Earlier this month American Express announced changes to the personal version on their Platinum card. The changes kicked in yesterday March 30th. Here is a brief run down of the changes:
- New metal card instead of plastic – I’m guessing this is in response to Chase Sapphire Reserve being metal.
- 5X points on hotels – not as glamorous as it sounds – you only get the 5X points for hotels booked through amextravel.com and it does not include hotels booked through Amex’s Fine Hotels & Resorts program (the reason I keep this card).
- Complimentary Gold cards – previously you had to pay $45 per authorized user (up to 5). Now gold cards are free. You can also apparently add up to 99 authorized users.
- $200 in Uber ride credits and Uber VIP status (supposedly access to better cars). The catch is you will receive $15 credit per month to your account and $35 in December.
- Annual fee is increasing from $450 to $550. If you already have the card and your renewal date is before September 1st, you will be renewed at the old $450/year fee. All renewals after September 1st will be at $550.
When I first heard about these changes, I was disappointed at the $100 annual fee increase and seriously considered cancelling the card this May when my annual fee comes due. I only typically use Uber a few times a year – usually on vacation.
But I may have a change of heart. Since these new benefits kicked in yesterday, I added my Amex Platinum card to my Uber account and the $15 ride credit showed up for use. The reason why I may now keep the Amex Platinum card is the $15 credit is also showing up in my Uber Eats app.
So for the months that I don’t use Uber, I can always order lunch from Uber Eats. While there is a $5 fee on top of the cost of food, I’m still getting at least $10 in food value each month that I would have spent otherwise. Which more than makes up for the $100 annual fee increase.
Looks like I’ll be keeping this card.
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