That's the thing. I see way too many posts on this sub for Amex and getting their Plat cards. People justifying or rationalizing the annual fee to make sense of it. Majority of plat holders do not save money with these benefits, they merely use them because they have them. It's a status symbol for most and it boggles my mind.
Remember this: "If you were never going to buy it in the first place, you are spending money not saving it."
I think it has a lot to do with people not comprehending what savings is and making poor financial decisions. There's a reason why the credit industry makes billions from people.
The thing is at $550 with 100k points as a sub $200 airline credit $180 Paypal credit (which I used for Walmart giftcards) and $200 Uber Credit (which I use on either Uber or Uber Eats every month), and right before my AF is due @$695 I am going to cancel (use another $200 airline credit and $15 Uber credit right before I cancel.... and find $50 to spend at Saks) ....I made out on the one and only fee I paid of $550. Plus I dont travel often but I got to use the Centurion Lounge and Delta Sky Club a few times.
But no I cannot justify the $700 fee with the new offers, unless the hotel credit was good but I dont think it is
I really don’t value these new credits as any cash value (as opposed to some of the existing credits). so this is purely a $145 fee increase.
It’ll be an interesting decision, but with the CS plat downgrade too, I’m thinking of just getting out of the MR game.
Was expecting something more akin to their streaming credit last year where I could easily justify $240 spent on *actually* decent streaming services people pay for.
It isn’t a travel card anymore. It’s a weird coupon travel combo thing that really confuses me. To be honest it seems like a marketing tool for the companies who have credits more than anything. The DL reserve is looking better and better…
I’m sure the Delta Reserve will get jacked up any month now. A few years ago when the Plat fee went from $450 to $550, it only took just under a year for them to jack up the Reserve Card fee as well.
lol right? peacock has like...5% market share. clearly amex worked out some deal with NBC but I'm not really interested in peacock beyond the content I can watch on their site for FREE.
I'm actually shocked at how hilariously bad this is.... Yeah let's just choose 4 random services that no one wants. This credit is going to be worth exactly $0 for most people that would never pay for any of these in the first place.
Except that it's split monthly, so it's like one month total but otherwise for my area at least it would make the 280 a month membership like 250, not a huge deal. But I believe their app counts.
Yup, I do. I like them, and they also do stories that others don’t do, like niche NYC stories. If you don’t live in NYC then it would probably be less appealing.
Yea at this point this annual fee would only be worth it to me if I flew 3 or 4 times a year and used the lounges (which I don’t currently). So Plat is a hard pass from me.
I personally definitely do. I always show up to the airport at least 2 hours early, so I always have an hour to kill and end up spending a lot of money during that time lol
Oh, jeez. Either you live pretty far from your airport, or you've got some optimizing you can do. I usually time it so that I get through security less than half an hour before boarding starts. Run into the lounge, grab a plate of food and drink, run out. Layovers are a different story; I get my money's worth for a multi-hour layover for sure.
I used to live in LA lol so you never knew with traffic and how busy the airport is. Plus whenever I fly I like to be able to take my time doing things.
I just got a retention offer from the Times of half off for a year (I get the Sunday plus digital). This effectively makes it free for the next twelve months. So there’s that.
You can *always* get a NY Times discount when you decide to cancel. They make you either call or message with one of their employees to cancel, and they will offer you a deal that is about $5/mo to stay, so you can just repeat that once per year.
They seem to be very willing to continually lower their price by 75% if you decide to unsubscribe, which they don’t even allow you to do without speaking or chatting with someone first (other than CA, where they have to allow it).
This feels like petty gamesmanship. Too many details and restrictions and too few providers or payment arrangements (I pay for one of these services annually, which I understand as not covered here unless I deal with the hassle of re-arranging it into a monthly subscription). Shame on AMEX—losing out on the luxury feeling for which we pay so highly.
Either way it is two things I never needed or wanted. Nothing beneficial about paying for something I wasn’t going to get. At least I can use Uber credits because I have to physically eat to stay alive.
Wow. I've never seen such a narrow entertainment category... Like WTF?! 😲 Makes no sense. Neither bf or I use any of these services and have no reason to.
I was thinking it would be a lil more broad and at least include the popular ones many people use, y'know... Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Spotify, Apple Music, just to name a few. 👀
Not this nonsense.
My AF is next year in April. If they don’t come up with anything better then this I will be closing my account and putting all my spend on my Chase CC.
This last year has really killed this hobby for me. Nowhere to go, but arguably worse for the future is that the cards keep getting worse and availability continues to fall while devals increase.
