Amex Platinum Charge Card ?

jens1

Hi Guys,
Does anyone here have the Amex Platinum Charge Card?
It has a 450 quid yearly charge, but if you spend more than 2000 quid in the first 3 month, you get 30.000 - and according to their page that's enough for two return flights to Barcelona!

Further, you get travel insurance for free, and airport lounge access in 83 countries, amongst other things, which would be lovely to have when going on holiday!

Did anyone apply for this card? I am just wondering if it is maybe difficult to get?

pacontracting

As AMEX says on it's site - you need a household income of £40K. It's also a charge card so you pay the full balance back each month.

Apart from that, if you travel a lot, have a spare £450 per year then great.

I have the Natwest Black Legacy card which is only £250 per year and is better for me than the AMEX card. Unfortunately this card isn't available anymore to new customers.

You can apply for the card, get the points, use them then cancel the card and get a pro-rata refund (but I didn't say that!)

lisyloo

Are those benefits really worth £450 to you?
or is it free for the 1st year?

Work out the cost of the flights and the lounge access.
Lounge access can be really nice but it can also cost below £20 so make sure you value those benefits you are getting.

Some Amex card have eligibility criteria (like min income). You should be able to check this out on the website. I'm not being unhelpful or evasive, but they have new versions of their cards all the time and I don't know exactly which one you are referring to.

I've had the Amex gol rewards card. I got £90 refund (rather than £100 rewards) plus we've have free lounge access for 2 of us.
I probably won't pay the £125 fee to renew it though.

If it's free for the 1st year and you meet the criteria then go for it but make sure you put a reminder in your diary if you don't want to pay the fee next year.
I've tarted with Amex lots of times (closed them down) and they don't seem to mind me applying again for their introductory offers.

I can't see it would be worth £450 though unless you are a jet setter and even then there might be a cheaper Amex card.

InsideInsurance

You can cancel it at any time to get a pro-rata refund so could get the points and run.

If you get a referral then you actually get 35,000 points rather than 30,000. Sure I or others would be happy to do the referral (the referrer also gets some bonus points) if you are accepted.

The perks used to be better as you used to also get Hilton Gold and OneWorld Sapphire but both of these have now gone but no change in fees.

Add it up carefully to make sure its still of benefit to you, lounges you can buy access at c£20 a go, travel insurance tends to be cheap, do you use the hotel groups they give status with like Starwoods?

Most amex's are a little more difficult than other cards to get but the platinum card isnt that much different than any other in their range. Only the Centurion and Harrods cards are really difficult to get but then both are by invitation only.

InsideInsurance

lisyloo wrote: »

I can't see it would be worth £450 though unless you are a jet setter and even then there might be a cheaper Amex card.

There is an oddity of the card, particularly here in the UK (each countrys is different).

So, to have it, you are "supposed" to be a big jet setter, staying in top hotels, buying from top brands, flying frequently etc.

The highlighted perks however are about free status, free lounges and free insurance. If you are a jet setter though you'll already have status and that will get you into the airline lounges which tend to be better than the public ones that Priority Pass get you into anyway or you'll be flying youll be flying business anyway so get access directly.

There are more behind the scenes perks such as bonuses at certain hotels and restaurants, occasional free events often with gifts. Random discounts being sent to you, often with no minimum spend etc.

This year I think I received about £400 of vouchers I used, about £250 of them that I havent yet. Went to two events so equiv to a couple of bottles of wine and a 4 course meal at a 5* london hotel and a £100 free gift. Plus had a number of good "free upgrades" when staying at hotels but I wouldnt have otherwise paid for them. Also used the Eurostar lounge 6 times that I wouldnt otherwise have been able to get into.

Overall not bad but may dump when I lose OneWorld Sapphire status in November unless they've brought a different perk in that I value

chistery

You can also give a supplementary Platinum charge card to a family member or friend, so they can also use the benefits and insurance.

Once you meet the minimum spend for the membership rewards points, you could spend them or transfer them to somewhere like an Avios account, and close the account for a pro rata refund of the fee.

I'm happy with my card. Amex customer service is pretty good too.

