation to support it.

EDIT: I was thinking about their Global Assist Hotline. From what I can tell, you can be a card member and still utilize the service regardless of any particular credit card transaction.

https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/features-benefits/policies/global-assist-terms.html

https://www.americanexpress.com/content/dam/amex/us/credit-cards/features-benefits/policies/pdf/GA_Benefit_Guide_Rev_09-17.pdf