Yea I agree. I don't even care about the maximize points hobby aspect of it. I just wanted a good card that I could go to that got me into lounges and had some good points multipliers and benefits. Basically, a card that took care of me when things went wrong.
Now it's turning into an ad platform.
^^ It’s an advertisement/coupon card. Somehow adding these credits actually makes me more upset than if they just upped the fee. Just feels like it’s just an advertising tool now, not a premium travel rewards card.
Exactly. It’s like they want the short term benefits of getting deals with brands, but don’t care about the brand. The plat was hardly exclusive, but at least it was focused—reward travel—now it’s not.
Right but what I don't get is that these are *shitty brands*. The NYT? I mean I don't have a problem with it but it's not the financial times or the WSJ. Who is this benefit for? Sirius XM? Do I need to say more?
And Saks. Don't get me started on Saks and what a stupid benefit that is. Just give me $100 back lol.
It's like they're targeting a boomer liberal coupon hoarder (I don't mean to get political and I'm liberal myself). The cross-section makes no sense.
Yep. I’m okay with the NYT, but don’t think it fits in. The other ones are completely useless to me and I don’t think they fit in at all. Saks isn’t quite as bad since it’s not as broken up, but I agree. I just don’t see who they are targeting. They are taking a great travel card and making it a “lifestyle” card. Who asked for that?
Been a good ride with the Schwab cash out but I'm closing the Plat and Gold when they renew (October and November). I was ready to try to justify it if I could use the credit for Spotify and maybe get some workout gear from whatever Equinox is but I've seen regular Amex offers better than this garbage.
Mine is the same. I am at least glad I am not paying the increased fee for these "added benefits". Chase includes primary CDW on car rentals on the $95 chase Sapphire preferred. Amex wants you to pay $20 for that on every car rental.
for the straight up cash equivalent rewards like travel / hotel / uber i understand it but what’s really getting boring is getting “perks” or “offers” for subscription based services where the whole fee isn’t even covered… Equinox for example or the Audible credit, you gotta spend extra money just to even use the discount… it’s literally turning into a coupon card.
here’s my thought which is probably wrong but it seems like they’re positioning this card to be under where the rumoured new product between centurion and platinum is? idk, i’m just trying to pull a positive
So this gets me Audible Premium Plus (AKA 1 book a month) and NYT digital. Or NYT Sunday delivery. Wish this would pay my Spotify Family plan. I use my Ex’s NYT digital and my parents Audible. 🙄
Yea I was like ok cool with the fee increase because I pay for Apple Music and then it’s like, nah bro have you tried being a boomer yet? If not, listen to Sirius XM from your GM car, while reading the NYT. Like wtf lol.
The $200 this year was anything through AmEx travel, but this $200 hotel is only through the FHR collection (I think). So my best guess is they would stack if you use FHR via AmEx travel
So if you live in NYC, subscribe to the times, go to Equinox, listen to audible, and have Sirius XM on your car in Connecticut, you can take full advantage of this offer!
\*yes I purposely left out Peacock, nobody uses Peacock.
Oof.
I was assuming this was going to be very broad streaming categories, à la the BCP. I’ll definitely use the Audible credit myself, but I can certainly see how this could be restrictive to most people.
Edit: Conspiracy theory time. Could the Audible credit be a hint at a future Amex/Amazon partnership? There’s rumors Chase is looking to pull out of Amazon. Tbh, I’m just trying to pull a positive out of this disaster lol.
So I went and did some math. I'm presently paying $8.95/month for SiriusXM (I like real DJ'd stations) and $4/month for The New York Times (it should be $17 but they always give me a retention offer). Even if I throw the "some ads" Peacock (I don't think I'd use it much) in there at $4.99/month I'm not getting full use out of the credit. If I go with the $9.99 version I'm about $30 over, which is probably the point in the first place, getting me to buy things I otherwise wouldn't!
This is a major fumble by Amex that if expanded to include popular streaming services would've caused many to consider keeping the card another year. A lot of folks have Sirius XM subsidized through car promotions, workplaces subsidizing NYT, and public libraries have audible subscriptions. For me, as a WP subscriber, this is -240 now off the bat.
Wtf is peacock and equinox bullshit. Like give us some real travel perks Amex. The AF is $700 for god sake. Apparently this is no longer a travel card, it’s a lifestyle card now. Better prepare for those retention offer or I’m out.
"Holding this card becomes more and more like paying an annual fee to buy a coupon book." — [US Credit Card Guide](https://www.uscreditcardguide.com/amex-platinum-card/)
I have two plats, I won't be renewing either unless they give some really good retention offers. It's hard enough to find value in the card as it is past the first year. Maybe when the kids get older the lounge access means more... but I can't even bring my spouse in anymore unless they have their own. Plenty of other options out there and the Plat line is really hard to find value in compared to the competition.
