How Bad Is The Amex Platinum Actually?
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- čas přidán 8. 07. 2024
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In this video, we’re looking at how good or bad the Amex Platinum card actually is. I’ve personally had the American Express Platinum card for over 3 years now, but I’ve got some mixed opinions about whether it’s been worth it.
Even though you’ll get access to airport lounges with the Amex Platinum, there’s still a hefty $695 annual fee that you’ll have to pay for that access. There are several annual credits here on this credit card to potentially offset that fee, but honestly these credits are not going to be great for everyone. There's even other credit cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve and Capital One Venture X that could be better with their lower cost and easier to use benefits. Overall, I think there definitely is a lot of value that comes with the Amex Platinum card which makes it one of the best travel credit cards, but it's only going to be worth it for the right person.
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CHECK OUT SOME OF MY OTHER VIDEOS:
▶️ Amex Platinum - 15 Things You MUST Do: • Amex Platinum - 15 Thi...
▶️ How to Easily Redeem Amex Points (for MAX Value): • How to Easily Redeem A...
▶️ I Ranked Every Credit Card (Here’s What’s ACTUALLY Good): • I Ranked Every Credit ...
▶️ How We Got $40,000 of Free Travel (with Credit Cards): • How We Got $40,000 of ...
CHAPTERS:
0:00 - Intro
0:32 - Bonus vs Annual Fee
1:57 - Credits & Benefits
4:48 - Cuts Clothing
5:47 - Airport Lounges
8:56 - Spending Multipliers
10:12 - Hotel Benefits
12:25 - Car Rentals
13:27 - Sapphire Reserve & Venture X
17:02 - Thoughts
DISCLAIMER: Some of the card links and other products that appear on this website are from companies which Daniel Braun will earn an affiliate commission or referral bonus. Daniel Braun is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as CreditCards.com. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear). This site does not include all credit card companies or all available credit card offers.
The content in this video is accurate as of the posting date. Some of the offers mentioned may no longer be available.
I hardly use it in my everyday life but the benefits while being active duty are undeniable
Yeah I didn't even get to mention that here, but makes a lot for sense to have when active duty with the waived annual fee! Agreed though, not an everyday use type of card
Yup...it's just a coupon book. Very few reasons to use it without some amex offer. Really questionable business strategy from Amex.
Dawg… I currently got 5 platinum’s. Not sure how long you plan on staying in but… there’s so much cheap travel I’ve been able to do thanks to being active duty also best of luck when they ship us out to Iran 🇮🇷 and Ukraine 🇺🇦
Do you have a chart that shows what cards you recommend for certain transactions??? For instance, I’d be using Capital One Venture or Chase Reserve for car rentals over the Platinum.
@@JoseGonzalez-lp6nj MSgt… please forgive me I failed you… 😢
But jokes aside these are the following that are free for AD: Chase, Amex, BoA, Citi, & US Bank
We may see an increase in the Annual fee from $ 695 to maybe $800 .
And to offset the cost, you will receive monthly a bag of Jolly Ranchers 😂😂.
😂
Currently working through a 175K SUB. The last 2 months I’ve been making use of the entertainment credit, Uber credit , Walmart + subscription for cheaper gas. Tomorrow my gf and I will be trying out our airports delta lounge and the one at LaGuardia👌
I found the last-minute restaurant booking service through the Amex Platinum concierge to be particularly helpful.
Their Trip Cancellation/Interruption insurance SCREWED ME!!! I charged a $14,000 Alaska cruise from Vancouver to Anchorage. We got covid halfway through. They denied our claim because the it was not a ROUND TRIP CRUISE. We made the mistake of not booking our airfare back to Vancouver on the same card.
Since I live out in rural America, that big ass coupon book won’t do me much good. Congrats on the sponsor, it’s a fresh fit.
It's a premium travel card. The whole point is to get out of rural America
It complements the AMEX Gold card really well. I have several international trips lined up this year and don’t have the points to use for airlines yet but a benefit of the platinum card that is saving me hundreds of dollars that barely gets talked about is the International Airline Program.
