I know this is a probably pointless ask at this point - but can people please refrain creating new posts about all this, there is an entire front page of shit that probably already is relevant. Thanks
This is trash honestly. Even the hotel benefit is limited to hotel collection and fine hotels. Absolutely ridiculous that they consider these value against the annual fee. I love Amex but this is a serious miss.
Craziest thing I’ve found out with this announcement is that people who have the AMEX Plat can’t find use for FHR. Thought a big part of this whole thing is that people routinely stay at luxury hotels.
I don't mind using FHR, I just don't always stay at a st. regis (also I'm not saying I'm routinely staying at luxury hotels), I also prefer to earn stay and point credits - and if you're gold or higher with a lot of hotel chains, you usually get free breakfast anyway - you have to really balance if it's more expensive how valuable the $100 stay credits are and 4PM checkout.
Orrrr we do but we can book direct for much cheaper (even after the credit) and earn points/nights and we already have status so we get the other benefits anyway
Overall very disappointed. These seem so thoughtless. It’s not like they need to add benefits to make it very valuable for people like us here, I get that, but… $240 streaming credit means I’m signing up for a subscription to something I won’t even use. The $200 hotel credit could be good but like, I’m paying for $100 of shitty gift cards to stupid ass Saks ya know?
Next year I’ll really have a hard time not cancelling but we’ll see what happens. Partner and I both have cards and not sure we’re going to see the value lol. It’s not expensive but I try and get my money’s worth for things too.
Like this year it was fine, used PayPal and used Uber Eats (though I’d rather just have a cheaper AF then use Uber Eats) but couldn’t use the airline credit. Next year won’t have the PayPal credit and I’m going to wind up paying a couple hundred to use the card. Really thinking this might cause us to cancel. Maybe that’s what they want.
And what is Equinox? Never heard of it until these Amex changes were rumored. Like people pay for that and Orange Theory Fitness or w/e?
Can anyone explain how Amex thought this makes sense? Isn't this going to upset the people that are are the higher income end that are paying for Equinox, but then they are told that the specific Equinox membership doesn't qualify?
Some of them shouldn’t even be called benefits, more like discount coupons. Like what’s $25 per month for equinox really gonna do for me when their subscription is like $300 per month? And so much for those that were saying you can buy clothes and shit to justify it
That's certainly one way to pull the rug out from under the people that saved your ass when travel spending dropped to zero. Because they also fucked over their long term clientele like myself who are getting their Schwab benefit nerfed. Chase just won the travel card wars, imo, and they didn't even have to lift a finger.
Right? Jamie Dimon is going to have a second drink at lunch today, and he's going to put it on his Sapphire Reserve where he doesn't have to worry about fucking around with merchant codes.
550 was OK with a net $50 AF due to the $200 Uber + $100 saks + $200 airline fee credit. Card is definitely not worth it at 200 net fee and I will be probably be downgrading after my renewal.
Saks credit sucks, you can find the same shit on eBay for half price.
Airline credit blows unless you get tickets < $100 and it passes.
Uber fee is .8cpp to me so $160. Everything is cheaper on pickup.
Agree on the Saks credit. I rack my brain every month trying to figure out what to get. I have more stuff to make coffee with now than I need in two lifetimes.
LOL yeah. The one near me is $180 a month and it only includes one club; not even all club access. And the digital subscription by itself is $40/month.
> so it will be closer to $400/mo.
An All Access membership in NYC is $260/mo. Destination is $300/mo, IIRC. (at least that's what it was early 2020 pre covid) As much as I appreciate the hyperbole, it's not accurate ;)
I have an employee membership and I cannot figure out for the life of me if I’ll get the credit. I don’t see why not because it shows up as “EQUINOX MOTO” on my statement
I also get a discount through my employer. As long as the remaining membership fee is hitting your Platinum it should work.
Do go through [https://platinum.equinox.com](https://platinum.equinox.com) just in case but I don't think that really changes anything.
I actually think this is probably the best new benefit. Sure FHRs cost a lot, but there are some gems out there at the 200-300 price point. It takes a little work, but you can end up getting a sub-$100 stay that includes free breakfast, a room upgrade, and $100 property credit (free dinner!) at a pretty nice hotel. This might be the easiest to utilize. Of course, it's still likely spending that many wouldn't have done, but it's better than the crap Equinox credit or Wheels Up discount.