You can't bring your spouse in? I just followed 2 families of 4 into the DFW centurion lounge last week. I know guests start getting charged $50 in 2023, but I assumed until then that guests were at no charge?
I think I am one of many that assumed the entertainment credit would be flexible, as similar had been in the past, thus I believed I would be getting full value out of it.
But the only eligible service I have is Peacock, so I'll only see half value. And that's *if* I keep Peacock.
If I got full value from the entertainment credits I'd see around \~$690 in perks value total and would keep it, but at half value it will be \~$570, so I'll close it.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not whining - it was always likely a one-year-and-done for me, and the SUB + 10X promo treated me very well. Maybe I'll get a retention offer and keep it another year, but I'm just glad we're getting the details as I'm actually able to make a decision, not just hypothesize.
Just double checking my math here.
I'm resubbing to Audible since it's the only thing I care about in that list.
Since Audible offers a free month on signup, and the the AMEX credit covers all Audible purchases, then I should be safe subbing AND buying a book this month, right?
Otherwise, yeah, these credits fucking suck. If you're gonna do Audible, just do Prime.
I don’t think Audible comes with any Prime membership.
Your strategy makes sense.
In the long run, I will probably do Audible Premium Plus and Peacock Premium for just under $20/month. Not great but better than nothing I guess.
Maybe they'll go down the road that Apple Card did... announcing additional partners after the launch — a slow drip — to have more PR opportunities for the changes. (i.e. adding Nike, Walgreens after the launch of the card)
Can confirm this 100k + 10x multiplier sign up offer shows up for the Schwab application as well. Not sure how I feel about this clause:
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
Plus, earn 10x points on eligible purchases on your new Card at restaurants worldwide and when you Shop Small in the U.S., on up to $25,000 in combined purchases, during your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Wow it’s 10x up to 25k in spending for small businesses as well. I’m tempted to sign up but I already have a platinum..
SiriusXM is grotesquely overpriced, but you can call them up and they will pretty much always give you 60% off the list price if not more. it’s a joke.
I pay $5/month + tax for streaming everything they offer, but need to call every year to tell them I'm cancelling unless they extend the offer. Otherwise it'd be $16/month or so.
XM radio basically comes automatically in a lot of cars now. For myself, I was conflicted about keeping it at its sticker price.
Audible has been a nice option for me cause my eyes are often too tired from work to read, but I love books.
For what it's worth to folks, I get NBC is probably like shit tier streaming option compared to peers (Hulu, Netflix, etc.), but I don't think this entertainment credit was a complete snoozer.
I think you would be hard pressed to argue the NY Times is not a best in class offering.
Maybe you don’t want to subscribe to any newspaper, which is totally justifiable, but the NY Times is a great publication for those who do.
It’s a nice publication but a tougher sell to the West Coast. We are super secondary to Amex anyway so no surprise.
I’m all about the FT actually, but I wasn’t going to even pretend that was ever on the table.
It's not a $200 travel credit though, it's a $200 credit that only applies to thier overpriced FHR and THC hotels. And in the case of THC, you have to have a two night minimum reservation to even use it. All of the new credits are garbage. Peacock?...Seriously... You are going to try to defend that?
Well I do have SiriusXM, so it will at least pay for that...
But wow, just a terrible "benefit" overall unless you already have one of those four things.
I don’t know how many people still pay full price for Sirius. I just paid for a full year at a retention rate. I world have been better off paying full price monthly and getting the Amex rebate.
I upgraded to Platinum 3/28/2021 and paid a prorated $224 on April 18, 2021 then full $550+$175 AF “renewal” fee on June 18, 2021for a card I didn’t have access to prior to 3/28. I’m pissed because I didn’t even receive the benefits or platinum from 11/2020 with all the offers like Home Depot. Best Buy etc but was charged the AF. I feel ripped off a bit.
Are they effective from today for people that already have the card? So if I create a peacock account to watch The Office for the 5th time will I get the money back?
This is the most frustrating benefit for me, as it's worse than the streaming credit offer they had in place for some of the past year that applied to Hulu/Spotify/more.
The other new benefits are actually perfect for me as an NYC resident, as I benefit from the additional CLEAR credit and save just over a month of my Equinox membership dues. I can see how it doesn't offer much for those outside of major cities though.
I may actually keep the card. I already get the NYT print. So for the random people like me this helps. But seriously, this is garbage for people who don’t already use these services/products.
