Is American Express Platinum Worth It? Amex Card Benefits & Review

Are you wondering if the American Express Platinum card is worth it? I can give you some insight.


For the past two years, I've been a user of the American Express Platinum Card, which is well-known for its ridiculously high annual fee. I did the math and calculated all the benefits I used this year and how much money I saved, which I'll share with you.


I have my spreadsheet in front of me, so I want to start with the benefits I used this past year.


$200 Fine Hotel and Resorts credit

$200 Fine Hotel and Resorts credit

You can save $200 when booking a hotel through the Fine Hotel Collection. Those hotels are usually pricey, especially if you're considering something within the United States, Canada, or Europe.


They may be affordable if you consider going to Southeast Asia or South America.


$100 experience credit

Another cool perk that comes with the $200 hotel credit is a $100 experience credit, which is $100 that you can use during your stay at one of the fine hotels and resorts. You can redeem it for things like a breakfast room service or spa.


So far, we've saved $300. The American Express Platinum Card is what is known as the premium travel card, which means that most of the benefits that you will see on this card are associated with travel. I wouldn't recommend this card unless you already travel a lot. 

$200 airline credit

$200 airline credit

This one is supposed to be used for things like baggage fees, or you can also use it to purchase WiFi. The little caveat is that you must pick a preferred airline, so you will only get credits for that specific airline. 


With the airline credit, our total saved is now $500. 

Digital entertainment credit

Digital entertainment credit

Amex gives you a $240 digital entertainment credit, which you can use for services like Audible, New York Times, SiriusXM, Peacock, and another cool one we recently finally signed up for was the Disney Bundle, which includes Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN. 


So with the $240 digital entertainment credit, our total saved is $740. With just these four benefits, if you use them within a year, that already pays off the annual fee. 


$200 Uber credit

I believe it's $15 per month, and then in December, you get $20. 


That was another $200 towards our savings, totaling $940.

TSA PreCheck fee credit

TSA PreCheck fee credit

If you do a TSA PreCheck, the government runs your background ahead of time and has all your paperwork. So whenever you go through security, there's a different line for TSA PreCheck. You often get to skip the line.


CLEAR credit

The next perk is very similar to the TSA PreCheck. It is the CLEAR annual credit. If you're not familiar with CLEAR, they are in some ways similar to TSA PreCheck, where the idea is the same. You're skipping the line.


You do have to get onboarded at the airport to start using it. They have those machines that scan your eyeballs. CLEAR will know exactly who you are and escort you through the line, so you don't even have to show your ID. 


After adding the CLEAR and TSA credits, our total is now $1,214 saved. 


$100 Sax 5th Avenue credit

I love this perk: the $100 Sax 5th Avenue credit per year. One thing that I do want to make sure you're aware of is that you can't just use $100 all at once. It'sIt's split $50 for six months of the year and then $50 for the second six months of the year. 

Walmart Plus subscription

Walmart Plus subscription

If you're unfamiliar with Walmart Plus, it is a subscription that gives you a lot of great perks, like free delivery with no minimum.


You can also get a two-hour delivery from your local store, which comes in handy when you need something last minute but don't want to go to a store. 


If we add up our tax credit and the Walmart Plus credit, our total is now $1,483, which is fantastic. 


Sign on bonus

When I first signed up for Amex, I got 100,000 Amex points. There is a minimum spend that you have to reach. After you hit that minimum spend, Amex will give you 100,000 points for flights or hotels. You can also use it as a statement credit. 

Airport lounge access

Airport lounge access

I think the airport lounge access is the next perk that is hard to put value on. The lounges are lovely and have an open bar and usually a full buffet. I've spent $30 for an airport salad without a drink, so that's the value I'll put on each lounge visit.


I took about eight round trips this year where I had to travel by, so that would be 16 airport visits. Take that $30 and multiply it by 16. That was a total of $480 saved. 


Now our total savings is $2,563, which is amazing. That said, let's take this total number and subtract the fee. I saved a total of $1,868 this year, which is awesome. So as you can see, it offsets the annual fee. 

Is American Express Platinum worth it?

Other benefits

Amex has a few perks that I didn't personally use this year but is part of the benefits. The first one will be the cruise privilege credit, which is $300.


The other one is the Equinox $300 credit which is split between twelve months. You also get a $300 credit toward the SoulCycle Bike.


Finally, Amex does offer you a lot of statement credits. There are a lot of different statement credits you can use towards hotels, shopping, entertainment, and experiences. You can get a decent amount off of brands like Burberry. 


There are quite a few more benefits that you can use in Amex. Things like phone insurance, discounted car insurance, and discounted car rentals. 


Is American Express Platinum worth it?

I hope my coverage of the American Express Platinum card benefits has helped you decide if it's worth it to you.


What are your thoughts on the American Express Platinum card? Are you going to get it, or if you already have it, what is your favorite perk?

Comments
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 3 comments
  • Sazzi Sazzi on Dec 27, 2022

    Very nice presentation but I missed somethng. I do not travel a lot so which Amex is better for me?

  • J J on Jan 01, 2023

    Don’t forget that Walmart plus gives discounts on gas. You also get Paramount streaming.


    • Kacey C Kacey C on Feb 06, 2024

      Yes! That $99 annual fee for all the Walmart+ perks made it worth it for us. Filling 2 cars with $.10/gallon discount plus streaming plus free shipping for items pays for itself.

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