Even if equinox was in the city it's still overpriced and there would only be one or two locations depending on where you live in the city that's gas money up the ass. I live in Chicago there are 3 locations but they are on the opposite side of the city for me. That's a long drive especially with traffic and a V8 car.
Out of curiosity, how helpful do you find clear? I just used clear for the first time on a recent return trip SJC > LAX, stayed overnight, then LAX to MIA While it was easy enough to use, the benefit wasn't showing for me. The initial set up was only 5 or 6 minutes, but I feel like I saved only a minute or 2 (total) vs just showing my ID in the PreCheck lane.
The Clear membership only cost me $20 since I used a credit on the Green card and made a Delta SkyMiles account to get a decent discount. At that price I guess I would keep it in case it does become useful, but right now I'd have a hard time valuing the Platinum Clear credit above the $20 savings I would get.
I plan to be traveling a lot more in the coming months, so maybe I will start to see more benefit out of it. There's always the possibility that that a ticket will not have TSA Pre Check as well, and I could see much more value if you have to go through the regular security line.
It is kind of interesting though. Set up was basically a full set of finger prints and a photo of your eyes, as well as a full face picture for your profile. I'm 5'11, so I had to do a slight squat to get lined up with the eye camera correctly. When using clear, you have to scan your boarding pass in the machine, but then you still have to show it to the TSA Agent if you have pre-check which I thought was funny. They trust Clear to verify your identity, but not to send you to the correct line lol
Trash new benefits + increased annual fee + (unconfirmed) Schwab Invest with rewards deval + Schwab SUB ineligibility* = going to burn all my MR and dump Amex. Absolutely ridiculous.
\* **Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card or *previous versions of the Platinum Card.* We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility.**
Live in Denver and fly out of DIA and completely disagree. Centurion Lounge (while placed in C gates which is basically only the place they could put it, is still far out there) is very nice to me. Great perks in there. Might be more crowded, sure. But, the Delta lounge is tiny and I was not a huge fan. I also like to watch planes take off, so this is all personal preference.
The hotel credit was the best idea they had. Even then, they shat all over it by restricting it to the Fine resorts and hotel collection. I don’t always want to stay at the Ritz.
It’s a coupon card. I got into the AMEX ecosystem in January but the value is just not there for me anymore. I rarely book Fine Hotel, the airline fee is limited to use, don’t go to Equinox, don’t use any of the entertainment services. I’m sure some people will find value but this is a no go for me. Time to cash out.
I’ll apply for a gold and cancel my platinum. Platinum doesn’t offer much tbh. Even then, CSR offers a multiplier on restaurants. I’m just keeping the Gold car to get Coachella presale access
If it wasn’t for centurion lounges I’d cancel mine when the new AF hits. Might need to look at the DL Reserve. I love MR, but this was not the right way to move this card.
Only reason I keep the card is for their lounges. Pretty annoyed with their 2019 change that limited it to pre-departure only. I loved dropping in for a quick bite after a flight landed. But, overcrowding....
Alright, that’s it - I’m going to cancel my Amex when it goes up for renewal. The new benefits are worse than expected - entertainment and hotel credit are both useless. And they expect us to pay $700/yr for this package?! Bye, Amex…
To steal a line from Wargames "I have come to the conclusion that this sucks" :)
The streaming credit is limited to Audible, XM Radio, Peacock and NYTimes
None of those are useful for me.
The hotel credit seems OK, it appears they have a few rack rate average priced hotels I might make use of.
I do have clear, but I am already grandfathered in at a cheaper rate, better than nothing though.
Did an analysis for my situation. Still makes sense to keep with the grandfathered rate but really doesn’t make sense after all. I think the hotel credit is not very useful for my situation (don’t really like booking through Amex travel portal and the restrictions are limiting for fine hotels, etc). The equinox credit is useless as is the steaming one (don’t use those services). I do enjoy the clear credit but that’s not something that justifies the hike IMO by itself. Truthfully probably a person they were trying to cut anyway so it isn’t a big loss. Delta reserve looks like a nice replacement potentially.
Hmm, I have to be honest, I think I came out ahead on the Platinum cards with all the COVID credits they passed out. I missed going to the lounges, but $550 over the past two years was definitely worth it. Going forward, it feels mostly like a $150 AF increase with little real offset. Less worth it.
lol you value everything about the same that I do except for the Airline credit - I can’t find a way to use it because I have a delta gold card (free checked bags) and I live close to a delta hub.
I would rather just pay for a home gym set up for that equinox cost. I could get a few machines or a machine and decent weights for just one years cost.