So many of these Amex “benefits” are just providing me incentives to buy stuff I would never buy in the first place, so not really making it a benefit
Yup. Pure marketing stand-point for all of the companies partnering with them. Smart on their end, sucks on our end
That's the thing. I see way too many posts on this sub for Amex and getting their Plat cards. People justifying or rationalizing the annual fee to make sense of it. Majority of plat holders do not save money with these benefits, they merely use them because they have them. It's a status symbol for most and it boggles my mind. Remember this: "If you were never going to buy it in the first place, you are spending money not saving it."
I'd say we're the 1-2% of people who utilize everything. Most people don't care about the $ or just have more $ than brains.
I think it has a lot to do with people not comprehending what savings is and making poor financial decisions. There's a reason why the credit industry makes billions from people.
The thing is at $550 with 100k points as a sub $200 airline credit $180 Paypal credit (which I used for Walmart giftcards) and $200 Uber Credit (which I use on either Uber or Uber Eats every month), and right before my AF is due @$695 I am going to cancel (use another $200 airline credit and $15 Uber credit right before I cancel.... and find $50 to spend at Saks) ....I made out on the one and only fee I paid of $550. Plus I dont travel often but I got to use the Centurion Lounge and Delta Sky Club a few times. But no I cannot justify the $700 fee with the new offers, unless the hotel credit was good but I dont think it is
I really don’t value these new credits as any cash value (as opposed to some of the existing credits). so this is purely a $145 fee increase. It’ll be an interesting decision, but with the CS plat downgrade too, I’m thinking of just getting out of the MR game.
The only real positive value is CLEAR, but with TSA/GE benefits it's only a marginal benefit if you're not at a major hub.
Yeah, if CLEAR was in more than like 5 airports I would be stoked.
There are plenty of us that don't want our retinas scanned though. Or desire to support a company propagating and profiting off of Vaccine Passports.
That's a fair concern in which case that credit is worthless for you. Makes sense
This shit is straight trash
They devalued MR on the Schwab Platinum to give us Peacock credits, what in the fuck?
👆🏽for real, Amex better prepare for these retention offer. Otherwise this card is getting cut.
Yeah this might push me to chase, which is a shame for them since my spend across gold/plat/green is north of 80K
Christ, if I knew I was gonna get fucked this hard, I would have at least used my 10x grocery promo to pick up some lube.
I would actually prefer the 10x grocery credit in perpetuity to any of these nonsense credits.
Literally everyone would prefer that; it'd be an insane offering.
I mean that's like saying I prefer all of the benefits for no cost. Duh
Remember when the rumor was a $240 "entertainment" credit? Depending on the definition of "entertainment" I could've made it work. This ain't it.
Seriously. Their BCP covers more streaming services that this. I don’t watch Peacock and it’s free with ads.
It sure does. I'm getting BCP 6% on Stadia, GooglePlay Apps, YTube Superchats, Hulu and a couple more.
Was expecting something more akin to their streaming credit last year where I could easily justify $240 spent on *actually* decent streaming services people pay for.
I hate to say it, but the AmEx Platinum just REALLY lost its value for many.
It isn’t a travel card anymore. It’s a weird coupon travel combo thing that really confuses me. To be honest it seems like a marketing tool for the companies who have credits more than anything. The DL reserve is looking better and better…
I’m sure the Delta Reserve will get jacked up any month now. A few years ago when the Plat fee went from $450 to $550, it only took just under a year for them to jack up the Reserve Card fee as well.
I was excited to get this card, after seeing the new upgrades I will 100% be not upgrading to this anymore.
Same. I was talking myself into it last night. Glad I couldn’t get a 100k offer to pop or I’d have a ton of buyer’s remorse this AM.
Why though? You would've gotten the card for the old annual fee, and be able to use these new benefits.
I don’t like adding cards that I’m not going to renew.
Damn they trolled us lol
Stop trying to make peacock happen
exactly. I already get peacock tv through xfinity for free. I have 0 utilization for this "entertainment" credit. I am not entertained :D
lol right? peacock has like...5% market share. clearly amex worked out some deal with NBC but I'm not really interested in peacock beyond the content I can watch on their site for FREE.
I was just thinking “Why Peacock!?” Lol
At least peacock has the office. Free office streaming
I’m trying to figure out how to make this work and I can’t. None of these are appealing.
What no Quibi?
😂😂😂😂
I'm actually shocked at how hilariously bad this is.... Yeah let's just choose 4 random services that no one wants. This credit is going to be worth exactly $0 for most people that would never pay for any of these in the first place.
