AFAR partners with CreditCards.com and may receive a commission from card issuers. Our coverage is independent and objective, and has not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are entirely those of the AFAR editorial team.
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers, and terms apply. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
The Platinum Card® from American Express is known for its extraordinary collection of perks, including hundreds of dollars’ worth of statement credits each year for things like Uber rides, airline incidental fees, Global Entry or TSA PreCheck applications, and access to airport lounges around the world (terms apply, enrollment required for select benefits). The card has piled on even more perks to woo high-end customers while also raising its annual fee from an already expensive $550 per year to an even harder-to-swallow $695 (see rates and fees). Here are the details on the new features of the Amex Platinum Card and those travelers the card might be best suited for now.
New Amex Platinum Card benefits
Besides that higher annual fee, the Amex Platinum Card has added the following all-new cardholder benefits, none of which were available with the card before (terms apply, enrollment required for select benefits).
Annual hotel credits
Cardholders will receive up to $200 in statement credits each year for prepaid bookings through the issuer’s Fine Hotels & Resorts portal and the Hotel Collection, both of which require a minimum two-night stay, through American Express Travel.
Annual Clear credit
Clear® Plus is a private service available in over 100+ U.S. airports that uses biometric identification to allow members to use automated kiosks to bypass TSA identity checkpoints and jump right into the security screening line. It can be a real time-saver, and Amex Platinum Card holders can get up to $189 in statement credits each year towards its annual fee, which is also $189.
Equinox membership credits
Keep up that at-home fitness regimen with up to $300 annually in statement credits, split up into $25 per month, toward Equinox+ digital fitness app, or eligible Equinox club memberships (which can cost $200+ per month). Enrollment required.
Digital entertainment credits
Parceled out into $20 per month, this new perk is worth up to $240 per year in statement credits toward purchases or subscriptions of the New York Times, SiriusXM, Peacock, Disney+, The Disney Bundle, ESPN+, and Hulu.
Walmart+ credits
If you use your Platinum Card to pay for your $12.95 monthly Walmart+ membership, you can receive a statement credit up to $155 per year, subject to auto-renewal.
Private jet discounts
Thanks to a new deal with Wheels Up, Amex Platinum Card members receive up to 40 percent off the membership in the service’s Premium Private Jet Program (this costs $17,500 in the first year, and $8,500 in subsequent ones), plus $2,000 in flight credits toward charter flights booked in their initial membership year.
More lounges to visit
Amex is also expanding its Centurion Network of ultra-chic lounges to over 40 locations worldwide, which cardholders will be able to visit, along with Priority Pass lounges (after enrolling for free), and Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta).
Resy Global Dining Access
Amex acquired Resy in 2019 and is integrating the restaurant reservations service into its cardmember benefits. Platinum Card holders can use this new perk to book tables at some of the world’s best-known restaurants and receive invitations to exclusive events.
Disregarding the perks that are harder to quantify, like restaurant reservations, expanded lounge access, and private jet charters, the exact dollar amounts of the others add up to a potential $919 in extra value per year—if you actually intend to use them to their fullest.
Continuing American Express Platinum benefits
But don’t forget about the Amex Platinum Card’s other benefits (enrollment is required for select perks), which include:
Annual airline fee credits
Each calendar year, cardholders can designate one select qualifying U.S. airline on which to receive up to $200 in statement credits for incidental fees, such as checked bag charges, or the price of selecting a specific seat in advance.
Uber Cash
You can link your Amex Platinum Card to your Uber account and receive up to $20 per month ($35 in December) of Uber Cash to put toward U.S. Uber rides and Uber Eats orders.
Global Entry or TSA PreCheck
Cardmembers receive up to $100 in statement credits once every 4 years toward the application fee for Global Entry, or up to $85 once every 4.5 years for TSA PreCheck.
Fine Hotels + Resorts bookings
Amex has a hotel booking portal specifically for Platinum Card members with over 1,100 participating luxury properties around the world, such as the recently reopened Mandarin Oriental Ritz, Madrid and the lavish Kokomo Private Island Fiji. When you book through there, you can expect perks such as $100 on-property credits for things like spa treatments or meals, free breakfast for two daily, late checkout, and space-available upgrades.
Hilton and Marriott elite status
Platinum Card holders can enroll for automatic Marriott Bonvoy Gold elite status and Hilton Honors Gold elite status, both of which make you eligible to earn bonus points on stays, to be upgraded to better rooms, and more.
Car rental status
Cardholders can also register for automatic elite status with Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, Avis Preferred Club, and National Emerald Club.
International Airline Program
Score discounts of hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars on tickets in premium economy, business, or first class on over 25 partner airlines, such as Air France-KLM, British Airways, Delta, and Singapore Airlines.
Saks Fifth Avenue credits
Get up to $50 between January and June and another $50 from July through December toward Saks purchases for a total of $100 in statement credits each year.
Taken together, the card’s new and ongoing annual statement credits tally up to a potential $1,400 of worth. However, the value you will actually be able to pull from them will depend on how well you manage to use them year after year. You should be able to get $600 in combined credits for airline fees, Uber, and hotel bookings without too much effort. But you should also aim to utilize the Amex Platinum’s other benefits, such as lounge access and the International Airline Program, if you are seriously considering the card.
Is the Amex Platinum credit card worth it?
If you’re not a luxury traveler—someone who mostly books business- and first-class flights, regularly visits airport lounges, reserves expensive hotel stays through Fine Hotels + Resorts, and possibly even charters private jets—then the Amex Platinum Card is probably not right for you. Without leveraging those key perks, you’ll have to ensure that you are getting every cent out of the card’s other statement credits, which might not be as easy as you think.
If you can’t do that, there are plenty of other excellent travel credit card offers available right now, including ones whose benefits more closely fit your travel profile and needs.
While the offers mentioned above are accurate at the time of publication, they are subject to change at any time, and may have changed or may no longer be available. This article was originally published in July 2021; it was updated in October 2021, and again on August 25, 2023, with current information.
