what's the appeal of the amex platinum and gold cards?

[MasonK]

I stuck my toe in the travel card waters with the Chase CSP and quickly discovered that my hopes of a lower-fee setup for travel wasn't going to work since I live next to a major Delta hub which means MR points are more useful than UR. Also, it didn't help that Chase pushed me toward Amex during the pandemic by countering the huge Amex credits with only $60 at Pelaton (lamest. promo. ever.)

I will say that I track my points/perks/value of both Platinum and Gold and while I do cringe when I pay the fee, I got 211,000 points last year. After perks, I wrote down an aggregated value of $5,184.93 against $795 in fees.

When I got the CSP, I too did not understand the Amex appeal, but it fits my lifestyle and situation better.

[bilwilvegas]

For us it is the simplicity of having charge cards and also the insane amount of points we get with groceries and restaurants on the gold card.  We use the platinum to book airfare because of the 5X.  Amex travel has not been convenient so we usually do not get the 5X on hotels, but we should learn to use them for our bookings.

[notmyrealname23]

There's like one of these "What's the deal with AMEX MR?!?!?!?" every couple of months or so, and everyone explains that if you're spending a ton in those categories and you can use the AMEX partner rebates and credits, these cards can be useful, but for sure this isn't for every credit card usage pattern and style, and then the Seinfeld music plays... and then we wait until the next thread.

Generally the cards are pitched to heavy spenders with affluent lifestyles who use stuff like eating out, Uber and airplane lounges, because that's where AMEX makes their bank, in transactions for that stuff. If that's not you it's fine to give it a pass.

[Citylights18]

At least with Chase points I feel the value is predictable, be it elevated redeption value through a portal or transfering into Southwest or Hyatt at a high CCP rate. AMEX has Hilton with super devalued point structure and isn't even 1 to 1 for Jet Blue. Then they take 6% of your points as an excise fee. Mariott I find is ok as a transfer partner. Choice has accomodations in remote places like the national parks but its only a $60 dollar a night hotel you are exchanging points for.

By and large then the high earning rates of AMEX are offset by less practical use for those points. However there might be something to be said for scalping those AMEX points if you believe they are generally less value and by doing so allows you to conserve higher value Chase points.

[Citylights18]

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@notmyrealname23 wrote:

There's like one of these "What's the deal with AMEX MR?!?!?!?" every couple of months or so, and everyone explains that if you're spending a ton in those categories and you can use the AMEX partner rebates and credits, these cards can be useful, but for sure this isn't for every credit card usage pattern and style, and then the Seinfeld music plays... and then we wait until the next thread.

Generally the cards are pitched to heavy spenders with affluent lifestyles who use stuff like eating out, Uber and airplane lounges, because that's where AMEX makes their bank, in transactions for that stuff. If that's not you it's fine to give it a pass.

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The eating out coupons with AMEX start at $50 and move forward to $100. It ends up forcing you to spend more to get that discount.

I find also the AMEX cards hang up at a lot of merchants compared to visa and mastercard. When I mean hang up here they are accepted but do not work well on some of the card readers. 

AMEX though when it comes to business cards are easy to obtain and the AF can be viewed more as a sunk cost. Business Gold seems better than the Personal Gold for this reason. It gives you the 25% points back on air fare and you can make it a 4x/4x gas/airline card if you want to do so.

[wasCB14]

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@notmyrealname23 wrote:

There's like one of these "What's the deal with AMEX MR?!?!?!?" every couple of months or so, and everyone explains that if you're spending a ton in those categories and you can use the AMEX partner rebates and credits, these cards can be useful, but for sure this isn't for every credit card usage pattern and style, and then the Seinfeld music plays... and then we wait until the next thread.

Generally the cards are pitched to heavy spenders with affluent lifestyles who use stuff like eating out, Uber and airplane lounges, because that's where AMEX makes their bank, in transactions for that stuff. If that's not you it's fine to give it a pass.

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Even Walmart+ is a fairly premium perk. People here derided it when it was announced, and I certainly wouldn't pay ~$14 a month for it (after tax), but it got me free and fast shipping when a distant relative needed N95s and the other reliable sources with inventory wanted huge shipping fees.

[EAJuggalo]

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@Citylights18 wrote:

At least with Chase points I feel the value is predictable, be it elevated redeption value through a portal or transfering into Southwest or Hyatt at a high CCP rate. AMEX has Hilton with super devalued point structure and isn't even 1 to 1 for Jet Blue. Then they take 6% of your points as an excise fee. Mariott I find is ok as a transfer partner. Choice has accomodations in remote places like the national parks but its only a $60 dollar a night hotel you are exchanging points for.

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Hyatt is really the only Chase partner that gives premium value over AMEX partners.  AMEX has Hilton at a 1:2 transfer ratio, that's two Hilton points for one MR, not really a "super devalued point structure."   I book Delta transferring MR at about same value I book SW transferring UR, sometimes higher.

[notmyrealname23]

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@Citylights18 wrote:

At least with Chase points I feel the value is predictable, be it elevated redeption value through a portal or transfering into Southwest or Hyatt at a high CCP rate. AMEX has Hilton with super devalued point structure and isn't even 1 to 1 for Jet Blue. Then they take 6% of your points as an excise fee. Mariott I find is ok as a transfer partner. Choice has accomodations in remote places like the national parks but its only a $60 dollar a night hotel you are exchanging points for.

By and large then the high earning rates of AMEX are offset by less practical use for those points. However there might be something to be said for scalping those AMEX points if you believe they are generally less value and by doing so allows you to conserve higher value Chase points.

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I don't agree. AMEX has airline transfer partners Chase doesn't have, plus more  regular transfer bonuses (I've seen 1:3 Hilton, 1:1.3 Marriott, 1:1.3 Asiamiles, 1:1.2 Singapore Air and Air France/KLM in the last few years I have been in AMEX MR).

I think Hyatt is high value for sure for Chase, I disagree on Southwest on a transfer partner; there are cases where 1.5 cpp using UR to BUY Southwest flights (and earn points on top) is better than transferring to Southwest at a value of 1.2 to 1.4 cpp to REDEEM for flights.

https://thepointsguy.com/guide/booking-southwest-chase-points/

[imaximous]

Over many years, I've gone back and forth mostly between URs and MRs, but also TYPs to a lesser degree. During all that time (20+ years), I've never held my own Platinum card. Always looked at it as something I'd want, but never really needed. It was probably the allure and so-called prestige associated with it, especially in my early days when it only came as an invitation -- from what I remember.

Fast forward to today, I still see it as a benefits card and not a spending card. I feel like I'd be just buying a membership to perks and I would get it, but unfortunately, many of them or their partners don't align with us. I don't think I'd charge anything on it while having other cards with better multipliers.

This is coming from someone who travels a good amount and has status with a couple of airlines, hotels, and car rentals.

OTOH, Gold was a much better fit. Food and Groceries at 4x is probably the best you can get on an ongoing basis. 

Personally, I'm not a fan of NPSL. I want to know my limits and avoid the potential annoyance or embarrassment if my card fails. I tend to make very large purchases, and I don't want to be guessing if it'll go through, if I have to make a payment to keep charging, etc. That's not for me.

[jetsfan2013]

Great topic. I did an audit on my current cards and am considering whether my planned travel for 2022/23 justifies the Platinum, or if I should keep the Platinum and shed a hotel branded card with a high AF.