Amex Platinum Users: still getting value in 2024?

[02nz]

Keep in mind all the Amex offers you can get.

I have the Green card with a $150 AF and I am going to get at least $400 back on various Amex offers.

They have offers on the low/no fee cards, too.

True.


But we have at least one no fee Amex and the offers pale compared to the ones we use for our cards with AFs.


YMMV

They don't give inherently better offers on the annual fee cards. They have run some special offers limited to Platinum cards, but that is a rare exception. Most of the offers are the same. Some/many are targeted based on your card usage, that is the likely explanation for what you're seeing.

Do you have documentation for this, please?

Thanks.

You are the one claiming annual fee cards get better Amex Offers than no-AF cards. I haven't seen that assertion made anywhere else, and not by Amex. Do you have documentation for this, please? Which offers specifically have you gotten on the AF cards that were not on the no-AF cards? Thanks.

[CletusCaddy]

They have offers on the low/no fee cards, too.

True.


But we have at least one no fee Amex and the offers pale compared to the ones we use for our cards with AFs.


YMMV

They don't give inherently better offers on the annual fee cards. They have run some special offers limited to Platinum cards, but that is a rare exception. Most of the offers are the same. Some/many are targeted based on your card usage, that is the likely explanation for what you're seeing.

Do you have documentation for this, please?

Thanks.

You are the one claiming annual fee cards get better Amex Offers than no-AF cards. I haven't seen that assertion made anywhere else, and not by Amex. Do you have documentation for this, please? Which offers specifically have you gotten on the AF cards that were not on the no-AF cards? Thanks.

My Amex Gold has category spend offers (e.g. 5% off Insurance spend) and bonus points offers (e.g. 5k points for spending $10k) that I have never seen on my Amex EveryDay

[02nz]

True.


But we have at least one no fee Amex and the offers pale compared to the ones we use for our cards with AFs.


YMMV

They don't give inherently better offers on the annual fee cards. They have run some special offers limited to Platinum cards, but that is a rare exception. Most of the offers are the same. Some/many are targeted based on your card usage, that is the likely explanation for what you're seeing.

Do you have documentation for this, please?

Thanks.

You are the one claiming annual fee cards get better Amex Offers than no-AF cards. I haven't seen that assertion made anywhere else, and not by Amex. Do you have documentation for this, please? Which offers specifically have you gotten on the AF cards that were not on the no-AF cards? Thanks.

My Amex Gold has category spend offers (e.g. 5% off Insurance spend) and bonus points offers (e.g. 5k points for spending $10k) that I have never seen on my Amex EveryDay

I've gotten insurance, internet, grocery, and other categories offers on my no-AF Cash Magnet, Everyday Cash, and others. I've also seen bonus offers on those cards for spending X amount - those seem to come on cards I haven't been using.

[THY4373]

If OP is a Schwab client they have a nice perk, $200/year appreciation bonus.

Depends on how much assets you have with Schwab. It takes $1 million for the $200 credit and $250k for the $100 credit.

[THY4373]

We've had AMEX platinum cards for many years and they've always paid for themselves. The ways that they pay for themselves have changed, though. You use the Centurion lounges, and sometimes the airline lounges, the Uber credits, various offers, but nowadays, the points themselves accumulate fast enough that their credits using points on our bills exceed the annual fees. Spouse has the accompanying platinum and airport lounges come in handy periodically.

I have hard time seeing justifying an Amex Platinum based on points earning unless the majority of your spend on it is on airlines for the 5x MR earning. In an era of many cards across many issuers earning 2+ points/% cashback I don't see putting any spend on a the Plat that isn't bonused. The only spend that goes on my plat is airline spend, the hotel spend to get the $200 credit and any Amex offers that show up on that card and not on a better earning one. Most of the time if I an not travelling I am not even carrying my platinum. Even by premium card standards which often don't earn as well as some lesser cards, the Amex Platinum is a bit of a dog. My Citi Prestige (not currently available to new customers) gives me 5x on airlines, 5x on travel agencies (which covers more than you might think as for example most tour operators give 5x), 5x at restaurants, and 3x at hotels. It also gives me 10x on any bookings through the Citi travel portal. My CapOne Venture X gives me 2x on everything. I hold a Schwab Amex Plat but that is only because of the various credits and lounge access *just* make it worth it to me.

[cowbman]

If OP is a Schwab client they have a nice perk, $200/year appreciation bonus.

Depends on how much assets you have with Schwab. It takes $1 million for the $200 credit and $250k for the $100 credit.

Given the recent brokerage bonuses, I feel you are leaving money on the table here

[safari]

We've had AMEX platinum cards for many years and they've always paid for themselves. The ways that they pay for themselves have changed, though. You use the Centurion lounges, and sometimes the airline lounges, the Uber credits, various offers, but nowadays, the points themselves accumulate fast enough that their credits using points on our bills exceed the annual fees. Spouse has the accompanying platinum and airport lounges come in handy periodically.

