Some one asked me to respond to this thread via PM so I am. I’ve been so crazy busy I haven’t had time to read the boards the past several months but happy to post about a topic I know well.
I’d have to strongly DISAGREE with those that say it’s a “status symbol” thingy. People often say that but don’t really understand all the benefits. Does it make sense for everyone? Nope it sure doesn’t. But for those that travel often or buy a lot of electronics it DOES make sense and the benefits are better than anything I’ve ever seen and I’ve had several cards over the years.
AMEX has moved to allowing to make minimum payments. Or they call it “pay over time” feature. I’m not sure what the interest rate is as I’ve always just paid all my credit cards in full every month.
For those that travel often (or even a few times a year) Platinum AMEX gives you a $200 rebate on almost every airline. You don’t even need to travel. You can even buy gift certificates and they will credit $200 per year. For example, I choose American Airlines and get $200 credited each and every year for purchases. So that takes the true cost down to $250 a year.
They give you a free membership to Priority Club for Airport VIP lounges. No foreign transaction fees for those of us that travel abroad frequently. They reimburse you the $100 TSA fee for Global Entry or SENTRI.
The extended warranty and Return Protection programs are AMAZING! Purchase protection as well is amazing! I can’t tell you how much I’ve saved over the years with those programs. Much more than the $450 annual fee. AMEX is simply the best. ( https://www.americanexpress.com/us/content/card-benefits/ )
I not only have the USA AMEX Platinum card but I also pay $550 a year to have the Platinum UK card. The benefits are mind blowing. (Again NOT for everyone but if you travel there are some amazing benefits).
Check out some of those benefits. And they are amazingly great about it when you need it. I travel quite frequently for both work and also with my family and I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taken advantage of these amazing benefits from the declining ALL coverage on insurance and getting covered worldwide, to having luggage get lost or delayed and getting to spend $500, to even getting stuck in a blizzard and having AMEX pay for my hotel, rental car and all meals even when it was weather related.
Read some of the medical benefits when traveling. I’ve also had to take advantage of that benefit when on one vacation I had an incident where both of my kids had to be taken in ambulance to the emergency room. They covered everything. Thousands of dollars in expenses from the ambulance, to the ER doctor, to the hospital, etc. (Amazing to see how many separate entities bill you when there is a visit to the hospital in ambulance).
Read that link I posted above and especially read the Travel inconvenience section. Just amazing.
I’ve also had situations where just everyday stuff that I bought was lost, damaged, stolen and they covered it. Or the time I was in Bora Bora on vacation jetskiing and my wife’s $400 Prada sunglasses that she bought 2 months before fell off not to be recovered. No questions asked, they simply reimbursed us.
Again, not for everyone but I think it’s incorrect to say that it’s just for status because it certainly is not. I’d say the AMEX Black card would be more for status. I’ve been offered that card but it’s obscenely expensive and most of the benefits are covered by the Platinum card for a fraction of the cost.
I’d go so far to say that anyone that travels a few times a year would definitely get great benefit from the AMEX Platinum as well as people that buy a lot of stuff.
Also, I just wanted to point out that although I travel quite a bit I NEVER in 20+ years having an AMEX have I used any of the hotel booking, or travel booking services or events. I do all that myself so that isn’t a reason to get the card.
The main benefits are what I pointed out above. I have other cards including Black Mastercard along with several others and most of them are VERY painful to actually get them to cover a loss, warranty, etc. Tons of paperwork and hassles. AMEX is only an online website where you fill out the details and they have just credited back the full amount. Most times I never even have to talk to an agent.
If you buy something and the store won’t take it back because it’s past the 30 day return policy or whatever, AMEX will take care of it. I’ve had friends that have bought VERY expensive designer Italian shoes and they fell apart within like 40 days. The store wouldn’t take them back. She just called AMEX while she was at the store. And they told her to just leave them at the store and walk out. They credited her the entire cost.
Again, even if you aren’t a big spender most of us buy electronics, clothes, stuff and sh*t happens and they are a breeze to deal with on that stuff.
