NoStressHere

Have been using the Plat Amex for a few years. I take advantage of access to Northwest or Delta club rooms on a regular basis. Sometimes a pain as I was flying the wrong airline on a given day, but still worth it, along with the cruise $300 benefit.

But times have changed. DL, CO, NW now allow a paid club room member from any of the three to use any club room, no matter who you are flying.

So, I can buy a membership over there and drop the Plat Amex. Only other benefit that I might use has also erroded recently. The $300 for some cruise lines is starting to have restrictions, especially if you use some of the beter travel agencies with Virtuoso affiliation. They often have extra benefits like nice shore event, party, etc. Lately you can take their benefit, or the $300 but not both.

And, of course the 2 for 1 Biz class benefit is a joke for most people.

I know some folks are upset over Centurian and want to slip down to Plat, but it does not make sense to even do the Plat.

ijgordon

I generally agree that the benefits have been diminshed substantially, but I took a look at dropping down to Green/Gold and they've jacked up the MR fees in recent years so that the savings vs. Platinum aren't really all that significant (although YMMV I guess). I think you do get better customer service with Plat (e.g., domestic-based) and I also think some of the insurance coverages are better.

But if anyone disagrees, please feel free to share...

PTravel

Whoa . . . hang on a second. I've been plat Amex for years, but never really up on all the benefits. Do you mean, even if I'm flying UA, I can go into the Northwest club room with my plat Amex? This would be huge benefit for me, as Northwest's club room is fairly close to UA at SFO. Have I been missing out all these years? Should I slap my forehead and say, "D'oh!!!"

NoStressHere

Though I may not have made it clear in the original post, the point is that to use the AMEX PLAT benefit, you have to be flying on the SAME airline on the day you want to get in.

Said another way, you have to be flying NW to enter the NW club, etc, etc,

The only clubs that AMEX has this deal with are NW, DL and CO.

On a totally different note, those same airlines have recently made a deal that allows members from any clubs to visit the clubs of the other, no matter who you are flying that given day.

By the way, word is, some membes have beat this system by buying a totally refundable ticket on the proper airline, visiting the club with their online boarding pass, then doing a refund. Silly waste of resources by the airline, but it works.

The DL AMEX is good on a handful, but not all Intl locations. Paris is NOT one of them.

mia

Assuming you have a personal Platinum Card you should be able to reduce annual fee by over 60% by switching to Green or Gold. Membership Rewards is bundled into the annual fee for these cards:

Preferred Rewards Green
Fee = $110
Travel Accident Insurance = $100,000

Preferred Rewards Gold
Fee = $130
Travel Accident Insurance = "For details on coverage levels, please call the number on the back of your Card"

Rewards Plus Gold
Fee = $150
Travel Accident Insurance = $250,000

Platinum Card
Fee = $395
Travel Accident Insurance = $500,000

I find Rewards Plus Gold to be the best value because it provides free supplementary cards and additional points on purchases from MR transfer partners, but certainly this will depend on your circumstances. On the other hand the Platinum Card may be worth keeping for the customer service which I do find noticeably superior to other Amex products.

dennis

mbreuer

Useful benefits for me:

Lounge access
Buyer Protection (Plat/Cent have a much better plan)
Roadside assistance (vs. aaa, etc.)
National Car rental discounts (have saved quite a bit vs. other discounts)
I did use FHR once - saved some money & got the extra amenities
I've had good experiences with the concierge for fine dining & hot plates

Roselinda

I just switched from rewards plus to Amex plat. The reason being is I have been a CO presidents club member for years, but am now only a silver elite

Its cheaper or the ssme price to have the amex plat card thane gold rewards plus and the price of the PC as a silver

tol

What's the catch in that offer? I don't have an AMEX plat but was thinking of getting one for that very reason.

I should add I hate Continental. Mostly I fly Oneworld or Star alliance.

Thanx.

mia

This program requires purchase of a full fare ticket, which is typically more than twice the cost of a deeply discounted "I" or "Z" class restricted business class fare. Most recent discussion is near the end of this thread...

http://flyertalk.com/forum/showthrea...43#post5485843

HookemHorns

I noticed that on 12/2005, rules changed to allow club members to use pretty much any SkyTeam club, no matter what metal one was flying. Does anyone know if these changes will apply to Plat AmEx as well, eg: we can now use a WorldClub when flying Delta, or is this wishful thinking?

Thanks,
-HookemHorns
A University of Texas Alum

mia

I think this is addressed in the message #1 of this thread. To enter a club with an American Express Platinum card you must hold a ticket for a flight operated by the same carrier. If you have a CO, DL or NW club membership you may use all clubs operated by those carriers without regard to which airline you are flying. American Express could renegotiate their contracts to provide this same flexibility, but there is no indication that they have done so.

dennis

kuroneko

Whoa--really???? I have both Hilton Amex and a regular Plat Amex and find the CS to be the same for both--painfully mediocre if not downright bad.

doc

Yes, as noted Amex has been heading downward with their benefits and such while going up and up with their prices and hassles ever since the FT boards were born. It's sad but true.

Mark

senatorgirth

Me, too. See, for example, this thread:
http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=535115

zrs70

A bit more clarification.... No matter who you are flying (of NW/CO/DL, or of any airline?) Can I use my CO Pres Club card to get into the DL Crown Room if I am flying Southwest?