Can I Upgrade to the American Express Platinum Card?

The Platinum Card from American Express has very impressive benefits and rewards that come with owning it, including access to their exclusive airport lounges and compensation for spending on travel. American Express will also never leave their Platinum cardholders out in the cold - for example, they adjusted their perks in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic to include benefits for streaming services and phone bills, making up for the lost rewards on travel. However, the Platinum Card is not distributed to just anybody, as acquiring and keeping the Card demands a strong credit history, discipline and substantial underlying finances.

Creditworthiness

Like most American Express credit cards, the Platinum Card demands not only a good to excellent credit score but a clean credit history and a favorable debt positioning. The average credit score of applicants has been calculated to be about 715, but American Express is looking to see that you have maintained that score and will keep it up for a long time.

American Express also allows a total of five cards in one person’s name at the same time, which offers great flexibility in payments and rewards, but can be detrimental and garner scrutiny when applying for more prestigious cards. So, while you may be looking to cash in on the Platinum Card’s travel benefits, if you are doing so as your 4th or 5th account, you can expect a harder application process than normal.

Discipline

The Platinum Card is unique amongst nearly all other credit cards in that it does not carry an APR rate. But, this is hardly to say that cardholders can spend the same amount of money and pay on the same schedule as they would on a card that did have an APR rate. One of the primary drawbacks of the Platinum Card is that the cardholder has to pay off their balance in full each month, with no option to carry over any of their debt between periods. This can certainly be a shocking transition for some that have relied on delaying payments on their balance in emergencies or for prioritizing other types of debt.

Thus, having a good enough credit history to be granted this card is not the only struggle that cardholders will face. Keeping up with the payments will require discipline and cost-consciousness, which can certainly be supported by the card’s robust rewards program (5% cash back on expenses related to travel, 1% cash back on all others), but will nevertheless hamper the flexibility of using the card. Thus, The Platinum Card is very much one that should be paired with another credit card, perhaps one without such a stringent payback policy, in order to benefit from the travel rewards but also be capable of spending in the short-term.

Finances

Finally, The Platinum Card stands out as one of the most expensive credit cards on the market, with an annual fee of $550. That is more than twice the fee of the Gold Card. Even with the 60,000 point bonus and the generous rewards, it can be a very steep fee for the average consumer. Thus, any cardholder that is looking to upgrade should be sure to evaluate their current finances to ensure that they can withstand the fee. 

The main justification for such a high fee comes with the statement credits attached to spending on the card. American Express will cover the first $200 that you spend in incidental fees at the airport, such as back-checking or in-flight refreshments. They will also cover the first $100 that you spend at Saks Fifth Avenue (an upscale department store), and they can provide you with $550 in added amenities at hotels. However, those are mainly perks for those who spent upwards of $200 a year at the airport and who are used to spending sprees on their hotel stays. Remember, while it may be tempting to plan a trip with the hopes of saving, there are still many other things you will have to spend on to reap the full benefits. Thus, prospective cardholders should really only look to take advantage of these perks if they are already a part of their budget.

Conclusion

The truth is that, for people with a strong credit history, upgrading to a credit card with excellent benefits is typically not a problem. The Platinum Card from American Express, however, is quite different, as there are just as many hurdles to keeping your account open as there are to actually being granted the card in the first place. Thus, getting one’s foot in the door is only half the battle, and thinking about whether or not this card is right for you goes beyond the attractive benefits and low APR.