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I’m also disappointed that there is no alternative arrangement set-up going forward for both Platinum and Gold cards.
I haven’t received such an email but an insurer based in Spain may not be ideal. AXA was very responsive and easy to deal with.
I’m also disappointed that there is no alternative arrangement set-up going forward for both Platinum and Gold cards.
I haven’t received such an email but an insurer based in Spain may not be ideal. AXA was very responsive and easy to deal with.
Never heard of Europ Assistance. They don’t seem to have the best review either.
I’m also disappointed that there is no alternative arrangement set-up going forward for both Platinum and Gold cards.
I haven’t received such an email but an insurer based in Spain may not be ideal. AXA was very responsive and easy to deal with.
Never heard of Europ Assistance. They don’t seem to have the best review either.
Yes, that’s the one! I got the email a few days ago IIRC.
I too think moving away from AXA is a bad decision. HSBC Premier use them, so Amex may have scored an own goal here.
I am sitting really patiently waiting to see what they do with Deliveroo on Gold and Harvey Nichs/Dining Credit on Platinum.
I’m also disappointed that there is no alternative arrangement set-up going forward for both Platinum and Gold cards.
I haven’t received such an email but an insurer based in Spain may not be ideal. AXA was very responsive and easy to deal with.
Never heard of Europ Assistance. They don’t seem to have the best review either.
Yes, that’s the one! I got the email a few days ago IIRC.
I too think moving away from AXA is a bad decision. HSBC Premier use them, so Amex may have scored an own goal here.
I am sitting really patiently waiting to see what they do with Deliveroo on Gold and Harvey Nichs/Dining Credit on Platinum.
HSBC Premier uses Aviva .. which I rate highly based on my recent experience.
Its not a good idea to compare different markets, but the direction Amex is taking is not great.
Friend in India confirmed the latest changes to the plat card there: addition of Amazon prime, Disney+ and WSJ subscriptions; basic accor plus membership, postcard hotels and i prefer hotel memberships; removal of guest access for supplementary card holders to Centurion lounges(!)
If that were replicated in the UK, it’d be worth more to me than I value the dining credits. The included locations are often overpriced 5 star hotel restaurants. They are good, but there is much better value to be had elsewhere. It feels like you are paying 300 quid for a 200 quid meal and getting 50 back.
I had lunch with a very senior UK Amex person recently and I made it very clear that their behaviour on this wasn’t on. From a purely selfish point of view, its very hard to promote Plat when I can’t confirm that the benefits will remain.
This is especially true given that I was told unofficially that HN was being scrapped, except for Centurion. No-one at Amex will confirm this.
Just confirmed to me via live chat that HN won’t renew but Dining Credit still undecided. Took the retention offer, platinum is still worth it if you use it cleverly
If that were replicated in the UK, it’d be worth more to me than I value the dining credits. The included locations are often overpriced 5 star hotel restaurants. They are good, but there is much better value to be had elsewhere. It feels like you are paying 300 quid for a 200 quid meal and getting 50 back.
There are some great restaurants on the list for London granted it’s pretty rubbish outside that.
Not all of them are an arm and leg either Elliot’s Borough was a great meal, Fallow is very good, German Gymnasium was decent for a drink outside this summer, Bibi, Smokestak is very good and reasonable for the amount of food you get.
Some are on The Fork and First Table where you can get 50% off your meal while still using the credit.
What ever will Amex be providing in the absence of the HN credit?
Mine is due for renewal in the next month and if the proposition is weak I will be cancelling.
I called last week saying I was considering closing the account as I was finding it hard to justify the the fee and the response was “we respect your decision”. I’m hanging on until 2025 benefits are clarified but unless they are strong, I will be cancelling. I’ve had the Platinum card since 2011 but am obviously not valued as a customer so I will respect their decision and leave!
I don’t see the HN credit as a major loss. HN is overpriced in some aspects so the Amex credit doesn’t always reflect a true saving.
Rather than force spend at HN, what would be good (for me) is a £50 statement credit applied in December.
I don’t see the HN credit as a major loss. HN is overpriced in some aspects so the Amex credit doesn’t always reflect a true saving
I don’t know what will happen, but I can’t think the HN credit really works for anyone. Amex sold HN a pup, convincing them there would be a torrent of new high roller Plat customers shopping with them, whereas the reality is posts asking how can I spend exactly £50, pay no postage and stack with another offer. Most seem to find HN overpriced and would prefer £50 off at M&S or another ‘regular’ shop.
If it was luxury, then I would prefer they had Selfridges instead of HN.
It just emphasises that Amex doesn’t understand their market and doesn’t have the customer demographic they think they have. Without an annual retention bonus the card offerings are incredibly weak.
It just emphasises that Amex doesn’t understand their market and doesn’t have the customer demographic they think they have. Without an annual retention bonus the card offerings are incredibly weak.
As you say, Amex doesn’t know its market and keeps trying to ram the US market square peg product into the UK round hole. What is clever is that Amex has somehow convinced merchants that the tiny Plat base is totally different to the reality. The merchants may one day wake up to the reality (and HN has) that it’s not a premium card but one offered to those on a median salary who won’t be spending thousands at HN or the Fat Duck. Quite a vicious circle Amex has created for itself. One might have thought the fact they have to pay people to hold the card would be a wake up call, but no.
It baffles me that despite advertising the Platinum card as a card to enhance your travel, the Gold has a superior earn rate when it comes to spending on flights and FX spend.
It baffles me that despite advertising the Platinum card as a card to enhance your travel, the Gold has a superior earn rate when it comes to spending on flights and FX spend.
No competition at the premium end, so they can charge what they want. Gold is offered for beginners to Amex, so naturally its more attractive. Even the offers are usually higher on the gold card than plat.
