I have been a loyal Chase Sapphire Preferred cardholder for the past year now (all about those double points on dining and travel), but have been wanting another card that offers more benefits while I’m traveling as well. After lots of research, I decided on the AMEX Platinum.
The annual fee looks (well is) hefty at $450 per year, but it pays itself off if you are a constant traveler. Here’s some benefits that it offers:
$200 Credit Per Year Towards the Airline of Your Choice
The per year refers to calendar year as well, so since I got my card in April I will have $200 for 2015 as well as another $200 for 2016. I have mine for American Airlines, and this credit goes towards baggage fees, in-flight purchases, flight change fees, and more (not towards the actual purchase of a ticket). Granted once you have status or with much of international travel you get free bags anyways, but this is a great benefit.
Centurion Lounge & Other Airport Lounge Access
Okay honestly, this is pretty much why I got the card. With the amount I travel, I want to be able to sit back, relax and enjoy myself at the airport. Centurion Lounges currently only exist at DFW, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and LaGuardia, with one in Miami and Seattle in construction as well. Considering I fly through DFW often and will be traveling through Miami more often too, this is huge for me. The Centurion Lounge is quite the experience (separate blog post to come on these), including beautifully crafted food and cocktail menus, massages and pedicures, comfortable seating areas, and more – all complimentary. The AMEX Platinum also gets you access to Delta lounges (when flying Delta which is rare for me), Airspace lounges (there’s one in San Diego which is helpful!), and also PriorityPass Select (worth about $400 a year). PriorirtyPass Select gets you access to over 600 lounges internationally. In fact, I am currently sitting in one at Panama Tocumen International Airport, and this free WiFi is a HUGE amenity during international travel. These are not as nice as Centurion Lounges (well no lounge really is), but they still offer nice amenities while traveling.
TSA Pre-Check & Global Entry Application Credit
I already have TSA Pre-Check, which if you don’t have you should get. It costs around $80, lasts for 5 years, and saves you an immense amount of time and stress at the airport. I am however applying for Global Entry so this credit will help as well. Global Entry is a $100 application fee valid for 5 years, and gives you a fast pass through immigration and customs while traveling internationally. Now that I am doing more international travel, this will make a huge impact in my travel time.
Starwood Gold Preferred Status
I love Starwood properties and have had great experiences there over the past year, so I love this benefit. Gold Preferred status gives you a 50% bonus on Starpoints (so 3 points per $1 spent at Starwood properties), free internet, room upgrades (I got upgraded to a suite recently in Panama), late checkout at 4pm, and more.
Fine Hotels & Resorts
This is a hotel booking site that gives you access to luxurious hotels with many added perks and bonuses. These benefits include complimentary breakfast, room upgrades, free night offers, late check-out, free internet, and a resort credit (usually $100 towards either spa services or food and beverage).
Boingo Wireless Internet
You get complimentary, unlimited access to more than 700,000 hotspots worldwide. Only problem is that this does not include in-flight.
When I signed up AMEX was offering 40k bonus points after you spend $3k in 3 months. These points can be transferred to a number of travel partners, including British Airways (an American affiliate which is helpful!) It also transfers to Virgin America which I may start using for my personal travel to San Francisco, which I am doing a lot more of (although the transfer rate is not as good for Virgin America).
I’ll give an update on how this card has worked well for me after a few months or so. Obviously some of the benefits are helpful for mostly just the first year (Global Entry credit, 40k bonus points going towards plane tickets, etc.), so we will see how much more it is worth it after the first year. It is important to remember too that with AMEX you need to pay your card off in full each month and that there is no credit limit, so this card is only smart for those who do not anticipate incurring any debt.
Safe travels y’all!
Best,
Chelsea Rose Martin
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