Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Apply and select your preferred metal Card design: classic Platinum Card®, Platinum x Kehinde Wiley, or Platinum x Julie Mehretu.
Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
$200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
$240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card® on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, SiriusXM, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
$155 Walmart+ Credit: Cover the cost of a $12.95 monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) with a statement credit after you pay for Walmart+ each month with your Platinum Card®. Cost includes $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax. Plus Up Benefits are excluded.
$200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card®. • $200 Uber Cash: Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the US annually. Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member only.
$300 Equinox Credit: Get up to $300 back in statement credits per calendar year on an Equinox membership, or an Equinox club membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you pay with your Platinum Card®. Enrollment required. Visit https://platinum.equinox.com/ to enroll.
$189 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Breeze through security with CLEAR Plus at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues nationwide and get up to $189 back per calendar year on your Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Platinum Card®. Learn more.
$100 Global Entry Credit: Receive either a $100 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases in Saks Fifth Avenue stores or at saks.com on your Platinum Card®. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
$300 SoulCycle At-Home Bike Credit: Get a $300 statement credit for the purchase of a SoulCycle at-home bike with your Platinum Card®. An Equinox+ subscription is required to purchase a SoulCycle at-home bike and access SoulCycle content. Must charge full price of bike in one transaction. Shipping available in the contiguous U.S. only. Enrollment Required. • Unlock access to exclusive reservations and special dining experiences with Global Dining Access by Resy when you add your Platinum Card® to your Resy profile.
$695 annual fee.
Terms Apply.
November 30, 2021
In this article, we’ll be reviewing The Platinum Card®, from one of our partners, American Express. We’ll look at who the card is for, its credit score requirements, benefits, rewards rate, key characteristics, and more.
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com for more information.
(Click on a link to jump to the specific section)
Let’s begin with this American Express Platinum Card review.
The Platinum Card® has a reputation for being an elite travel rewards card. It isn’t just a status symbol, it comes with a long list of travel, entertainment, wellness, and retail benefits.
Platinum card members gain access to the American Express Membership Rewards® Program. Membership Rewards points can be redeemed in exchange for exclusive airline and hotel purchases. Cardholders can also utilize points at checkouts on various online and retail outlets such as Apple, Sephora, Saks Fifth Avenue, and more.
What truly sets the Platinum Card apart is the plethora of travel benefits. The card facilitates the user to and from the airport with amazing perks like complimentary access to The Centurion® Network's 40+ Lounge and Studio locations worldwide plus, annual airline fee, CLEAR®, and Uber credit. If you’re someone who spends time hopping from one airport to the next, The Platinum Card may be the perfect American Express card for you.
As an elite travel rewards card, The Platinum from Amex offers a range of perks cardholders can benefit from:
The maximum benefit amount for Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance is $10,000 per Covered Trip and $20,000 per Eligible Card per 12 consecutive month period.
Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.
The Amex Platinum Card has a robust Membership Rewards® Program. Similar to Chase Ultimate Rewards® points, Membership Rewards points are of high value and are very flexible.
Here’s a breakdown of how Platinum cardmembers can earn bonus points with the Amex Membership Rewards Program:
Cardholders earn 5X points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 in combined purchases per calendar year. Prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel also earn 5X Membership Rewards points.
Points can be redeemed in a variety of ways - gift cards, hotel bookings and upgrades, flight bookings and upgrades, shopping, entertainment. You can even transfer your points to Amex partner programs such as Delta SkyMiles®, Iberia Plus, Marriott Bonvoy™, Etihad Guest, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, and more.
To qualify for the Amex Platinum Card, you’ll need a credit score within the Good - Excellent range.
What’s that?
A VantageScore or FICO® score of 670 or more, falls in the Good credit score range. A credit score over 800 is considered excellent.
Having a qualifying credit score largely impacts your approval odds. Apart from the credit score, the card issuer may also consider your income, existing debts, and other pertinent information.
The annual fee for the Platinum Card is $695 (See Rates and Fees). The annual fee for additional cards is $175 for up to 3 additional cards on one Amex card account (See Rates and Fees).
$695 is a lot of money to be paying annually for a credit card, but the card offers an array of benefits that can easily offset the annual fee.
The Amex Platinum Card doesn’t charge foreign transaction fees (See Rates and Fees) which makes it an ideal card for the globetrotter.
Like just about every other credit card in the market, Amex Platinum has additional fees such as a cash advance fee, a late payment fee, etc.
The Platinum Card has a cash advance fee of either $10 or 5% of the cash amount of each cash advance, whichever is greater (See Rates and Fees).
The credit card company can also charge Platinum cardholders a late payment fee of up to $40 and a returned payment fee of up to $40 (See Rates and Fees).
Next, let’s take a look at some of the key characteristics of this credit card.
The Platinum Card from American Express is a top-tier travel rewards card and a symbol of elite status. While it may come with a high annual fee of $695, the card comes with a great welcome offer, tons of benefits, including unmatched Amex travel benefits.
Earning 5x Membership Rewards® points on prepaid hotel purchases and flights booked through American Express travel services is a perk unparalleled in the industry. This card is seen as the successor of the American Express® Gold Card and may not be for everyone. But if you’re willing to invest in the annual fee, you can drastically upgrade your traveling experience.
You can apply for this card here.
Rates and fees for The Platinum Card from American Express can be found here.
Rates and fees for the American Express Gold Card can be found here.
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