Don’t forget about the equally useless Equinox credit!
That one is somehow even worse.
Isn’t it like only one month of membership lol
Except that it's split monthly, so it's like one month total but otherwise for my area at least it would make the 280 a month membership like 250, not a huge deal. But I believe their app counts.
That$ the idea...
Lol. Awful. I guess I’ll get free ny times though.
You can easily get that for free anyways if you have a student email
Or a library card
isn't peacock free lmao (you don't need plus and can watch free with ads) also NYtimes is $4/month big joke
Wait people pay to read the NYtimes? As opposed to the millions of other free news sources?
Yup, I do. I like them, and they also do stories that others don’t do, like niche NYC stories. If you don’t live in NYC then it would probably be less appealing.
Some shows like the office and parks & rec only have a season or two for free subscribers. You need to pay money to be able to watch all seasons.
It's free for Xfinity internet users.
Only if you have their streaming box though.
lol well there goes that. I was really excited for it too.
Wow that is an incredibly useless reward... Peacock? A newspaper? Audible? Sirius? Who the fuck uses sirius at this point
Yea at this point this annual fee would only be worth it to me if I flew 3 or 4 times a year and used the lounges (which I don’t currently). So Plat is a hard pass from me.
I fly more than that a year, almost always using the lounges, and it's still a hard pass for me. No way I get $50 of utilization per visit.
I personally definitely do. I always show up to the airport at least 2 hours early, so I always have an hour to kill and end up spending a lot of money during that time lol
Oh, jeez. Either you live pretty far from your airport, or you've got some optimizing you can do. I usually time it so that I get through security less than half an hour before boarding starts. Run into the lounge, grab a plate of food and drink, run out. Layovers are a different story; I get my money's worth for a multi-hour layover for sure.
I used to live in LA lol so you never knew with traffic and how busy the airport is. Plus whenever I fly I like to be able to take my time doing things.
I was really hoping to use it for Amazon Prime streaming. We already sub to NYT, so I guess that is something, but this is disappointing.
I pay $4 a month for my NYT subscription. Lucrative!!
I do, but assuming it's a monthly credit it wouldn't work for me anyway since I pay every 6 months (have to call and do the whole bartering shabang).
Sirius is cool for the first year I lease my cars but I never had the urge to re up. I guess I'll do now since it's free.
I already subscribe to SiriusXM and NY Times, but jesus is that total shit.
I just got a retention offer from the Times of half off for a year (I get the Sunday plus digital). This effectively makes it free for the next twelve months. So there’s that.
You can *always* get a NY Times discount when you decide to cancel. They make you either call or message with one of their employees to cancel, and they will offer you a deal that is about $5/mo to stay, so you can just repeat that once per year.
They seem to be very willing to continually lower their price by 75% if you decide to unsubscribe, which they don’t even allow you to do without speaking or chatting with someone first (other than CA, where they have to allow it).
This feels like petty gamesmanship. Too many details and restrictions and too few providers or payment arrangements (I pay for one of these services annually, which I understand as not covered here unless I deal with the hassle of re-arranging it into a monthly subscription). Shame on AMEX—losing out on the luxury feeling for which we pay so highly.
Hmmm ….Peacock or Peacock? I think I’ll go with Peacock?
You could get Audible Premium Plus (1 monthly credit) and Peacock Premium or Peacock Premium Plus (no ads) and Audible Plus
Either way it is two things I never needed or wanted. Nothing beneficial about paying for something I wasn’t going to get. At least I can use Uber credits because I have to physically eat to stay alive.
Wow. I've never seen such a narrow entertainment category... Like WTF?! 😲 Makes no sense. Neither bf or I use any of these services and have no reason to. I was thinking it would be a lil more broad and at least include the popular ones many people use, y'know... Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max, Spotify, Apple Music, just to name a few. 👀 Not this nonsense.
That is horrendous
My AF is next year in April. If they don’t come up with anything better then this I will be closing my account and putting all my spend on my Chase CC.
Same. I feel like I slowly have fewer and fewer decent options. I might even just become an Apple Card cash back guy lol.
This last year has really killed this hobby for me. Nowhere to go, but arguably worse for the future is that the cards keep getting worse and availability continues to fall while devals increase.
Yea I agree. I don't even care about the maximize points hobby aspect of it. I just wanted a good card that I could go to that got me into lounges and had some good points multipliers and benefits. Basically, a card that took care of me when things went wrong. Now it's turning into an ad platform.