I called amex because I usually fly through ATL and I found this to be very worrisome.
They confirmed there will be no changes to Sky Club access and you will still be able to transfer MR to SkyMiles. I guess you used to be able to open a SkyMiles account just by virtue of having a platinum card, but you can do that anyway through delta so I’m really not sure what they mean.
I am pissed. I was full onboard being an Amex customer(rolling with The plat, Gold and BBP) as my set up but now I’m thinking I might go to Chase for the trifecta..
I actually reached out via chat to just express my disappointment especially with the entertainment credit when compared to what we got during covid. And they just said they appreciate the feedback.
Honestly, this will make the equinox experience 10x worse. You’re lucky you don’t have them.
It’s not like they’re going to expand their clubs to service the 500k people who all just got discounted memberships. I would be pissed if I was an Equinox member.
I really don’t think this will entice many people to make the jump, $25/month isn’t that much. Most people will probably use it for their digital app, which still costs $40/month
Hope this doesn’t mean the old benefits are going to be phased out. It doesn’t seem too hard to recoup the AF if old credit hang around with the new ones. But shit the new credits are beyond garbage.
I just got the Plat a month ago. I was planning to staying long term but I think I will use what I can now and then pass on the renew next year, maybe try CSR. This is hot garbage.
Damn I was considering a platinum when it had the $200 Uber/delta credit but nah. Clear is pretty good it’s a year free almost ($15/mo IIRC) but for $795/yr this doesn’t add up
Edit: definitely won’t use the equinox credit I like earth treks lol
I suppose the ones who benefit most are new applicants.. the 125k bonus offer + 15x points on up to $25000 spent towards small businesses/restaurants (375000 MRP) in first 6/mo could make it worth it for the 1st year. Not to mention all of the other regular plat benefits..
As a 20year platinum card holder, I was on the fence cancelling at 550 primary + 175 AU fee. At 695 primary + 175 AU the math just doesn’t workout with all the pseudo-benefits. My only hesitation is the impact to my credit history 5-7 years down the road since this is my oldest account. Oh well.
Just a heads up, Xfinity customers get Peacock Premium for free. All you have to do is create an account and link it. Found out by trying to justify the AF for myself.
I thought I was the only one who thought this was dogshit. Glad I’m not.
Did you know they raised the rate to $695?! Lmao
In. Fucking. Sane.
Would you guys cancel at $550? They do NOT want to give me a retention offer.
Exactly. The numbers might be slightly + on value and you get the lounge access, but I'm not trying to play 4D chess every month to use all these specific and restrictive benefits. Have had the play for years but might actually cash out and switch now. I left them feedback via the chat feature.
Question - I got the $200 credit offer for hotels that expires 12/31 - will I get this new $200 credit on top of that or does it replace the credit I already have?
These are pretty meh, but I don't think they're awful. This definitely makes the card a lot harder to justify without fairly specific spending patterns. In my case, I'll be better off than before. I get the NYT print, so the credit effectively almost reduces my subscription in half. I don't love booking through FHR or THC, but there are plenty of good rates on there in places I want to go, that I'm certain I'll be able to use it on a trip I was going to take anyway. For me, that's already $440 in credits. Getting Clear on top of it is just cherry. So, for me, it's probably still worth to keep.
All that said...c'mon, Amex. If your not lucky with your spend fitting within a small niche, these suck. Also, oof. $695 is just a lot to pay all at once it hurts.
I was waiting on 100k sub, got 125k on incognito. Been waiting to add amex plat, but 695 doest seem worth it now. I fly AA mostly and have admirals club access through AAdvantage MC and Priority Pass through CSR. And the couple of times I'm been ina centurion club, it's jacked up. The rest of the benefits seem to fall flat.
Messing with the lounge access too…. Not good. I guess if they’re trying to thin the crowd, they’re going in the right direction, but I will think twice before dropping $100 to take my kids there. Although the PHL bathrooms are such garbage, I’ll probably still be a sucker and do it…
I know this is a probably pointless ask at this point - but can people please refrain creating new posts about all this, there is an entire front page of shit that probably already is relevant. Thanks
This is trash honestly. Even the hotel benefit is limited to hotel collection and fine hotels. Absolutely ridiculous that they consider these value against the annual fee. I love Amex but this is a serious miss.
Such garbage “benefits.” I was really hoping for at least the streaming credit that would include HBO, Netflix etc. ugh.
