The American Express Platinum Card® recently got a big refresh. It now has newly revamped benefits and a hefty annual fee of $895 to go with it. This is one of the largest overhauls we’ve seen from American Express in years. Let’s break down the Amex Platinum changes, the new perks, and what they mean for you.

<All information about the American Express Platinum Card® has been collected independently by The Traveling Hansens. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.>

Amex Platinum Card Details

Welcome Offer: As high as 175,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $12,000 in purchases on your new card within the first six months of card membership.

Here’s how it works:

1. Apply and find out your offer amount
2. Continue to see if you’re approved
3. If approved, accept the card with your offer
4. Spend $12,000 in 6 months
5. Receive the points

Note: welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.

Annual fee: $895 (rates & fees). Want to learn more about how to decide if annual fees are worth it? Check out this post.

Amex Platinum Card Benefits

Amex cards are jokingly referred to as “coupon books” due to their many (so many!) small credits and perks. The card refresh brought even more of these little credits, but when used, they can be worth multiple thousands of dollars!

• Up to $600 Hotel Credit – Split into two $300 credits, one every six months, for prepaid bookings at Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection via Amex Travel. Minimum two-night stay required.
• Up to $400 Dining Credit via Resy – Up to $100 per quarter for eligible dining spend.
• Up to $300 Lululemon Credit – Up to $75 per quarter for eligible purchases.
• Up to $200 Oura Ring Credit – Once per year on hardware purchases.
• Up to $300 Equinox Credit – Per calendar year to use on Equinox gym and Equinox+ app memberships (subject to auto-renewal).
• Up to $300 at SoulCycle: Up to $300 in statement credits per calendar year toward the purchase of a SoulCycle bike (up to 15 bikes per calendar year), enrollment in Equinox+ membership required.
• Up to $300 Digital Entertainment Credit – Up to $25 per month. This covers popular services like Disney+, ESPN+, YouTube Premium, Paramount+, and more. Enrollment required.
• Uber Benefits – Up to $15/month in Uber Cash (plus $20 in December) and a new Uber One membership credit (up to $120/year).
• Airline Fee Credit – Up to $200 annually for incidental fees with your selected airline.
• Up to $120 statement credit for Global Entry once every four years, or $85 statement credit for TSA PreCheck once every 4.5 years. Learn more about Global Entry and TSA PreCheck here.
• CLEAR Plus Credit – Receive up to $209 in statement credits per calendar year.
• Airport lounge access: Global Lounge Collection, including Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta), Priority Pass, Aspire Lounges, and Escape Lounges.
• Hotel Status – Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold and Hilton Honors Gold.
• Rental Car Status – Complimentary Hertz Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle, Avis Preferred Plus and National Emerald Club Executive status.
• Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Trip Delay, Extended Warranty, and more.
• No foreign transaction fees.

*Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.

Is It Worth It?

The Amex Platinum comes with a ton of credits and perks that can help offset the annual fee, but only if you’re actually using them. I currently have the business card, but will likely be getting the personal one soon because I find those benefits to be more useful to me.

My rule of thumb when it comes to annual fees and card benefits is simple: if the credits are for things you wouldn’t normally spend money on, they don’t really save you anything. So if you’re not hopping in Ubers, shopping at Lululemon, or buying an Oura ring, those credits don’t actually add value.

That said, the huge welcome offers can definitely make the fee worth it for the first year. After that, it really comes down to whether the benefits match up with your lifestyle and how you like to travel.

Amex Platinum Earning Rates

This isn’t a long-term keeper card for its earning rates. If you want to keep the Amex Platinum long-term, it’s for the credit and benefits. You should use other cards for your everyday spending, such as the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card, which earns 2x on all purchases, or the American Express® Gold Card, which earns 4x on dining and groceries.

The earning rates for the Amex Platinum breaks down as follows:

• 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines or Amex Travel
• 5x on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel
• 1x on other purchases
• 1x points on all other purchases

Eligibility

FAMILY LANGUAGE

Amex has some tricky rules when it comes to its cards. Basically, if you already have (or have had) a higher-level card, you can’t go back and open a lower one. For example, you won’t be eligible for the American Express® Green Card if you currently have (or once had) the Gold or Platinum.

So, if your goal is to earn the welcome offers on all three cards, you’ll want to start at the bottom and work your way up.

For example:

1. American Express® Green Card (although, this one could be skipped since the offer is smaller)
2. American Express® Gold Card®
3. American Express® Platinum Card®

<All information about the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by The Traveling Hansens. The American Express® Green Card is no longer available through The Traveling Hansens.>

LIFETIME LANGUAGE

Amex also has what’s called “lifetime language,” which says: “Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card or previous versions of this Card.” In other words, you can only earn a welcome bonus once per card.

However, there are some times this may not apply:

• Many data points show that Amex defines a “lifetime” as around seven years.
• Oftentimes, you’ll find targeted offers (in the mail, in your email, or in your Amex account online) that don’t include lifetime language. If you see a targeted offer, it means you may be able to earn the bonus again, even if you’ve had the card before. This has happened to me multiple times.

The other good thing? Amex is upfront about your eligibility. When you apply, a pop-up will tell you if you’re not eligible for the welcome bonus. This is what people sometimes call “Amex pop-up jail.” If you get this, just back out of the application. There will be no credit pull, and you can try again at a different time.

Using Your Points

These cards earn valuable Membership Rewards®, which can be used in multiple ways.

Transferring points to travel partners is my favorite way to use our points because it gives us the most value. However, there are a few other options.

• You can transfer them to one of Amex’s 21 airline and hotel partners.
• You can book flights, hotels, and more through the Amex Travel portal.
• You can cash out your points to cover expenses; however, this typically nets a lower than one cent per point value, so I try to avoid this.

Wrapping it up

This refresh is one of the biggest changes we’ve seen from Amex in years. With lots of new credits, a huge welcome offer, and the highest annual fee ever charged for a premium card, the Amex Platinum offers more options for cardholders, but only if you actually use the perks.

If you regularly stay in luxury hotels, dine out at Resy restaurants, or like fancy airport lounge access, the cards can absolutely justify the $895 fee, especially for the first year. If not, the credits may not outweigh the cost.

Either way, the huge welcome offer and expanded perks makes the Amex Platinum card worth considering.