Amex Platinum let-down

[MrDisco99]

If you book an award flight, but you use a card to pay for the taxes and surcharges, do you get trip insurance from that card?

[driftless]

Yes, I asked that question to a Chase CSR in April.

[Anonymous]

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@mkhan1093 wrote:

Yeah I know I don't have much of a leg to stand on, since it's not like they're going against their terms or anything, and I'm not going to close my card because of the Centurion Lounge especially. However, it's just upsetting that a card of this caliber doesn't provide something like this.

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Amex doesn't offer car rental insurance in Australia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica and New Zealand via their card. Citi does.  You pay 550 a year and get 200 travel credit and 200 uber credit .  150 dollars a year for everything else doesnt make it so they can give you premium service. (Though I doubt they are paying Uber 200 dollars per user)  Now if I call in via my corporate card they are always go out of their way to help me.  I guess if you are spending 100 million + on airfare alone you get  better service. 

[iced]

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@wasCB14 wrote:

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@driftless wrote:

Sorry.  But there is no subsitute for flying airlines that you have status on regardless of what credit card that you use.  

We have the highest status on United for life.  One of our friends, an Episcopal Priest, did over a million miles in one year.  United likes him as well, he was in the top 10 United passengers that year.  The point is that it is not just about your points through a credit card but it includes your traveler cred through your airline as well.   

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Nothing may beat status...but for mere mileage mortals, or people flying out-of-alliance, a CC benefit (whether it be lounge access and/or delay insurance) is often a more accessible solution.

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Both are valid points. I myself am a United 1K and they have more than once made delays right, even going so far as to book me on Delta so that I not only arrived at my destination, but I arrived before my originally scheduled flight would have had it not even been delayed.

That said, it is true those are the types of things airlines do for their upper-tier flyers and not the casual flyer, and the CC benefits can fill some of that gap. However, there is also the underlying airline's quality itself, and I feel that the casual flyer is far too quick to Priceline/Expedia trips, only caring about the cheapest fare. Find an airline that works well for you and handles problems well and stick with them rather than bargain hunt. You may not fly enough to build up status, but your experiences will still be better overall.

[driftless]

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@iced wrote:

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@wasCB14 wrote:

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@driftless wrote:

Sorry.  But there is no subsitute for flying airlines that you have status on regardless of what credit card that you use.  

We have the highest status on United for life.  One of our friends, an Episcopal Priest, did over a million miles in one year.  United likes him as well, he was in the top 10 United passengers that year.  The point is that it is not just about your points through a credit card but it includes your traveler cred through your airline as well.   

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Nothing may beat status...but for mere mileage mortals, or people flying out-of-alliance, a CC benefit (whether it be lounge access and/or delay insurance) is often a more accessible solution.

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Both are valid points. I myself am a United 1K and they have more than once made delays right, even going so far as to book me on Delta so that I not only arrived at my destination, but I arrived before my originally scheduled flight would have had it not even been delayed.

That said, it is true those are the types of things airlines do for their upper-tier flyers and not the casual flyer, and the CC benefits can fill some of that gap. However, there is also the underlying airline's quality itself, and I feel that the casual flyer is far too quick to Priceline/Expedia trips, only caring about the cheapest fare. Find an airline that works well for you and handles problems well and stick with them rather than bargain hunt. You may not fly enough to build up status, but your experiences will still be better overall.

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The OP had weather related cancellations and a short timeline.  Sometimes even with status, a top-tier airline, and paying with a premium travel card you get delayed, diverted or can't fly out.  Sometimes you fly out of an airport like LaGuardia on a business day where it seems that everyone has status and a premium travel card.  

Post-Script:  and smart phones have changed the game as well as everyone has access to change flights.  

[K-in-Boston]

So many good points here. Platinum checks so many boxes but doesn't check all of the boxes. Unfortunately nobody has issued the perfect travel card, and if one comes along it would be issued by Synchrony (arriving in a blue envelope of course) or Barclay (great for some, a total gamble for others).

[driftless]

I think that the answer is that if you travel even a few times a year that having more than one travel card maybe beneficial.

[red259]

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@driftless wrote:

I think that the answer is that if you travel even a few times a year that having more than one travel card maybe beneficial.

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Even if you travel once a year it can be worth it depending on how you travel. I tend to travel to different regions of the world and while I have my main flight there and back I almost always have a couple other short flights moving around within a region or even within a single country. When I went to China I had a couple of flights within China itself. SE Asia I had several domestic or short hop international flights, in europe when I went to greece I had seberal short hop flights to get from Germany down there and then flights between the islands etc. So even with one trip a year you could have several flights, where having a second travel card can come in handy to fill in the gaps in coverage.  

[UpperNwGuy]

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@driftless wrote:

I think that the answer is that if you travel even a few times a year that having more than one travel card maybe beneficial.

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Even if you have more than one travel card, you can only use them one at a time, so having a second card would not have helped the OP.

[driftless]

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@UpperNwGuy wrote:

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@driftless wrote:

I think that the answer is that if you travel even a few times a year that having more than one travel card maybe beneficial.

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Even if you have more than one travel card, you can only use them one at a time, so having a second card would not have helped the OP.

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Well if he used a CSR he might have been convered by trip insurance.  As related the OP's situation what you say is true, weather happens.