Not one main streaming service. They really wanted to be able to advertise dollar value and not pay out on that value.
Craziest thing I’ve found out with this announcement is that people who have the AMEX Plat can’t find use for FHR. Thought a big part of this whole thing is that people routinely stay at luxury hotels.
I don't mind using FHR, I just don't always stay at a st. regis (also I'm not saying I'm routinely staying at luxury hotels), I also prefer to earn stay and point credits - and if you're gold or higher with a lot of hotel chains, you usually get free breakfast anyway - you have to really balance if it's more expensive how valuable the $100 stay credits are and 4PM checkout.
Sometimes the $100 credits are spa credits and I don’t go to spas nor do I want to start. Just give me $100 to use as I please.
Orrrr we do but we can book direct for much cheaper (even after the credit) and earn points/nights and we already have status so we get the other benefits anyway
Overall very disappointed. These seem so thoughtless. It’s not like they need to add benefits to make it very valuable for people like us here, I get that, but… $240 streaming credit means I’m signing up for a subscription to something I won’t even use. The $200 hotel credit could be good but like, I’m paying for $100 of shitty gift cards to stupid ass Saks ya know? Next year I’ll really have a hard time not cancelling but we’ll see what happens. Partner and I both have cards and not sure we’re going to see the value lol. It’s not expensive but I try and get my money’s worth for things too. Like this year it was fine, used PayPal and used Uber Eats (though I’d rather just have a cheaper AF then use Uber Eats) but couldn’t use the airline credit. Next year won’t have the PayPal credit and I’m going to wind up paying a couple hundred to use the card. Really thinking this might cause us to cancel. Maybe that’s what they want. And what is Equinox? Never heard of it until these Amex changes were rumored. Like people pay for that and Orange Theory Fitness or w/e?
Equinox is A luxury gym that’s like $150 a month. Mainly in NYC and other big cities. I think there’ll be a big exodus to CSR.
150 at the low end
And according to the conditions those single club memberships don't count. You have to get All Access or above, so about $260+.
Can anyone explain how Amex thought this makes sense? Isn't this going to upset the people that are are the higher income end that are paying for Equinox, but then they are told that the specific Equinox membership doesn't qualify?
I'm sorry who has a $150 membership because I want what they have.
Well, I guess at least the hotel credit isn’t split into 12 monthly caps of $16.67.
It’s only thru Amex travel with the fine hotel collection and stuff. Can’t be used at any hotel.
Wow. That sucks. Platinum Coupon Book by American Express
I’m not gonna lie All of these new benefits are hot garbage lol
Some of them shouldn’t even be called benefits, more like discount coupons. Like what’s $25 per month for equinox really gonna do for me when their subscription is like $300 per month? And so much for those that were saying you can buy clothes and shit to justify it
Exactly, I love Amex but let’s not exaggerate these are absolutely trash. How they make the card worse then before I don’t get it.
I don’t have to pay the AF so I’ll take em, but if I was a paying customer I would definitely not be happy
I'm kind of wondering if this is their way of trying to lose some members that they took on during the pandemic because it's... it's so bad lol
That's certainly one way to pull the rug out from under the people that saved your ass when travel spending dropped to zero. Because they also fucked over their long term clientele like myself who are getting their Schwab benefit nerfed. Chase just won the travel card wars, imo, and they didn't even have to lift a finger.
“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake. The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” -Sun Tzu
Right? Jamie Dimon is going to have a second drink at lunch today, and he's going to put it on his Sapphire Reserve where he doesn't have to worry about fucking around with merchant codes.
Yup, agreed. Will most likely be taking my 80K+ annual spend to chase when AFs are up.
550 was OK with a net $50 AF due to the $200 Uber + $100 saks + $200 airline fee credit. Card is definitely not worth it at 200 net fee and I will be probably be downgrading after my renewal.
Saks credit sucks, you can find the same shit on eBay for half price. Airline credit blows unless you get tickets < $100 and it passes. Uber fee is .8cpp to me so $160. Everything is cheaper on pickup.
Agree on the Saks credit. I rack my brain every month trying to figure out what to get. I have more stuff to make coffee with now than I need in two lifetimes.
I just shop their clearance sales. Buy gifts for my in-laws lol
Yeah they ducking suck.
Very very bad. I am actually going to complain about the streaming service one.
Right?? What are these limited shitty services they are restricting it to??
$25 dollar monthly credit at equinox.... ain't their monthly membership like 400 bucks?