I have hard time seeing justifying an Amex Platinum based on points earning unless the majority of your spend on it is on airlines for the 5x MR earning. In an era of many cards across many issuers earning 2+ points/% cashback I don't see putting any spend on a the Plat that isn't bonused. The only spend that goes on my plat is airline spend, the hotel spend to get the $200 credit and any Amex offers that show up on that card and not on a better earning one. Most of the time if I an not travelling I am not even carrying my platinum. Even by premium card standards which often don't earn as well as some lesser cards, the Amex Platinum is a bit of a dog. My Citi Prestige (not currently available to new customers) gives me 5x on airlines, 5x on travel agencies (which covers more than you might think as for example most tour operators give 5x), 5x at restaurants, and 3x at hotels. It also gives me 10x on any bookings through the Citi travel portal. My CapOne Venture X gives me 2x on everything. I hold a Schwab Amex Plat but that is only because of the various credits and lounge access *just* make it worth it to me.

Agree. I put no spend on my Amex Platinum outside of airlines, hotels and wireless bill (for phone insurance). The rewards that other credut cards offer are much greater. However, it still makes sense for me to keep the Amex Platinum for the credits, which easily exceed the annual fee.

$200 Uber
$240 Disney+ & Hulu bundle
$200 Airline incidentals
$300 Equinox+ (for my SoulCycle at Home bike)
$200 FHR hotel
$100 Saks Fifth Avenue
Delta Sky Club lounge access
Centurion Lounge Access
Priority Pass lounge access
TSA Pre credit every 4 years

In addition to the Amex Platinum, I also have a Chase Sapphire Reserve and a U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve, both with hefty annual fees, but the rewards and credits make them totally worth it.

[cowbman]

I'm not sure on the current requirements, I'm grandfathered in on the old Robo account that charged 0.35% and had a minimum of $5,000. You had to have the Cash Management account too, which had a fee unless you had $25,000 in it collecting almost no interest. So, many would just pay the fee for the Cash Management account, which was a little less than the fee on the card $550 per year vs $595 per year. I think both went up by $100/year now. However, the MS Platinum gives a free AU which normally costs $175/year.

I have the same NLA robo-advised Access and the Platinum Cash Plus to get the free AMEX Plat. However, a friend recently wanted his own "free" MS AMEX Plat and was able to get one by opening an IRA, putting in some money and then opening the required cash account. AUM wasn't a requirement. The fees are now $55/mo for the account if you don't meet the balance requirement and $695/yr for the AMEX.

I used to just keep the $25k in cash when interest rates were zero, but now I instead I keep $20k in their 5% HYSA and that covers my monthly fee and then some. The tax issues all come out in the wash since the engagement bonus ($695 AMEX fee) is taxable income to the extent that it exceeds fees paid to MS. I probably wouldn't jump through all the hoops again, but since I'm already in I'll probably stay awhile.

Same, the tax free rate on FMOXX is 3.53% currently, so even that times $25K = $882.50, so paying the fee and collecting the interest is the correct thing to do in this environment. I did the fee waiver when rates where 0% until I was able to score 3% interest rates on FinTechs.

[cowbman]

We've had AMEX platinum cards for many years and they've always paid for themselves. The ways that they pay for themselves have changed, though. You use the Centurion lounges, and sometimes the airline lounges, the Uber credits, various offers, but nowadays, the points themselves accumulate fast enough that their credits using points on our bills exceed the annual fees. Spouse has the accompanying platinum and airport lounges come in handy periodically.

I have hard time seeing justifying an Amex Platinum based on points earning unless the majority of your spend on it is on airlines for the 5x MR earning. In an era of many cards across many issuers earning 2+ points/% cashback I don't see putting any spend on a the Plat that isn't bonused. The only spend that goes on my plat is airline spend, the hotel spend to get the $200 credit and any Amex offers that show up on that card and not on a better earning one. Most of the time if I an not travelling I am not even carrying my platinum. Even by premium card standards which often don't earn as well as some lesser cards, the Amex Platinum is a bit of a dog. My Citi Prestige (not currently available to new customers) gives me 5x on airlines, 5x on travel agencies (which covers more than you might think as for example most tour operators give 5x), 5x at restaurants, and 3x at hotels. It also gives me 10x on any bookings through the Citi travel portal. My CapOne Venture X gives me 2x on everything. I hold a Schwab Amex Plat but that is only because of the various credits and lounge access *just* make it worth it to me.

Concur, Amex Platinum is for flights, FHR, and benefits, not most spending. It pairs nicely with a Blue Business Plus though (2x everywhere up to $50k/year). I actually advised the OP previously to consider the Cap One Venture X.

[Swmi8675309]

They have offers on the low/no fee cards, too.

True.


But we have at least one no fee Amex and the offers pale compared to the ones we use for our cards with AFs.


YMMV

They don't give inherently better offers on the annual fee cards. They have run some special offers limited to Platinum cards, but that is a rare exception. Most of the offers are the same. Some/many are targeted based on your card usage, that is the likely explanation for what you're seeing.

