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Justifying the Amex Platinum annual fee is easy! We talk a lot about earning points and miles to hack your way to your next vacation, but at what expense? It’s important to weigh out the costs involved with this hobby and to evaluate whether you’re getting your money’s worth. Many of the cards that are appealing have an annual fee of around $99 a year. Some of the premium cards have a hefty annual fee of $500 or more. With these cards, like the Amex Platinum, it’s important to justify the high annual fee. We’ll discuss which perks Adriana and I use most and how we get more value than what we pay in the annual fee.
The personal American Express Platinum card has an annual fee of $550. That is definitely a lot of money but since this card offers many useful perks for us, we can get more than what we pay for every year. Let’s check out all of the card perks and which ones we use to the max.
THE UBER CREDIT
The first one is the annual $200 Uber credit. You get a $15 Uber credit per month and $35 credit in December, totaling $200 per year. Obviously when traveling, you can easily use the Uber credit, but what about when you’re at home? How can you use your credit while at home? This credit is also valid for Uber Eats. Adriana and I use fully use this credit each year.
THE AIRLINE INCIDENTAL CREDIT
The Amex Platinum also offers an annual $200 Airline incidental fee. At the beginning of the calendar year, you must choose your airline. These are the participating airlines: Alaska Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Hawaiian Airlines, JetBlue Airways, Spirit Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and United Airlines. In our case, we usually fly American Airlines more so that’s the airline we choose. While we normally travel light with only a carry on and personal item, coming back from a trip with gifts and other things causes us to have to check in a bag on the way back. By charging the baggage fee to my Amex Platinum, I’m reimbursed these fees. I’ve also been reimbursed snack/drink and Wi-Fi purchases. Now I must say, using the airline incidental fee can be a bit tricky so I highly suggest checking out the Flyer Talk link to see what works and what doesn’t work.
THE SAKS CREDIT
Another credit that we, or I should say, Adriana gets full use out of is the yearly $100 Saks credit. The Amex Platinum gives you a $50 credit to use between January and June, and another $50 credit to use between July and December. Now I know what you’re thinking… what in the world can I buy for $50 at Saks? You can find a number of useful items discounted to $50 and under. Adriana typically uses this to buy some makeup that she likes.
THE GLOBAL ENTRY CREDIT
This next credit is very easy to use, however you may not use it every year. I’m referring to the $100 Global Entry/TSA Precheck credit. By using your card to pay for your Global Entry application fee (TSA Precheck is included with this application), you’ll automatically be reimbursed for that charge. By having TSA Precheck, you could save a lot of time at the security lines at the airport and by having Global Entry, you can take the fast lane when flying back into the country. Those immigration lines can be horrendously long!
THE REST OF THE PERKS
By maximizing these credits alone, you’re getting $600 worth of value. I consider these credits the easiest for everyone to maximize. The remaining perks are definitely valuable, but the number of times you use them depends on how much you travel and where you travel to.The American Express Centurion Lounge: Since we usually connect from our hometown to Dallas or Houston, this is an easy win for us. We always access the lounge before our next flight. It offers amazing food and drinks at no extra charge! The cardholder and a guest have access to the lounge. All that you have to do is present your Amex Platinum card, your ID and your boarding pass to your next flight. I’d value this at $50/visit.
Fine Hotels & Resorts:
If you’re looking for a paid stay at a swanky hotel or resort, it’s worth your while to search through the Fine Hotels & Resorts website. You can find great deals and your stays will often include free breakfast and a hotel credit or amenity of some kind. On top of that you’re eligible for room upgrades, noon check-in and 4pm checkout. These perks are typically only given to those with elite status with that hotel brand, however you’d be given those perks for booking through FHR. For this perk,I’d place a conservative value of $100/use.
Hilton Honors Gold Status:
Just by having the Amex Platinum, you have Hilton Gold Status. Just register your Hilton account with the Amex Platinum. This gives you free room upgrades and free breakfast at your Hilton stays. I personally value this at least $20/use just for breakfast alone.
ShopRunner Membership:
Many online shopping websites offer free 2 day shipping through ShopRunner. It’s like having Amazon Prime for the rest of the internet! I’ve taken advantage of this a few times at participating stores, yet I wouldn’t assign a value to this perk.
American Express Concierge:
I never thought we’d get much use out of this but we definitely do. If I need to set up dinner reservations at a restaurant or get event tickets, this is who I call. Sometimes getting tickets or dinner reservations while abroad can be tricky, but Amex Concierge makes it easy! I’d value this at least $10/use, since this could save me from tipping the hotel concierge or ticket delivery fees that they may charge.
There are a number of other perks provided by this card, but I haven’t had the chance yet to use them yet. You may find use out of them in your case. You can check out the rest of the perks here. With the ones mentioned, we use them often and get more than $550 worth out of the card.
By maxing out the Uber, Airline Incidental, Saks and Global Entry credits, and using the rest of the mentioned perks JUST ONCE, I come out to a value of $780! If you use the perks more than once, you’ll easily exceed $780 in value, far outweighing the cost of the annual fee. This card is a keeper for us because it makes “cents”.
JUSTIFYING THE AMEX PLATINUM ANNUAL FEE – CONCLUSION
As the old saying goes, you should never judge a book by its cover, the same is true with high annual fee credit cards. Many people think that the card must be awesome since it demands a high annual fee. Others think it’s a complete waste of money for a credit card. Depending on your circumstances and travel habits, this card could definitely earn a place in your wallet as it has in ours. What are your thoughts about the Amex Platinum card? What other premium cards do you think are worth the high annual fee?
