Recall that our baseline value for MR points is 1.5 cents per point the 5x MR point-earning categories are best-in-class as they result in a strong effective points rebate of 7.5%.5x MR on (a) airfare purchased directly from airlines (b) airfare purchased from Amex Travel and (c) prepaid hotel bookings on Amex Travel, including Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR) bookings.As we go through the benefits, we’ll include commentary on how much or how little value they provide to us. We’ll go over many of the key benefits and features of the Amex personal Platinum card here. Key Benefits & Features of the Amex Personal Platinum Card We wouldn’t be able to use the credits before our annual fee would come due, save perhaps a quickie use for something unnecessary and/or low-value. With gift cards no longer working for the airline fee credit, though, it’s much tougher for us to use the credits, and it takes longer to do so. When we originally applied, we were thinking we would “triple-dip” the airline fee credits (once in Dec 2018, once in 2019, and once in very early 2020 before the annual fee had to be paid). We did this before the end of 2018, and we did it again in January 2019 before gift cards stopped triggering the airline fee credit.īetween the easy airline fee credits and the sign-up bonus of 60,000 MR points (plus a referral bonus for Philly), our first year with the card was an easy winner. Back then, we could select American Airlines as our preferred airline, then purchase two $100 AA gift cards and easily be done with the credit. This was back in the era where the card’s $200-per-calendar-year airline fee credit was easy to use. I applied and was approved for the Amex personal Platinum card in mid-December 2018. We were thrilled, and the retention offer made the card an absolute keeper. I received a fantastic offer of 50,000 Membership Rewards (MR) points with no additional spend required, as long as I paid the annual fee. We were very much undecided on the card, but my retention call made all the difference. We found it tough to justify the card’s $550 annual fee. Other than airline paid fares, points-earning is poor. It has solid benefits, although many are either difficult for us to fully use and/or duplicative of benefits we have from other cards. The card is best-in-class for flights purchased directly from airlines.
I was very much on the fence about my Amex personal Platinum card. Amex Personal Platinum card Executive Summary