Should I go for Amex Gold or Platinum?

[Anonymous]

I have been rebuilding my credit for a year, went from 499 to 717 ~ 730 (except for Experian).

I have the Blue Cash Everyday card with Amex (just got it last week). I am thinking of waiting until next year and applying for Amex gold or Platinum.

My income is 128k, I live in New York City. I use Uber a lot, I use seamless and eat at restaurants/drink at bars a lot, often with groups of people (and find myself paying for them quite often).

I also travel to Europe at least twice a year, and plan on traveling a lot more with my girlfriend (Asia, South America, Africa). 

I pay of my credit card expenses immediately, never incurring any interest.

Do I fit the profile of someone who should go for Gold Or Platinum? And as for approval odds based on CR, My Experian has a paid-off collection that should fall off in September. However I've racked up a lot of Inquiries in the past few months and my redit history is only about a year old.

P.S. i fly with Norwegian a lot, otherwise I've always used a mix of any cheap flight from any airline through things like Kiwi, etc. Might consider becoming loyal to one or two airlines instead (like Norwegian and Delta)

[NRB525]

Gold. You will get a lot more reward points daily from the dining and groceries. The Gold also gets 3 MR on airline purchases ( vs 5 MR for Platinum, not a huge difference considering the AF difference) and has a lower fee to manage.  

Reports here indicate the underwriting is the same for Platinum, Gold, and Green so that’s not a differentiator. 

[wasCB14]

The answer may be "both".

You have the income and spend. You can use the dining and Uber credits, and presumably the airfare extras credits.

Gold will give you a lot of rewards for a low net AF.

Amex Platinum will give you perks including good Delta lounge access (like the JFK T4 Sky Club and an upcoming JFK T4 Centurion).

[Zolomon]

If this will be your first Amex, apply for the Platinum when you see an offer for the 100k bonus points. Amex uses this bonus as an acquisition measure, and its rare to see that high of a bonus if you’re already in with Amex.

Then apply for the Gold using a 50k bonus point referral offer.

Edit: actually disregard. You clearly stated you got the BCE already, so go for Gold.

[Anonymous]

Considering your BCE is a borderline approval for $500..... I would say wait and see what happens there first.  Technically a "charge" card should be more lenient for approval but, I would concentrate on cleaning things up a bit more and seeing what the BCE does for CLI's before leaping into gold/platinum w/ AMEX.  If you show growth with the 61 CLI attempt and the 180 day after that then it's safe to say you'll probably get one or both w/o any restrictions.  If you were to go for it now it's possible they would impose a hard limit for a period of time instead of the NPSL that it's designed for.

[Anonymous]

The Gold doesn't provide access to Centurion Lounges correct? ANy lounges? One of the main savings I see with the lounge benfits is the money saved on food and beverage. I've eaten/drank and spent enough nights in airport hotels that I view that as a huge money saver.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

The Gold doesn't provide access to Centurion Lounges correct? ANy lounges? One of the main savings I see with the lounge benfits is the money saved on food and beverage. I've eaten/drank and spent enough nights in airport hotels that I view that as a huge money saver.

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https://skift.com/2019/06/03/american-express-removes-free-airport-lounge-meal-benefit-from-platinum...

Keep an eye on the benefits as they seem to be changing them lately.

[Anonymous]

I think lounges require Platinum, but don’t let them be the deciding factor - Amex recently announced that the free food was going away.

Edit - Obscure-Expert beat me to it by a minute

[wasCB14]

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@Anonymous wrote:
I think lounges require Platinum, but don’t let them be the deciding factor - Amex recently announced that the free food was going away.

Edit - Obscure-Expert beat me to it by a minute

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This could easily mislead some people.

Priority Pass from Amex *will no longer include PP-participating standalone restaurants as of August 1*. But PP from Amex still includes actual lounges, and those lounges will generally include some sort of food (quality and selection varying greatly). PP from other banks does still include standalone restaurants (AFAIK).

Also, Amex includes a lot of lounge options outside of Priority Pass: Centurion, International Amex, Escape, Delta (some restrictions), Airspace, Lufthansa (very limited), and Plaza Premium.

I like having "full" Priority Pass from Chase because I'd have a CSR anyway. But Platinum still has more options than competitors.

Amex Gold does not include complimentary lounge access. A customer could use part or all of the Gold's $100 airfare extras credit for access at a lounge operated by their selected airline (like a Sky Club for Delta or an Admirals Club for AA). However, such access would be at full price (no discount and rarely worthwhile) and that credit can often be used for gift cards (making a full price lounge admission inefficient).

Non-Platinum, non-Centurion Amex cards could once purchase a day pass to a Centurion lounge for $50. However, this is no longer allowed.

[Anonymous]

Both with you habits wouldn't be a bad choice. You'll have no problem using up the various credits offered by both the cards. When you use up all the credits from the Platinum, it essentially has an AF of around $25/year...but the secret of the Platinum is getting extreme value out of the perks the card offers you.

If you're waiting until 2020, you should be fine. Your EX scores will have risen with that baddie falling off your report & amex will have updated their info on you. You also have time to have your BCE cli twice before applying, bringing it up to 4,500.
And since you have the BCE, you shouldn't have to worry about a HP on your credit. Once you're in with amex, they pretty much only do soft pulls for things--CLIs, new card approvals, product changes, etc.