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AMEX Platinum might raise annual fee & changes to Centurion lounge access

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tacpoly
Established Contributor

Re: AMEX Platinum might raise annual fee


@notmyrealname23 wrote:

That or you know how to use the incidental fee:

- small (under $100) add/collects in conjunction with a Delta gift card (IOW you can use it with a ticket)

- small ticket charges (under $100) for Alaska or Southwest

- lounge admissions for Delta, American, United or Alaska's lounges

I used $350 in AMEX incidental fee reimbursements last year to pay for plane tickets (was even able to use pandemic one time only conversions to airline miles/points Smiley Very Happy), and I'm using more this year (plus I think I'll end up in a Delta lounge or two at some point). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I agree that it's not straightforward like Chase/Citi/US Bank and if AMEX did a "here's a $250 travel credit that just works, oh, and by the way,  we're jacking the annual fee to $795, and here's a free CLEAR card"... that could be compelling.

I also think that Gold makes more sense as the "lifestyle" card (bonuses on dining, groceries, they're ditching the $100 airline credit for the Uber Eats credit, won't shock me if they did something like dump the 3x on flights and maybe do 3x stuff like streaming and gas stations) as opposed to Platinum, where the big benefits have ALWAYS been "here's these travel things we shovel at you, like hotel status, FHR and lounges".


The rare times I fly domestically, it's transcontinental -- so no small ticket charges -- and first class (not much better than economy if you get the wrong plane) -- so no need to pay for lounges.  I wouldn't use Amex for partial ticket charges nowadays because they won't qualify for trip delay/interruption/cancellation coverage; CSR is better there.  I use CSR for international flights as well.  Agree that Amex FHR benefits are good -- got an nice upgrade in Milan.  However, I think booking with Virtuoso or Aspire is just as good and may sometimes be even better as I get more personal service and the few issues I had were resolved really quickly.  Right now I keep the Amex plat for high value purchases as a hedge that if anything goes wrong, Amex customer service is likely help more than the other credit cards -- it's not much of a travel card for me.

 

Message 31 of 136
notmyrealname23
Established Contributor

Re: AMEX Platinum might raise annual fee


@tacpoly wrote:

@notmyrealname23 wrote:

That or you know how to use the incidental fee:

- small (under $100) add/collects in conjunction with a Delta gift card (IOW you can use it with a ticket)

- small ticket charges (under $100) for Alaska or Southwest

- lounge admissions for Delta, American, United or Alaska's lounges

I used $350 in AMEX incidental fee reimbursements last year to pay for plane tickets (was even able to use pandemic one time only conversions to airline miles/points Smiley Very Happy), and I'm using more this year (plus I think I'll end up in a Delta lounge or two at some point). ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I agree that it's not straightforward like Chase/Citi/US Bank and if AMEX did a "here's a $250 travel credit that just works, oh, and by the way,  we're jacking the annual fee to $795, and here's a free CLEAR card"... that could be compelling.

I also think that Gold makes more sense as the "lifestyle" card (bonuses on dining, groceries, they're ditching the $100 airline credit for the Uber Eats credit, won't shock me if they did something like dump the 3x on flights and maybe do 3x stuff like streaming and gas stations) as opposed to Platinum, where the big benefits have ALWAYS been "here's these travel things we shovel at you, like hotel status, FHR and lounges".


The rare times I fly domestically, it's transcontinental -- so no small ticket charges -- and first class (not much better than economy if you get the wrong plane) -- so no need to pay for lounges.  I wouldn't use Amex for partial ticket charges nowadays because they won't qualify for trip delay/interruption/cancellation coverage; CSR is better there.  I use CSR for international flights as well.  Agree that Amex FHR benefits are good -- got an nice upgrade in Milan.  However, I think booking with Virtuoso or Aspire is just as good and may sometimes be even better as I get more personal service and the few issues I had were resolved really quickly.  Right now I keep the Amex plat for high value purchases as a hedge that if anything goes wrong, Amex customer service is likely help more than the other credit cards -- it's not much of a travel card for me.

 


Right, but I've had various flavors of airline status for, oh, going over a decade now? So "the AMEX incidental credit isn't useful"... well, perhaps not for you but it's still plenty useful for me and other people (I would argue a travel pattern that's 100% transcon premium/international premium and 0% domestic coach isn't all that common, though I'm sure AMEX would love some of that premium fare spend- I'm almost the opposite, my paid travel is mostly domestic coach, my mileage redemptions are mostly international premium). The credit's being dropped from Gold but IMO Gold is more likely to be the "lifestyle" card going forward for AMEX than Platinum- the benefits and multipliers line up better for "lifestyle". Platinum is also Centurion/Priority Pass/Hilton Gold/Marriott Gold... so travel stuff.

