FREE NEWSLETTER
In 2026 the fee for an American Express Platinum card is increasing to $895 a year. That sounds expensive even though AMEX added some extra benefits. I hadn’t utilized all the benefits before but I am pretty sure I am close to maximizing them now. The primary reason I signed up for the card was the ability to access airport lounges due to my desire to “see-the world”. I have owned the card for a few years and it has taken me a while to grasp all the other benefits offered by the card.
First having a Schwab account reduces the fee by $100-$200 depending on asset balance. Second I can use the card to get reimbursed $25/month for streaming services which is another $300 offset. Similarly I can get $15/month for Uber OR Uber Eats and an additional $20 in December for another $200 offset. I also use it to pay for better seats on American Airlines which gets me another $200 reimbursed. Those 4 actions actually offset the $895 out of pocket expense.
Since I am traveling I can use $300 twice a year to stay at specific premium hotels (AND get 2 free breakfasts per day) which adds another $600 . AMEX added a $100/ quarter restaurant offset at select restaurants totaling another $400. Therefore the hotel and restaurant offsets brings me from break-even to a $900 benefit before adding my lounge access! (There are other offsets for Clear, TSA , LuLulemon etc to further increase the benefit. )
Of course the primary reason I wanted the card was to access lounges worldwide. Unfortunately the AMEX Centurion Club access is limited to the cardholder BUT “sister club”-Priority Pass lounges allow me to bring an additional 2 guests free. In the last 2 months alone this year my wife and I accessed airport lounges at DFW, Seoul, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hong Kong, Manila and Seoul a second time. Access to these 7 lounges for two people including food and drinks was complimentary.
The initial hassle of understanding the AMEX offset system is worth it to me as I can defray the$895, pocket over $1000 complimentary benefits and get access for 2 additional people at lounges worldwide. I just have to make sure I don’t leave home without it.
I had an amazing experience in the Air France lounge at JFK. With my Priority Pass, I had to pay $35, show my boarding pass for my Royal Air Maroc flight and my Priority Pass, plus wait about 30 minutes for other lounge visitors to leave for their flights. It was all well worth it. The $35 “purchased” much, much more than the less-desirable items available outside the lounge. I spent about an hour enjoying the hot buffet and open bar, then passed on the mediocre dinner served on board my flight. Advance research is warranted: the Priority Pass lounges only accept travelers on certain airlines. For example, since RAM doesn’t have its own lounge at JFK, I could choose either the Air France or the Turkish Airlines lounges. I love Turkish food, but their lounge doesn’t serve alcohol, so I went with AF. Also, some lounges require an advance reservation. Neither of these did. I wasn’t allowed to enter more than three hours before my departure. The time researching and planning was worth it, and now I know. Wasn’t able to avail myself on my return due to a too-short layover in Casablanca and no lounges that I could find at the Marrakech airport (a very boring wait at the gate with pitiful vending machines. Glad I had brought my own snacks so only needed to buy a beverage 🙁).
I agree that lounge access is highly desirable, especially if you’ve spent the day sightseeing after checking out of your accommodation and want to shower. But it also comes with business class tickets, and I have done all my long haul flights in business using American frequent flyer miles from a Citibank MasterCard, usually with no fee.
Clearly, the math works for you, but I don’t use Uber or stay in fancy hotels or pay $300/year for streaming services. I don’t have a Schwab account either, although I have been thinking of moving my travel account there from Capital One.
I understand the perk of $300 fancy hotels might seem unusable but I was able to use the credit for 2 nights in Macao at the Four Season and pay $156 total. And the extra benefit provided is 2 breakfasts per day per room which was spectacular.
If you want lounge access then the card you should open is the Capital One Venture X card, it has a $395 annual fee, that is offset by a $300 travel credit every year plus 10k miles which is equal to another $100 towards travel, making it a fee free card.
So, if you are not traveling biz class you will get lounge access through Priority Pass and to Capital One lounges.
Plus, reimbursement for Global Entry or TSA Precheck,trip cancellation and trip delay insurance, plus other benefits. This way you you don’t have to worry about all the hoops that Amex makes you go through with the ways they have “couponized” their cards.