Comments on: Rumor: Big changes coming to the Amex Platinum

By: Joseph Hostetler

Joseph Hostetler — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 20:06:57 +0000

In reply to Antonio. That is both interesting and devastating if true -- I'll look around, too!

By: Antonio

Antonio — Wed, 14 Apr 2021 19:22:31 +0000

I thought I read somewhere regarding the rumor of “free guests” at the Centurion lounges, where AU’s wouldn’t be allowed in free. They had to be Amex Plat account owners. I could be wrong…. I’ll try to find where I thought I saw that.

By: Joseph Hostetler

Joseph Hostetler — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 01:25:43 +0000

In reply to Andrea B Schneiderman. Thanks for that, post updated.

By: Toys Samurai

Toys Samurai — Mon, 12 Apr 2021 01:17:58 +0000

I hate to say this — but I truly feel this way — I would rather don’t Amex increases the fee to $795 without any new “savings”, but allowing just 1 free guest per card into the Centurion Lounge (may be with an annual limit, too).

By: Andrea B Schneiderman

Andrea B Schneiderman — Sun, 11 Apr 2021 21:46:30 +0000

You still have to show a boarding pass to the TSA and are subject to random ID checks sporadically. I work for Clear.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Sun, 11 Apr 2021 00:32:05 +0000

First, thanks. This is a fantastic review. As you pointed out, many of the “new perks” are worthless to most cardholders. In fact, only the streaming credit and airline credit (which is almost impossible to use on SWA or non-legacy) seem to apply to most folks. It seems to not be worth the new annual fee. Better to get a card with more points on regular spend. Also, I’ll have to open another card to bank my Ultimate Rewards in after cancelling the Platinum. Any suggestions/cards w/ no annual fee?

By: Carl Huff

Carl Huff — Sat, 10 Apr 2021 17:44:29 +0000

If it goes past the current $550, I’m done. As you point out, there are a number of proposed credits that won’t mean anything to a lot of people. Instead of Equinox, how about paying the yearly subscription fee for Peloton sessions? Seems to me the way to go is to offer up an expanded list of options (that total a certain amount of credits) and let the cardholder pick what suits them best.

By: Duke

Duke — Sat, 10 Apr 2021 15:43:26 +0000

Yes!! And it’s about time they stopped allowing all those freeloader guests in at the lounge!!

By: Ari

Ari — Sat, 10 Apr 2021 15:36:34 +0000

Clear isn’t worth $179/yr. At most, it’s worth $119/yr, as a free United or Delta account will give you that. I wonder if authorized users will receive this benefit…

I believe you can book hotels through Amex and give them your loyalty number to earn points and tier status. Often, FHR may not be a great deal, but for one night stays with a relatively inexpensive hotel, it adds more value than booking direct. One hotel we go to is only $15 cheaper with hyatt’s member discount, without the $100 credit or free breakfast. They have a nice restaurant, easy to spend $100 and breakfast is worth $60.