First Tech FCU Choice Rewards World MC 35k | AMEX Hilton Aspire 17.5k | Chase Southwest Priority Visa 15.5k | AMEX Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant 15k | Bilt Rewards MC 14k | Capital One Venture X 13k | Fidelity VISA Signature 11.5k | Citi AA Platinum Select 11.9k | Charles Schwab AMEX Platinum NPSL | Amex Platinum (I know) NPSL | Amex Gold NPSL | Citi Premier 8.9k | Chase Fredom Unlimited 9k | SoFi MC World Elite 8k | Capital One SavorOne 7.5k | PayPal Synchrony MC 6.4k | Citi Custom Cash 6.9k | DiscoverIt Cashback 5k | Amazon/Synchrony 5k | Hotels.com 5k | AMEX Delta Gold 3k | Apple Card 3k | Target 800 | Ch 13 filed 12/13 discharged as paid 1/19
Message 32 of 136
NRB525
Super Contributor

Re: AMEX Platinum might raise annual fee

Those who don't yet have the Platinum Card don't yet recieve the quarterly Departures magazine. 

That's where the "lifestyle" alignment comes in, not with the Gold Card. 

High Bal Jan 2009 $116k on $146k limits 80% Util.
Oct 2014 $46k on $127k 36% util EQ 722 TU 727 EX 727
April 2018 $18k on $344k 5% util EQ 806 TU 810 EX 812
Jan 2019 $7.6k on $360k EQ 832 TU 839 EX 831
March 2021 $33k on $312k EQ 796 TU 798 EX 801
May 2021 Paid all Installments and Mortgages, one new Mortgage EQ 761 TY 774 EX 777
April 2022 EQ=811 TU=807 EX=805 - TU VS 3.0 765
Message 33 of 136
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX Platinum might raise annual fee

i only signed up for the amex platinum cause i was able to get the $150 annual credit through the amex corporate advantage program.

 

if that still remains after the fee hike, i will most likely keep it.

 

i use a lot of the benefits with the platinum card, but i haven't been able to take advantage of the centurion lounge too much.

 

i arrive at the airport fairly late. by the time i park, check in luggage, security, etc., there's like 30 minutes until i board the plane.

 

Message 34 of 136
red259
Super Contributor

Re: AMEX Platinum might raise annual fee


@Anonymous wrote:

@NRB525 wrote:

Those who don't yet have the Platinum Card don't yet recieve the quarterly Departures magazine. 

That's where the "lifestyle" alignment comes in, not with the Gold Card. 


lol...

Departures never makes it from my mailbox to my front door.


I hate that magazine. It is mostly just ads and they try to cram it into my tiny mailbox.  I haven't checked is there an easy way to opt out of it on the website? I'm not paying $695 for the plat card. I am on the verge of cancelling it at the current rate. 

;
Starting Score: EQ: 714, TU 684
Current Score: EQ: 725 7/30/13, TU 684 6/2013, Exp 828 5/2018, Last App 8/5/17
Goal Score: 800 (Achieved!) In garden until Sepetember 2019
Message 35 of 136
Anonymous
Not applicable

Re: AMEX Platinum might raise annual fee


@red259 wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@NRB525 wrote:

Those who don't yet have the Platinum Card don't yet recieve the quarterly Departures magazine. 

That's where the "lifestyle" alignment comes in, not with the Gold Card. 


lol...

Departures never makes it from my mailbox to my front door.


I hate that magazine. It is mostly just ads and they try to cram it into my tiny mailbox.  I haven't checked is there an easy way to opt out of it on the website? I'm not paying $695 for the plat card. I am on the verge of cancelling it at the current rate. 


They used to let you opt out on the website, but evidently no more.  I've called them and asked them to stop sending it, and it works. . .for a while. And then it arrives again.

It's an annoyance, but so is 95% of what shows up in my mailbox.  Anything important is always email.

That said, I wouldn't cancel the card over the magazine.

Message 36 of 136
NoHardLimits
Frequent Contributor

Re: AMEX Platinum might raise annual fee


@Anonymous wrote:

@red259 wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@NRB525 wrote:

Those who don't yet have the Platinum Card don't yet recieve the quarterly Departures magazine. 

That's where the "lifestyle" alignment comes in, not with the Gold Card. 


lol...

Departures never makes it from my mailbox to my front door.


I hate that magazine. It is mostly just ads and they try to cram it into my tiny mailbox.  I haven't checked is there an easy way to opt out of it on the website? I'm not paying $695 for the plat card. I am on the verge of cancelling it at the current rate. 


They used to let you opt out on the website, but evidently no more.  I've called them and asked them to stop sending it, and it works. . .for a while. And then it arrives again.

It's an annoyance, but so is 95% of what shows up in my mailbox.  Anything important is always email.