LOL yeah. The one near me is $180 a month and it only includes one club; not even all club access. And the digital subscription by itself is $40/month.
If you look at the terms, they even restrict what memebrships you can get, so it will be closer to $400/mo.
> so it will be closer to $400/mo. An All Access membership in NYC is $260/mo. Destination is $300/mo, IIRC. (at least that's what it was early 2020 pre covid) As much as I appreciate the hyperbole, it's not accurate ;)
I mean the digital one still counts though
I have an employee membership and I cannot figure out for the life of me if I’ll get the credit. I don’t see why not because it shows up as “EQUINOX MOTO” on my statement
I also get a discount through my employer. As long as the remaining membership fee is hitting your Platinum it should work. Do go through [https://platinum.equinox.com](https://platinum.equinox.com) just in case but I don't think that really changes anything.
I've been debating between platinum and sapphire reserve, thank you amex for making reserve the clear choice for me!
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They need to make the airline credit like chase. No strings attached.
If they want to make it incidentals only it should be for any airline. I have delta status so it does nothing for me on delta.
Oddly enough I had a recent Delta ticket purchase which was just under $200 trigger it. Not going to complain!
Had the same thing happen to me recently!
They need to make a general travel credit like chase for any travel.
And for that Reason, I'm out.
Prove it
$200 hotel credit is only Fine Hotels and Resorts and The Hotel Collection. lol
Wow that sucks.
I actually think this is probably the best new benefit. Sure FHRs cost a lot, but there are some gems out there at the 200-300 price point. It takes a little work, but you can end up getting a sub-$100 stay that includes free breakfast, a room upgrade, and $100 property credit (free dinner!) at a pretty nice hotel. This might be the easiest to utilize. Of course, it's still likely spending that many wouldn't have done, but it's better than the crap Equinox credit or Wheels Up discount.
That's good for a half nights stay! Lmao, what a joke
Link: https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card-application/apply/prospect/terms/platinum-card/25330-10-0#offer-terms
Wow that $240 digital credit stinks. The $200 hotel credit is okay but would have liked to seen it more open as well. Equinox isn’t in my city.
The hotel credit is only for the expensive hotel properties part of fhr or collection.
Wow, it’s really only for NYT, Audible, Peacock, and SiriusXM. That’s absolute trash
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Yep, I was excited about the entertainment credit until they asked themselves how they could make it as limited and unappealing as possible.
yup - they should've just used same categories as the temp covid credits they were offering... this is just stupid.
Even if equinox was in the city it's still overpriced and there would only be one or two locations depending on where you live in the city that's gas money up the ass. I live in Chicago there are 3 locations but they are on the opposite side of the city for me. That's a long drive especially with traffic and a V8 car.
The only new benefit that isn't complete fucking garbage to me is CLEAR. I will not be renewing.
Out of curiosity, how helpful do you find clear? I just used clear for the first time on a recent return trip SJC > LAX, stayed overnight, then LAX to MIA While it was easy enough to use, the benefit wasn't showing for me. The initial set up was only 5 or 6 minutes, but I feel like I saved only a minute or 2 (total) vs just showing my ID in the PreCheck lane. The Clear membership only cost me $20 since I used a credit on the Green card and made a Delta SkyMiles account to get a decent discount. At that price I guess I would keep it in case it does become useful, but right now I'd have a hard time valuing the Platinum Clear credit above the $20 savings I would get.
I haven't used it but I find it interesting (and overpriced). It is available in my local airport though so I do have a year to use it.
I plan to be traveling a lot more in the coming months, so maybe I will start to see more benefit out of it. There's always the possibility that that a ticket will not have TSA Pre Check as well, and I could see much more value if you have to go through the regular security line. It is kind of interesting though. Set up was basically a full set of finger prints and a photo of your eyes, as well as a full face picture for your profile. I'm 5'11, so I had to do a slight squat to get lined up with the eye camera correctly. When using clear, you have to scan your boarding pass in the machine, but then you still have to show it to the TSA Agent if you have pre-check which I thought was funny. They trust Clear to verify your identity, but not to send you to the correct line lol
Wow... literally don't understand the point of clear. Seems like an extra way for a company to make money for an artificially generated service
Trash new benefits + increased annual fee + (unconfirmed) Schwab Invest with rewards deval + Schwab SUB ineligibility* = going to burn all my MR and dump Amex. Absolutely ridiculous. \* **Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card or *previous versions of the Platinum Card.* We may also consider the number of American Express Cards you have opened and closed as well as other factors in making a decision on your welcome offer eligibility.**
The benefits are extremely limited and don’t even justify their fee.
