If there’s one common thread among the big banks as the pandemic comes to a close, it’s that these banks want your business. Amex has continually pumped new offers to the market with the latest on its Amex Platinum Card. A whopping $900 in credits were added as new Amex Platinum Benefits. While that number is insane, the annual fee increased to $695 for new cardmembers and will increase to $695 for existing cardmembers in the future.
So, are $900 in new Amex Platinum benefits legit? Or is Amex adding benefits that no one will use? On the whole, these benefits are positive. While cardmembers will value these benefits differently, using even one of these new benefits can likely wipe out the additional annual fee cost.
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New Amex Platinum Benefits
$300 Equinox Credit
Cardmembers are eligible to receive up to $25 in statement credits each month on membership fees for an Equinox membership or digital Equinox+ membership. Brick and mortar membership costs are driven by the location of the Equinox gym. The digital membership (Equinox+) starts at $39.99/month. So, you’re effectively paying $14.99/month for Equinox+.
$240 Digital Entertainment Credit
Statement credits for up to $20 per month, or $240 per calendar year are a new perk on the Amex Platinum Card. Entertainment partners include Peacock, Audible, SiriusXM, and The New York Times. This credit is one that we’d all love to see expanded to include more partners like Hulu, Netflix, and Spotify.
$179 CLEAR Credit
Paying for an annual CLEAR membership with the Amex Platinum Card gives you back $179 in statement credits per calendar year. This credit is also now available on the Amex Business Platinum Card. Instead of using a form of ID, CLEAR uses your eyes and face for airport security access verification. If you’ve seen airport lines lately, CLEAR is guaranteed to save you time getting through security.
$200 Hotel Credit
Prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection reservations made through American Express Travel are eligible for $200 in statement credits each calendar year. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
Global Dining Access by Resy
The Global Dining Access program provides cardmembers with access to exclusive reservations, notifications when sought-after tables that become available before tables are made available to other Resy users. Global Dining Access also offers access to exclusive events.
Existing American Express Platinum Benefits
$200 Airline Fee Credit
Incidental airline fees charges to your Amex Platinum Card receive up to $200 in an Amex Platinum travel credit per calendar year. To qualify for these credits, you must select one qualifying airline on your account. Qualifying airlines include Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines. Airfare, wifi, upgrades, mileage points purchases, mileage points transfer fees, gift cards, duty-free purchases, and award tickets are not considered incidental fees.
$200 Uber Credit
Uber credits of $15 per month, and $35 in December, are available on the Amex Platinum Card. These credits also cover Uber Eats making it relatively to use the $15 every month. These are the types of credits you can generally assume you’ll receive full face value for.
$100 Global Entry / $85 TSA Pre✓
Cardmembers are eligible to receive a statement credit every 4.5 years for TSA Pre✓ and every 4 years for Global Entry when you pay the application fee with your Amex Platinum Card. TSA Pre✓ costs $85 and Global Entry costs $100. Global Entry includes TSA Pre✓ so It likely makes the most sense to apply for Global Entry.
$100 Saks Credit
Saks purchases are eligible for statement credits as well. Cardmembers receive a $50 statement credit from January through June and a $50 statement credit from July through December. So, you receive $100 per calendar year in Saks statement credits. This is a credit that’s fairly easy to use that you can likely assume you’ll receive the full $100 value from.
Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite + Hilton Honors Gold Status
Gold Elite status in both Marriott and Hilton are available to cardmembers. Marriott Gold includes perks like 25% bonus points on stays, an enhanced room upgrade, and 2 p.m. late checkout. Hilton Gold offers 80% bonus points on stays, space-available room upgrades, daily food & beverage credit (U.S. hotels only) or continental breakfast (non-U.S. hotels), and milestone bonuses.
Premium Car Rental Status
Avis Preferred Club, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards and National Emerald Club Executive memberships come with the Amex Platinum Card. Perks vary with each car rental loyalty program. However, Hertz Gold Plus and National Emerland Club Executive have worked well for me in the past.
Trip Delay Insurance
When a round-trip flight booked with your Amex Platinum Card is delayed more than 6 hours, cardmembers receive up to $500 in meals, lodging, toiletries, medication, and other personal use items. This is one of the best delay insurance policies offered by a travel credit card.
5x Points on Airfare
You earn 5x points on airfare booked with the airline, or through AmexTravel.com. You also earn 5x points on prepaid hotel booking through AmexTravel.com. 5x points on airfare are one of the highest earn rates a travel credit card offers.
Platinum Card Concierge
American Express Concierge can help with purchasing event tickets, reservations including restaurants or golf, general travel-related inquiries, and shopping requests like sending flowers or gifts. In other words, call your Platinum Card concierge before making a restaurant or golf reservation.
Conclusion on Amex Platinum Benefits 2021
The American Express Platinum Card benefits are one of the main reasons to apply for this high-end travel credit card. Amex added more than $900 in credits to the Amex Platinum Card. In return, Amex increased the annual fee to $695. New Amex Platinum benefits include a $300 Equinox credit, a $240 digital entertainment credit, a $179 CLEAR credit, and a $200 hotel credit. All in all, the new benefits are the types of changes we can expect to see from the big banks as travel opens back up.
What do you think about the new Amex Platinum benefits? Do the credits outweight the increased annual fee? Please let me know in the comments or by sending me an email on my contact page.
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