Do you have documentation for this, please?

Thanks.

You are the one claiming annual fee cards get better Amex Offers than no-AF cards. I haven't seen that assertion made anywhere else, and not by Amex. Do you have documentation for this, please? Which offers specifically have you gotten on the AF cards that were not on the no-AF cards? Thanks.

We have:
The Green Card
Marriott Brilliant
Delta Platinum
Blue Cash Everyday-the no AF card


An incomplete lists of offers that we have gotten on the cards with AF but not the Blue Cash include:

5000 points back on an Enterprise car rental
$50 back on a $200 Lowe’s purchase
10 points per dollar on the Marriott for paying the cellphone bill
$15 back on a $75 Lego purchase
An offer on HAL cruises
An offer on RCCL cruises
Multiple offers for stays at IHG
Multiple offers for stays at Marriott
$100 back on $500 on Wyndham
4000 MR on a $400 Delta

That is a good start. I don’t think I need to provide more,

[safari]

True.


But we have at least one no fee Amex and the offers pale compared to the ones we use for our cards with AFs.


YMMV

They don't give inherently better offers on the annual fee cards. They have run some special offers limited to Platinum cards, but that is a rare exception. Most of the offers are the same. Some/many are targeted based on your card usage, that is the likely explanation for what you're seeing.

Do you have documentation for this, please?

Thanks.

You are the one claiming annual fee cards get better Amex Offers than no-AF cards. I haven't seen that assertion made anywhere else, and not by Amex. Do you have documentation for this, please? Which offers specifically have you gotten on the AF cards that were not on the no-AF cards? Thanks.

We have:
The Green Card
Marriott Brilliant
Delta Platinum
Blue Cash Everyday-the no AF card


An incomplete lists of offers that we have gotten on the cards with AF but not the Blue Cash include:

5000 points back on an Enterprise car rental
$50 back on a $200 Lowe’s purchase
10 points per dollar on the Marriott for paying the cellphone bill
$15 back on a $75 Lego purchase
An offer on HAL cruises
An offer on RCCL cruises
Multiple offers for stays at IHG
Multiple offers for stays at Marriott
$100 back on $500 on Wyndham
4000 MR on a $400 Delta

That is a good start. I don’t think I need to provide more,

It's likely that you didn't see those offers on the Blue Cash card because Amex only shows 100 offers at a time. Once you add an offer, a brand new offer shows up under Available, so that the total number of available offers remains 100. What I do is I add all 100 offers, then another 100 offers and so on, until they run out of offers. Usually the total number of offers is between 320-350. This way I found some nice offers that don't show up right away.

[02nz]

True.


But we have at least one no fee Amex and the offers pale compared to the ones we use for our cards with AFs.


YMMV

They don't give inherently better offers on the annual fee cards. They have run some special offers limited to Platinum cards, but that is a rare exception. Most of the offers are the same. Some/many are targeted based on your card usage, that is the likely explanation for what you're seeing.

Do you have documentation for this, please?

Thanks.

You are the one claiming annual fee cards get better Amex Offers than no-AF cards. I haven't seen that assertion made anywhere else, and not by Amex. Do you have documentation for this, please? Which offers specifically have you gotten on the AF cards that were not on the no-AF cards? Thanks.

We have:
The Green Card
Marriott Brilliant
Delta Platinum
Blue Cash Everyday-the no AF card


An incomplete lists of offers that we have gotten on the cards with AF but not the Blue Cash include:

5000 points back on an Enterprise car rental
$50 back on a $200 Lowe’s purchase
10 points per dollar on the Marriott for paying the cellphone bill
$15 back on a $75 Lego purchase
An offer on HAL cruises
An offer on RCCL cruises
Multiple offers for stays at IHG
Multiple offers for stays at Marriott
$100 back on $500 on Wyndham
4000 MR on a $400 Delta

That is a good start. I don’t think I need to provide more,

I don't have a record of offers I didn't redeem, but I've seen just about all of those on my no-AF cards. For example, the $50 off $200 at Lowe's was on my no-AF Blue Business Plus card.

If you're adding the offer when you see it on say your Platinum card, it will not show up for any other card. Also, many offers are targeted based on spending patterns, and it's quite possible you will receive more merchant-sponsored offers on the cards where you put more spend.

[the_wiki]

An incomplete lists of offers that we have gotten on the cards with AF but not the Blue Cash include:

5000 points back on an Enterprise car rental
$50 back on a $200 Lowe’s purchase
10 points per dollar on the Marriott for paying the cellphone bill
$15 back on a $75 Lego purchase
An offer on HAL cruises
An offer on RCCL cruises
Multiple offers for stays at IHG
Multiple offers for stays at Marriott
$100 back on $500 on Wyndham
4000 MR on a $400 Delta

That is a good start. I don’t think I need to provide more,

No fee everyday card and I have had almost all of those.

