Amex Plat worth? without the sign up bonus

[dradrian]

I currently have the amex rewards credit card after cancelling my gold credit card. Also planning to cancel my BAPP soon after obtaining my 2-4-1 voucher.

I was just wondering if the platinum benefits are worth the 575 annual fee since I am no eligible for the sign up bonus.

Reading the posts on the website, I realise most savings can be made from fine hotels and resorts bookings which can be something I will be looking at.

Just want to how other plat holders justify the annual fee for the card.

[Tom2]

The 2 main questions you need to ask is how much you will travel in the next 12 months and what spend you will put through the card.

[JDB]

Tom2 wrote:

The 2 main questions you need to ask is how much you will travel in the next 12 months and what spend you will put through the card.

And also importantly whether the travel insurance works for you + any family as it excludes many basic conditions such as high blood pressure that affects c. 25% of the population or people on cholesterol lowering drugs. Personally, I consider the hotel statuses are of zero value and easily replicable with no status. Obviously it appears to work for many here, but it’s really surprisingly niche.

[DTR]

Fine hotels and resorts booking benefits are usually matched by Emyr with no need for the card (with the exception of 4pm checkout). It won’t get you extra points either unless you can make use of the referrals or get retention bonuses.

The value for me, as others have said, is primarily on travel – e.g on an extended trip with family using the car hire insurance, travel insurance and lounge passes…plus occasional cashback deals better than other cards and a extra points from referrals. Without the travel though, it’s hard to justify with no SUB

• This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .

[Reney]

Here is how I am justifying it, the benefits I have received in the last year:

– will probably get close to the max 90k of a referral bonus as we have several players in the family
– a recent road trip in the US:
– access to two different centorian lounges for 2 people
– access to a delta sky club lounge for 2 people
– travel insurance for 2 people
– $20 breakfast credit at Hilton Garden Inn
– car rental insurance for 2 separate hires

– £100 Harvey Nicks credit
– £200 dining credit – note this might not be repeated again
– probably another £100 also in amex offers per year
– travel insurance for 2 other trips (although I also get travel insurance free with HSBC premier so I wouldn’t value this highly) and one other car hire

The referral bonus probably is the main reason I can justify it, the others are icing on the cake

• This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .

[Travel Strong]

For me, I get the following value… and it really is borderline, so I am ready to walk if it were not for the retention bonuses…

35k MR retention at some point in the year (£220*)
Get a couple of referrals… maybe 48k MR (£300*)
Lounge passes, only of some value to me, say £80
Hertz discount and 4hr grace.. again say £80 value
The odd offer not on other cards… £100
Travel insurance… £50

Estimated value £830

Hilton Gold has been worth its weight in gold over the years, but I wouldn’t keep the card for more than 1yr for that 😉

* based on Nectar being floor value.

[BJ]

@dradrian, I suggest you get referred for green. Do not add a supp, either during the application process or after receiving the card. Upgrade green to platinum for 20k MR for £4k spend using the upgrade page. Add a supp to the platinum card after you receive it, not during the application.

[BuildBackBetter]

BJ wrote:

@dradrian, I suggest you get referred for green. Do not add a supp, either during the application process or after receiving the card. Upgrade green to platinum for 20k MR for £4k spend using the upgrade page. Add a supp to the platinum card after you receive it, not during the application.

Does this route still work?

[janed9388]

I have just applied for a platinum amex this morning to take advantage of the 65K points offer can someone remind me if there are extra points for adding a supplementary later on this card ? and is the first one still free ? also, does the insurance cover / exclude mild asthma does anyone know ? thanks.

[BJ]

@BBB, I guess so as upgrade page now shows 20k for 4k while I’m reasonably confident it used to be 20k for 3k. No harm in calling retentions to ask.

[SteveJ]

janed9388 wrote:

I have just applied for a platinum amex this morning to take advantage of the 65K points offer can someone remind me if there are extra points for adding a supplementary later on this card ? and is the first one still free ? also, does the insurance cover / exclude mild asthma does anyone know ? thanks.

First supplementary is free, apply via this link for the extra points
https://www.americanexpress.com/uk/benefits/supplementary-cards/

[JDB]

janed9388 wrote:

I have just applied for a platinum amex this morning to take advantage of the 65K points offer can someone remind me if there are extra points for adding a supplementary later on this card ? and is the first one still free ? also, does the insurance cover / exclude mild asthma does anyone know ? thanks.

