Are you canceling your Amex Platinum card today?

a sword with a cross on it

Based on the number of annoyed, dismayed comments on the blogosphere and Twitter yesterday, it seems like for many current cardholders, the Amex Platinum card is on the chopping block; people claim that the card no longer holds the allure and promise that it once did. This comes after two recent “hits” to the card’s benefits:

  • the loss of complimentary American Airline’s Admiral’s Club lounge access (starting March 22, 2014)
  • the reduction in Delta lounge access – guests or family members are no longer free. Effective May 1, 2014 cardholders will be able to bring two guests, or their immediate family, for a fee of $29 per person.

Personally, I’m keeping my card. For me, it’s still packed with value and worth the hefty $450 annual fee. In fact, I just wrote a post detailing the reasons why I love my Amex Platinum card. Here’s how it pencils out for me:

  • $200 annual Airline Fee Credit
  • Roadside Assistance (worth $57)
  • At least 3 nights booked using the “Fine Hotels and Resorts” benefit (worth $100+/night)
  • At least 4 visits to the Centurion Lounges (worth $25-$50, depending on the day ;))

This is a total of over $650 worth of benefits – possibly more, depending on how my travel plans shape up for the year. The card could be worth even more to me if I didn’t already have Global Entry ($100, reimbursed by Amex), or if I flew Delta and wanted access to their lounges (without my friends or family, of course).

Most of the perks I enjoy from the card are because I travel frequently and embrace the High/Low lifestyle.

Clearly, this card is not for everyone. In fact, before I got into points and miles collecting, I never would have given this card a second look! $450 is a gasp-worthy annual fee, unless you know how to unlock its true value. In other words, the Amex Platinum is like a…

“Samurai sword!” yells my 8-year-old son.

So I’m just gonna go with that analogy. The Amex Platinum is like a samurai sword, because it’s expensive, rare, and powerful to some – but if used in the wrong way (or not used at all) it can be worthless…or even deadly.

Do you use your Platinum card as a samurai sword? Or are you laying down your arms?

37 Comments

  1. Question on the Roadside Assistance – the Ts & Cs seem to indicate it is good when travelling “more than 100 miles from Home”? Can you please shed some light on that. I have an Amex Platinum.

    1. JDD – If you’ve got an Amex Platinum, you’ve got the Premium service, which is good for anywhere. I used it last year for a random breakdown 1 mile away from my house. If you want to double-confirm, just call the number on the back of your card and a rep can look up your account and discuss your benefits – but as a Platinum, you should have the Premium service plan.

  2. Not today but after the next AA flight…………there is another $100 fee credit after March 22 to compensate for the loss of AA

  3. Nice article that is really just a CC advertisement. Yes, I cancelled my Amex Plat yesterday. It’s a huge waste of money with all the lounges they’ve lost.

    1. Tyler – Is that a Zen koan (ie, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?”). Could this be an advertisement if I am not getting paid to write it?

  4. Same here….I’m going to wait until I get the additional credit for the loss of AA club access ($200 in my case), and if Amex hasn’t offered anything better by June (when my annual fee hits) I’ll likely cancel. It sucks because I was actually thinking of switching to Delta because of AA and US Airways withdrawing lounge access from Amex platinum (I’m currently an AA platinum), but I don’t see myself doing that any more. I’m likely going to get the Citi AA card with admirals club access and stick with AA….hopefully they don’t follow Delta’s example.

  5. justSaying – Wow, everyone seems to be getting credits but me!

    JoeLee – You seem to be in good company!

    Travis – I’m curious about the Citi card but I still get a lot of value from the Amex card. That is a bummer about your Delta situation.

    Jim – see my comment to JoeLee!! 😉

    1. I called trying to get the “free” Amazon Prime membership…….when the agent told me that was not part of my Platinum offer then I asked to speak to a supervisor…….after I canted the litany of lost benefits the rep said they had an offer on my account where they could could me another $100 credit……..probably the reason I only got $100 is that most of my spending goes on Chase or the Starwood card…………So I think if you make the call and do a little sophisticated begging you will get it……….The agent also mentioned that the Amazon offer was tied to the Blue card………AMEX knows they are behind the 8 ball on this and they have to come up with a big splash soon or the only sound they are going to hear is the door slamming as frequent flyers with a brain move to other premium cards……….

  6. Here’s the problem, as I was just considering what to with my Platinum card. It seems that it is only $400 for the first year as the anniversary date of your card does not kick in a new $200 if youve already spent it in the current year. IE: When January first came I utilized my second $200 spend on AA gift cards, but when I called to inquire they told me that my March yearly renewal of the $200 spend will already have already been utilized with that spend, which means it’s only $200 for the next year. Anyone else have different info?

    My second question is if the Mercedes Benz Platinum card is and entirely different product then the Ameritrade Platinum which I currently have as Im thinking of applying for that once I cancel my card.

    PS. I dont know if its individual to every person but they offered me a $200 credit good towards US and American after the lounge loss starting March 22 but only for those airlines.

    Thanks

    1. carissa – the $200 is once per calendar year. If you happened to apply for the card at the end of 2013, you would have received the $200 bonus then, and again at the beginning of 2014.

      The Mercedes Benz card is indeed different than the Ameritrade Platinum.

      Great that you got the credit!

  7. I am seriously considering of applying for this card now, something I would have not even thought of before I read this post because of the high annual fee. Not everyone will be able to take advantage of what this card has to offer, but at least now we are armed with the knowledge to make an educated decision. Not sure why there would be negative comments about such an informational post. I didn’t feel like you were pushing us either way, Pixie. I guess haters just gotta hate…

    1. Hottie – glad you didn’t feel pressured by my post. The point was (as I think you understood) to share why *I* decided to keep the card, even in light of recent changes.

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