Recently, I saw a series of advertisements for the American Express Platinum Card, claiming that I can get over $1,500 in “platinum value” with the card. That’s a big number, and I got curious about where it was coming from. So I decided that it would be fun (No, I don’t have a life. Thank you for asking.) to go through the benefits and perks and see if Amex’s math added up. And, at the same time, I can provide some hints for analyzing any card, not just this one.
So did the math work? Well, as an old economics professor once taught me, the correct answer to any hypothetical question is “It depends.” But I have the card, so I thought explaining the method I used to determine its value might be interesting. And while my methodology may not work for you perfectly, your decision should come down to a simple equation. Is (dollar value received for doing nothing) > (card’s annual fee)? If so, it’s a card you should consider.
I should start by saying that if you are a credit card expert, this post may be a bit basic for you. But I hope that there is something in it for everyone.
Annual Fee, Sign-Up Bonuses and Benefits Versus Bonuses
The second half of the above equation is easy. The American Express Platinum Card has a $695 annual fee, which is a pretty big hurdle to overcome. One could argue that the sign-up bonus* should be counted in the equation. Since it’s a one-time perk (versus the annual fee, which shows up every year), though, I’m leaving it out.
As of December 1, 2022, the sign-up bonus is 80,000 American Express Membership Rewards points after spending $2,000 in the first six months. I value MR points at about 1.5 cents each, based on their flexibility to be converted to airline miles.
The card generates almost all of its value through the perks/benefits that it offers just for being a cardholder, such as lounge access or a digital entertainment credit. Ironically, the one area where the card significantly underperforms its competitors is the most important one: spending bonuses, which you get when you actually use the card. Although it offers 5X points for flights and prepaid hotels through American Express Travel, every other purchase is only 1X. So I’m using all of the free benefits that come with the card but not actually making any money for American Express by using it, other than to book flights.
American Express Platinum Card Perks: Don’t Count Them Unless You Use Them
Rule #1: It’s not a benefit if you need to spend money that you otherwise wouldn’t have spent. Example: One of the American Express Platinum Card’s perks is a $300 annual discount at Equinox gyms. Cool, $300 in the asset column, right? Not so fast. If you are not a member of Equinox, or wouldn’t have joined without the credit, you are not getting any benefit out of it. So while American Express may count it toward the $1,500 in “platinum value,” you don’t.
Rule #2: A dollar isn’t always a dollar. This is a corollary of Rule #1. For example, One of the card benefits is $100 in Saks statement credits ($50 every six months). Do I normally shop at Saks? Nope. But do they have stuff that I buy elsewhere? Yup. Everyone needs socks and underwear. But the basics cost a lot more at Saks than they do at Target, though, so it’s a judgment call. Personally, I’d cut the value of the credit in half.
The same reasoning works with any credit card. For example, the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card offers 12 months of free DashPass, the DoorDash premium service. But if you never use DoorDash, you can’t count the $96 savings as a benefit, either.
Rule #3: Don’t double count a benefit that you have elsewhere. One of the benefits of the American Express Platinum Card is a refund for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, or up to $100 every four years. But if you already get that rebate from an existing card, it doesn’t do you any good to get it again. You can’t count it.
Calculating the Savings
Given what we now know about assessing the actual value of benefits, it’s time to begin the walk-through of what this card is actually worth. Remember, this is my slant on the value of the card. You may use Equinox, for instance, but not use the Global Entry credit. In that case, adjust your benefit values as necessary.
Some perks, such as the Resy dining from Amex or the Citi Entertainment benefit with the Citibank Premier card, don’t have a dollar value. You can estimate its value to you or ignore it. I’m nothing if not flexible.
Travel Benefits
- A $200 Airline Fee Credit: Each year, you can choose one airline and receive a rebate for up to $200 in fees from that carrier. While it doesn’t count toward airfare, you can use it to offset charges such as baggage fees, lounge entry, mileage booking security charges, etc. Exactly what counts as a fee differs by airline and you need to choose your carrier before using it, but there are a number of ways to skin this particular cat. My Value: $200
- A $200 Hotel Credit: The card also offers an annual $200 credit at Fine Hotels and Resorts (FHR) or Hotel Collection (HC) properties. Stay one night at an FHR hotel or 2+ nights at a HC property on a reservation made through Amex Travel and they’ll give you up to $200 in statement credits every year.** This is one of those benefits that some people use and some don’t. Personally, I like a weekend away every so often and use the benefit. So for me, the value is $200.