That said, I wouldn't cancel the card over the magazine.


I last tried calling to opt out of the magazine in October 2019.  I was directed to a contact at Meredith Publications who proceeded to give me contradictory information about why she couldn't remove me from their mailing list.  I finally got her to agree to forward my request onward to "someone who might be able to help".  Needless to say, I'm still receiving the magazine today.  I suspect that they just want to keep their subscriber numbers artificially inflated.

March 2024 Scorecard: Clean, Thick, Mature, New Revolver
FICO8:
VantageScore3:
Inquiries (n/12, n/24):
AAoA: 11 yrs | AoORA: 36 yrs | AoYRA: 11 mos | New Accounts: 0/6, 1/12, 2/24 | Util: 2% | DTI: 1%
Message 37 of 136
KJinNC
Valued Contributor

Re: AMEX Platinum might raise annual fee

This is really just going to come down to new fee vs total benefits (old as well as new), as it normally does. My net AF is $400 due to CAP. I value lounge access at about $200. So I need $200 in non-duplicative value for the card to be worth it to me. So far, it has delivered, and I hope it continues to, but if that is ever not the case, I will cancel or downgrade it. I am not quite sure what to make of Clear. I wouldn't value that over maybe $50/year. I know it costs more, I am talking about what I personally value it at for myself. Hilton Diamond would be great. Enhancements to lounge access would be a plus. Serious reward spending categories you can actually use in more situations would be great. Anything that results in me having more money at the end of the year or feeling the money I spent was worth it is ok with me. I would prefer if they avoid exclusive situations that only work for some people and are useless for others. I realize you can't please everybody. But, Equinox has $0/year value for me. Anything involving Uber has $0/year value for me. Long story short, we'll all just have to decide when we see the real details.



FICO Resilience Index: 64. Cards: 5/24, 2/12, 2/6. Accounts including loans: 8/24, 4/12, 3/6. Card CLs total $213,900, or $240,400 including the AU card. Cards (oldest to newest)

Authorized user / Corporate / Auto loans / Personal loan
Message 38 of 136
godscountry
Regular Contributor

Re: AMEX Platinum might raise annual fee

Didnt read every post...but beginning April 1st, the new mobile phone protection plan begins.  I had it on Barclays UBER ($25 deductible and $600 liability, 2 claims per 12 months $1000 max).  Platinum AMEX is $50 deductible w/$800-850 liability, 2 claims per year.  Wife just put her iPhone in the washing machine 2 weeks ago, smh...so waiting til April 1st to file claim.  (Must have paid cell phone bill on last months cycle)




Current Scores: EX 652 I EQ 688 I TU 696
Cards appear in order of approval
Message 39 of 136
NRB525
Super Contributor

Re: AMEX Platinum might raise annual fee


@NoHardLimits wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@red259 wrote:

@Anonymous wrote:

@NRB525 wrote:

Those who don't yet have the Platinum Card don't yet recieve the quarterly Departures magazine. 

That's where the "lifestyle" alignment comes in, not with the Gold Card. 


lol...

Departures never makes it from my mailbox to my front door.


I hate that magazine. It is mostly just ads and they try to cram it into my tiny mailbox.  I haven't checked is there an easy way to opt out of it on the website? I'm not paying $695 for the plat card. I am on the verge of cancelling it at the current rate. 


They used to let you opt out on the website, but evidently no more.  I've called them and asked them to stop sending it, and it works. . .for a while. And then it arrives again.

It's an annoyance, but so is 95% of what shows up in my mailbox.  Anything important is always email.

That said, I wouldn't cancel the card over the magazine.


I last tried calling to opt out of the magazine in October 2019.  I was directed to a contact at Meredith Publications who proceeded to give me contradictory information about why she couldn't remove me from their mailing list.  I finally got her to agree to forward my request onward to "someone who might be able to help".  Needless to say, I'm still receiving the magazine today.  I suspect that they just want to keep their subscriber numbers artificially inflated.


Yeah, the Departures mag is not for everyone. But that doesn't negate my observation: Lifestyle perspective is a part of Platinum. Not so much with Gold. The bulk of Platinum cardholders are interested in the lifestyle aspects.  

High Bal Jan 2009 $116k on $146k limits 80% Util.
Oct 2014 $46k on $127k 36% util EQ 722 TU 727 EX 727
April 2018 $18k on $344k 5% util EQ 806 TU 810 EX 812
Jan 2019 $7.6k on $360k EQ 832 TU 839 EX 831
March 2021 $33k on $312k EQ 796 TU 798 EX 801
May 2021 Paid all Installments and Mortgages, one new Mortgage EQ 761 TY 774 EX 777
April 2022 EQ=811 TU=807 EX=805 - TU VS 3.0 765
Message 40 of 136
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