Have $100-250 offers at about 10 different hotel chains. I had the cruise ones earlier this year. I have $15-50 at many retailers. I get at least $50 a year in free streaming. Had $50 off jet blue and delta.

[Swmi8675309]

They don't give inherently better offers on the annual fee cards. They have run some special offers limited to Platinum cards, but that is a rare exception. Most of the offers are the same. Some/many are targeted based on your card usage, that is the likely explanation for what you're seeing.

Do you have documentation for this, please?

Thanks.

You are the one claiming annual fee cards get better Amex Offers than no-AF cards. I haven't seen that assertion made anywhere else, and not by Amex. Do you have documentation for this, please? Which offers specifically have you gotten on the AF cards that were not on the no-AF cards? Thanks.

We have:
The Green Card
Marriott Brilliant
Delta Platinum
Blue Cash Everyday-the no AF card


An incomplete lists of offers that we have gotten on the cards with AF but not the Blue Cash include:

5000 points back on an Enterprise car rental
$50 back on a $200 Lowe’s purchase
10 points per dollar on the Marriott for paying the cellphone bill
$15 back on a $75 Lego purchase
An offer on HAL cruises
An offer on RCCL cruises
Multiple offers for stays at IHG
Multiple offers for stays at Marriott
$100 back on $500 on Wyndham
4000 MR on a $400 Delta

That is a good start. I don’t think I need to provide more,

It's likely that you didn't see those offers on the Blue Cash card because Amex only shows 100 offers at a time. Once you add an offer, a brand new offer shows up under Available, so that the total number of available offers remains 100. What I do is I add all 100 offers, then another 100 offers and so on, until they run out of offers. Usually the total number of offers is between 320-350. This way I found some nice offers that don't show up right away.

I learned something, although I only got 200 some on my Green Card. Thank you.

[MCST]

It's likely that you didn't see those offers on the Blue Cash card because Amex only shows 100 offers at a time. Once you add an offer, a brand new offer shows up under Available, so that the total number of available offers remains 100. What I do is I add all 100 offers, then another 100 offers and so on, until they run out of offers. Usually the total number of offers is between 320-350. This way I found some nice offers that don't show up right away.

Do the offers change the way you spend? I haven't found many that are for places where I'd actually spend money. And the few times that I have, you have to jump through hoops like using a link.

[Dornhoefer]

I'm able to use enough of the credits -- airline, hotel, digital entertainment, Uber Eats, Saks -- to more than make up for the annual fee. However, I am getting fatigued by the "coupon book" aspect of this card and may ditch it in the name of simplicity regardless. I have other Amex cards and hopefully would continue to get the same or similar Amex offers through them, since I've been able to take advantage of many of them (for hotels, commonly).

[Miguelito]

Yes. I travel enough domestically with Delta that the SkyClub lounge access is used a lot. I've also used the Centurion lounge a few times. That alone pays for the fee. I get all $240 in digital credits, and have gotten the $200 hotel credit a couple of times. Premium status at Marriot, Hilton, and Hertz is nice too. I also use the rental insurance.

[rich126]

To me the big benefits are: sign up bonus, collecting/transferring points to FF programs, getting hotel/car rental status, and various other credits.

If I'm remembering correctly, I can easily get the $200 flight credit, $240 on the disney bundle, $100 credit from Saks, $200 hotel credit and that covers whatever the AF is currently at. The clear credit, lounge access, walmart+ (also gives paramount+ and some other small bonuses are nice but if I never traveled I would not keep it. I was able to get business class tickets to/from Europe on fairly short notice using one of their transfer partners for about 50,000 pts each person each way.

YMMV

[THY4373]

I don't have a record of offers I didn't redeem, but I've seen just about all of those on my no-AF cards. For example, the $50 off $200 at Lowe's was on my no-AF Blue Business Plus card.

I have to agree 02nz. At times I have had up to 16 Amex cards (10 charge and 6 credit--the five credit limit is a soft one) and I haven't seen a major difference in offers between my cards outside of business vs personal and co-brand vs MR. I periodically go through and add all the useless offers to a sock drawered card so I am not bumping up against the 100 offer display limit. I will also say over time I personally seem to have been targeted less for some of the more lucrative offers and have heard similar from others.

[eric321]

I am very borderline on my business platinum.

I haven't used the Amex Centurion lounge recently. I was a frequent user of the LaGuardia Centurion lounge before the Chase lounge opened up.

Right now, I get enough value out of my credits to keep, but thinking about canceling at the next renewal.

Currently,
$200 airline credit (united travel bank)
$400 dell, business card only, going away
$120 wireless credit.

Depending on what they replace Dell with on the business card, this can very well go into the do not renew category.

[Artsdoctor]

We've had AMEX platinum cards for many years and they've always paid for themselves. The ways that they pay for themselves have changed, though. You use the Centurion lounges, and sometimes the airline lounges, the Uber credits, various offers, but nowadays, the points themselves accumulate fast enough that their credits using points on our bills exceed the annual fees. Spouse has the accompanying platinum and airport lounges come in handy periodically.

