Is the $450 annual fee for the American Express Platinum Card worth it?

I never really considered holding the American Express Platinum Card, since it comes with a hefty $450 annual fee, and as my regular readers know, I am not a baller. I don't spend $450 without expecting A LOT in return. Like a life-sized gold nude sculpture of myself (solid gold, not leaf). To my surprise, I am considering keeping the Platinum card for the benefits. I get no commission whatsoever if you sign up--I'm writing this because a friend asked me about the card.

How they got me

I was lured into getting a Platinum card with the fleeting 100,000 bonus point offer almost a year ago. I transferred the 100,000 Membership Rewards points into 135,000 Avios (British Airways points). Take a city pair like LAS-LAX, which is 238 miles each way. On British Airways' award chart, that flight qualifies for a 9,000 point round-trip redemption. So my 135,000 point sign-up bonus would earn me 15 round trip tickets on this city pair or $3000 in airfare assuming $200/ticket. It was a no brainer to sign up for a year and cancel. It's very rare to get the 100,000 Membership Rewards sign-up offer, but there is a Mercedes Benz version of this card with a 50,000 point offer. Another strategy is signing up for the Gold Rewards card for 75,000 bonus points (a more regular offer) and then call and try to upgrade to Platinum (often they will offer you 25,000 additional points). Card Offers apparently has a 50,000 point offer for the Gold card valid now. There are numerous transfer bonuses from Membership Rewards currently (20% to British Airways, 25% to Emirates, 30% to Virgin Atlantic), but they are all limited time offers so be sure to time your transfers strategically.

Sticking it to the man

The easiest way to get value from the card is to get $200 in statement credits for airline charges each calendar year. I have spent $200 on airline gift certificates ($100 in two transactions). This is perfect to use in combination with offers such as Alaska Airlines' companion pass that comes with its BofA credit card. With my flight patterns, it's very easy to get the full $200 in value every year. Unless your card is issued on January 1st, you will get two calendar years in your first year of card membership. So in your first year (never cancel before getting another $200 on January 1st!), you can easily get $400 in value toward airfare, which takes a big chunk out of your first year's $450 fee. To keep the card, though, I need to come up with another $250 in value.

Another way I get value from the card is the bonus offers I get from Amex Sync programs. For example, Amex is offering me $25 off $250 purchases at Best Buy if I just tweet #AmexBestBuy. I can do that. I can also buy Visa gift cards there and earn 10% off money. I also saved $50 on a Travelocity hotel booking earlier this year. In total, I've saved $260 this year through Amex Sync programs on this card alone. You can be sure that I'll spend at least $10 on this card on Small Business Saturday. Did I get $270 in value? Not exactly, because unlike the Best Buy and Small Biz Saturday offers, I had to spend money I probably otherwise wouldn't have spent.  So call it $150-200 in value.

I was fortunate enough this year to make several reservations for myself and others through American Express' Platinum Concierge service at restaurants like Per Se. It's rumored that American Express has its own standing table at certain restaurants. The service touts being able to find a painter in Paris to choose a color to paint a Paris apartment...I don't think I will be using it for that anytime soon. The service is pretty bad for restaurants not in its radar screen (even Michelin starred restaurants), but it has definitely saved me a lot of time and effort.

I also got value from the American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts program, which offers amenities such as free breakfast for two, a $100 credit for dining or spa services, early check-in, late check-out, a room upgrade, etc. Recently I booked a room at THEhotel in Las Vegas for $90 for one night using this program, so we got an $80 breakfast credit and a $100 spa credit. Or a spa service that comes with a free room, depending on how you look at it. Great value.

I haven't traveled much this year for business, but if I traveled more, I would place even more value on the lounge access that I get with the card. In addition to the American Airlines Admirals Clubs, Delta Sky Clubs, US Airways Clubs, you get access to Priority Pass Select lounges and two Centurion lounges (I took advantage in Las Vegas, and it is well worth a visit even if you access it using your non-Platinum Amex card and pay a $50 entry fee).  Access to these clubs cost hundreds of dollars per year, but I think I've gotten at least $100 of value from access this year.

My car battery died last month. I don't have AAA, and thanks to Amex Platinum, I don't need it!

I think I did quite well this year with the Platinum card. While there are other amenities (below), I would recommend it to heavy travelers in particular. And even better, if you can leach onto someone who has the Platinum card, the additional user fee is only $175 and covers up to 3 additional cardholders. That works out to $58/year! Well worth it for any of combination the benefits that I got most value from (above), but you might also find value in (although many of these apply to the primary cardholder):

• One year free of Amazon Prime (I sadly signed up before they started offering this)


• Free Gold status in the Hilton and Starwood programs (although this status is easy to come by via other means)


• Global Entry fee refund (gets you through lines faster)


• Other benefits like shipboard credits when you book a cruise


• Companion pass when you book an international business class ticket (good luck using it and finding a truly discounted fare!)


• Generous accident insurance, purchase protection (90 days and up to $300 per item), etc.