On top of that, I justify the annual fee easily with Clear ($189), Hotel ($200), Uber ($200), and Digital Entertainment ($240) that I already spend and everything else are bonus.
Good luck. Amex isn’t accepted almost anywhere internationally.
I've known a lot about credit itself for a long time, but a few weeks ago I started thinking about my future and dove into the YT credit card community. Daniel quickly became my go-to and convinced me that I'm team travel...the way this content is presented is so elite, at this point I know my card plan and I'm literally just watching his content because it's interesting and entertaining.
Love the videos!! Is that a speedmaster you’re wearing?? Sorry I’m a watch guy too lol
Thank you! And yes it is haha, just got it last month for my upcoming wedding so I love wearing it now
I highkey want to see a massive cancellation so the lounge can be less crowded.😂
I think that is honestly a very realistic possibility! But maybe Amex wants that, so idk haha
Hey Daniel, unrelated to the video but had a question that’s been bugging lately. I am currently at 24 months from a Southwest card bonus. June 8th 2022 is when the bonus was put into my account. Would you take your chances and apply today or wait another month?
I got 500 worth of benefits using the card, from a 4 day trip. In addition to the annual Uber credits, Saks credit, 200 hotel credit, etc. If you take a couple of trips per year and you can't get at least triple the annual fee back in benefits, you may just be an idiot.
Amex Platinum is awful use on everyday expenses only if you fly a lot. And the prepaid credits are worthless if you don’t use those services in your normal spending.
Agreed about the card being bad for everyday spending. The value of the credits is different for everyone, but I think that’s important to consider before thinking about getting this card 👍
The resort credits, food discounts at hotels, access to lounges do add up, especially for the AMEX preferred hotels. The fee actually can be absorbed quite fast, and if you travel a lot, the lounge access is huge.
Exactly for certain people who get value from those benefits, Platinum card works well. It’s all about running the numbers though because not everyone will enjoy it
It works for me as well! But, what was left unsaid, AMEX builds for the upper middle class. I watch a whole news story that talked about how they target young professionals. Folks that can afford Saks, but grew up with in a family that went to Walmart so they will shop at both! A purse from Saks, but gas and food from Walmart+ 😊
This! Recently came back from Korea and with my Amex benefits it made the travel luxurious
good info-- thanks Dan....
Thanks so much, appreciate the support as always!
Great video. You can actually enroll in the premium car rental protection which will give you primary CDW. You can choose to pay either $20 or $25 when you rent a car. You only pay that fee when you rent a car and it’s a one time charge. You can add this benefit to most of the Amex cards. Joe Baretto mentioned this a little ways back.
This. It also has really high coverage, up to $100K I think.
Definitely an option as well. But to me I view that as an added cost because it’s an extra fee to do that. When there’s no annual fee cards like the Bilt Mastercard and $95 cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred that offer primary CDW, I don’t want to have to pay an extra fee for the same thing on my $695 Amex Platinum.
To me this needs to be something that they add if they update the Platinum card. But thanks for mentioning this here because I didn’t include it in the video 👍
@@Daniel_Braun valid point
Daniel, as always this video was very easy to follow and super informative! I have the Platinum card because of the lounge access for the most part. The FHR can still be quite pricey even with the credit. Thanks again!
Dan, great videos! Would you recommend AMEX Debit specifically for ACH transactions for us homeowners? Trying to find a good multiplier for largest expense.
I’m already net positive around $200 after the AF on things I’m already paying for, it’s a good card for me. I realize it’s a perk/lifestyle/coupon card, but that’s why you always get other cards in addition to supplement. This is NOT a single set it and forget it card. The people screaming “this card sucks!! DO NOT GET IT!” clearly it’s not for you.
Agreed! The thing with credit cards is that everyone spends their money and values things differently. There no single credit cards that’s perfect for everyone, and so this card is the same. Just important to run the numbers like you do and then decide
Glad to hear that the card makes sense for you, thanks for watching and commenting!
