How I Value the Amex Platinum Card [And the Top Perk That Makes It Worth It]

The Platinum Card^® from American Express is a favorite among points and miles enthusiasts. It’s a premium card with a long list of benefits, but unfortunately, it also has a premium annual fee. I’ve had an Amex Platinum card on and off for the better part of a decade. It’s a no-brainer when you can get a big welcome bonus offer or a retention offer, but its high annual fee makes it one that won’t be right for everyone long-term.

I want to share a bit about how I determine how much value I get from the Amex Platinum card — and what I have learned in the process.

Let’s jump into some Amex Platinum card details, then I’ll share my favorite perk on the card (it’s not what you think it would be) and how I evaluate a card’s value.

Amex Platinum Card Benefits

If you ask Amex Platinum cardholders what their favorite perk on the card would be, you’ll hear answers like Centurion Lounge access, a prepaid hotel credit of up to $200, a CLEAR Plus credit of up to $199, or excellent travel insurance coverage. While I enjoy all of those things, those aren’t the reason I keep the Amex Platinum card in my wallet.

The Amex Platinum card is popular for good reason. It has an extensive list of perks and benefits that can offer more value than the cost of the annual fee.

BEST LOUNGE ACCESS

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The Platinum Card^® from American Express

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The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.

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The Platinum Card^® from American Express

The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.

Welcome Offer

Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

80,000 points

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$1,760

Annual Fee

$695

APR

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Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

When it comes to cards that offer top-notch benefits, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better card out there than The Platinum Card^® from American Express.

Make no mistake — the Amex Platinum card is a premium card with a premium price tag. With amazing benefits like best-in-class airport lounge access, hotel elite status, and tremendous value in annual statement credits, it can easily prove to be one of the most lucrative cards in your wallet year after year.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• The best airport lounge access out of any card (by far) — enjoy access to over 1,400 worldwide lounges, including the luxurious Amex Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges, and many more!
• 5x points per dollar spent on flights purchased directly with the airline or with AmexTravel.com (up to $500,000 per year)
• 5x points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels booked with AmexTravel.com

Cons

• $695 annual fee (rates and fees)
• Airline credit does not cover airfare (only incidentals like checked bags)

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Card Highlights

• Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Earn 5X Membership Rewards^® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards^® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
• $200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts^® or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using your Platinum Card^®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
• $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card^® on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
• The American Express Global Lounge Collection^® can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market. As of 03/2023.
• $155 Walmart+ Credit: Save on eligible delivery fees, shipping, and more with a Walmart+ membership. Use your Platinum Card^® to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership and get up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes back on one membership (excluding Plus Ups) each month.
• $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card^®.
• $200 Uber Cash: Platinum Card^® Members can get out and about and explore their local area with $15 in Uber Cash for US rides each month, plus a bonus $20 in December. That can be up to $200 in annual Uber savings. Simply download the Uber app and add your Platinum Card^® to your Uber account to get started. Available to Basic Card Member only. Effective 11/8/2024, an Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit.
• $199 CLEAR^® Plus Credit: CLEAR^® Plus helps to get you to your gate faster at 50+ airports nationwide and get up to $199 back per calendar year on your Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Card. CLEARLanes are available at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues.
• Receive either a $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck^® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card^®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
• Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases in Saks Fifth Avenue stores or at saks.com on your Platinum Card^®. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
• Unlock access to exclusive reservations and special dining experiences with Global Dining Access by Resy when you add your Platinum Card^® to your Resy profile.
• $695 annual fee.¤
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

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• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

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Evaluating the Amex Platinum Card’s Value

However, even if a card is overflowing with benefits, it’s smart to evaluate each benefit’s value for you.

To do this, I keep a detailed spreadsheet of the value I get out of each high annual fee card I have to ensure it makes sense to keep them long-term. Over the years, the value I calculated for the Amex Platinum card has been pretty close to the annual fee cost, making it hard to decide whether or not to keep it. I use low valuations in my calculations to ensure that I am looking at a card’s value realistically.

For example, I value some benefits, like the Saks Fifth Avenue credit and the airline incidental fee credit at about 50% to 75% of their total value, because I wouldn’t prepay full price for those things. I assign no value to things like the Walmart+ credit and the Equinox credit because I don’t use them at all. Keep in mind that some benefits might require enrollment.

For lounge access, I usually input a small dollar amount into my spreadsheet value column (~$5 to $10) since I often have more than 1 option from various credit cards.

Pay Attention to the Card Benefits You Value the Most

My home airport, John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH), got its first lounge in 2022. When The Escape Lounge at CMH opened, I knew the value proposition of the Amex Platinum card would change for me.

The only way to access Escape Lounges, outside of buying an overpriced day pass, is by holding the Amex Platinum card or The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express.

I value lounge access quite a bit when I am traveling because a quiet area with free food and drinks can turn a stressful travel day into an enjoyable journey.

Of course, the Amex Platinum card is known for offering access to Centurion Lounges, and that’s the lounge network most would cite as one of their favorite benefits of the Amex Platinum card. I get it — Centurion Lounges, while a bit overcrowded, are fantastic. However, more often than not, there are other lounges I can access instead of Centurion Lounges. On top of that, complimentary guest access was taken away in February of 2023, so I can’t bring my husband and daughter into the lounge. That dulled the lure of Centurion Lounges quite a bit for me.

On the other hand, Escape Lounges are usually found in smaller airports that often don’t have another lounge option. Since that’s the case at my home airport, Escape Lounge access is the most valuable perk on the Amex Platinum card for me, despite Centurion Lounges being much nicer than Escape Lounges.

While my Amex Platinum card only technically saves me the $5 to $10 I would have spent on a cup of coffee and perhaps something to eat at Starbucks, the value I get is much more than $5 or $10.

What I realized is that sometimes the value you can get from a credit card doesn’t just come down to dollars and cents. Sometimes, the value you get is higher than the dollar amount saved by holding that card.

For me, enjoying some coffee and maybe a snack in a quiet lounge before every flight from my home airport makes each travel day more enjoyable — and that’s something that will keep me paying the Amex Platinum card annual fee each year.

Final Thoughts

I’ve had a hot/cold relationship with the Amex Platinum card for years. Sure, it usually has an excellent welcome bonus offer and includes some top-notch perks, but the high annual fee has always made me wonder whether it should be in my wallet long-term. However, that changed when my home airport got an Escape Lounge (its only lounge), and my Amex Platinum card was what I needed to access it.

What I learned is that you need to look at what cards to keep long-term in a very personal way, which can sometimes mean ignoring the dollars and cents or what others deem valuable. Yes, it’s smart to evaluate the annual fees you pay each year, but sometimes, a card’s value doesn’t fully come across on a spreadsheet.