The “New” American Express Platinum

Posted byEric J LynnPosted inCredit Cards, The Points GameTags:, , , ,

Effective today, July 1st 2021, the American Express Platinum will have an increased annual fee of $695, however it comes with several new benefits! Although the annual fee increases by $145 a year, it is easily offset by the new 125K American Express Membership Reward Point intro offer + benefits, a $1400 value. Let’s take a look at the new benefits and the most valuable existing benefits!

New benefits

  1. $200 annual statement credit for prepaid hotel bookings at Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts through American Express Travel
  2. $179 annual statement credit for CLEAR. If you don’t know, CLEAR uses biometrics to expedite your time in line for TSA at many airports around the United States.
  3. $300 credit with Equinox(spread into $25 monthly statement credits). This can be used for either Equinox fitness clubs or as a credit for the digital monthly subscription of the Equinox + app.
  4. $240 digital entertainment credit($20 a month) to either Peacock, The New York Times, SiriusXM or Audible. This credit can be used on one or more of the previous listed platforms.
  5. Global Access Dining by Resy, which allows you access to high profile restaurants that would normally be fully booked for months.
  6. 20% discount on Wheels Up Connect or 40% discount on Wheels Up Core membership. Wheels Up is a private jet membership club that allows you access to either private or shared personal airplane experiences.

Existing benefits

  1. Hilton Honors Gold status
  2. Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status
  3. National Car Rental Executive Emerald status
  4. Hertz Gold Plus Rewards status
  5. $200 Airline incidental credit. This credit can be used for upgrading your seat, checked bags, food, etc. The only caveats are it cannot be used to book flights or for in-flight WiFi.
  6. $200 Uber/UberEats credit($15 monthly, $35 in December)
  7. $100 Global Entry or $85 TSA PreCheck statement credit
  8. $100 Saks Fifth Avenue credit. This credit is divided into $50 January-June and $50 July-December
  9. Delta SkyClub access when flying Delta. This one is a personal favorite of mine!
  10. 5X points on all travel booked directly through the airline or American Express Travel

My thoughts

Overall I am happy with the enhancements to the American Express Platinum card to offset the additional $145 annual fee. I personally wont use the Equinox credit, however I still find oversized value in the benefits and credit to offset the $695 annual fee. There is some rumor that American Express may be launching a “premium” travel card and rebrand the American Express Platinum as a “premium lifestyle” card. We shall see what happens in the next year but as of now I still have the American Express Platinum in my “keeper” category.

What are your thoughts? Will you sign up for the “new” American Express Platinum? Leave a comment below!

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