Amex Platinum

The American Express Platinum Card carries a headline annual fee of $695 and draws plenty of criticism for that cost. Yet hundreds of thousands of people keep it, and many find it worth holding. This review breaks down why the card remains a powerful travel credit card in 2025: how it earns and redeems Membership Rewards, the real value of the card’s credits and perks, and who benefits most from carrying it.

The Basics

The Platinum Card started as an invite-only, ultra-premium product, which built its aura of exclusivity. Today anyone can apply online and often be approved within minutes. That shift opened access but also saw the card’s annual fee climb and the benefits evolve into a collection of high-value credits and premium travel perks.

American Express’s approach is straightforward: charge a high annual fee, then offset that fee with a range of credits, travel benefits, and transfer-friendly points. The key for cardholders is using those credits and leveraging points smartly so the card pays for itself—or better.

Signup Bonus and Dynamic Offers

• Typical publicly available offer: 80,000 Membership Rewards after spending $8,000 in the first six months.
• Occasionally higher offers have been seen, up to 150,000 points (though availability varies).
• American Express displays different welcome offers depending on the customer relationship. New visitors may see bigger offers.
• Practical tip: using an incognito browser or switching networks / using a VPN sometimes surfaces the higher welcome offers.

How the Card Earns Points

Membership Rewards earning rates on the Platinum Card are focused on travel booked through specific channels rather than broad everyday multipliers:

• 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines or via Amex Travel
• 5x points on prepaid hotels booked through the Amex Travel portal
• 1x point per dollar on most other purchases

Compared with competitive premium cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve and the Capital One Venture X, the Platinum’s everyday earning rates are weaker. But the Platinum is optimized for users who take advantage of transfer partners and the card’s credits.

How to Use Membership Rewards

Membership Rewards are flexible but have widely varying values depending on the redemption path:

• Statement credit: roughly 0.6 cents per point (generally a poor value)
• Pay with points on merchants like PayPal or Amazon: around 0.7 cents per point (still suboptimal)
• Gift cards: typically about 1 cent per point (base value)
• Amex Travel portal: many bookings price at roughly 1 cent per point (varies by itinerary; hotels and certain portal fares can be worthwhile)
• Transfer partners: often the best value. Transfers to partner airlines and hotels can yield 2 to 4 cents (or more) per point on the right redemptions

Recommended approach: prioritize transfers to airline and hotel partners when seeking outsized value. Watch for occasional transfer bonuses that increase value even more.

Key Transfer Partners

• Major airline partners (notable examples include Delta; availability and partners can vary by market)
• Hotel partners such as Hilton and Marriott
• Transfer values vary widely—premium international award flights typically deliver the highest cents-per-point returns

Benefits and Credits — The Coupon Book

One common complaint is the card reads like a coupon book: lots of credits tied to specific merchants or categories. For many cardholders that is a negative, but for those who already spend on the covered services, these credits can massively reduce the effective annual fee.

Notable annual credits and value drivers:

• $200 hotel credit when booking through the American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts collection or Hotels Collection
• $240 digital entertainment credit ($20 per month) for eligible subscriptions such as Disney Plus, Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal
• $155 Walmart+ credit (this offering can include partner perks like a Paramount+ subscription depending on current Amex terms)
• $100 Saks credit (split as $50 every six months)
• $200 Uber Cash (often usable for rides or Uber Eats depending on activation rules)
• $200 airline fee credit (covers incidental airline fees; check current eligible expenses and airline enrollment rules)
• $199 Clear Plus statement credit
• TSA PreCheck or Global Entry fee credit (eligible period varies)

Example effective-fee calculation: a cardholder who fully uses $200 hotel + $240 digital entertainment + $200 airline fee + $200 Uber = $840 in credits against a $695 fee produces a net positive of $145 annually. This demonstrates how the effective annual fee can be dramatically lower—or even negative—if the credits match spending patterns.

Lounge Access and Airport Perks

Platinum cardholders receive broad airport lounge access, including:

• American Express Centurion Lounges
• Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta and meeting access terms)
• Escape Lounges
• Lufthansa lounges (select locations)
• Plaza Premium Lounges
• Priority Pass membership for additional lounges (note that some Priority Pass dining or lounge access policies may change)

Lounges provide a tangible travel experience upgrade, saving on food and drink purchases in terminals and offering a calmer preflight experience.

Fine Hotels and Resorts and Hotels Collection

Booking via Amex’s curated hotel programs unlocks perks not available with standard bookings:

• Fine Hotels and Resorts (FHR): early check-in (12 p.m. when available), guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout, potential room upgrades, daily breakfast for two, a $100 property credit, and complimentary Wi-Fi.
• Hotels Collection: room upgrades when available, $100 property credit, early check-in and late checkout when available.

The Gold Card only includes access to the Hotels Collection; the Platinum grants access to both FHR and the Hotels Collection, which can be a significant value add for hotel stays.

Additional Benefits and Protections

• Resy (dining) benefits and access to curated reservation services
• Automatic Marriott Bonvoy Gold status and Hilton Honors Gold status (subject to program enrollment and terms)
• Car rental privileges with partners such as Avis, Hertz, and National
• Insurance and purchase protections: secondary car loss and damage protection (with opt-in paid primary coverage options), trip delay insurance, trip cancellation/interruption coverage, return protection, purchase protection, and extended warranty coverage

Card Combinations: The Amex Trifecta

Combining the Platinum with other Amex cards can improve the overall points-earning profile:

• Platinum + Gold + Blue Business Plus creates the so-called Amex trifecta.
• Gold Card: stronger multipliers for everyday categories like dining and supermarket spend.
• Blue Business Plus: 2x points on the first $50,000 in purchases per year (no annual fee), useful for broad business or secondary-card spend.
• This trifecta increases yearly cost compared to alternatives. The combined fees can approach $945 or more depending on which cards are included, which is far higher than low-cost alternatives like a minimal Chase trifecta that can be assembled for as little as $95 in annual fees.

Different strategies suit different spenders. People who want premium travel perks and transfer flexibility will favor the Amex setup. Those focused on low-fee earning efficiency might prefer a Chase-based combination.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Extensive lounge access network and premium airport amenities
• High-value hotel perks via Fine Hotels and Resorts
• Generous enrollment and annual credits that can offset the fee when fully used
• Flexible Membership Rewards with strong potential value through transfer partners
• Solid travel protections and status benefits with top hotel programs

Cons

• High headline annual fee ($695)
• Low base multipliers for non-travel spending (1x)
• Many credits are merchant-specific, which can feel like a coupon book and may not match all spending habits
• Welcome offer and credit terms can change and are dynamic based on customer history

Pricing Recap and Final Recommendation

Fee: $695 annual.

Typical publicly shown welcome offer: 80,000 Membership Rewards after $8,000 spend in six months (watch for larger targeted offers, and consider using a different network or private browsing to surface better offers).

Bottom line: The Platinum Card can be an excellent value if the cardholder uses the credits and the travel benefits. For those who can use the hotel and entertainment credits, access lounges, and redeem Membership Rewards via transfer partners, the card can offset its annual fee and then some. For others who do not use those benefits, the fee is hard to justify.

Recommendation

The Platinum Card remains one of the most powerful premium travel cards when used as intended: maximize annual credits, leverage Fine Hotels and Resorts and lounge access, and extract outsized value from Membership Rewards via transfers. Prospective applicants should audit their typical annual spending and travel habits, add up potential credit usage, and compare against the $695 fee before applying. If the credits align with everyday expenses, the card can deliver more value than its headline price suggests. If not, consider a lower-fee premium option or a points strategy built around more generous everyday multipliers.

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