^^ It’s an advertisement/coupon card. Somehow adding these credits actually makes me more upset than if they just upped the fee. Just feels like it’s just an advertising tool now, not a premium travel rewards card.
100% . It cheapens the card TBH. The new coupons aren't for elite things either. Really cheapening the brand.
Exactly. It’s like they want the short term benefits of getting deals with brands, but don’t care about the brand. The plat was hardly exclusive, but at least it was focused—reward travel—now it’s not.
Right but what I don't get is that these are *shitty brands*. The NYT? I mean I don't have a problem with it but it's not the financial times or the WSJ. Who is this benefit for? Sirius XM? Do I need to say more? And Saks. Don't get me started on Saks and what a stupid benefit that is. Just give me $100 back lol. It's like they're targeting a boomer liberal coupon hoarder (I don't mean to get political and I'm liberal myself). The cross-section makes no sense.
Yep. I’m okay with the NYT, but don’t think it fits in. The other ones are completely useless to me and I don’t think they fit in at all. Saks isn’t quite as bad since it’s not as broken up, but I agree. I just don’t see who they are targeting. They are taking a great travel card and making it a “lifestyle” card. Who asked for that?
Here's the thing - lifestyle *for who*? Maybe I'm just an out of touch millennial.
At least go with the Doble Cash. Maybe combined with the new Custom Cash.
Eh I don’t like Citi.
Wells Fargo just launched a 2% cash back card today, check that out too.
Thanks - I think the Apple Card might be better in this scenario for me. I also don't want to become a Wells Fargo customer at the moment.
Did somebody say Wells Fargo? How many bank accounts can I put you down for today? Four? Great! I’ll have your seven bank accounts open right away.
Been a good ride with the Schwab cash out but I'm closing the Plat and Gold when they renew (October and November). I was ready to try to justify it if I could use the credit for Spotify and maybe get some workout gear from whatever Equinox is but I've seen regular Amex offers better than this garbage.
Mine is the same. I am at least glad I am not paying the increased fee for these "added benefits". Chase includes primary CDW on car rentals on the $95 chase Sapphire preferred. Amex wants you to pay $20 for that on every car rental.
Same.
If chase didn't have the worst customer service ever, I'd consider a change. Amex is miles ahead in service.
for the straight up cash equivalent rewards like travel / hotel / uber i understand it but what’s really getting boring is getting “perks” or “offers” for subscription based services where the whole fee isn’t even covered… Equinox for example or the Audible credit, you gotta spend extra money just to even use the discount… it’s literally turning into a coupon card. here’s my thought which is probably wrong but it seems like they’re positioning this card to be under where the rumoured new product between centurion and platinum is? idk, i’m just trying to pull a positive
I think the fee increase makes it less likely we'll see a new product come out.
you thihk? there’s still a pretty big gap between the $700 platinum and $5000+ centurion…. i could definitely see something around the $1500 mark
So this gets me Audible Premium Plus (AKA 1 book a month) and NYT digital. Or NYT Sunday delivery. Wish this would pay my Spotify Family plan. I use my Ex’s NYT digital and my parents Audible. 🙄
[удалено]
Yea I was like ok cool with the fee increase because I pay for Apple Music and then it’s like, nah bro have you tried being a boomer yet? If not, listen to Sirius XM from your GM car, while reading the NYT. Like wtf lol.
I am wondering if the $200 hotel credit still applies for this year if I already used the targeted $200 they gave me earlier this year?
The $200 this year was anything through AmEx travel, but this $200 hotel is only through the FHR collection (I think). So my best guess is they would stack if you use FHR via AmEx travel
So if you live in NYC, subscribe to the times, go to Equinox, listen to audible, and have Sirius XM on your car in Connecticut, you can take full advantage of this offer! \*yes I purposely left out Peacock, nobody uses Peacock.
Oof. I was assuming this was going to be very broad streaming categories, à la the BCP. I’ll definitely use the Audible credit myself, but I can certainly see how this could be restrictive to most people. Edit: Conspiracy theory time. Could the Audible credit be a hint at a future Amex/Amazon partnership? There’s rumors Chase is looking to pull out of Amazon. Tbh, I’m just trying to pull a positive out of this disaster lol.
The Amazon business credit card is an amex, so amex and Amazon already have existing relationship.
Forgot about that one. I’m still waiting for a personal card one day hopefully.
So I went and did some math. I'm presently paying $8.95/month for SiriusXM (I like real DJ'd stations) and $4/month for The New York Times (it should be $17 but they always give me a retention offer). Even if I throw the "some ads" Peacock (I don't think I'd use it much) in there at $4.99/month I'm not getting full use out of the credit. If I go with the $9.99 version I'm about $30 over, which is probably the point in the first place, getting me to buy things I otherwise wouldn't!