Would it be possible todo an updated video on the apple credit card? Thx!
Just got the Venture X, in a few months I’ll add the Savor One for my setup 😊
Canadian AMEX Platinum is $800, with only a signup bonus of 70,000 in the first year and 30,000 in the second year. The card only gives us a $200 travel and $200 Dining. The lounges that we have access to in Canada suck if it's not Maple Leaf Lounge.
The card is really good if you travel internationally at least once a year. Stayed at one of the most luxurious hotels in Korea and with my platinum card, I got to really enjoy it. I got upgraded to their executive business room (high floor and very spacious) plus the free breakfast for two (normally cost $60 per person) and $100 credit plus other benefits like early and late checkout. I think that alone really made me happy to have the platinum card.
I have 4 of these cards just for the credits. I never use it as a daily driver.
If your active duty, apply for the green, gold and platinum and upgrade the first 2 after a year. Maybe find a NLL for the CS platinum if u can
My local airport has a centurion lounge which is the only thing causing me to keep the card. Hate the coupons
Don't forget the time and energy wasted just to get back "value" from those credits.
Yeah I think that the only way to truly value a credit at 100% is when the credit fits into your spending habits organically with no effort.
The more effort to use a credit, the more the credit should be discounted when figuring out the value
I essentially break even with the benefits, but one big thing people never mention is Purchase Protection. I’ve lost items or had vendors not accept returns after 30 days, and AMEX would refund me without any issues after filing a claim. Also the one year added warranty is a big plus
Finally got the Cuts sponsorship! Nice!
Yes I did! They’ve been on my list of sponsors that I wanted to work with for the past 2 years so I’m really happy that we were able to make this happen
If you travel a lot it is undeniably worth it.
I have gotten around or more than 7cpp with my plat with some bookings. After 2 anual fee payments maybe $15,000 of value from transfers alone thanks to flying blu, Cathay, aero Mexico, etc… Gold status for Hilton.
I’ve been to so many priority pass lounges when flying economy international and have used the LAX or HKG Amex lounge over a dozen times each. The lounges alone are worth it if you travel a lot.
2 reasons I’m considering cancelling is to switch to CSR and get that sub or because I won’t be traveling as much for leisure. Most people complaining about the card saying it’s a coupon book are not the ones who should be using it anyways. 5x on flights is not a “coupon book” and I know many people who spend tens of thousands of flights who then get tens of thousands of flights free in points and it is a no brainer.
Chase Sapphire Reserve ($550) isn't as good as Sapphire Preferred ($95) combo Ritz Carlton ($450). Ritz Card gives you same Sapphire lounge access as Reserve and has no AU fee. Reserve has $75 AU fee. Do the math CSR $625 for family of 2. CSP and Ritz $545 for family of 4 or more.
Do you know the updated benefits for additional card holders versus the companion card? I can’t even get a clear answer from AMEX. Seems like this has changed and now additional users do not receive MOST of the benefits, even for the $195 fee. It’s all so confusing!!
Thanks as usual Danny. By the way, any thoughts on the AMEX Green? It's rarely talked about, but it's a decent lower grade combined food/travel card. The annual credit for Clear blows the annual fee away. I think the card is actually underrated, but is overshadowed by the gold and platinum. Thoughts?
Thanks Scott! So personally I’m not a fan of the green card. I’d use the Clear credit, but probably wouldn’t pay out of pocket for it if I didn’t have a credit that covers it, so I don’t put as much value on it. The multipliers are fine, but other cards offer similar multipliers. The sign up bonus is also really bad usually compared to even cheaper cards. So personally I never considered getting the card, but for some people it’s good. Would love to see a refresh of the green card honestly and I could see that as an underrated move that Amex pulls in 2024
I looked at an equinox once in Manhattan they tried to sign me up for something that was like 1K per month for a gym membership. No thank you. The $300 is like a not so good coupon I'm not sure one month is even $300 anywhere. I checked a few gyms and that was pre-inflation. I have had the platinum card for 10+ years I used to love it but now it feels like all the perks don't keep up with inflation. You don't feel like you get anything other than cheap coupons. Like who even can do an Uber ride for $15 anymore. The reason I keep it is for return protection, and purchase protection I use that a lot.
