Amex Platinum - fee just gone up from £300 to £450

MPH80

I think, rjg18, you've hit the nail on the head.

The calculation is different for me though. If I'm travelling *that* regularly that I'll want regular lounge access, then I'd expect that I'm a particular tier on a frequent flyer program which would negate the need for the priority pass card. (the exception being lots of economy class flights in Europe - which might not even get you into the first tier).

On the insurance piece - if I'm travelling that regularly, then it'll be for business, and I'd expect my company to have business travel insurance to cover me.

At £100 (as it was effectively for me last year), I can justify the value of the lounge access (I'll have used it 6 or 7 times) given I got the family travel insurance too. At £450 that works out at ~£64 per visit. I might as well pay for the access on a visit by visit basis.

I can afford a £450 fee. But I don't see the value.

M.

chattychappy

rjg18 wrote: »

and you can pay a few hundred for full/premanent overseas medical insurance & assistance cover, so on balance it probably (just) makes sense.

Do check the Amex cover. When I had it the basic rules were:
1) max trip 90 days
2) max number of days away in a year: 180 (though I think you could purchase an upgrade)
3) must be UK resident

Eventually I fell foul of 2+3. The kind of medical cover Amex gives can be bought online (even from Amex). The best thing is you can then tailor it precisely what you want. Eg I've opted out of baggage/belongings but gone for maximum medical cover. Also I can be away 270 days in a year. Think I'm paying about £60/year.

rjg18 wrote: »

Also, if I read it correctly, the new Cathay Pacific arrangement means you now get full access to all British Airways business class lounges (via OneWorld), which you could never access before under PP. This is quite useful, as there have been many occassions where I've been at either T5 or at Manchester Airport, which have only BA lounges.

Check if you can use the lounge regardless of airline/class of travel. Some airlines don't have this privilege, restrict it to top-tier FF membership, or limit to their own lounges when not travelling on an alliance airline. (Eg you might have to use Cathay lounges when not travelling OneWorld, but can use BA lounges when travelling on any OneWorld flight.) https://www.flyertalk.com would know!

The good thing about FF status is that even when flying economy you tend to get the business class perks on the ground - lounge (as above), extra luggage allowance, priority baggage handling, priority boarding, check-in at business class desks, priority for the best seats, priority waitlisting for busy flights, first to be free-upgraded if your class is full (OP-UP), etc etc.

I would imagine the Amex deal is time-limited. Ie after a year or two they will drop it. Airlines don't mind offering a few perks to win over new customers, but they don't really want occasional travellers benefiting long term. It dilutes their programme.

mat5664

The Marco Polo gold card is for one year only and cannot be renewed (unless you get the status by flying) - yes it gets you into lounges in T5 if flying economy, but unless you are a very frequent flyer is this really worth an extra £150 a year? If you are a frequent flyer on BA you may well have lounge access anyway.

£450 is ludicrous - especially if you are already paying £150 for the BA premium plus Amex.

MPH80

mat5664 wrote: »

The Marco Polo gold card is for one year only and cannot be renewed (unless you get the status by flying)

Damn - just spotted that one. Guess I'll enroll until my renewal in September then.

- yes it gets you into lounges in T5 if flying economy, but unless you are a very frequent flyer is this really worth an extra £150 a year? If you are a frequent flyer on BA you may well have lounge access anyway.

See previous comment on lots of Economy flights in Europe - Assuming always on non-flexible you'd need 15 return flights to a mid-range european destination to achieve silver to get lounge access.

I only fly to Europe 6-7 times a year at most (admittedly not always BA) - but would appreciate the lounge access.

£450 is ludicrous - especially if you are already paying £150 for the BA premium plus Amex.

Agree.

I think I can add myself to the cancellation list.

magicmat

Hi I became a card holder to get the introductory airmiles bonus. I also got a Marco Polo Gold card, which has been very handy. Once I had spent the qualifying amount, I cashed in my points, and cancelled . They should have refunded me the pro rata fees, but in fact refunded the whole years worth. My Marco Polo card is still active, and has been used a number of times at Terminal 5, in Hong Kong, Milan, New York and Chicago - all flying with BA. Its also given me fast check in! With a couple of bonus's for introducting friends, I've done pretty well out of it. The worldwide car insurance is a real bonus, but not something I've needed. £300 was just about worth it, £450 certainly isn't for most people. The card really doesnt have any "show off" factor as someone amusingly suggested! But while it lasted, its done me very well thanks! :money:

thegoodman

With chip and pin you can't show off any card

Roger1

One factor that I don't think has been mentioned is the age restriction for medical benefits. You or your family members are no longer covered if you or they are over 69. Previously it was over 79. This will affect more and more of us as time goes on.