I have hard time seeing justifying an Amex Platinum based on points earning unless the majority of your spend on it is on airlines for the 5x MR earning. In an era of many cards across many issuers earning 2+ points/% cashback I don't see putting any spend on a the Plat that isn't bonused. The only spend that goes on my plat is airline spend, the hotel spend to get the $200 credit and any Amex offers that show up on that card and not on a better earning one. Most of the time if I an not travelling I am not even carrying my platinum. Even by premium card standards which often don't earn as well as some lesser cards, the Amex Platinum is a bit of a dog. My Citi Prestige (not currently available to new customers) gives me 5x on airlines, 5x on travel agencies (which covers more than you might think as for example most tour operators give 5x), 5x at restaurants, and 3x at hotels. It also gives me 10x on any bookings through the Citi travel portal. My CapOne Venture X gives me 2x on everything. I hold a Schwab Amex Plat but that is only because of the various credits and lounge access *just* make it worth it to me.

These are all very good points, of course. You can definitely do better with other cards and I also have a VISA which edges out with points. For us though, the days are definitely gone chasing after multiple cards. And logistically for us, we've had a credit freeze on our credit accounts for many years and I personally prefer to lift the freeze as rarely as possible--this limits credit card applications but that's fine with us.

I used to chase some of these perks outlined above and it is true that other cards might offer more.

There are two things in particular that I find attractive with AMEX. First, their fraud department is excellent; I've have various other cards and, anecdotally, AMEX seems to pick up problems very quickly (for us, more quickly than other cards) although that is only my experience. Second, we have so many things on autopay through AMEX that I appreciate their protocol to honor autopay vendors that have already been set up prior to replacing the card if that's necessary. In other words, one of the hassles I have found with replacement cards is that often, you'll have to call your vendors to give them an updated credit card number. You don't need to do this with AMEX.

Is this worth the price? Probably not for many. But our balances are high enough that we're essentially getting the cards for free and then a little bit more. But the two points I outlined above are important to us so we're staying with the Platinum card for now. You can also easily switch between Platinum and Gold if you find it's just not worth the added fees.

[ResearchMed]

And logistically for us, we've had a credit freeze on our credit accounts for many years and I personally prefer to lift the freeze as rarely as possible--this limits credit card applications but that's fine with us.

In case it matters, IF you decide you want another card, it's likely (call the specific vendor in advance to ask about their policy) that you can apply, be rejected due to frozen credit, call and unfreeze the ONE credit bureau they use, quickly call the card vendor to have them do the credit check again, and in a minute or two, have your answer.
Then call back that one credit bureau and re-freeze your credit.
That can all take just a few minutes.

I just did this late in the day, and set the credit to be frozen again "tomorrow".
No, I don't know "what time tomorrow" that means, but it was good enough for us.
Or, I could have called that one bureau right away and had it frozen again promptly.

We've done this several times in the past several years.
Once we get the letter, we might wait a few days until a convenient time to do the little quick step. It doesn't need to be done as soon as you get the rejection.

RM

[safari]

And logistically for us, we've had a credit freeze on our credit accounts for many years and I personally prefer to lift the freeze as rarely as possible--this limits credit card applications but that's fine with us.

In case it matters, IF you decide you want another card, it's likely (call the specific vendor in advance to ask about their policy) that you can apply, be rejected due to frozen credit, call and unfreeze the ONE credit bureau they use, quickly call the card vendor to have them do the credit check again, and in a minute or two, have your answer.
Then call back that one credit bureau and re-freeze your credit.
That can all take just a few minutes.

I just did this late in the day, and set the credit to be frozen again "tomorrow".
No, I don't know "what time tomorrow" that means, but it was good enough for us.
Or, I could have called that one bureau right away and had it frozen again promptly.

We've done this several times in the past several years.
Once we get the letter, we might wait a few days until a convenient time to do the little quick step. It doesn't need to be done as soon as you get the rejection.

RM

I found it much easier to unfreeze all three credit bureaus online before applying for credit and then freeze them back again. I bookmarked the direct links, so it only takes me a couple minutes to do that. Super easy and fast. I don't use the temporary thaw feature because I don't want to leave my credit unfrozen even for a day.

[Fogbank]

If you travel even occasionally it works out. I travel for work about one week per month.

No-brainer stuff:

$200 Airline Credit
$200 Uber Eats/Uber Cash
$240 Digital Credit (Although SiriusXM went away last month which was an easy $6/month.)

There's $600+ without really even trying.

I kind of make a game out of it, to see if I can "make money" every year on the Platinum Card. I can use UberEats and the Hilton $15 per day towards meals when I travel and expense them, so I get that back. You get access to all kinds of Lounges, so on travel days I can eat in a lounge and pocket part of my per-diem. Some lounges are better than others, of course. Most trips I can expense somewhere between $30 and $60 of food benefits, which I look at as my company paying for the more intangible platinum benefits like lounge access, Executive National Membership, etc.

