After months of speculation, the new annual fee and benefits with the Platinum Card from American Express are finally live. The ultra-premium offering from Amex now features a $695 annual fee and a host of new statement credits from travel to fitness and streaming. Here is everything you need to know about the new American Express Platinum Card features.
New American Express Platinum Card Features
The new features with the Platinum Card are numerous. These include new statement credits, a new Resy membership for improved table booking, and more. Perhaps the most significant talking point, however, is the new annual fee.
The Platinum Card’s New Annual Fee
The major talking point of the new Amex Platinum Card is the staggering annual fee it charges. The previous annual fee – $550 – was already among the highest yearly charges for a card from any issuer, but the new fee – $695 – ups the ante even more.
Amex is also raising the fee for authorized users, with additional cards costing $175 per year. Fortunately, the $175 annual fee applies to the first three extra users, with every card after that incurring an additional $175 per year per card.
American Express Platinum Card Statement Credits
Amex is attempting to compensate for this steep annual fee with several new statement credits. These new credits are in addition to existing credits, such as UberEATS credits each month and the $200 per year airline fee credit covering incidental travel fees on a selected airline of the card member’s choosing.
$300 Equinox Credits
One of the larger credits is a $300 per year Equinox credit. Equinox is an upscale private gym with locations in major cities across the U.S. The new credit provides Platinum Cardholders a $25 credit each month towards Equinox membership and services.
The Equinox credit is one of the more controversial new features as it provides a great headline but very little value. An Equinox membership is approximately $260 per month, with a $500 one-time initiation fee for new members. Because of this steep price, Platinum Card members enjoy very little value from the offer.
$240 Digital Entertainment Credits
The Platinum Card is also offering a new $240 statement credit for select streaming services. Members get up to $20 back each month when they use their card to pay the subscription fee for the following streaming and digital services:
- Audible
- SiriusXM
- Peacock
- New York Times
The lack of choice with this credit makes it, too, very limited in its value – Another worrying sign for current Platinum Cardholders – and a deterrent for many potential applicants.
$200 Hotel Credit
The new Amex Platinum Card also features a new $200 hotel credit to match its $200 airline incidentals credit. The hotel statement credit applies toward select prepaid bookings through the American Express Travel portal/service. Again, the scope of the credit is very thin, leaving a much-reduced set of options for cardholders versus other ultra-luxury cards on the market.
$179 CLEAR Credit
American Express is also providing a statement credit for CLEAR® membership. CLEAR® uses biometrics to assign users a touchless ID, allowing members to move faster through security at select airports and stadiums across the United States.
The addition of Clear is great since the landing page for the Platinum Card is still showing the original Global Entry or TSA Pre✓ credit as well. This combination makes moving through security a breeze – not just at airports but also at sporting events and concerts.
Is the New Amex Platinum Card Worth the Cost?
Do the new changes to the Amex Platinum Card add up to savings? Probably not. The Equinox and digital entertainment credits add a whopping $540 of “value,” but very little substance. Using the card at Equinox, for example, would result in a net cost of at least $$235 per month for membership – hardly a benefit.
Overall, Amex claims the new card provides over $1,400 in value, but that simply isn’t true. Many of the credits are too narrowly focused – and some aren’t even available to members everywhere (with Equinox and CLEAR being the prominent examples). Other experts (most notably Chuck, from Doctor of Credit) place the real value of the new credits at around $150, and it is hard to disagree.
Related Article: Amex Plan It® Launches for AmexTravel.com
Featured image by Marcus Quigmire/ Creative Commons
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