2 Things You NEED To Know About the Amex Platinum

Yesterday, I wrote about the new features and fee coming to the Amex Platinum. This has certainly caused many people to think about whether they will apply or will continue to hold this card if they have it. If you are in either camp, here are a couple of things you need to know about the Amex Platinum card going forward.

2 Things You NEED To Know About the Amex Platinum

DON’T Click on Affiliate Links For the Amex Platinum Card!

If you have never had the Amex Platinum card before, you may be tempted to click on one of the links offered in various blog posts or that appear on ads on the websites you visit now that you are reading about the Amex Platinum card. 🙂 DON’T DO IT! And this includes on my own blog under the Credit Card tabs if you see this offer there!

The reason is that the affiliate offer is for 40,000 Membership Reward points after spending $3,000 in 3 months. That offer is terrible relative to the fee and what offers we have seen in the past on this card (and currently if you can get this offer to appear). The main reason you want to ignore that offer is that once you have the Amex Platinum card, you can never get a sign-up bonus on it again. With recent offers at the 75,000 and 100,000 point levels (and targeted offers for the same and more), throwing those future points away for 40,000 points now is a bad idea.

If you do want to apply before the fee goes up on March 30, 2017, try opening this link in a private browser session. It should (eventually) show up for 75,000 Membership Reward points after spending $5,000 in 3 months. If that does not work, check out this post from Doctor of Credit.

Consider Waiting

But, do not think you have to sign-up right now! There is a lot of speculation as to whether Amex may launch a higher public offer on this card at some point and I personally think they will. I think they are out of touch with a lot of cardholders right now and that they may have misjudged what many in their cardholder base will think about the extra $100 fee. With many cancellations last year due to the Chase Sapphire Reserve, I think they will need to offer some great offer to draw the attention to them.

So, unless you need the points right now, I would not apply. But, whatever you do, do not apply for only 40,000 points!

Already Had the Amex Platinum Card? Still a Way to Get It Free

One of the links for the Amex Platinum card that has been around for a long time is the Amex Platinum card for Ameriprise. Though it says that they may cancel your card if you do not have a relationship with Ameriprise, many people have indeed had this card without a problem. If you are an Ameriprise customer, no problem at all for you and something you should consider! If you aren’t I will leave that up to you whether you want to apply or not.

But, the offer is this – no points (which you would not be able to get anyway if you ever had the Amex Platinum personal card) but you can get the card and all of its perks for the first year, fee free. That is a pretty great deal to get $400 in airline credits, $100 Global Entry credit, and many other perks (like lounge access) for no annual fee up front. Not only that, but you can get up to 3 authorized user cards for no fee as well (just make sure you get them at the time you apply for the main card as they may give you problems about the no-fee on those AU cards later).

So, if you do want the benefits of the Amex Platinum card now and later and you have already had it before, you could consider the Amex Platinum Ameriprise card.

Takeaway

So, there you have it! Two things you need to know about the Amex Platinum card (which I realize many do know but there are also many more that do not) – one for customers who have never had it and one for those who have had it. The credit card reward world can be confusing and fast-paced. It is good every once in a while to slow down and consider your options instead of rushing into a decision that can cost you a lot of points down the road.