Amex Platinum
The Amex Platinum is American Express’s flagship premium credit card, often regarded as “The Travel Card” due to its extensive travel benefits, including access to the exclusive Centurion Lounges. However, with a hefty annual fee of $695, many wonder if it’s truly worth it.
I obtained my Amex Platinum card in November 2023 during an elevated sign-on bonus promotion, intending to evaluate its value over the course of a year. In this article, I’ll review my usage of the card, analyze the benefits and earnings, and share my final verdict on whether the card justifies its cost. Follow along and evaluate whether the Amex Platinum could be worth it for you too!
Credit Card Overview
Before diving into my evaluation, here’s a quick rundown of the Amex Platinum card’s key features:
- Annual Fee: $695
- Main Multipliers (Membership Rewards Points):
- 5x on flights booked directly with airlines
- 5x on hotels booked through AmexTravel
Benefits & Credits:
- $240 digital entertainment credit
- $200 Uber credit
- $200 airline fee credit
- $200 hotel credit
- $100 Saks Fifth Avenue credit
- Walmart+ membership
- Clear membership
- TSA/Global Entry credit
- Centurion Lounge and Priority Pass access
For a comprehensive list of benefits, visit the official Amex Platinum website.
(Related: Check out our article “Our Credit Cards Setup 2024” to see how this card fits into our overall strategy.)
Earnings Multipliers Recap
Using Amex’s end-of-year summary, I spent $2,655.40 on flights and hotels booked through Amex Travel, earning 13,227 Membership Rewards (MR) points. While this is a modest amount, it’s worth noting that MR point earnings are not the primary reason for keeping or canceling this card. If maximizing points is your goal, there are better options for general spending.
However, for those who frequently book flights or hotels in these categories, the high earning rates could play a more significant role in the card’s value proposition.
Benefits Usage Recap
The true value of the Amex Platinum lies in its benefits. These can be categorized as:
- Monetary Benefits: Credits and reimbursements (e.g., Uber credits, Saks Fifth Avenue credit).
- Soft Benefits: Perks like lounge access and hotel status that provide intangible value.
The following tables summarize my benefits usage this past year. I added a “real value” column because I personally don’t value all the credits at face value. For example, I wouldn’t get the Clear Membership if it wasn’t for the card benefit, hence I assign it a real value of 0.
Monetary Benefits Analysis
| Benefit | Actual Amount Utilized | Real Value (Self Assigned) |
| Uber Credits | $200 | $200 |
| FHR Hotel Credit | $200 | $200 |
| Airline Fee Credit | $200 | $200 |
| Saks Fifth Avenue Credit | $100 | $100 |
| TSA PreCheck (Amortized) | $30 | $30 |
| Digital Entertainment | $240 | $120 |
| Walmart+ Membership | $155 | $60 |
| Clear Membership | $199 | $0 |
| Total | $1,324 | $910 |
Soft Benefits Analysis
| Benefit | Value Per Visit | Visits | Real Value |
| Centurion Lounges | $20 | 5 | $100 |
| Priority Pass Lounges | $10 | 12 | $120 |
| Total | 17 | $220 |
Key Notes:
- I value Centurion Lounge access at $20 per visit (equivalent to a full meal) and Priority Pass lounges at $10 per visit (snacks and drinks).
- I chose to not include hotel status benefits (Marriott gold and Hilton gold) because I rarely used them this year, and these status are fairly easy to attain with their respective hotel cards.
Total Real Value from Benefits: $1,130
Annual Fee: $695
Net Benefit: $435
Adding up the hard and soft benefits, I get a conservative total real value of $1,130 from all the card credits. Subtracting the annual fee of $695, I received a net positive value of $435 from the credits alone this year without accounting for points earned nor the sign-on bonus.
Points Redemption
Finally, let’s take a look back at the points redemption I made with this card in the past year. I was fortunate to get a large sign-on bonus of 150k (there was an even better offer of 175k briefly after I got the card). With the points from the sign-on bonus, I made a few nice redemptions by transferring the MR points to transfer partners.
- Trip to Spain: SFO → MAD (26k MR points → British Airways Avios)
- Europe F1 Trip: SFO → AMS / ZUR → SFO (55k MR points → ANA Mileage Club)
In addition, I have transferred a significant amount of points to Alaska Airlines through Hawaiian Airlines. These Alaska miles will come in handy in my upcoming travels this year.
In general Amex MR points are significantly better for flight redemptions, where you can often find cpp value of > 1.5 by booking award flights with transfer partners. Transfer partners for hotels on the other hand are subpar, as they typically offer 0.5 cpp.
Final Verdict
Based on my evaluation, the Amex Platinum card provided a net positive value of $435 in its first year, excluding the sign-on bonus. Factoring in the useful points redemptions opportunities, the value skyrockets, making it a resounding YES for me to keep the card.
However, your mileage may vary. I encourage you to:
- Analyze your spending habits.
- Assign realistic values to the benefits you’ll use.
- Compare the total real value to the annual fee.
If you’re considering applying for the Amex Platinum, feel free to use our referral link—though always compare multiple offers to secure the best sign-on bonus.
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