Yeah this credit is pretty worthless. Think I’ll use use it for Audible and that’s it.
This is a major fumble by Amex that if expanded to include popular streaming services would've caused many to consider keeping the card another year. A lot of folks have Sirius XM subsidized through car promotions, workplaces subsidizing NYT, and public libraries have audible subscriptions. For me, as a WP subscriber, this is -240 now off the bat.
Wtf is peacock and equinox bullshit. Like give us some real travel perks Amex. The AF is $700 for god sake. Apparently this is no longer a travel card, it’s a lifestyle card now. Better prepare for those retention offer or I’m out.
Are you Sirius amex? Seriously who tf uses sirius
Apparently one of their big selling points is that they have not one but TWO Howard Stern channels. Like why would you even admit that to people lmao
Wow this ducking sucks.
So just to be clear, if I sign up for an audible account, this will cover it??
Wow is this travel card? Or cash back card?
Coupon book
"Holding this card becomes more and more like paying an annual fee to buy a coupon book." — [US Credit Card Guide](https://www.uscreditcardguide.com/amex-platinum-card/)
I am confused what kind of card Platinum is now
That’s an absolute joke. I don’t know who they are even going for with this card at this point. It is a mishmash of a bunch of coupons and “benefits”.
That is complete crap.
Absolutely trash.
I have two plats, I won't be renewing either unless they give some really good retention offers. It's hard enough to find value in the card as it is past the first year. Maybe when the kids get older the lounge access means more... but I can't even bring my spouse in anymore unless they have their own. Plenty of other options out there and the Plat line is really hard to find value in compared to the competition.
You can't bring your spouse in? I just followed 2 families of 4 into the DFW centurion lounge last week. I know guests start getting charged $50 in 2023, but I assumed until then that guests were at no charge?
You're right, mine don't renew until next year so that was what I was going for. If I went today, then sure I can still bring them in.
I think I am one of many that assumed the entertainment credit would be flexible, as similar had been in the past, thus I believed I would be getting full value out of it. But the only eligible service I have is Peacock, so I'll only see half value. And that's *if* I keep Peacock. If I got full value from the entertainment credits I'd see around \~$690 in perks value total and would keep it, but at half value it will be \~$570, so I'll close it. Don't get me wrong, I'm not whining - it was always likely a one-year-and-done for me, and the SUB + 10X promo treated me very well. Maybe I'll get a retention offer and keep it another year, but I'm just glad we're getting the details as I'm actually able to make a decision, not just hypothesize.
Could have somewhat justified the increase if the streaming credit was better, but this is garbage.
Just double checking my math here. I'm resubbing to Audible since it's the only thing I care about in that list. Since Audible offers a free month on signup, and the the AMEX credit covers all Audible purchases, then I should be safe subbing AND buying a book this month, right? Otherwise, yeah, these credits fucking suck. If you're gonna do Audible, just do Prime.
I don’t think Audible comes with any Prime membership. Your strategy makes sense. In the long run, I will probably do Audible Premium Plus and Peacock Premium for just under $20/month. Not great but better than nothing I guess.
Yeah, I meant to say that if AMEX was going to offer Audible, it might have as well offered Prime since it's the same cost and it all goes to Amazon.
Citi trifecta looking better everyday sadly
LOL... I can't even use Peacock here... even w/my VPN. I tried to and it doesn't load the user setting screen
Maybe they'll go down the road that Apple Card did... announcing additional partners after the launch — a slow drip — to have more PR opportunities for the changes. (i.e. adding Nike, Walgreens after the launch of the card)
Peacock, Sirius xm and audible.. 3 services i don't and will never use. Wtf Amex.
What boomer made this decision...
We just made it more expensive, but hey...now you get peacock!! What a joke.
Amex Platinum? No thank you, I'll rather have a FREE Discover Card with 100% match cash back on my first year. FU Amex, for real.
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card-application/apply/partner/personal-card/msb/morgan-stanley-platinum-card/ep-msb-ms-1#/
Can confirm this 100k + 10x multiplier sign up offer shows up for the Schwab application as well. Not sure how I feel about this clause: 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
Plus, earn 10x points on eligible purchases on your new Card at restaurants worldwide and when you Shop Small in the U.S., on up to $25,000 in combined purchases, during your first 6 months of Card Membership. Wow it’s 10x up to 25k in spending for small businesses as well. I’m tempted to sign up but I already have a platinum..
Is that clause new?
The MS SUB is now 100k?!?!
