The American Express Platinum is one of the most talked about cards in the industry. For years, it has been the gold (or should I say Platinum) standard for luxury credit cards. The Amex Platinum card offers lavish benefits but not without a hefty annual fee of $450 (increasing to $550 soon). Most of us have heard about the upcoming changes to the Platinum card coming March 30th. Without discounting those benefits, let’s talk about some of the less explored or advertised benefits of the card.
In This Post
1. FINE HOTEL & RESORTS
Benefits include:
- Daily breakfast for 2
- Unique Property Amenity ($100)
- Guaranteed 4 pm check out
- Room upgrade (when available)
- Complimentary Wi-Fi
- Special offers such as a complimentary night
Most of the featured hotels offer either the 3rd, 4th or 5th night free when booking. The unique property amenity ranges from restaurant credits to salon and spa credit.
2. The Hotel Collection
Receive a $75 hotel credit for dining, spa and resort activities when staying a minimum of two consecutive nights with your Amex Platinum card. There are some impressive hotel options such as the Grand Hyatt Shanghai (pictured above), and the Conrad Hong Kong.
3. Cruise Privileges Program
You can receive a $100 – $300 shipboard credit on Norwegian Cruise Line, Holland America Line, Princess Cruises, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. The amount of shipboard credit depends on room type: $300 for Suites, $200 for verandah, balcony, and mini-suite staterooms, and $100 for inside and outside staterooms.
4. American Express Presale
Amex Platinum card members have early access to select concerts, sporting events, and shows. A few months back, American Express Platinum card members had access to Hamilton tickets at face value, a rarity considering the show’s popularity. Currently, there are presale tickets for musicians such as Blake Shelton, Neil Diamond, Ed Sheeran, and Soul2Soul ( Faith Hill and Tim McGraw).
5. Concierge
The concierge service is available to both personal and business American Express Platinum card members. Fortunately, there is no fee for the service, but any charges related to your requests will be billed to your Amex Platinum card. Examples of what services they offer include: dinner reservations, concert or sporting event tickets, and spend two weeks locating a hard to find video game system for your grandson.
6. International Airline Program
Enjoy a discounted companion ticket when you book a Business/First Class ticket with over 20 airlines while using your American Express Platinum card. Participating airlines include Delta, Alitalia, Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and Air France. The list of participating airlines vary with your destination, click here to find out who partners with your destination.
The Bald Thoughts
There are many great Amex Platinum benefits besides the usual subjects such as the airline fee credit, global entry/pre-check credit, lounge access and 5x on airfare. Out of the American Express Platinum card benefits above, I’ve only taken advantage of one… the Amex PreSale benefit. Before researching this article, I didn’t know all of these benefits even existed! I hope to make use of the less explored benefits of the Amex Platinum during my upcoming months of travel.
Is anyone else interested in making use of these less explored Amex Platinum benefits? Which ones?
I’ve used the roadside assistance a few times, both for myself and other people when I was with them. It’s good up to 4 times a year for jumpstarts, flat tires, or towing up to ten miles. The rate for more than ten miles was pretty reasonable, although I can’t remember the exact cost.
Thanks for sharing your experience, Erica. It is good to know that roadside assistance is limited to 4 times per year.