Amex Platinum Application Plans

The worst kept secret in the business is fast approaching, an Amex Platinum and Business Platinum refresh. Well, it isn't a secret at all – since American Express announced it was coming months ago when there was a Chase Sapphire Reserve refresh. We have seen a few leaks, and of course Amex's own flubs, so there is a lot of info swirling around right now. Everyone knows that the changes should be happening sometime soon, and maybe that offers some opportunity. Whenever a refresh (or “enhancement”) comes to a product you have a narrow opportunity to lock in new perks at a lower annual fee. I am here to tell you – DO NOT DO IT. Don't change your Amex Platinum application plans chasing a few hundred dollars in reduced annual fees. Why? Because it could end up costing you thousands of dollars instead.

First Up: The Heck No Crowd

Before we get into the meat and potatoes of why you shouldn't change your Amex Platinum application plans, let's go over the people that shouldn't even sniff this card.

• If you are under Chase 5/24 then the personal Amex Platinum should come nowhere near your wallet.
  • The Platinum card is an easy approval once you are over, so there is no reason to rush this. It has almost nothing that can't be replaced elsewhere.
• If you have never had the personal Green or Gold card then you should avoid the personal Amex Platinum too.
  • That is because the American Express family rules could cost you multiple welcome offers.

Notice how the Amex Business Platinum is not involved in this heck no list. That is because it doesn't affect Chase 5/24, and because the business cards don't have a family rule. There are other reasons you should wait on this one though (and the personal Platinum).

A Few Hundred Dollars Are Only Worth 20,000 Membership Rewards Points

The goal of changing your Amex Platinum application plans would be to snatch the lower annual fee while you can. It is believed that the fee will be increased by $200 – $300. That is not a small amount of money, but it isn't a lot of Membership Rewards points either. That is equivalent to 20,000 – 30,000 points when you look at the cash value of MR points. Even less than that if you consider their value when transferred to partners.

Why is that important? Because the current public offer for the Business Platinum is for 150,000 Membership Rewards. Do you think that Amex is going to keep their welcome offer at that amount when raising an annual fee and spending a ton of money marketing this refreshed card? For comparisons sake, the Chase Sapphire Reserve almost doubled their offer with their relaunch. I don't expect to see a 300,000 point welcome offer, although it wouldn't be unheard of with Amex. I would expect the amount that the card increases is worth more than a few hundred dollars though. The personal card is at 80,000 points, although 150K+ offers can be somewhat easily had at times.

Targeted Offers Are The One Caveat & Also Another Feather In The Cap

The one caveat I would put here is that if you have a 250K+ targeted offer on the Business Platinum then I would strongly consider grabbing it and locking in the lower fee. I would also consider it on the personal card if it is a 175K+ offer. As long as you are not a part of the two heck no things discussed above that is.

If you don't have either of these two things via a targeted offer, then that is another feather in the cap of waiting. Because Amex will likely send some more of these out with the refresh to ensure a successful launch.

December Is Fast Approaching

The end of the year is coming faster than any of us would like to admit. That provides some major incentive to sit tight. The Amex triple dip gives us the chance to really supersize these refreshed card perks. That is because the way the perks are set up by the calendar instead of cardmember year. That lets you take advantage of some perks 3x and other quarterly credits 6x in the first year. That is because of the way the annual fee posts and the 30 days you get to get a full refund on it. If you need more information on the triple dip then check out our guide here.

Amex Platinum Application Plans: ToP Thoughts

By waiting with our Amex Platinum application plans we potentially lock in two things. We have a chance at a higher welcome offer, which seems likely that it would be worth more than the annual fee savings. There is some risk here, but I think it is worth taking. The guaranteed win is if you wait until December though. If you wait then you will get more value from the triple dip than you will pay in increased annual fee(s). If both things come true then we are looking at a real rags to riches story here! That is taking it too far, but you get the point. Let me know what you think about all of this over in the ToP Facebook Group.