The American Express Platinum Card: Is the $695 Fee Actually Worth It?
I signed up for the Amex Platinum two years ago, mostly because I was flying to the East Coast monthly for work and airport lounges sounded like a dream. After two years and roughly $1,390 in annual fees, I have opinions.
Short version: if you travel a lot, it’s genuinely worth it. If you travel occasionally, it’s probably not. The math either works or it doesn’t, and no amount of “premium lifestyle” marketing changes that.
The Points System
You earn 5x Membership Rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel, up to $500,000 per year (not a problem I’ve ever had). Hotels through Amex Travel also earn 5x. Everything else earns 1x, which is honestly mediocre for a card at this price point.
The value of Membership Rewards points varies wildly depending on how you use them. Transferring to airline partners like ANA, Singapore Airlines, or Delta gets you roughly 1.5-2 cents per point. Using them through the Amex travel portal gets you about 1 cent per point. Cashing out for statement credits is the worst — maybe 0.6 cents per point. The transfer partners are where the real value lives.
I transferred 80,000 points to ANA last year and booked a business class flight to Tokyo that would have cost $4,500 cash. That single redemption justified most of my annual fee. But I’m a points nerd who spends time researching transfer ratios. If you just want simple cash back, this is the wrong card.
The Credits That Offset the Fee (Sort Of)
Amex throws a bunch of credits at you to make the $695 feel less painful:
- $200 airline fee credit — covers incidental charges like checked bags, seat upgrades, and in-flight purchases on one selected airline. Does NOT cover actual tickets, which confused me at first.
- $200 Uber credit — distributed as $15/month with a $20 bonus in December. I use Uber enough that this one is basically automatic money back.
- $100 Saks Fifth Avenue credit — split into two $50 credits per half-year. I buy socks and undershirts at Saks now, which is the most bougie thing I’ve ever admitted.
- $155 Walmart+ credit — covers a Walmart+ membership. Useful if you use Walmart grocery delivery.
- $200 hotel credit — when booking through Fine Hotels & Resorts collection.
If you use every single credit, that’s roughly $855 in value against a $695 fee, which puts you ahead. But be honest about what you’ll actually use. I barely touch the Saks credit and the hotel credit requires booking expensive hotels through a specific program. Not everyone will use all of these.
Lounge Access: The Real Reason People Get This Card
The Global Lounge Collection gets you into 1,300+ airport lounges worldwide. That includes Amex’s own Centurion Lounges (which are genuinely nice — craft cocktails, real food, showers at some locations), Priority Pass lounges, Delta Sky Clubs when flying Delta, and several others.
If you fly regularly, this changes the airport experience completely. Instead of buying overpriced airport food and sitting in a crowded gate area, you’re eating free meals, drinking free drinks, and working in a quiet space. My monthly East Coast trips went from something I dreaded to something I didn’t mind, largely because of lounge access.
The Centurion Lounges specifically are excellent. I’ve used ones in Seattle, JFK, SFO, and Dallas. The food quality is genuinely good — these aren’t stale pretzels and bad coffee. The Seattle location has a bar program curated by a local James Beard-nominated chef.
Hotel and Car Rental Perks
You automatically get Marriott Bonvoy Gold and Hilton Honors Gold status. In practice, this means occasional room upgrades and some extra points on stays. It’s nice but not life-changing — Gold status at both chains is the mid-tier that gets you some perks without the really premium benefits.
The Fine Hotels & Resorts program is actually solid if you’re booking a nice hotel anyway. You get room upgrades, complimentary breakfast for two, $100 property credit, and late checkout. These benefits easily add $200+ of value to a single hotel stay.
Car rental insurance is included, which means you can decline the rental company’s overpriced collision damage waiver. This saves $15-30 per day on rentals, which adds up fast if you rent cars regularly.
What I Don’t Like
The 1x earning rate on non-travel purchases is disappointing for a $695 card. I use a different card for groceries (Amex Gold gets 4x) and everyday spending (Chase Freedom Unlimited gets 1.5%). The Platinum basically lives in my wallet only for flights, hotels, and the credits.
Amex acceptance is still weaker than Visa or Mastercard internationally. I got caught without a backup card in a small town in Portugal and it was annoying. Always carry a Visa or Mastercard alongside this one when traveling abroad.
The fee increases bother me. It was $550 when I signed up, then jumped to $695. Amex adds credits to justify the increase, but they’re adding credits I didn’t ask for to justify charging me more. That’s a clever business move, not a benefit to me.
Who Should Actually Get This Card
You should get it if: you fly 6+ times per year, you’ll actually use the credits, and you’re willing to learn the points transfer system. The lounge access alone is worth hundreds of dollars if you fly regularly.
You should skip it if: you travel a few times a year, you want simple cash back, or you don’t want to think about optimizing credits and point transfers. A card like the Capital One Venture X gives you lounge access at a $395 annual fee with simpler rewards — that might be the better fit.
The Platinum is a great card for the right person. The trick is being honest about whether you’re that person. I am, for now. If my travel patterns change, I’ll downgrade without hesitation. $695 buys a lot of loyalty only as long as the math works.
