American Express Platinum Card® Review
The American Express Platinum Card® is Amex's premium travel personal credit card. The card offers many benefits and perks along with a high annual fee. In our American Express Platinum Card® review, we will look at the welcome offer, earning structure, card benefits and share our overall thoughts on this premium product.
Current Welcome Offer
Amex usually has many different welcome offers for its cards at any given time, including the American Express Platinum Card®. Here are the terms for the current public welcome offer:
- You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $12,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
- Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
- Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact.
- If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted.
- This card has a $895 annual fee. See Rates and Fees.
Platinum version authorized users, which cost $195 per cardmember, also get lounge access. This is an increase from the old set up where you could add 3 Platinum version authorized users for $175 in total each year. You can still add authorized users as Gold card carriers at no fee. They do not receive lounge access with that set up.
Amex Application Rules
Due to the new family rule, you should follow our application guidance found here. The order of Amex Membership Rewards applications now matters and you need to strategize what card to open and when!
If you choose to apply, remember that Amex typically will not approve you for more than two Amex credit cards during a 90-day period. They also have a 10 card limit on the colored Membership Rewards earning cards (of which this is one). This includes personal and business cards. This is separate from the 5 card limit on credit cards.
Amex also has a once per lifetime welcome offer rule on each card. This is more like every 5 – 7 years in reality though, and not actually your lifetime. That timeline is based off of when you last held a card, not when you last earned a welcome offer on the product though. If you are ineligible for the welcome offer for any reason American Express will usually let you know that with a pop-up before the application is processed. You can cancel the application at this time with no hard pull.
The Platinum Card® Review: Earning Structure
The American Express Platinum Card® has the following earning structure:
- 5x points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel®
- On up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year
- 5x points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel®.
- 1x on all other eligible charges
Amex Platinum Card Benefits
The Amex Platinum card offers a lot of benefits and perks. Amex even boasts that the card offers several thousands of dollars in value through its many credits. This may be true, but few cardholders will manage to use every single credit without much work. That said, the Platinum Card does offer a lot of good benefits that are sure to please many cardholders.
Lululemon Credit ($300)
Up to $75 back each quarter in statement credits for eligible purchases at lululemon stores or lululemon.com in the U.S. when Card Members pay with the Platinum Card. Enrollment required.
Resy Dining Credit ($400)
Up to $100 in statement credits each quarter after Card Members use their Platinum Card to make eligible purchases with Resy, including dining purchases at more than 10,000 U.S. Resy restaurants. You don't need to book a reservation through Resy to use this perk. You just need to use your enrolled Platinum card to pay at a participating restaurant. Enrollment required.
Uber Cash ($200):
The Uber cash offers $15 each month for orders with Uber Eats or rides with Uber in the U.S., plus a bonus $20 in December, for up to $200 per calendar year.
To receive this benefit, you must download the latest version of the Uber App and your eligible American Express Platinum Card must be a method of payment in your Uber account. The Amex Benefit may only be used in the United States. Effective 11/8/2024, an Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit. Enrollment required.
$120 Uber One Membership Credit
Up to $120 in statement credits each calendar year after purchase of an auto-renewing Uber One membership in the U.S. with the Platinum Card, adding to the existing Uber Cash benefit. Enrollment required.
Lounge access:
Like many other premium travel cards, the Amex Platinum card has complimentary Priority Pass Select membership. This card also grants you access to the Amex Global Lounge Collection® (eligible card members), with complimentary access to tons of lounges in many countries across the world. Enrollment required.
Airline credit ($200):
Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card®. Enrollment is required for this benefit.
Once you select a qualifying airline, you will receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when you charge airline incidental fees to your Platinum card. Charges to any authorized user cards on your account also trigger the credit. Examples of qualifying fees include checked bags and seat selection. This benefit requires enrollment, so make sure to do so as soon as you receive your new card.
FHR/Hotel Collection credit ($600):
Get up to $300 in statement credits semi-annually (January 1st – June 30th and July 1st – December 31st) for up to a total of $600 in statement credits per calendar year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using the Business Platinum Card®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay. You can receive extra perks when booking through Amex FHR like free breakfast and property credit for select hotel bookings.
CLEAR+ ($209):
The Amex Platinum card offers up to $209 in statement credits toward an annual CLEAR+ membership for expedited airport security. CLEAR+ helps to get you to your gate faster at 50+ airports nationwide and get up to $209 back per calendar year on your Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Card. CLEAR+ lanes are available at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues. You can search for Clear+ locations here.
Entertainment credit ($300):
Get up to $25 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card on one or more of the following:
- Disney+
- Disney+ Bundle
- ESPN+
- Hulu
- The New York Times
- Peacock
- The Wall Street Journal
- Paramount+
- YouTube Premium
- YouTube TV
Enrollment is required for this benefit.
Walmart+ ($155):
Save on eligible delivery fees, shipping, and more (excludes most marketplace items) with a Walmart+ membership. Use your Platinum Card(R) to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership and get up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes back on one membership (excluding Plus Ups) each month.
Equinox credit ($300):
Get up to $300 back in statement credits per calendar year on an Equinox membership, or an Equinox club membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you pay with your Platinum Card(R). Enrollment required. Visit https://platinum.equinox.com/ to enroll.
Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check (Up To $120):
Receive either a $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
Oura Credit ($200)
Up to $200 back each calendar year in statement credits when Card Members use the Platinum Card to purchase an Oura Ring through Ouraring.com. Enrollment required.
Complimentary Hotel Elite Status:
Cardholders enjoy complimentary Gold status with Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy. Also receive receive complimentary Leaders Club Sterling Status from The Leading Hotels of the World®. Enrollment is required.
ToP Analysis
The Amex Platinum card offers some great benefits for travelers, despite the high $895 annual fee. Most travelers can benefit from credits towards Uber, lululemon, streaming, airline fees, FHR/Hotel Collection, and Clear+, along with lounge access. Of course, we all have different travel patterns and preferences. If these credits are of little use to you, then the Platinum Card may not be a keeper for you. But the card's consistently high welcome offer makes it worth opening if you are over 5/24, even if just for the first year.
Whether the card is worth keeping after the first year requires you to crunch the numbers and figure out which credits you will actually use. Benefits like the Uber and airline credits are very easy to use. Others require a little more work, like the FHR/Hotel Collection. Meanwhile, benefits like the Equinox and entertainment credits cater to a much smaller subgroup of cardholders.
One downside of all these different credits is that many are broken out monthly. Having to remember which credit(s) have been used every month gets quite tiresome. Those who have criticized the American Express Platinum Card® becoming glorified coupon books make a valid point.
As for spending, the American Express Platinum Card® has many bonus categories. The card's 5x earning on flights booked directly with airlines beats all other major credit cards. But beyond that, the Platinum Card does not justify getting a lot of spend. Earning 5x on bookings through Amex Travel is similar to what competitors offer but we think portal bookings should be mostly avoided.
In sum, the utility of the American Express Platinum Card® comes down to its benefits. Those who derive value from the many credits and travel perks should easily justify the high annual fee.
American Express Platinum Card® Review: Final Thoughts
The American Express Platinum Card® has plenty of benefits geared towards travelers. Folks should each analyze their own needs to decide whether the card is worth keeping for the benefits. With so many of its perks split into monthly statement credits, cardholders should also consider the effort required to have those credits actually be worth it.
What are your thoughts on the Amex Platinum card? Which of the card's benefits most appeal to you? Come join the discussion in our Facebook group!