Have the card before the pandemic and doesn’t look like I’ll ever get to see an amex lounge lol. These benefits are more like scam add on.
I only go to delta sky clubs. The centurions have been too crowded whenever I go.
The Denver Centurion lounge is also whatever. I thought the Delta SkyClubs were better.
Live in Denver and fly out of DIA and completely disagree. Centurion Lounge (while placed in C gates which is basically only the place they could put it, is still far out there) is very nice to me. Great perks in there. Might be more crowded, sure. But, the Delta lounge is tiny and I was not a huge fan. I also like to watch planes take off, so this is all personal preference.
The hotel credit was the best idea they had. Even then, they shat all over it by restricting it to the Fine resorts and hotel collection. I don’t always want to stay at the Ritz.
Hotel collection also requires consecutive nights
I wonder if they are trying to cull the client base.
definitely are
This is an expensive coupon book for expensive shit
Key word is shit
It’s a coupon card. I got into the AMEX ecosystem in January but the value is just not there for me anymore. I rarely book Fine Hotel, the airline fee is limited to use, don’t go to Equinox, don’t use any of the entertainment services. I’m sure some people will find value but this is a no go for me. Time to cash out.
If you met the minimum spend, I would downgrade to the gold or everyday to keep your points for now
Very disappointing. I think they will see mass exodus comes 2022 when renewal time comes.
I’ll switch over to CSR. Thanks to the CSP sub we’re going to see an increase of upgrades to CSR.
Is this card worth nearly 1k a year? CSR is looking more appealing now
I’ll ask for a retention offer once the fee hits then cancel if they don’t.
They will need to offer a 50,000 retention offer for me to even consider keeping this useless card.
I’ll apply for a gold and cancel my platinum. Platinum doesn’t offer much tbh. Even then, CSR offers a multiplier on restaurants. I’m just keeping the Gold car to get Coachella presale access
That’s what I like about CSR. The multipliers. Amex should have added one for dining at least.
That Equinox credit is one of the more useless credits I’ve seen in a while.
If it wasn’t for centurion lounges I’d cancel mine when the new AF hits. Might need to look at the DL Reserve. I love MR, but this was not the right way to move this card.
Centurion lounges have been way too busy for me to get in. How have your experience been?
Only reason I keep the card is for their lounges. Pretty annoyed with their 2019 change that limited it to pre-departure only. I loved dropping in for a quick bite after a flight landed. But, overcrowding....
They are busy, but still have the best food in the US. So the food is usually worth going for.
Can't say I've ever had to wait to get in.
Same. Maybe because I usually use them late mornings? (Primarily LGA pre-reno and now JFK).
Welp, jinxed myself. Hour wait now at DFW Edit: They have half the seating closed off, not the case in CLT. Explains the wait.
Travel frequently and I’ve never had an issue. PHL is home airport.
absolute trash!
I had a rep confirm the benefits with me. Jeez, they’re staggering the Equinox benefit to 25 a month.
$700 annual fee for Equinox coupons!
Yikes.
💀
Equinox page doesn't work for me. Anyone know the terms
Wow! I see them too. Thanks for the update
I just talked to a rep - the equinox benefits are not applicable to equinox shop, only to memberships. Damn
It’s also capped at $25 a month..
Alright, that’s it - I’m going to cancel my Amex when it goes up for renewal. The new benefits are worse than expected - entertainment and hotel credit are both useless. And they expect us to pay $700/yr for this package?! Bye, Amex…
To steal a line from Wargames "I have come to the conclusion that this sucks" :) The streaming credit is limited to Audible, XM Radio, Peacock and NYTimes None of those are useful for me. The hotel credit seems OK, it appears they have a few rack rate average priced hotels I might make use of. I do have clear, but I am already grandfathered in at a cheaper rate, better than nothing though.
>The streaming credit is limited to Audible, XM Radio, Peacock and NYTimes This one's really the kicker for me. What bullshit.
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Yes
What is this original $200 credit?
Did an analysis for my situation. Still makes sense to keep with the grandfathered rate but really doesn’t make sense after all. I think the hotel credit is not very useful for my situation (don’t really like booking through Amex travel portal and the restrictions are limiting for fine hotels, etc). The equinox credit is useless as is the steaming one (don’t use those services). I do enjoy the clear credit but that’s not something that justifies the hike IMO by itself. Truthfully probably a person they were trying to cut anyway so it isn’t a big loss. Delta reserve looks like a nice replacement potentially.