It baffles me that despite advertising the Platinum card as a card to enhance your travel, the Gold has a superior earn rate when it comes to spending on flights and FX spend.
This irritates me as a Plat holder. They also reward you better overall for spending on the card, eg 2,500 bonus points for every 5k spent. If you held a Plat & Gold, you’d spend more on the Gold.
If it was luxury, then I would prefer they had Selfridges instead of HN.
Or Harrods both of which sell items more likely to be purchased by your average Platinum card holder.
I regularly use many of the Harrods Amex offers + spend more and similar with Selfridges though I admit less often than I used to.
HN just sells a very odd selection of clothing/goods more likely to be bought by your local drug dealer or oligarchs offspring than your average Amex customer.
I hold both Gold and Platinum and yup all my spend goes on the Gold but my referrals go via the Plat.
Also worth noting that Travel Insurance is moving to Europe Assist, and they don’t allow you to postpone your trip, they have the standard reimburse if you need to cancel. I renewed in August, will likely wait for my next retention offer next year and then cancel.
I’ve found it very possible to spend in Harvey Nichols with fragrance; with a few fragrance brands I’ve been unable to find them cheaper anywhere, so buying from HN has been fine.
Agree with the clothing though; much of the brands they sell are really young streetwear brands that just aren’t “me” at all (and… much more than I’m going to spend!) but I have bought a nice Paul Smith hoody which is fairly simple / decent quality. I also really like Colourful Standard stuff which is all unbranded, simple, and high quality (and not particularly expensive).
I’ve actually found using the HN credit at the OXO Tower very good value and will be sad to see it go!
If it was luxury, then I would prefer they had Selfridges instead of HN.
Or Harrods both of which sell items more likely to be purchased by your average Platinum card holder.
I regularly use many of the Harrods Amex offers + spend more and similar with Selfridges though I admit less often than I used to.
HN just sells a very odd selection of clothing/goods more likely to be bought by your local drug dealer or oligarchs offspring than your average Amex customer.
I hold both Gold and Platinum and yup all my spend goes on the Gold but my referrals go via the Plat.
Harrods (and Radisson) are on my do not use list
Also worth noting that Travel Insurance is moving to Europe Assist, and they don’t allow you to postpone your trip, they have the standard reimburse if you need to cancel. I renewed in August, will likely wait for my next retention offer next year and then cancel.
I think the move to Europ Assistance is a particularly bad one – and I hadn’t realised there were negative changes to coverage. They are considerably less well regarded in the insurance circles I (tangentially) move in. Definitely not a change driven by anything other than cost reduction and not an insurer I would pick for a premium product.
I just got rid of my platinum amex.. I’ve held it since 2004!…I used to see the benefits as a nice to have on the side, didn’t mind the fee for what you got back then but now I don’t think I really get much value back vs the increased annual fee.. car/travel insurance is nice to have but I can pay for that on its own elsewhere. The other benefits just aren’t doing much for me.. priority pass is useless for me as I travel in first/biz anyway the odd time when I’ve need to and I’ve used a priority pass lounge or indeed the centurion lounges they’ve all been very full/disappointing, probably due to the way/times I travel but that now scores zero in my view. Then again I think 90% of airline lounges are not what they used to be when all I would be looking for is a quiet sanctury with good refreshments.
Secondly I’m outside of London and find the dining credit commands a special trip into london to make use, when abroad I don’t tend to have time to go find the restaurants on the offer.
Third, I’ve had a few times when I’ve tried to make use of credits like HN or the shop small and they’ve either not tracked or on shop small you find on the map, go into the retailer who is showing on the door a shop small sign and then make the transaction in store, during the timeframe and Amex says not a valid transaction.. so I stopped tryin to track for cashback offers. I don’t want/need the hassle to try to chase amex for £5 here or there..but I digress back to benefits on platinum…
Forth Hotel loyalty.. little value now.. take Hilton gold yes I’ve got some extra points from it, but the included breakfast has been dialed back especially in the USA, but in 20 years and regular use I’ve never enjoyed a ‘space-available room upgrades’ maybe I’ve had a preferred room but never an upgrade.. again maybe I’m doing something wrong in hotel selection.. point is the loyalty benefit ONLY get me a few extra points every stay.. not a game changer.. then I also had my hiccup this year with Marriot.. I had a bunch of points racked up, hadn’t used Marriot much in the last year or so, then at end of year cycle when my amex benefit was supposed to keep me at gold elite it didn’t, net was I lost a load of marriot points with no come back .. amex weren’t interest nor was marriot.. net is I won’t get back to marriot
While we stay on travel – every time I’ve looked at booking through amex travel I’ve found the prices way more than you can get direct or via corporate/other benefit routes (know not everyone has those but again this is my experience) – point is I don’t use their travel booking…nor am I thank interested in their entertainment booking options..
So when this amex said the fee was going up.. I decided it just wasn’t worth it anymore.. I also then had a look at the other cards avialable but in doing so also looked out of interest what the other country Amex cards offer just as a comparison and it’s obvious that Amex is taking the michael out of UK consumers- you only have to compare what the USA folks get for their amex platinum .. similar fee in $$s but they get loads of addtional benefits like Global entry/TSA precheck, clear plus memebership,airline fee credits, digital entertainment credits etc.. then I think (I could be wrong as I’m no guru) but they also get zero foreign transaction fees vs the UK one which charges 2.99%. I know UK is a different market to the USA but to me Amex keeps ramping up the membership fees and reducing the values I get back from it..hence why I got out.. still got my BA amex but that could well go too if they keep the fee going up on that ..
The 3% forex fee is just bonkers. Stark, staring bonkers.
“Travel focussed card that you can’t use abroad”.
I guess they think they’re targeting people who wouldn’t care about losing 3%, but they aren’t.
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