What if i use 5% cash back cards on everything and then buy points when they are on sale. Would this strategy out earn the points strategy ?
Can you make a video about the new Wells Fargo attune card and if a Wells Fargo trifecta with it would be good?
Its bad, save yourselves some cash and get something better. Custom cash + Citi premier covers all the bases for $95
I like that setup - wait until you see my next what's in my wallet video later this month 👀
When do they charge you the 695..? I’m almost at the end of the first month and it has not hit my account.
Not worth it. You will spend way more trying to use the coupons. Lounge acess not woth it if you are married and need to pay to take your spouse in the lounge .
Just to use the 200$ hotel credit you have to book something around 500 to 600$ hotel.
Clear credit not any better than regular check in unless you fly out of busy airports all the time. I never had a reson to use it. Most of the times they were down or slower than regular line.
US bank altitude reserve and CSR are better alternatives
Centurion lounges are a joke, + the waiting list and no seats when let in. Delta Sky Clubs are constantly full, not relaxing & food is meh. Coupons are worthless, and useless. Multipliers are lame. Definitely not worth the 695AF. This card is only good for your 1 time SUB, that's it.
At the rate Chase has expanded their lounge footprint they are trying their best to make the Amex Platinum obsolete. I think its a good thing for Amex customers though as maybe the horrible crowding will be reduced.
I don't have this card yet but I will likely get it sometime next year. The hotel credit, the entertainment credit and the airline fee credit are all easy to use even if you rarely fly. Those almost make the card free and since I occasionally use doordash I could just use uber instead to pick up that credit meaning AMEX is now paying me to use the card. Thats makes the card worth it for the lounge access alone. Plus AMEX has good monthly offers and I prefer their customer service to Chase. I have the chase trifecta and I will be adding this card sometime.
People are hard on that Saks credit, fax sales, some of the exact same stuff you could buy at Macy’s. So you can get value back. There is skin care, fragrances, and even underwear, which you can never have too many of lol. And then I double dip by making the Sachs purchase through a Delta or American Airlines shopping portal so that I get airline miles at the same time I get the $50 credit from Amex.
Is there a no AF Amex ro downgrade the platinum or gold? Cheers
Love this card so much I have 5 of them. Only because I get the annual fee waived being active duty military
The active duty military waiver is a great benefit for this card 👍
Bro, you should make a video of what would fit someone's needs better better the CSP, CSR, C1Venture, C1VentureX. I've been trying to decide which card to get and all or the videos aren't helping me. Lol😂
Yeah it really depends on what you value in your life and what you are already spending. I love the Amex platinum due to the fact I have an amex lounge near me, as well as the transfer partners being really valuable. All the credits really work for me, so it’s worth it. But if you travel once or twice a year, it’s not really worth it imo
How can we get rid of credit card with out affecting the credit score?
U really can't! It will ding ur credit score..
Great video 📹 👍
Thank you!
@@Daniel_Braun you're welcome!
Not to long ago I applied & got approved for the Capital One Venture X, excellent decision on my end even though Capital One does not have a Lounge in Florida (I hope there could be one in TPA, FLL, and/or MIA). I know it may not be a good idea, I find the Venture X to be the cheapest Premium Travel Card I can find.
I just got approved for the Capital One Savor One card. I will cancel my Amex Gold this year
350 for the annex gold don’t make that much sense when u can her higher tier cards for less money
I’ve enrolled with the Premium Car Rental Protection thru Amex that is just like the Primary Collision Waiver on the Sapphire and Venture X Cards… it covers up to $100,000 and only pay $24.95 per rental which is a one time charge everytime you book a rental… 13:23
Definitely an option as well. But to me I view that as an added cost because it’s an extra fee to do that. When there’s no annual fee cards like the Bilt Mastercard and $95 cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred that offer primary CDW, I don’t want to have to pay an extra fee for the same thing on my $695 Amex Platinum.