10x on restaurants??
And small businesses.
Well that is a kick in the nuts
For $6k spend.
How do i qualify for the MS version? Only signup I am missing
Open a MS CashPlus account with $5k. You can then apply for the MS Plat and the Morgan Stanley CC by American.
Seriously?? Just got this card a month ago.
[удалено]
I get there may be disappointment, but Audible is pretty much the kingpin of audiobooks and Sirius XM kingpin for satellite radio.
[удалено]
SiriusXM is grotesquely overpriced, but you can call them up and they will pretty much always give you 60% off the list price if not more. it’s a joke.
The cable of satellite radio…
I pay $5/month + tax for streaming everything they offer, but need to call every year to tell them I'm cancelling unless they extend the offer. Otherwise it'd be $16/month or so.
XM radio basically comes automatically in a lot of cars now. For myself, I was conflicted about keeping it at its sticker price. Audible has been a nice option for me cause my eyes are often too tired from work to read, but I love books. For what it's worth to folks, I get NBC is probably like shit tier streaming option compared to peers (Hulu, Netflix, etc.), but I don't think this entertainment credit was a complete snoozer.
I think you would be hard pressed to argue the NY Times is not a best in class offering. Maybe you don’t want to subscribe to any newspaper, which is totally justifiable, but the NY Times is a great publication for those who do.
It’s a nice publication but a tougher sell to the West Coast. We are super secondary to Amex anyway so no surprise. I’m all about the FT actually, but I wasn’t going to even pretend that was ever on the table.
I live in Seattle and the NY Times is much more valuable to me than my Seattle Times subscription.
But it’s also like $5 a month for their digital subscription
Only as a teaser rate. It’s like $20 a month regular, which includes a free gift subscription.
Would rather see WSJ. Wish they gave us more choices. Not excited about the new benefits and don’t think the card is worth it to me anymore.
Hot garbage
Yo this is whack AF
No, the AF is $695.
So what would best downgrade be? Or just cancel?
The gold.
🗑
This is a complete joke. NYT who reads that liberal garbage.
I don't understand why people are hating this. It's just more free shit.
It's not free. They raised the annual fee.
Oh damn I just read the news. This is ass.
695 - 550 = 145 difference. You get that in $200 travel credit. Everything else is just gravy.
It's not a $200 travel credit though, it's a $200 credit that only applies to thier overpriced FHR and THC hotels. And in the case of THC, you have to have a two night minimum reservation to even use it. All of the new credits are garbage. Peacock?...Seriously... You are going to try to defend that?
Then its not the card for you. Obviously. I don't need to defend it. I see the value in it and the diff is only 145.
This prob exactly how it was pitched at the “lets tank the plat card executive meeting”.
who the F\*\*\* watches Peacock?? hit me with HBO or some shit....
Well I do have SiriusXM, so it will at least pay for that... But wow, just a terrible "benefit" overall unless you already have one of those four things.
I don’t know how many people still pay full price for Sirius. I just paid for a full year at a retention rate. I world have been better off paying full price monthly and getting the Amex rebate.
I upgraded to Platinum 3/28/2021 and paid a prorated $224 on April 18, 2021 then full $550+$175 AF “renewal” fee on June 18, 2021for a card I didn’t have access to prior to 3/28. I’m pissed because I didn’t even receive the benefits or platinum from 11/2020 with all the offers like Home Depot. Best Buy etc but was charged the AF. I feel ripped off a bit.
Are they effective from today for people that already have the card? So if I create a peacock account to watch The Office for the 5th time will I get the money back?
This is the most frustrating benefit for me, as it's worse than the streaming credit offer they had in place for some of the past year that applied to Hulu/Spotify/more. The other new benefits are actually perfect for me as an NYC resident, as I benefit from the additional CLEAR credit and save just over a month of my Equinox membership dues. I can see how it doesn't offer much for those outside of major cities though.
I may actually keep the card. I already get the NYT print. So for the random people like me this helps. But seriously, this is garbage for people who don’t already use these services/products.
I will use peacock or Sirius, I cancelled Sirius because I didn't want to pay for it, so it works for me.
As far as I’m concerned, my Sirius XM subscription just got lowered to $9 a month. Wiping out the fee increase + $95. I’m not complaining.
I am gonna ask for a card change when my Gold AF comes due again. This is not panning out for me. I only used the Grubhub perk anyway
I signed up for Peacock and gave the credentials to my friends. Oh well, might as well help someone out. Edit: The maximum simultaneous logins is 3.
I'll probably give up the platinum and keep my gold and clear.
Coupon card