American Express Platinum Card Improvements
There is a lot of competition for travel cards with a fee in the $400 range which generally include lounge access and travel credits which help you enjoy your travel experiences better.
Currently the following cards are available:
- American Express Platinum and others
- Chase Sapphire Reserve
- Citi Prestige and others
All three options offer Priority Pass Select Membership which gives lounge access at airport lounges throughout the world.
Recently American Express announced some changes to its card which to many bloggers may change the way miles and points are redeemed.
Traditional American Express Platinum Benefits
Traditionally the American Express Platinum Card has offered the following benefits:
- Membership Rewards Program with transferability to nearly every major airline
- $200 Airline Fee Credit
- Hilton Gold Status
- Lounge Access: Centurion Lounge, American Express International Lounge Network, Delta Skyclubs, Airspace Lounges and optional Priority Pass Select Membership
- Starwood Preferred Guest Gold Status
- Complimentary Hotel Benefits with Fine Hotels and Resorts
- Hotel Credit at participating properties
- TSA Global Entry Reimbursement
- Platinum Service and Concierge
- No Foreign Exchange Fees
- Travel Insurance
- Amex Offers with discounts
- + Many other benefits
New Benefits
- Earn 5x Points on Airfare Booked Directly with Airlines
- Business Card offers a 50% rebate on pay with points for booking airfare
Personal Card 5X points on Airfare
The personal card 5x points on airfare booked with the airlines is amazing. You may select one airline per-year and every dollar spent on that airline will earn 5x the points. Typically you would earn 2x points for airfare purchases. This is a tremendous benefit especially for those that fly on one airline throughout the year.
Business Card 50% rebate on pay with points bookings
The business card offers a new program that allows for a 50% rebate on using points to book airfare.
Typically membership reward points can be redeemed for 1 cent per point. So a $1,000 airfare would require 100,000 points to redeem.
This in the past would not be considered a good use of the membership express points because of the low redemption value. You would earn more bang for your buck by transferring the points to the airline and then redeem for luxury travel using the airline miles.
The new benefit changes everything as the airfare booking that typically cost 100,000 membership rewards points would now only cost 50,000 points, or 2 cents per point.
Business Card
You may think you do not have a business; however, there are many activities that we all do regularly which qualify you as a business. For example, if you occasionally sell things on ebay or offer up or similar sites, you have a business. If you have a roommate living at your home or apartment, you have a rental business.
That means you may be able to apply for the business card version.
A game changer?
Will the new business card 50% rebate on pay with points be a game changer? I’m not sure that it is a game changer. I think it will make the pay with points more attractive especially since airlines frequently devalue their own point programs which make airline miles redemptions more and more expensive.
What do you think?
Applying for the card?
I don’t personally have an affiliate relationship with American Express; however, my friend Lee from BaldThoughts has an affiliate link to CreditCards.Com that offers links for applying to the American Express card and other credit cards. You may be able to apply at: BaldThoughts
2 comments
I just picked up the personal Amex Platinum in August, so the timing of these changes is excellent for me. Amex must be feeling the heat with the popularity of the Prestige and CSR… and with them losing the valuable Costco business.
I think you are right. The business version seems awesome with the 50% rebate on pay with points.