New to Amex – is it worth having both Plat and Gold cards to get the most value?

[Somewhatlost]

Hi everyone,

I am thinking of getting a platinum amex just to get their current 60k membership reward points offer but apart from unlimited lounge visits and insurance I don’t really see much benefit of having the card to even out the cost (compared to what USA plat card offers) as I only have a few trips planned for this year.

So to maximise the points even further I was thinking of getting Preferred rewards Gold as the first year is free. I am just not sure how it works. If I get both cards does that mean that the points are in the same ‘account pool’? so once I use up all the ‘good things’ that plat offers can I cancel and keep all existing points with my Gold card? I’ve never had amex so I am not entirely sure how this would work out and if it’s a good way to do it? Any other suggestions are very much appreciated!

[Harrier25]

As long as you link both cards to the same account then yes, the points will go into the same account pool.

[dougzz99]

Yes one member reward account as you describe, but be aware that’s not 100% as Amex IT is not perfect, but a phone call resolves it. If the Plat benefits don’t work for you it’s an expensive card that’s poor to spend on.The PRGC is free for the first year, and if you spend £15K there’s a 10K MR bonus, but that means paying one to two months of the fee for the second year. Gold also gets you double points on airline spend.

[Harrier25]

An interesting thought though to get the Platinum until hitting the bigger bonus and rake up all the hotel tiers then fall back on the best MR points earning card, PRG. Yes, I like it. Well done!

[Guernsey Globetrotter]

If you’re totally new to Amex (and have a partner who could work with you on referrals) then you should consider taking this a step further as per this guide:
https://www.headforpoints.com/2022/03/10/earn-201666-avios-from-american-express/
Enjoy 🙂

[Somewhatlost]

Thanks everyone! Will be testing this out soon 🙂

[DreamingOfFirstClass]

If someone takes out the Platinum card (£50/month fee) and spends the required £6k (for the bonus points) in the first month rather than over six months, at what point could they downgrade to a Gold card and keep the points ?
I presume after the points have posted (roughly how long does that take ?) OR is there a clawback rule if you don’t hold it for x amount of time ?
Cheers.

[blue_wolf]

DreamingOfFirstClass wrote:

If someone takes out the Platinum card (£50/month fee) and spends the required £6k (for the bonus points) in the first month rather than over six months, at what point could they downgrade to a Gold card and keep the points ?
I presume after the points have posted (roughly how long does that take ?) OR is there a clawback rule if you don’t hold it for x amount of time ?
Cheers.

Totally fine to cancel as soon as you get the points. I did this in 2020 as I took the Platinum card out right at the beginning of March… managed to hit the spend target in ~6 weeks though and the welcome bonus points posted within a few days of me hitting my spend target I think. I then downgraded to Gold over live chat. There is no clawback rule.

[SteveJ]

Don’t think you can downgrade anymore, as Platinum is a charge card and Gold is now a credit card. You can always apply for the gold or the basic MR card, then cancel the platinum.

Or just transfer out the points and cancel outright.

[blue_wolf]

SteveJ wrote:

Don’t think you can downgrade anymore, as Platinum is a charge card and Gold is now a credit card. You can always apply for the gold or the basic MR card, then cancel the platinum.

Or just transfer out the points and cancel outright.

When I downgraded, I was actually downgraded to the rarely talked about Gold charge card.

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