[yatesd]

My wife and daughter don’t really travel without me, so the free Gold cards for family members works well for us.

I’ve had to use Amex for a few warranty related items and it’s been no hassle experience.

[tsarstruckPHL]

Is anyone using the Schwab Amex Platinum to deposit points into a Roth IRA? Apparently, they have intentionally been coded as bank bonuses, which therefore doesn't count as a contribution. Increasing tax exempt space is a pretty wild value.

[trustquestioner]

I finally dropped this card. The air stuff is useless because I’m already medallion. The lounges are basically dirtier golden corrals (and you can’t even get in half the time). The only thing left was the fine hotels benefit which is not worth $700.

[toddthebod]

I finally dropped this card. The air stuff is useless because I’m already medallion. The lounges are basically dirtier golden corrals (and you can’t even get in half the time). The only thing left was the fine hotels benefit which is not worth $700.

I find it hard to believe you don't have $20/month of internet subscriptions. Even the New York Times counts.

Not saying it's worth it for you, but let's not overstate the case.

[yatesd]

It's likely that you didn't see those offers on the Blue Cash card because Amex only shows 100 offers at a time. Once you add an offer, a brand new offer shows up under Available, so that the total number of available offers remains 100. What I do is I add all 100 offers, then another 100 offers and so on, until they run out of offers. Usually the total number of offers is between 320-350. This way I found some nice offers that don't show up right away.

Do the offers change the way you spend? I haven't found many that are for places where I'd actually spend money. And the few times that I have, you have to jump through hoops like using a link.

The point about many of the offers being strange places I would never use is accurate. However, at least half of them are very good (Marriott, Hilton, Cruise lines, Lowes, Best Buy, etc.)

On the second point, this is not true. Rarely any hoops. In fact the real value is you simply charge using the Amex card, which means you can easily combine with any coupon code or rebate site. Amex has a savings tracker and I've saved almost $800 in the last 2 years without even trying (I do add all offers to my card regularly).

My last credit was $50 for using a Hilton Brand (Doubletree in this case) that my company reimbursed me for...literally free money.

[THY4373]

I find it hard to believe you don't have $20/month of internet subscriptions. Even the New York Times counts.

Not saying it's worth it for you, but let's not overstate the case.

To state the obvious the streaming credit is highly limited. I used it for Audible when that qualified but today I don't use it. I have zero interest in Disney, ESPN, Hulu, or Peacock TV. The WSJ and NYT have some value but honestly it is all I can do to get through the Economist in a week. So yeah pretty much the credit is mostly useless to me. I have thought about subscribing to the NYT but even if I did I wouldn't value it at anything like face value. A lot will also depend on what other cards you hold and your usages and travel patterns. My analysis goes pretty much like this (and I still hold the card against my better judgement):

Priority Pass Lounges: I use my Citi Prestige for this since it includes PP Restaurants still (unlike Amex and Chase) and gives me more or less unlimited guests. So assign basically zero value to this.
Centurion Lounges: A nod to the Amex Platinum though the last two times (in two years) the lines have been two long to deal with so this value is falling.
Delta Lounges: Another nod to Amex Platinum though the last time (the only time in the last two years I have attempted to use this feature) the line was too long and I just went to a quiet area of the terminal and called it good. So again value on this one is falling.
Airline credit: I have like $5k in United Travel credits at this point and they are going to start expiring next year. I have used small amounts but I just don't find UA all that useful for my current travel patterns and I have many, many points across many programs so more often than not when flying I use those (for refundability). I will probably just book a cash business class ticket someplace but again I am not valuing this at anything close to face value.
Uber credit: I use this easily mostly to order food for pickup. Prices at the place I buy from are the same on Uber as direct so I will value this at close to face value.
Clear credit: There used to be value in this but these days everybody is Clear. I have TSAPre as well and for the last 18 months I have just done straight Pre as there has been no advantage to Clear. At this point I value this at maybe 25% of face value. I acknowledge at some airports it is an advantage (I have heard at Denver) but my travel patterns don't seem to take me to those.
Sak credit: I use this but now that you have to pay for shipping unless you order a $100 I find this less useful as well. I would say I value this at 50% of face value.
Walmart +: Not sure how to value this. I use WM infrequently but this is nice to have when I do and I might be dropping Prime soon and therefore this might be more useful so maybe I will value it at 50%
FHR: Nice to have but also fairly easily replicated by other programs both other bank travel portals, Virtuoso, Hyatt Prive, etc.
IAP: Nice to have and I have used it but again most of my booking are on points.
Global Entry: I have like six or seven cards that pay for this way more than I need so in isolation on any particular card I value this at zero right now.
Hilton Gold: I am Hilton diamond through an Amex HH card but there is actually some value here and it isn't often talked about. Overseas Hilton Gold gets you free breakfast and if you are upgraded to an Executive Room access to the Executive Lounge (if the hotel has one). This is not a bad deal. Domestically Hilton has largely (in my opinion) devalued the breakfast benefit with a credit so I stay are Marriotts where I am Plat.