To me this needs to be something that they add if they update the Platinum card. But thanks for mentioning this here because I didn’t include it in the video 👍
Hey Brandon, can you talk more about the President’s Circle status perk on the Venture X? I’ve had my Venture X for a little over a year now and, not a single Hertz location has honored my President’s Circle status. I’ve called Capital One to try to figure out what’s going on and they just keep telling me that I definitely have that status and that Hertz should 100% be honoring it. However, Hertz simply refuses to honor that status so, I haven’t been able to take advantage.
You likely have to enroll in Hertz Presidents Circle with the Venture X (if you haven’t done that already. I had to do that with the Amex Platinum as well. After that it should be as simple as showing them your account information which will display the status
Also a heads up, but the Venture X is losing Presidents Circle access by December 31, 2024 so it’s not going to be around much longer for that card
Curious on why you only use half of the airline credit? Have you looked into United?
It's not so much that I'm actively only trying to use half of it, it's just that over the past 2 year that's how much of it I've used in my normal spending habits. Trying harder to use it would fall out of my normal spending habits, which is what I'm against doing with this credits.
I use it when I can, but valuing it at $100 for me personally is the best way for me to compare that with the other credits vs the annual fee.
I have used it in the past to upgrade to seats with more legroom on United though, so I do look to use it like that 👍
If you transfer it to travel credit you can use to purchase flight. I’m also in a united hub. Same with Saks credit can get in store gift card to roll into $100. You can also add max to your Hulu subscription for better deal on subscription credit.
The Green Card is an essential compliment to the Platinum Card. Airfare + Benefits: Platinum Card. Points Earning: Green Card.
In deciding if this card is worth it one should consider the opportunity cost of putting 8k on the card. I see the opportunity cost as $160 since one could use a 2% back card for the 8k in spend.
Lawl checking in and loved the Henley sponsor.
I get reasonable “coupon book” value with my Platinum with the digital credit, Walmart credit, and Clear. I love the lounge access too. As Daniel illustrates, the multipliers are underwhelming.
I see that Speedmaster. So much more adult than that Apple Watch!!!
Yessir! It definitely feels so much better on my wrist than the Apple Watch lol. I’m hooked now - gonna need to pick up another couple of watches eventually
If I ever have to fly monthly I will probably get it, but neither are very likely
Flying monthly and accessing the Amex lounges a lot could make it worth it. But only if some of the credits give value as well
@@Daniel_Braun flying monthly would automatically make the hotel statuses more valuable as well and would guarantee the flight credits get used up.
Card is worthless. Catered to luxury market yet offers Walmart credit 🤡 entire benefits suck outside of lounge access and booking flights but at $695 that's terrible.
The benefits used to be way better before. They increased the price and lowered the benefits.
If you only use $100 of the $200 travel credit, you’re doing it so poorly.
For example, pick United as your airline, and buy $200 worth of miles. Store those for later flights. Easy to make the credit worth it and not go to waste by not using it…
How Bad Is The Amex Platinum Actually? Very bad!
Annual fees are so annoying!!! 🤢🤮🤢🤮🤢🤮
Definitely not for everyone!
Got the 175k bonus so we’re doing that then cancelling at 1 yr 1 day
Most optimal plan, good on you!
@@jun.oshima yeah, I really wasn’t planning on another card for a minute but couldn’t pass that up
Nothing wrong with that! It’s up to American Express to convince each customer that the card’s value is worth it, so if they can’t do that then just cancel like you said 👍
@@Daniel_Braun are the potential negative credit implications to cancelling a card after 1 yr 1 day?
Possibly the infamous Amex popup jail😅
😊
Number 1 again! 🥇
I gotta start keeping track of these first comments for you starting now. So far you are 1 for 1 (100%)
You have to take advantage of multiple airline flights per year.