Happy to send you a referral if you need one

LeDe_2

jens1 wrote: »

Hi Guys,
Does anyone here have the Amex Platinum Charge Card?
It has a 450 quid yearly charge, but if you spend more than 2000 quid in the first 3 month, you get 30.000 - and according to their page that's enough for two return flights to Barcelona!

Further, you get travel insurance for free, and airport lounge access in 83 countries, amongst other things, which would be lovely to have when going on holiday!

Did anyone apply for this card? I am just wondering if it is maybe difficult to get?

The insurance is most likely the only benefit and it's not worth £450py, airport lounge access you get anyway if you fly business or first and the concierge is terrible.

Get the Gold instead, rewards wise it's better than the Plat for less money.

chistery

LeDe wrote: »

The insurance is most likely the only benefit and it's not worth £450py, airport lounge access you get anyway if you fly business or first and the concierge is terrible.

Get the Gold instead, rewards wise it's better than the Plat for less money.

There's one or two more useful benefits than just the insurance.

The Club Carlson Gold status has saved me over £200 so far this year on a couple of city breaks, using the 241 rates, for example.

An ebay purchase that went missing in the post was refunded immediately when I phoned to find out about if it was covered by insurance.

Hotel upgrades, free breakfasts, hotel credit and other benefits also have saved me money.

I also save £150 a year as I get a free BA Amex card, though this is a legacy benefit.

It's not for everyone I agree, but use the card wisely and you could save a lot more than the fee.

LeDe_2

chistery wrote: »

There's one or two more useful benefits than just the insurance.

The Club Carlson Gold status has saved me over £200 so far this year on a couple of city breaks, using the 241 rates, for example.

An ebay purchase that went missing in the post was refunded immediately when I phoned to find out about if it was covered by insurance.

Hotel upgrades, free breakfasts, hotel credit and other benefits also have saved me money.

I also save £150 a year as I get a free BA Amex card, though this is a legacy benefit.

It's not for everyone I agree, but use the card wisely and you could save a lot more than the fee.

I take it that you don't stay/travel as much as you wouldn't need the status upgrades that the Plat offers, if one doesn't actually travel much then this card would be worth it but for those that do, it's merely a symbol of wealth and an easily attainable one at that.

Personally I have the following statuses; HHonors Silver, Skywards Gold and SPG Gold all of which I attained with my frequent travel.

Despite being marketed as the travellers card, it really isn't as those that do travel tend to attain these statuses and perks through travel not through a card.

steve2005

I have the Platinum card, and for me the £450 fee is definitely worth it.

The travel insurance is fantastic. Amex had no problems with my claim. All it took was one phonecall, a couple of emails and full payout for over £10,000.

The car hire insurance saved me over £100 for one rental alone.

The freebies they give you have netted me over £400 in goods so far.

The CX Gold (no longer available I believe) has saved me probably over £100 using the BA Silver benefits.

Lounge Access with the Priority Pass is also great - I find the majority of PP lounges are far better than the BA lounges.

The fact that it's a charge card is both good and bad:
Good as in you don't have a set credit limit, just call them and tell them you're making a large purchase and they'll ok it.
Bad as in it's not a credit card, therefore when you bill comes in you must pay it in full on time.

All that said, if you don't travel a lot you'll probably not make the best use of this card and other Amex cards might be better.

pacontracting

steve2005 wrote: »

I have the Platinum card, and for me the £450 fee is definitely worth it.

The travel insurance is fantastic. Amex had no problems with my claim. All it took was one phonecall, a couple of emails and full payout for over £10,000.

It's a shame they stopped the Natwest Black Credit Card ( as opposed to the Black card you now have to have a Private Black current account with).

It comes with great travel insurance (no age limit and no pre-existing condition limitations), Unlimited Priority Pass, Concierge, Green Flag Europe, Hire Car CDW, Home Emergency, Extended Warranty and special offers in the post.

This for only £250.

The only thing it didn't have compared to AMEX Platinum was the hotel status cards. It was also VISA so you could carry a balance (although at a hefty 19.9%).