I used to rely absolutely on the plat coverage. No more. I have to work out if I am covered at all. Some transactions MUST be made on the plat card - this wasn't the case before the devaluation of benefits earlier this year. For this I would have to pay about 3% foreign transaction penalty. The age restriction means that we are not all covered for medical benefits.

Now they want 50% more for reduced benefits.

As mentioned above, the Cathay Pacific benefit is good for one year only. BTW it can be used in OneWorld lounges with a same day OneWorld flight.

There are some nominal extra benefits - the one-year Hilton Gold, the SPG gold and one or two other bits and pieces can be used by the additional cardholder. The Priority Pass cardholders can take one guest each without extra charge.

All of this means alternative cover may be necessary. We have 'free' European insurance with our Nationwide FlexAccount - autoamtic, no forms to complete. This can be extended for worldwide cover for £20.



To justify the extra £150 p.a., AmEx could:

• restore insurance cover for all transactions, not just those made using AmEx card
• restore medical cover for the over-69s
• apply a 0% surcharge for foreign transactions, just as platinum and Centurion cards in the US already do

alternatively, they could reduce the fee.

chattychappy

Yep - want to echo the points about medical insurance. Also, they have a tendency to change the benefits/cover to suit themselves. This happened whilst I was on a two-month trip. Although I was still covered, my additional cardholder started a trip just as I returned. Turned out they were no longer covered because the rules on pre-existing medical conditions had changed. They had been notified to me by letter - which of course I didn't read until I returned. Never again!

The advantage of buying your own cover is that once purchased you know it won't change during its validity. (Well never has done in my experience.) You can't be sure of this with Amex.

globetraveller

Musicmanuk wrote: »

I have used to have the the Platinum Card, but I was upgraded to the Black Centurion Card a few years ago, which I might add is considerably more than the platinum card....

Just stop your complaining, if you don't like the price, go somewhere else.... It's that simple, Amex is not forcing you to pay the annual fee, you can leave anytime you like......

So you have a choice, shut the hell up and pay the fee, or cancel your card and cancel your membership....

If you can get better deals by yourself with the products they offer, then you should have the basic Amex Card with no fee as you are clearly unhappy paying it and you seem to think you are better off getting the deals yourself....

It seems to me the only reason you are complaining is the £450 is to big a hit for you to pay, otherwise you would not be moaning about it and the only reason you wish to have the platinum card is to pose to your friends and who you may have around you... If this were not the case and since you say you can get all the benefits cheaper on your own and not through Amex, you would be happy with a basic Amex card that is fee free.......:rotfl:

I have used the 24 hour card replacement, in fact I had a card the same day, the even organised that I could pick up my train ticket at the station and when I arrived in London that day, I had a card ready and waiting for me. When I arrived at my destination… Try and get that from another card provider….

In your dreams:rotfl::rotfl:

rjg18

Roger1 wrote: »

There are some nominal extra benefits - the one-year Hilton Gold, the SPG gold and one or two other bits and pieces can be used by the additional cardholder. The Priority Pass cardholders can take one guest each without extra charge.

No, these always used to be there... then they quietly disappeared and now have come back.

When I joined in 2007 the Hilton and SPG benefits were included, and were heavily promoted in the literiture. What they DIDN'T state at all at the time (just like they are doing now with the Marco Polo card) that these benefits were JUST FOR ONE YEAR.

I actually encounted this first hand when in 2008 I checked into Hilton Park Lane in London, handed over my Hilton Gold card for an upgraded room, only to be told by the receptionist that my card wasn't valid, as it had recently expired. I argued that they were wrong, so they phoned their Hilton Honours Department, who advised that the offer was only for one year.

If I recall, their wording was along the lines of: "Your card was a promotional offer, as provided by various credit companies, magazine offers and direct mailshots". Turns out that these "Free 1 year Hilton Honours" cards are handed out like confetti, sometimes even as direct unsolicited mailshots. So to be clear - this sort of benefit IS NOT something that you are getting as some sort of privilege as part of your £450, it's just a free promotional offer from the service provider that's been bundled in.