Thank you for the video. We share some of the same reasons why we keep the card. My home airport Has a centurion lounge. My wife and I visit them about eight times a year. I find it rather amusing.The people always refer to putting in the work to get the benefits of the card. Which is actually putting in about five minutes a week. I am much older than you as you might have guessed. But I can assure you of this.
It's a lot easier today.
Looking up information.
Thanks for watching! Yeah it can be a bit of work to get value from the card, but it’s different for everyone. Glad to hear that you and your wife are able to visit the lounges though!
Besides the Gold Amex has subpar cards.
Gold card may even become less valuable if they increase the annual fee. Amex definitely has a very different approach to their cards compared to other issuers
Don’t use the card only use it for the benefits my monthly bill is usually under $50 a month.
ahh man he is talking about my favorite shirt company YO man leave some ladies for the rest of us 🤣🤣. I love cuts very comfy clothing I usually always go with the simple black Ts I got some of their joggers extremely comfy!
Great for business.
I love AMEX!
AMEX Platinum no longer gets you in the Delta Sky Club.
What is the point of this video? “How bad is the Amex platinum?” According to the clickbait image, 2*
Actually, let’s list all of the benefits that I personally get value out of (15 minutes) and come out ahead of the annual fee. And to wrap it up, call it a good tool that you’ll continue to use?
The title is to address the fact that so many people hate this card (as I said in the intro, it’s the most polarizing card that I’ve ever talked about on my channel over the years)
So to do that, I just add my own experience and thoughts with the card over the past 3 years - plus I wanted to talk about how people in general might view certain things (both good and bad).
I think credit card CZcams can get repetitive at times, so I tried approaching this from a different angle starting with the title. Just trying to be open about things here, but I appreciate any feedback so thanks for the comment 👍
Totally a waste of money unless you are active duty and can get the steep annual fee waived. CSP at net $45 annually after the $50 hotel credit or the CSR at $250 after the $300 travel credit are much better choices for a travel card.
😮
Thanks for watching, Frances!
The Sebby style jump zooms you use are annoying. I know you guys think it is an attention getter, but it’s not, it’s annoying as hell.
Sorry that you don’t like the editing style, but it’s something that is very standard across many of my favorite CZcams channels which is why I’ve adopted it into my own editing style.
I’ll continue playing around with the editing, but overall I personally really love what my editor does for the visuals in my videos. I understand that everyone has their own preferences though 👍
This card sucks!! DO NOT GET IT!
I had an offer for 125k had to spend 10k. My recent offer 75k for 6k spent.
I got it and turned the table on them. Got the 150k bonus and cancelled the card within 30 days of the AF. $695 refund and transferred the bonus out before cancelling!
@@dtsang508 😂 got any other Amex cards?
@@dtsang508That pretty much guarantees you’ll be blacklisted by Amex. If anyone has even the smallest desire to get another Amex card / bonus do not do this!
They will take away your points for sure @@dtsang508
I need your help!
😁👌
most mid card ever. it’s free for military but really it’s still not as good as other cards
Only a good card for certain people who travel a lot - but plenty of other cards out there that can be cheaper and better
it's only a lot of money if you're broke and have no business having it. this card is typically for frequent and/or business travelers, the affluent or those who know how to work the rewards system to the max. not for the broke a$$ jokes who just want lounge access to fake it til you make it.
There is no working out the reward system on the plat card. The coupon system was made for the cc company to profit, not for the consumers, so the joke is on them if they want to keep on using it.
@@jun.oshima
the joke is in the panties.
if you have a braincell, actual money in your pocket (i.e. not a poser) and know how to use the calculator on your phone it is very easy to get all of the money back and then some from the benefits. especially if you are a frequent traveler. it isn't rocket science by any means.
@@chrismarcus3058 Let us not also forget about the ridiculous semi annual saks 5th avenue credits as well.
AMEX SUCKS
These cards are like Costco totally scam design to put you in debt and over spend 695 memberships fee WTF bro never make that money back
Definitely not a great card for everyone. Depends on spending habits and what each person values. Many other cheaper options though