Asthma is not an accepted condition for Amex Plat, so it is not covered.

[janed9388]

Thanks both for the replies 🙂

[dradrian]

Many thanks for all the replies.
I have travel insurance from HSBC premier as well.

I might try signing up for a year as an experiment and see if I am able to justify the annual fee.
Will be travelling quite a bit in the next 12 months as well.

[Luca M]

janed9388 wrote:

I have just applied for a platinum amex this morning to take advantage of the 65K points offer can someone remind me if there are extra points for adding a supplementary later on this card ? and is the first one still free ? also, does the insurance cover / exclude mild asthma does anyone know ? thanks.

I have also applied for this with the 65,000 bonus (plus 20,000 that the wife got for referring me), plus 5000 (or was 6000?) for a secondary cardholder (but you need to wait 120 days before it posts), plus have recommended 2 people almost immediately on a 24,000 special promo (48,000) so so far more the paid itself (also claimed £50 cash back at HN and got 5 people in the Centurion Lounge at Terminal 3, and 4 on the way back in a European Lounge – used the HSBC world elite for the 5th traveller).

[memesweeper]

ICC Plat insurance covers family members even if they are not travelling with you, I assume UK Plat is the same. This is handy if you have adult offspring.

Having said that, I think I’ll cancel mine. Most of the cover I need comes from HSBC, I’ve used the Hotel Collection once (and Emyr can match) and I usually get a lounge through other means. The offers and experiences are the only really unique thing, and we don’t get the former on an ICC.

[ThriceForgiven]

I’m going through the same thought process and just wondering whether it makes sense.

I’m convincing myself it’s worth it for me and Player 2 on a free supp (both under 40, no pre-existing health conditions):

-Travel insurance: We travel regularly but I still wonder what people consider the market value of travel insurance for 2 people with the same coverage/ease of claim as Amex? I think GBP 200 for both of us is comparable but happy to be corrected. I also have an HSBC Premier Account (not no credit cards) – is this equivalent to Amex’s insurance?
-Car hire excess: We rent cars occasionally though I know we can buy standalone policies which are relatively cheap (GBP 50ish?)
-Lounge: I’ve got status with airlines but it’ll run out eventually (won’t assign a value to this)

I’ve had a pretty good run with other offers (GBP 400 off Marriott, 200 GBP John Lewis, etc) but I won’t include these in ongoing benefits.

Let’s say the snapshot tallies to GBP 250 to 300ish of value. This means a remaining ‘pure cost’ of GBP 300 or so leftover to be addressed by: referrals (not many tbh), occasional offers (100 Harvey Nichols), purchase protection (Amex have always been good to me), etc.

Feels like I might be breaking even, though maybe it’s just the irrational nostalgic voice in me…

[JDB]

The HSBC Premier travel insurance appears to be at least as good as, if not better in some respects than the Amex Plat, save it doesn’t have the car hire insurance. The HSBC Premier insurance is also free. I have no personal claims experience, but reports here have been positive.

HSBC has no requirement for payment to be via them, Amex requires it for some elements (save if the provider doesn’t take Amex), HSBC medical cover is £10m vs Amex £2m, HSBC missed departure £1,000 vs Amex £300, lost baggage HSBC £2,500 per person vs Amex £2k per trip, personal liability at HSBC £2m vs £1m Amex. The car hire cover offers less cover than good standalone policies and for me, the SLI cover outside the US seems too low (there is oddly a discrepancy between the IPID and policy wording).

• This reply was modified 55 years, 4 months ago by .

[Reney]

ThriceForgiven wrote:

I’m going through the same thought process and just wondering whether it makes sense.

I’m convincing myself it’s worth it for me and Player 2 on a free supp (both under 40, no pre-existing health conditions):

-Travel insurance: We travel regularly but I still wonder what people consider the market value of travel insurance for 2 people with the same coverage/ease of claim as Amex? I think GBP 200 for both of us is comparable but happy to be corrected. I also have an HSBC Premier Account (not no credit cards) – is this equivalent to Amex’s insurance?
-Car hire excess: We rent cars occasionally though I know we can buy standalone policies which are relatively cheap (GBP 50ish?)
-Lounge: I’ve got status with airlines but it’ll run out eventually (won’t assign a value to this)

I’ve had a pretty good run with other offers (GBP 400 off Marriott, 200 GBP John Lewis, etc) but I won’t include these in ongoing benefits.

