The Platinum Card From American Express Review

The Platinum Card from American Express is meant for people who can be summed up in two words: luxury travelers. You won’t earn any cash back, you won’t earn a lot of points from non-travel purchases, and you won’t be able to pay off existing credit card debt by transferring it to this card.

What you will get is access to unrivaled luxury travel benefits that cover every stage of your journey, from opulent Saks Fifth Avenue clothing to pack for your trip to the Uber ride back home from the airport.

• No foreign transaction fee: Like any great travel rewards credit card, this one doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees. 
• Luxury travel perks galore: This card offers airline and hotel credits, status upgrades at luxury hotels, and access to exclusive events and experiences… Sifting through the plethora of available perks and programs could take some time.
• Lots of reward redemption options: You can redeem your points for travel booked through American Express Travel, purchases from popular online retailers, electronics and merchandise, gift cards, statement credits and more.

• High annual fee: An annual fee of $550 is a lot to spend for a charge card, and you’ll have to take advantage of many of this card’s perks to earn that back. 
• Limited financing options: Because this is a charge card, you won’t be able to pay for large purchases over time, as you might with a traditional credit card.
• Low rewards-earning rate: If you don't spend a lot of money on travel, you won’t earn many points. Unless your purchases are made through American Express Travel or directly with an airline, you'll earn a measly 1 point per $1 spent—a lot less than many of this card’s competitors.  
• Confusing rewards and perks programs: This card is stuffed with travel perks, but some of the programs are confusing or require pre-registration.

If you spend $5,000 within the first three months after you get the card, you’ll earn a bonus of 60,000 Membership Rewards points. It can take eight to 12 weeks for the points to be credited to your account after you’ve earned them. 

This is a good welcome offer worth between $300 and $600, depending on how you redeem your rewards. (And assuming a redemption value of between half a cent and 1 cent per point.) To earn this many points through standard, non-travel purchases, you’d have to spend $60,000.

When you open this card, it’ll be linked to your Membership Rewards account so that if you open any other American Express credit cards (or if you already have one open), all of your points will fall into a single account. 

To maximize your earnings, you should use this card to pay for travel. You'll get 5 points per $1 spent on airfare and hotels booked by calling American Express Travel, on flights or prepaid hotel packages booked at amextravel.com, and on flights booked directly with airlines. For everything else, you'll earn the pretty low rate of 1 point per $1 spent.

To spend your points earned from this or other American Express cards, access your Membership Rewards account, where all of your points are tracked and stored. The value of each point will depend on how you redeem them, according to American Express:

• Book travel: 0.5 cents to 1 cent, depending on type of travel and destination
• Redeem for gift cards: Up to 1 cent 
• Pay with points at checkout: 0.5 cents to 1 cent, depending on retailer
• Cover your card charges with a statement credit: 0.6 cents 
• Shop the Membership Rewards shopping portal: 0.5 cents

The annual fee is high, but you can get your money’s worth out of this card by following a few rules. First, make sure you’re able to meet the spending requirement in order to get the welcome offer—60,000 Membership Rewards points is too good to pass up. Next, whenever possible, book travel through American Express Travel to capture the 5 points per $1 reward. Also, be sure you sign up for any rewards that require enrollment, such as the $200 airline credit and premium hotel status upgrades. Finally, steer clear of the low-yielding rewards redemption options, such as paying for charges you’ve already made with your card or using the Membership Rewards shopping portal.

A good rule of thumb is that if your points are worth more than 1 cent per mile each for a reward flight or purchase, it’s a pretty good deal. The Balance’s analysis of the Platinum Card from American Express found you'll get the best value when redeeming points for airfare with JetBlue: 1.06 cents per mile.  

The Platinum Card from American Express offers plenty of travel perks and programs. Here are some we think are especially valuable:

• Global Entry/TSA Precheck application fee reimbursement: American Express will issue a statement credit to cover the application fees for these programs once every four years (for Global Entry) or every four and a half years (for TSA Precheck). 
• $200 airline fee travel credit: This covers “incidental fees” charged by an airline to your card, such as checked baggage, in-flight food and drinks, and in-flight internet. (It does not cover the fare, and you must pre-select the airline.)  
• Airport lounge access: You’ll get access to The Global Lounge Collection, a network of 1,200+ airport lounges worldwide including Delta Sky Club lounges, Priority Pass Select lounges, and American Express’s Centurion Lounges.
• Coverage for lost luggage: If you pay for the cost of your trip with your card and your baggage is lost, you may be covered for the cost of replacing your baggage, up to $3,000. 
• Travel accident insurance: If something terrible happens while you’re on a trip you paid for with your card, and you, your spouse, or your children become permanently disabled or die, you (or your beneficiaries) could receive up to $500,000. 
• Elite hotel membership status: You can register separately for Hilton Honors Gold status or for Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status. 

• VIP access to special events
• Upgrades with select car rental companies
• Concierge for booking event tickets, travel, and other services
• $100-$300 credits for select cruise reservations
• Discount on Delta private jets
• Lowest hotel rates guarantee on amextravel.com
• Premium travel and emergency assistance
• Premium roadside assistance
• Up to $200 of Uber credit annually
• Purchase return protection
• Up to $100 of Saks Fifth Avenue credit annually
• ShopRunner membership
• Save on auto purchases at participating dealerships
• Secondary car rental loss and damage insurance
• Extended warranties
• Lowest advertised price match

American Express is one of the top-ranked credit card companies in terms of customer service. According to a 2018 J.D. Power study, it ranked second among the largest credit card companies for overall customer satisfaction. The company scored 830 of a possible 1,000; industry average was 801. 

If you need to speak with someone, you’ll have access to an online account with live chat support. You can also contact customer service 24/7 over the phone.

American Express offers a smartphone app for account access and customer service; the app also provides notifications for nearby rewards and deals you may be interested in. 

Security-wise, the Platinum Card from American Express doesn’t offer quite as many tools as some other cards. That said, if something fishy pops up with your account, you’ll receive a fraud alert. American Express also offers a free credit monitoring service called MyCredit Guide, which is available to anyone, even non-cardholders. It provides a VantageScore 3.0 credit score and other credit watching tools. Cardholders can also check their FICO Score 8 through their account page online or via the app.

The Platinum Card from American Express charges a $550 annual fee, the highest among cards we have surveyed. For many, the benefits will outweigh the high cost, but it's still worth noting.