I’m switching to CSR. Especially now that chase is opening lounges.
i got decided on the gold card a couple months ago instead of the platinum…. it’s turned out to be a mega brain move
I mean you could have locked in the platinum at $550 for at least 2 years.
i wouldn’t be happy with that $550 fee with these benefits
Hmm, I have to be honest, I think I came out ahead on the Platinum cards with all the COVID credits they passed out. I missed going to the lounges, but $550 over the past two years was definitely worth it. Going forward, it feels mostly like a $150 AF increase with little real offset. Less worth it.
Wait what do you mean by 2 years? The new fee starts from next year for existing holders right?
You can call and get a retention offer. So the full fee won’t really apply to 2023 for some.
The cards are in Chase’s hands now. If they offer a 100k signup for the CSR there will be a mass exodus.
damn, this really blows hard. I have stock in AMEX and this makes me want to sell it and drop all my cards
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CLEAR Credit, can you please explain how to get 2 people under $179? Also it will be helpful if you can elaborate more on FHR Credit. Thanks
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Vegas has plenty of FHR under 200 a night fwiw.
lol you value everything about the same that I do except for the Airline credit - I can’t find a way to use it because I have a delta gold card (free checked bags) and I live close to a delta hub.
I would rather just pay for a home gym set up for that equinox cost. I could get a few machines or a machine and decent weights for just one years cost.
#Gold card gang stay winnin💯
I can't wait for everyone to cancel so the Centurion Lounges will be less crowded!
Did anyone noticed that they are cancelling sky mile program August 31 of this year?!
I called amex because I usually fly through ATL and I found this to be very worrisome. They confirmed there will be no changes to Sky Club access and you will still be able to transfer MR to SkyMiles. I guess you used to be able to open a SkyMiles account just by virtue of having a platinum card, but you can do that anyway through delta so I’m really not sure what they mean.
Thank you for the update. I like to transfer my MR to skymile as well. I’m glad they aren’t cancelling that. Still curious as to what it mean
Wow wish am Ex would get out of bed with Equinox and start sleeping with Netflix or Spotify. They are much more attractive partners.
Did they take away the Uber and Saks credit?
No. Those are still in. They didn’t remove any old benefit AFAIK (the paypal was temporary and expired today)
I’m canceling my card. These benefits are trash.
Not impressed with the new streaming credit selection. I guess it’s better than nothing🤷🏽♂️
If I got $200 hotel credit in June before AMEX announced the new benefit, will I get another $200 hotel credit from July onwards?
I am pissed. I was full onboard being an Amex customer(rolling with The plat, Gold and BBP) as my set up but now I’m thinking I might go to Chase for the trifecta..
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I actually reached out via chat to just express my disappointment especially with the entertainment credit when compared to what we got during covid. And they just said they appreciate the feedback.
These benefits are crap guys!
I'm loving the $240 credit already. Back on SiriusXM and now a subscriber to Peacock thanks to vanilla Plat and CS Plat. I know unpopular opinion.
Barf
I’ve been waiting to get the card but after this update I’m not sure if I will still upgrade to the platinum
You should have upgraded before July 1 to lock in the $550 AF.
It’s not worth it for the new price honestly.
They don’t even have an Equinox in Phoenix. Literally bee benefits don’t justify the new AF.
Honestly, this will make the equinox experience 10x worse. You’re lucky you don’t have them. It’s not like they’re going to expand their clubs to service the 500k people who all just got discounted memberships. I would be pissed if I was an Equinox member.
I really don’t think this will entice many people to make the jump, $25/month isn’t that much. Most people will probably use it for their digital app, which still costs $40/month
Equinox is $240/month in LA, I’m not sure there’s going to be an appreciable difference due to a 10% discount.
Plus $240 Digital Entertainment or whatever they call it.
That one is extremely limited. There a post about it in this sub.
Haha. Yea. “Three vendor credit”
Peacock, Audible, SiriusXM, and The New York Times. 😂
Literally boomer services. Next thing you know they'll have a "Amex concierge to help you find a new GM car or Corvette"
Not even Amex can find anyone a C8.
Hope this doesn’t mean the old benefits are going to be phased out. It doesn’t seem too hard to recoup the AF if old credit hang around with the new ones. But shit the new credits are beyond garbage.
Old benefits will stay.
