Rep Offered me 30k on Amex Platinum Card and I Took It

I had gotten a call the other day from an Amex Rep who offered me to upgrade my current Amex Business Gold to an Amex Business Platinum Card. I would get 30k Amex Reward points after I spend $10k in 5 months and it would come with a $450 annual fee. Currently the best offer out there is 25k points for this card. So why in the world would I get this “expensive” card? Perks! And I would have a chance to recoup the cost + an extra $50.

How is this so? Well here are the perks:

$200 Annual Airline Credit– You get a credit of $200 per calendar year (Jan-Dec) for a select airline on incidental charges made on your card such as same day change fee, luggage fee, in-flight drink etc. Many have had success buying airline gift cards and receiving the credit from Amex.  The airline must be chosen when activating your card or if you can’t decide then, you can choose online here and it cannot be changed until January of the following year. Since I applied in Oct, I will be able to get $200 credit now and $200 credit in Jan which is a recoup of $400. Here is the list of eligible airlines: Alaska, American, Delta, Frontier, Hawaiian, JetBlue, Southwest, Airtran, United, US Airways, & Spirit.

Global Entry Reimbursement– You get reimbursed the $100 Global Entry Fee when you pay with your Amex Plat Card. Once you have Global Entry, you will then be eligible for TSA Pre-check as well which will speed up your security process. Here are some helpful FAQs about TSA Pre-check. This $100+$400 from above will net me with $50 credit on my Amex Plat card.

 Airport Lounge Access– You + Spouse and children or up to 2 guest get access to Delta and American lounges when you are ticketed with the airline and access to US Airways lounges no matter who you fly. Just show your card and ticket. You also get free access to Priority Pass lounges. To gain access, let the rep know when you activate your card or you can do so online here. A guest can join you at these lounges for $27. You also get access to Airspace lounges located at BWI, CLE, & JFK and Centurion Lounges +2 guests at LAS & DFW. Check out these great reviews for the LAS lounge and DFW lounge opened on Oct 15, 13.

SPG Gold Preferred Status- Gold status gets you bonus points on paid and award stays, free wifi, room upgrades, and 4pm late checkout. To enroll you must call this # 1-800-525-3355.

Access to Fine Hotel & Resorts– You get to book at select hotel locations through this website which give perks such as $100 dinning or spa credit and select hotels have 3,4, or 5th day free.

No Foreign Transaction Fees– Save money internationally by not having to worry about foreign transaction fees.

Purchase Protection & Extended Warranty-Eligible purchases can be protected against accidental damage, loss or theft for up to 90 days from the date of purchase. Here is the website for claim assistance and more information.

Car Rental Benefits– Get additional benefits with Avis, Hertz & National. Check out this webpage for additional information and to enroll. You also get car rental loss & damage insurance when you reserve and pay with the Amex Plat card. Coverage not available for vehicles rented in Australia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica and New Zealand.

There are many other benefits with the card and you can find them all here.

I can’t wait to take advantage of all these perks with the card. I was waiting until later in the year to apply but there is no guarantee that the bonus will increase. The current best offer out there is 25k points with a 5k spend in 3 months which is still pretty good!

 

Disclaimer: I receive commission if you apply and are approved using my links. Thank you graciously for your support and hope you are able to get as much out of these cards as I have.

 

7 Comments on "Rep Offered me 30k on Amex Platinum Card and I Took It"

  1. Will Run For Miles | October 16, 2013 at 9:54 am | Reply

    I got the same offer. waiting to take it because I have the platinum personal which is up for renewal in early january…

  2. The Mercedes AMEX Plat card is 50K if I recall correctly. Why didn’t you sign up for that one instead? It’s pretty much the same as the regular AMEX Plat, instead you get addt’l benefits if you’re an MB owner.

    • Giddy for Points | October 16, 2013 at 7:25 pm | Reply

      I wouldn’t get to recoup my cost of the annual fee like this card and not a MB owner so wouldnt get those perks

      • Giddy, not true – the MB Amex Platinum is identical to the “normal” Amex Platinum personal card and shares the exact same benefits that you describe above for the Amex Platinum business card. I got it myself a few months ago, and the only minor differences I could see were:
        – $25 higher annual fee ($475)
        – 25K more MR points (50K) with a much more reasonable $3K spend requirement making the extra $25 very worthwhile for me.
        – $100 voucher to use to buy stuff from Mercedes gift/accessories shop at any dealership (overpriced, but hey, its free)

        You are right there are several MB-specific perks too ($1K off a lease/purchase after $5K in spending, extra miles on lease, 5x points on MB spend) but not being an MB-owner these didn’t interest me either. But I did get all the other stuff you mentioned (priority pass, SPG Gold, National Exec, DL/AA/US lounge access, $200 credit and another $200 in Jan I hope). I have already used many of these to my benefit so they definitely work. In fact, I have started to like it so much that I am even considering keeping it for good, justifying it with only a $200 airline credit and the other perks (remember, the $400 trick only works if your first membership year spans 2 calendar years and then you cancel it before renewal).

        I would argue that the MB one is definitely better until a better offer for the standard personal or business Plat comes along. And I believe (not 100% sure) they allow you to get the MB Platinum personal one even if you just canceled the non-MB Platinum personal one (so you don’t have to switch from biz version to personal version or vice versa).

        The $100 accessories (wine-opener, wallets etc for example) are just the icing on the cake.

        HTH….

        • Giddy for Points | October 21, 2013 at 10:33 am | Reply

          Wow I didn’t know that these had all these benefits. I’ll definitely look into this next time. Thanks for detailing it out for me!

  3. I canceled by platinum card after I upgraded my gold biz to biz platinum for 25k after first purchase after receiving an email. 10k in purchases for a 1 point per purchase card is not good value. Plus I got some of my annual fee prorated.t
    though the card is a must have for a frequent flyer.

    • Marty, I agree. I also feel that the Gold v/s Platinum are almost treated as different animals by Amex even though they may promote it as an “upgrade:. For example, the Gold 3x bonus for airfare, 2x for gas purchases is not on any Platinum card (MB or non-MB, personal or Biz) that I could see. But the Platinum has the lounge etc perks and no foreign transaction fee unlike the Gold. So its best to think of them as 2 separate types of cards. Neither one is “perfect” or better than the other but each has very strong benefits for specific type of users.

      (PS: It does not help when Amex also calls one of their Delta cards a Platinum credit card card when it has almost nothing in common with the Platinum Amex (charge) cards.)

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