Schwab cash out for 1.1 (Schwab plat only): This has some value to me. And with the Schwab discount it make the Schwab Platinum just barely a keeper for me. But I do find the coupon book more tiresome that I used to. It doesn't help that I also old the Amex Personal Gold, Amex Bus Plat and Bonvoy Brilliant which have similar-ish coupon books. I will likely cancel the Bus Plat and the Personal Gold if they raise the fee on that one as rumored.

So I would say at least for me the Platinum is getting very close to not being worth it for my uses and compared with my other cards.

[THY4373]

Is anyone using the Schwab Amex Platinum to deposit points into a Roth IRA? Apparently, they have intentionally been coded as bank bonuses, which therefore doesn't count as a contribution. Increasing tax exempt space is a pretty wild value.

I have done it back when the cash out was 1.25 cents (it is now 1.1 cent) during Covid when travel was non-existent but I personally value MR closer to 2 cent for transfer to other award programs to redeem for tickets in premium cabins. I also have access to megabackdoor Roth at my employer so this is less valuable to me but I can see where others would see value in it.

[toddthebod]

I find it hard to believe you don't have $20/month of internet subscriptions. Even the New York Times counts.

Not saying it's worth it for you, but let's not overstate the case.

To state the obvious the streaming credit is highly limited. I used it for Audible when that qualified but today I don't use it. I have zero interest in Disney, ESPN, Hulu, or Peacock TV. The WSJ and NYT have some value but honestly it is all I can do to get through the Economist in a week. So yeah pretty much the credit is mostly useless to me. I have thought about subscribing to the NYT but even if I did I wouldn't value it at anything like face value. A lot will also depend on what other cards you hold and your usages and travel patterns. My analysis goes pretty much like this (and I still hold the card against my better judgement):

I hadn't noticed the additional limits. That's disappointing. When did they drop Audible?

[zero_coupon]

Is anyone using the Schwab Amex Platinum to deposit points into a Roth IRA? Apparently, they have intentionally been coded as bank bonuses, which therefore doesn't count as a contribution. Increasing tax exempt space is a pretty wild value.

I have done it back when the cash out was 1.25 cents (it is now 1.1 cent) during Covid when travel was non-existent but I personally value MR closer to 2 cent for transfer to other award programs to redeem for tickets in premium cabins. I also have access to megabackdoor Roth at my employer so this is less valuable to me but I can see where others would see value in it.

Does Schwab's version of the Cash Magnet card have any advantages over the regular (non-co-branded) Cash Magnet? Such as the ability to deposit rewards into a Roth IRA?

[stan1]

Wish Apple subscriptions were on the list of Digital Content the credit could be applied to, alas not the case.

[krafty81]

Can't wait to get rid of mine. The only thing that I like is the rental car insurance for an extra fee. Centurion Lounges are packed and many have over a one hour wait to get in - just try Denver some time. They also make you pay for a guest, I think $60. Just know that, if you want to cancel the card, no portion of your $695 fee will be refunded. I have never seen a card company do this. Next Jan, I am done with this.

[CletusCaddy]

Can't wait to get rid of mine. The only thing that I like is the rental car insurance for an extra fee. Centurion Lounges are packed and many have over a one hour wait to get in - just try Denver some time. They also make you pay for a guest, I think $60. Just know that, if you want to cancel the card, no portion of your $695 fee will be refunded. I have never seen a card company do this. Next Jan, I am done with this.

I’m sure everything you say is true but 250k SUB is hard to pass up

[NYCaviator]

Can't wait to get rid of mine. The only thing that I like is the rental car insurance for an extra fee. Centurion Lounges are packed and many have over a one hour wait to get in - just try Denver some time. They also make you pay for a guest, I think $60. Just know that, if you want to cancel the card, no portion of your $695 fee will be refunded. I have never seen a card company do this. Next Jan, I am done with this.

Are you sure the AF isn't prorated? Last time I cancelled an Amex it was. Something may have changed.

[THY4373]

Can't wait to get rid of mine. The only thing that I like is the rental car insurance for an extra fee. Centurion Lounges are packed and many have over a one hour wait to get in - just try Denver some time. They also make you pay for a guest, I think $60. Just know that, if you want to cancel the card, no portion of your $695 fee will be refunded. I have never seen a card company do this. Next Jan, I am done with this.

Are you sure the AF isn't prorated? Last time I cancelled an Amex it was. Something may have changed.

You have I believe 30 days from the day the statement posts with annual fee on it to cancel. After that no refund for cancellation. If you downgrade to a lesser card after that window you do get a pro-rated refund of difference in annual fees. That change occurred some years back. So the play after 30 days would be downgrade to Green and then cancel that would at least get you some of the AF back. Also lots of CC companies no longer prorate refunds after about 30 days so not sure why Krafty thinks Amex is unique in this.