- $200 Uber Cash: You’ll get $15 per month in Uber cash, plus another $20 in December. That’s $200 and I’ll use every bit of it. My Value: $200
- $189 Clear Credit: Clear uses a machine to scan your eyes and verify your identity, allowing you to skip waiting in line for the TSA ID check. Your cost, based on your airline membership or status, is anywhere from $0-$189. Clear is a major time saver, but probably not one that I would pay for if I weren’t getting it for free from my credit card. So, although it rebates me $109 every year for my membership, I wouldn’t get it if I didn’t have the Amex Platinum card. My Value: $0.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry: Amex will reimburse you up to $100 every four years for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, saving you up to $25 per year. But I already get that rebate from another card, so it does me no good. My Value: $0
- Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold, Premium rental car status: I have lifetime Marriott Platinum and am a Hyatt guy, anyway. My wife is Hilton Diamond, so she covers us when we stay. Rental car status is a dime a dozen. If you use any of these, you can probably give yourself some value credit toward the price of breakfast (Hilton) or upgrade fees at a rental car company. Again, do what’s right for you. For me? My Value: $0
Shopping Benefits
- Digital Entertainment Credit: If you’re going after a younger crowd, you need to go digital, so the American Express Platinum Card reimburses up to $20 per month for eligible purchases on Audible, Disney+, The Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, Peacock, SiriusXM, and The New York Times when you purchase directly from one or more of the providers. I get my bundle through my phone company but do subscribe to SiriusXM and The New York Times, so that’s $10 per month. If you want to get technical about it, I only got SiriusXM because it was free but, if I got rid of the card, I’d want to keep it. My Value: $120
- Semiannual Saks Credit: As noted above, you’ll receive $50 every six months toward Saks purchases on the card. And, as noted above, I only buy stuff there because I have the credit. The substitution value for me is $50.
- Walmart+ Monthly Membership Credit: I don’t often associate premium credit cards with Walmart but hey, it’s free. Normally, I wouldn’t subscribe to Walmart+, but one of its benefits is free access to Paramount+, which I like having so I can watch Evil. I’d keep it for three months to watch the show and then kill it. Since P+ costs $5 per month, my value is $15.
- $300 Equinox and $300 Soul Cycle Credit: It’s a huge savings for people who use the services, but that’s not me. My Value: $0.
- Extended Warranties, Resy, Preferred Access, Return Protection and lots of other goodies: Sorry, nothing stands out. My Value: $0.
Lounge Access
This one is tricky. Your Amex Platinum card will get you into a wide range of airport lounges, including Delta Sky Clubs (particularly important, given recent changes to their lounge program), Priority Pass, the American Express Centurion Lounges and a few smaller networks. If you are loyal to Delta, the Sky Clubs access may be the most important benefit. If you aren’t, or you do a lot of international traveling, the Centurion and 1,000+ global Priority Pass lounges are extremely useful.
Any of the major lounge networks is going to run several hundred dollars if you buy access outright, so the lounges alone might pay for the card. But there are several cards that offer lounges: The Delta Reserve card gets you into Sky Clubs, and there are several cards that get you access to Priority Pass clubs, many of which offer you to bring in family members, unlike Amex, which allows you one guest.
Centurion lounges have had major problems recently with overcrowding, although they tend to be nicer than the typical airline club (once you get in). The smaller networks (Escape, Plaza Premium, Air Space) are scattered and the quality varies widely, but they are a nice place to relax.
Lounges are where your value may vary the most from your neighbor’s. I have access to Delta and Priority Pass lounges through my Delta Reserve or my wife’s Priority Pass card, and the Centurion and smaller networks have only nominal value for me. My Value: Some non-zero number that’s not particularly high.
My Total Dollar Value for my American Express Platinum Card
Assuming my addition is correct, the value that I get from my card, excluding the lounge access, is $785. For me, that makes the card a keeper, although losing even one of the big travel benefits would likely kick me into a negative. It’s close. Had I not received an extraordinarily generous sign-up bonus, I likely would never have signed up for the card and probably wouldn’t miss it.
How to Look at Annual Fees
Believe it or not, I go through a similar exercise when looking at any credit card. It only takes a few minutes and is actually somewhat enjoyable.
As noted above, the value of a credit card is the value of the benefits minus the cost of the card. Given that an annual fee automatically puts you in the red, which is one reason that a lot of people don’t like cards with annual fees. That’s a perfectly valid lifestyle choice, but look at it another way: If Card A offers value of $500 annually with a $95 fee, and Card B offers $200 with no annual fee, you’ll be better with Card A.
Believe it or not, the American Express Platinum Card is a pretty easy one to analyze, since so many of the benefits are straightforward. A card like the Citi Premier ($95 annual fee) is much more difficult. It offers very little in terms of straight cash, but tons of bonuses in everyday spending categories, such as 3X for restaurants, gas stations, supermarket and travel (hotel and air) charges. That’s a difficult one to assess unless you know how much you are going to spend in each of those categories, not to mention what you could get in them if you used a free card.
Even more difficult are single category killers, such as the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. The spending bonuses for the Sapphire Preferred are somewhat pedestrian, but it offers primary rental car insurance, which very few other cards do. If you rent cars even a couple of times per year, it’s worth the $95 annual fee.
Related: The Citi Premier card $800 bonus can’t last forever
The Bottom Line: Determine if Your Card is Worth it Before You Get it
This is a good time to assess the sign-up bonus, some of which have gotten remarkably big (See the credit card links for the best offers.). If you can get a one-time bonus worth $1,000, by all means, go for it.
But remember, you’re going to have to decide whether to hold this card for a second year. Is it worth it to you to keep that card for another 12 months? That’s where 15 minutes of work up front can make all of the difference.
*As I’m sure you know, the boss gets a commission when you use our credit card links. Thank you for doing so. When it comes to the American Express Platinum Card, though, offers seem to change on almost a daily basis. So if you decide you want the card, please, please, please do a search to see if there is a better offer than the one through our links.
**It’s a great value for single-night stays. For multi-night stays, consider TravelZork Travel, where you’ll not only get additional benefits at luxury hotels but also personalized service. Yes, it still exists.