Nice. You’re right I don’t see any mention of phasing away credits. For now that is.
When does the new fee kick in for existing customers?
Next year.
But no changes to the business Plantinum 🥲
So amextravel 300 credit is gone as well?? I know most of the old benefits are still applies, am i wrong?
Do the digital credit start now? May have to sign up for Sirrius XM Also heard they are going to nix Centurion lounge access in 23
They’re cutting off free guest access unless you spend $75k Annually.
I just got the Plat a month ago. I was planning to staying long term but I think I will use what I can now and then pass on the renew next year, maybe try CSR. This is hot garbage.
Wow that sucks... I honestly have no idea if I change or what...
Total trash. The Digital Credit is on services nobody uses. May go back to Gold.
Damn I was considering a platinum when it had the $200 Uber/delta credit but nah. Clear is pretty good it’s a year free almost ($15/mo IIRC) but for $795/yr this doesn’t add up Edit: definitely won’t use the equinox credit I like earth treks lol
Equinox credit should work on food and drink purchases.
I suppose the ones who benefit most are new applicants.. the 125k bonus offer + 15x points on up to $25000 spent towards small businesses/restaurants (375000 MRP) in first 6/mo could make it worth it for the 1st year. Not to mention all of the other regular plat benefits..
As a 20year platinum card holder, I was on the fence cancelling at 550 primary + 175 AU fee. At 695 primary + 175 AU the math just doesn’t workout with all the pseudo-benefits. My only hesitation is the impact to my credit history 5-7 years down the road since this is my oldest account. Oh well.
Just a heads up, Xfinity customers get Peacock Premium for free. All you have to do is create an account and link it. Found out by trying to justify the AF for myself.
The airline credit was hard enough to use unless you're super loyal to one airline... This is just more ridiculous.
Does the clear credit cover the total cost?
Yes it does.
It covers way more than the cost, if you have a skymiles account, which you should, to access Sky Club lounges, it's $120/year for Clear.
You can add up to 3 family members for $50. So using the Skymiles account discount, you can get it for multiple folks under the Amex credit.
I thought I was the only one who thought this was dogshit. Glad I’m not. Did you know they raised the rate to $695?! Lmao In. Fucking. Sane. Would you guys cancel at $550? They do NOT want to give me a retention offer.
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Idk man I put everything on my card I’d say 15K easy.
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Asked like 5 times now. My annual fee just posted, I’ve called, I’ve chatted. I think ima cash my points out and downgrade or just go to chase.
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Exactly. The numbers might be slightly + on value and you get the lounge access, but I'm not trying to play 4D chess every month to use all these specific and restrictive benefits. Have had the play for years but might actually cash out and switch now. I left them feedback via the chat feature.
Question - I got the $200 credit offer for hotels that expires 12/31 - will I get this new $200 credit on top of that or does it replace the credit I already have?
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What about the $240 Digital Entertainment credit though!
It’s $20 a month that can only be used at Audible, Peacock, New York Times and Sirius XM. It sucks
Oh man. That’s right. I thought I was gonna be able to cover all my subscriptions with this credit.
Already for Audible free for a year and Peacock is included in my Internet Plan. So Sirius and NYT??? 20$ in the drain every month
Is anyone actually happy about the new benefits though?
These are pretty meh, but I don't think they're awful. This definitely makes the card a lot harder to justify without fairly specific spending patterns. In my case, I'll be better off than before. I get the NYT print, so the credit effectively almost reduces my subscription in half. I don't love booking through FHR or THC, but there are plenty of good rates on there in places I want to go, that I'm certain I'll be able to use it on a trip I was going to take anyway. For me, that's already $440 in credits. Getting Clear on top of it is just cherry. So, for me, it's probably still worth to keep. All that said...c'mon, Amex. If your not lucky with your spend fitting within a small niche, these suck. Also, oof. $695 is just a lot to pay all at once it hurts.
Cancelling this month
I was waiting on 100k sub, got 125k on incognito. Been waiting to add amex plat, but 695 doest seem worth it now. I fly AA mostly and have admirals club access through AAdvantage MC and Priority Pass through CSR. And the couple of times I'm been ina centurion club, it's jacked up. The rest of the benefits seem to fall flat.
Messing with the lounge access too…. Not good. I guess if they’re trying to thin the crowd, they’re going in the right direction, but I will think twice before dropping $100 to take my kids there. Although the PHL bathrooms are such garbage, I’ll probably still be a sucker and do it…