[THY4373]

I hadn't noticed the additional limits. That's disappointing. When did they drop Audible?

I believe Audible died September of 2023. I remember cancelling it around that time.

[THY4373]

I’m sure everything you say is true but 250k SUB is hard to pass up

I think we need to differentiate between holding the card for the first year and later. The math is clearly easy for most in the first year with a decent SUB. I see this discussion more why to hold on to it after that.

[02nz]

Just know that, if you want to cancel the card, no portion of your $695 fee will be refunded. I have never seen a card company do this.

IIRC Amex's policy is they'll refund your annual fee within the first 30 days of it posting. I think that's quite standard in the industry.

[THY4373]

Does Schwab's version of the Cash Magnet card have any advantages over the regular (non-co-branded) Cash Magnet? Such as the ability to deposit rewards into a Roth IRA?

The Schwab Investor card does not allow you to cash out MR points for cash. It does give you 1.5% cash back which can be deposited into a "qualified Schwab account" so a Roth might be in play but I honestly have not investigated (1.5% cashback is totally uninteresting to me). The value in the Schwab Platinum card is the fact you can take MR earned from other cards at rates of 2x per dollar and higher and cash out via Schwab at 1.1% (formerly 1.25%). This allows for cash back rates of 2% or higher (there are many ways to earn MR and they are often handed out a bit like candy).

[THY4373]

Just know that, if you want to cancel the card, no portion of your $695 fee will be refunded. I have never seen a card company do this.

IIRC Amex's policy is they'll refund your annual fee within the first 30 days of it posting. I think that's quite standard in the industry.

In Amex's case it is 30 days of the statement posting date with the annual fee on it so effectively a few more days than 30-days from when the actual fee posts since it usually posts a few days prior to statement close in my experience. And I agree some variation on this is pretty much industry standard these days.

[zero_coupon]

Does Schwab's version of the Cash Magnet card have any advantages over the regular (non-co-branded) Cash Magnet? Such as the ability to deposit rewards into a Roth IRA?

The Schwab Investor card does not allow you to cash out MR points for cash. It does give you 1.5% cash back which can be deposited into a "qualified Schwab account" so a Roth might be in play but I honestly have not investigated (1.5% cashback is totally uninteresting to me). The value in the Schwab Platinum card is the fact you can take MR earned from other cards at rates of 2x per dollar and higher and cash out via Schwab at 1.1% (formerly 1.25%). This allows for cash back rates of 2% or higher (there are many ways to earn MR and they are often handed out a bit like candy).

Thanks. Sounds like there is no special advantage of the Schwab Investor Card over the Amex Cash Magnet.

[whodidntante]

I finally dropped this card. The air stuff is useless because I’m already medallion. The lounges are basically dirtier golden corrals (and you can’t even get in half the time). The only thing left was the fine hotels benefit which is not worth $700.

LOL

[NYCaviator]

I’m sure everything you say is true but 250k SUB is hard to pass up

I think we need to differentiate between holding the card for the first year and later. The math is clearly easy for most in the first year with a decent SUB. I see this discussion more why to hold on to it after that.

Good point. It'll be interesting to see if the credits change. I'm somewhat holding off to see if they change something like replacing one of the credits with some useless Resy benefit. I do think the insurance coverage has some significant value for people who are used to paying for standalone policies.

[krafty81]

Can't wait to get rid of mine. The only thing that I like is the rental car insurance for an extra fee. Centurion Lounges are packed and many have over a one hour wait to get in - just try Denver some time. They also make you pay for a guest, I think $60. Just know that, if you want to cancel the card, no portion of your $695 fee will be refunded. I have never seen a card company do this. Next Jan, I am done with this.

Are you sure the AF isn't prorated? Last time I cancelled an Amex it was. Something may have changed.

Not prorated anymore. I fought this hard, even filed a BBB complaint. They will not budge.

[zero_coupon]

Does Schwab's version of the Cash Magnet card have any advantages over the regular (non-co-branded) Cash Magnet? Such as the ability to deposit rewards into a Roth IRA?

The Schwab Investor card does not allow you to cash out MR points for cash. It does give you 1.5% cash back which can be deposited into a "qualified Schwab account"...

Asking here, as this was discussed upthread...

Does the Schwab Investor card allow one to purchase Amex's primary CDW option? Does Amex Delta Skymiles offer this?

[atdharris]

The biggest issue I have now is the credits no longer go as far with inflation + losing credit partners (Sirius, Audible). Delta and Centurion lounges are typically overcrowded. I still use it for lounge access (when I can get in), Fine Hotels and Resorts, and the credits, because I would spend them organically (except for Saks, but gift cards work), and Equinox). The card is due for a refresh of somesort, but I am sure when that comes, so will a higher AF.

The Gold was just refreshed, but I am starting to wonder if it's worth jumping through hoops to use the credits or just switch all my spend over to the BOA PR Visa