Let’s say the snapshot tallies to GBP 250 to 300ish of value. This means a remaining ‘pure cost’ of GBP 300 or so leftover to be addressed by: referrals (not many tbh), occasional offers (100 Harvey Nichols), purchase protection (Amex have always been good to me), etc.

Feels like I might be breaking even, though maybe it’s just the irrational nostalgic voice in me…

Since you have a player 2, it feels like if you swap around who is the primary holder every other year i.e 2 year gap for the sign up bonus and time it right for the uplifted sign up bonus that would help with the maths.

[Reney]

JDB wrote:

The HSBC Premier travel insurance appears to be at least as good as, if not better in some respects than the Amex Plat, save it doesn’t have the car hire insurance. The HSBC Premier insurance is also free. I have no personal claims experience, but reports here have been positive.

HSBC has no requirement for payment to be via them, Amex requires it for some elements (save if the provider doesn’t take Amex), HSBC medical cover is £10m vs Amex £2m, HSBC missed departure £1,000 vs Amex £300, lost baggage HSBC £2,500 per person vs Amex £2k per trip, personal liability at HSBC £2m vs £1m Amex. The car hire cover offers less cover than good standalone policies and for me, the SLI cover outside the US seems too low (there is oddly a discrepancy between the IPID and policy wording).

Brilliant comparison! What is the SLI? And can I be cheeky and ask for the 2 policies do they cover family or travel companions?

[JDB]

In respect of non family travelling companions, neither Amex nor HSBC directly covers them, save that with Amex you can get them a supplementary card.

Those covered are:

Amex – “All Platinum Cardmembers including Supplementary Cardmembers and their respective Families are covered. In addition, all travel insurance benefits under this Section 1 will apply to grandchildren who are under the age of 25 on the first day of the Trip when they are travelling with You.” See the definition of children in the policy.

HSBC – “You’ – the account holder aged 69 or under when the trip starts
• ‘Your partner’ who lives at home with you, aged 69 or under when the trip starts
• ‘Your children’ – you and/or your partner’s dependent children aged under 23 when the trip starts” and grandchildren if they are travelling with you.

Both policies have some limitations re children travelling independently.

(S)LI is the (Supplemental) Liability Insurance to cover third party liabilities in respect of car hire, as opposed e.g. to CDW/LDW that cover your car. HSBC doesn’t include the car hire insurance, the Amex IPID says the cover is £50,000 (or $1m in US) whereas the policy at 1.5 (3) says £500,000. Standalone policies vary, but the better ones provide higher cover for both CDW and SLI.

As ever, insurance is complicated and people’s needs vary considerably, so one needs to research and read everything very carefully to see who is covered and what they are covered for.

[Gavin454]

The Amex platinum car rental excess insurance doesn’t appear to cover use of Zipcar (I often use Zipcar for running errands etc from my home in London). It seems your car rental needs to be associated with a “trip” for it to be valid. Car clubs are not mentioned at all. Most separately bought excess insurance policies specifically mention car clubs as being covered.

Personally, the Platinum card is borderline for me. If the retention offers didn’t exist, I would definitely cancel. Last year I got 35k and I’m approaching the anniversary of my retention bonus. I’ll keep the card active if they give me 35k again.

[dst87]

When in the membership year do you tend to go through the cancel / retention process? I’m assuming towards the end of the year, or doesn’t it matter?

[Gavin454]

dst87 wrote:

When in the membership year do you tend to go through the cancel / retention process? I’m assuming towards the end of the year, or doesn’t it matter?

I got a retention bonus about 2 months after I opened the card. Most people seem to report that you need to wait 1 year after your first retention bonus before getting another one.

[PeteM]

Gavin454 wrote:

The Amex platinum car rental excess insurance doesn’t appear to cover use of Zipcar (I often use Zipcar for running errands etc from my home in London). It seems your car rental needs to be associated with a “trip” for it to be valid. Car clubs are not mentioned at all. Most separately bought excess insurance policies specifically mention car clubs as being covered.

I have gone through a painful process trying to confirm this with Amex and Chubb, which resulted in nothing concrete, so am afraid it’s probably safer to assume Zipcar isn’t covered as you say.