Not sure if this is the correct board for this but in case anyone was thinking of getting an AMEX platinum card, I got my platinum card late August of this year and I thought I'd share my recent Amex platinum experiences.
Recently I went on a trip to Atlanta with my girlfriend for my 10 year school reunion. I wanted to utilize as much of the benefits from my platinum card as I could. I'll break down my experiences into categories and try to give them a rating.
Game of thrones live concert 5/5
This was actually still in Seattle before I took my trip to Atlanta but there was a Game of thrones live concert that we really wanted to go to. When trying to book tickets on my own, the only seats I could get was pretty far back. I then tried to book through Amex events and was able to get seats pretty close to the stage but still high enough to get an amazing view of everything. Didn't have to break the bank trying to get those resold tickets 
.
Centurion Lounge 4/5
This was my first lounge experience ever. We decided to check out the Centurion lounge at the Seattle airport since we had a couple of hours to kill. Both my girlfriend and I got in for free but we got in around noon and the lounge was pretty crowded. It's a pretty small space and pretty much all available seats were already taken. We did find a small space to squeeze into and had a pretty amazing lunch there. The best thing imo was the pesto chicken. We also had a couple drinks for free . As the lunch rush came to an end, the louge started to empty out a little and we were able to relax more comfortably.
Hertz car rental 5/5
I remember a few years back when I went to Vegas with my family, I was trying to rent a car from Hertz. It was very late at night and everyone was super tired and ready to crash. However there was still a long line at the car rental line and in the end we were just given what was available. With the platinum card, you can enroll in their gold #1 club for free. Meaning instead of waiting at a counter, we went straight to the parking lot full of gold level tier cars, picked whatever car we wanted and drive straight out. The act of picking the car was pretty exciting for us. We opened several cars looked inside to see what kind of features it had. In the end we picked a pretty spacious chevy. The whole process was quick and enjoyable.
Hilton Hotel 2/5
With the platinum card you get free Hilton Honors gold memberships which is supposed to give you free room upgrades if available, free breakfasts, etc. I don't think we got any of those except the 2 free waterbottles for the first night. We arrived at the hotel at night and the parking lot was pretty empty. We were still given a very standard room on the second floor. The reservation was also under a different person who was another hilton honors member with the same last name as me. When I called in to hilton to book my reservation, I gave them my last name to look me up because I didn't have my member number on me. They asked me if I was someone named Benjamin and I told them no, I was the other one. Guess what name my room was booked under? Benjamin. So of course we wasted several tiring minutes trying to track down my reservation. Then we asked about the free breakfast and the front desk person said I had actually opted to get additional points on my members account instead of the free breakfast. Remember I booked this through the telephone and I had never once mentioned wanting additional points instead of breakfast. So I got no room upgrades, no breakfast and no additional water bottles for the rest of my 5 day stay there. This is more of an issue with Hilton rather than AMEX but the experience was not great.
Dinner at American Cut 5/5
I knew I wanted to have a nice dinner out with my GF in Atlanta so I booked in advance through AMEX concierge. They gave me a list of restaurants they had good partnerships with and we picked American Cut (because it had wagyu on their menu). When we arrived, the hostess instead of taking us to the common dining area took up to the upper area where it was pretty empty and quiet. There was only 1 other family there that came in after us. After we put in our order, we were brought appetizers which we hadn't ordered. We told the waiter we didn't order these food. He looked slightly confused that we didn't know about it but he politely explained AMEX had requested the restaurant to give us free appetizers. They were AMAZING. The appetizers we got for free was the Tuna crudo topped with caviar, shrimp cocktail and caesar salads. Total worth over $50 if we had ordered them ourselves. Then the main courses came out (wagyu for me and lamb rack for my GF) which were also amazing. At the end of the dinner the restuarant gave us $50 giftcard because they were apparently celebrating an anniversary milestone. One thing I noticed at this restuarant it wasn't just 1 waiter tending to us. There was the table side salad preparer, table cleaner, meat person showing us what they were going to cook for us, chef coming to check on us, etc. All in all a great experience.
Delta Lounge 5/5
There are like several HUGE Delta lounges at the Atlanta airport. On our trip back home, we decided to check out one of the delta lounges with showers (We were out in the heat all day and were kind of sweaty). The shower was soooo enjoyable. Since they had many shower rooms there was no waiting time. The shower rooms themselves were very spacious. Warm water so relaxing but at the same time the sage shampoo and peppermint body soap wakes you right up. Then you dry yourself in these soft towels. More relaxing shower than even at home. Then we had food at the lounge for dinner and which again was also so amazing. After eating ourselves into a food coma, there were many comfy seating areas to sit back and relax. The Delta lounge was for sure a significantly better experience than the Centurion lounge.
Airline fee credits 4/5
I wish there were more categories I can get credit from but I was able to check in additional bags I didn't want to carry on with me without worry of money and food from the plane if I got peckish. The delta lounge was not free for my GF ($29) but I did use my platinum card so waiting to see if I can get credit for that too.
Long post but all in all I think the american express card even without the signup bonus has paid itself off for me. I can't wait to use it more in the future.
I found the Delta clubs in Atlanta were better than the centurion clubs I have been to. That being said Atlanta is the main delta hub so I expect their best lounges to be there.
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Excellent write-up!! Sounds like you got the most out of one trip using the Platinum as one could get. The appetizer was a great touch, I'll have to remember to book a dinner through the Concierge and try my luck! As for the Hilton review, I'm not really surprised... the US perks for Hilton really aren't exactly worth writing home about but overall, great review and it was great to hear about all the perks getting utilized.
yea status doesn't get you as much with domestic hotels. However, it can indeed payoff overseas where they have high end lounge offerings.
Access to the Centirion Lounge is BY FAR my favorite benefit. I travel often and this is the BEST lounge tht ive found in the US. That perk alone is worth the &550AF..hands down!
OP, you could of changed your points to free breakfast at Hilton. It happened to me on my last stay and they made the change during check-in no problem at all. Other stays I was asked if I wanted points or breakfast during check-in.
Personal Cards: Amex Plat | Amex Delta Res | CSR | Citi AA Exec Business Cards: Ink+ | Amex BGR
@Anonymous wrote:
@redpat wrote:OP, you could of changed your points to free breakfast at Hilton. It happened to me on my last stay and they made the change during check-in no problem at all. Other stays I was asked if I wanted points or breakfast during check-in.
Yes, I tried asking at the counter when I was checking-in. The guy told me I had to request the change before the check-in itself. The guy helping me check-in wasn't that pleasant in the first place.
He gave you a load of BS. Next time tell them to make the change.