Premium credit cards are offered by many financial businesses and they all offer added benefits to members that sometimes carry an added cost. One of the many premium cards available is American Express Platinum, a top of the line credit card from the financial giant.

Basic Facts About This Credit Card:

American Express Platinum is one of the top credit cards offered by American Express. Here are some of the benefits offered with this credit card:

No Pre- Set Spending Limit- There is no set credit limit with American Express Platinum. You can charge whatever you want whenever you want (some limitations apply).

Membership Rewards- Points are earned each time the card is used and can be redeemed later on for free travel, shopping, and entertainment. Members earn additional points when they sign up for automatic bill pay via the internet (paying bills like cell phone and cable each month by using the American Express card)

Travel Benefits- Dozens of travel benefits exist, such as complimentary access to airport clubs, complimentary airline tickets on specific international airlines, premium car rental programs, cruise privileges with exclusive benefits, international cell phone rental programs, and many more.

Shopping Benefits- Special benefits from luxury retailers, extended warranties on purchases, return protection on purchases, fraud protection, and other benefits await you with the Platinum card.

Lifestyle- This includes special access to events, premium seats at concerts, reservations at exclusive restaurants, etc.

Other benefits with American Express Platinum include identity theft assistance, emergency cheque cashing assistance, emergency card replacement, complimentary consultation with a financial advisor, on- line account management and alerts, travel accident insurance, baggage insurance, etc.

Fees/Charges:

American Express Platinum carries a high annual fee of $395 (at present- this can change at any time) plus an additional $175 for up to three additional cardholders and $45 for additional cardholders beyond three. Late fees are assessed for payments received after the due date and these fees cost $30 or 2.9 percent of the outstanding balance, whichever is greater (varies by state). All charges made to American Express Platinum Card are due and payable upon receipt of the monthly billing statement.

Customer Service:

Platinum members can access the customer service department either on- line or via telephone. Using the internet, the web site address is americanexpress.com. Most inquires can be made on- line but if speaking on the phone is more your style, you can call 800-525-3355 for assistance twenty- four hours per day.

Final Thoughts:

American Express Platinum is a credit card for people on the go. It offers an impressive list of benefits not seen in many credit card/charge cards. These benefits help to protect members with insurance on travel- related activities and to reward members with special perks.

Most people who opt for the American Express Platinum Card do so because of the travel benefits. And there are, like the list above shows, a good number of benefits with this card. Not only are members protected from loss (travel accident insurance and baggage insurance) they are also offered special perks like free companion certificates when flying specific international airlines. Depending on where you travel, obtaining one of these complimentary airline tickers per year easily makes up for the high annual fee.

The points program is another plus with this credit card. It is similar to the points programs in place with other American Express cards and it rewards members for frequent shopping. This reward program normally carries an annual fee but the fee is waived for Platinum members. Every dollar you charge earns you one point and the points never expire. There is no limit to the number of points you can earn in one year and the points can accumulate and can be used to purchase airline tickets, cruises, hotel stays, and more. The points can even be transferred into most any frequent flyer program or frequent guest program at a hotel, enabling members to earn free travel more quickly. This program is actually pretty good and since there is no annual fee to pay for this (American Express correctly decided that its Platinum members already pay enough in annual fees), it is very easy to earn points and redeem them for rewards, making the high annual fee seem a little less painful.

Among the long list of benefits with the Platinum Card, the ones I find most useful are the travel booking services and the complimentary use of airline lounges. With the travel services, American Express can assist members in finding the best deals on flights and hotels and when I used this service I was impressed at American Express and its ability to find hotels at cut rates. These are not just expensive, luxury hotels either- American Express will help members obtain lodging at middle- level hotels also and from my experience the rates charged are just as good if not better than those charged by Travelocity and other big name travel sites on the internet.

Another useful benefit is the complimentary use of the airline club lounges for Northwest, Delta, and Continental. As many frequent fliers know, the large airline companies operate lounges in a few key airports and platinum- level fliers get access to these lounges whenever they visit the airport. Free food, snacks, and other benefits await you inside these lounges. As an American Express Platinum member, you get access to Northwest Worldclubs, Delta Crown Rooms, and Continental Presidents Club. Again, the cost savings from the free food and soft drinks can help to offset the American Express Platinum annual fees. I wish this program included American Airlines Admirals Clubs because this is the airline I fly most frequently. But American Express Platinum continues to seek partnerships with more airlines so I expect this benefit to continuously improve and more airline clubs to be added to the benefit plan in the near future.

American Express Platinum offers a long list of benefits but some of them are not as great as they sound. The one that frustrates me the most is the entertainment benefit, specifically the one that offers premium seats and/or luxury suites for sports and concerts. This sounds great, but it has one important limitation: There are only a few participating venues. If you live in New York City, Los Angeles, or Miami, you can take advantage of this benefit and watch baseball, football, or basketball in luxury. If you live anyplace else, this benefit is useless.

Speaking of the benefits, American Express Platinum does offer an impressive list of perks and if enough of them are utilized, a member could justify the high annual benefit cost. But this brings me to an important point: Unless you travel frequently or shop frequently and feel you have a need for all of these added benefits, then there is little chance that American Express Platinum will suit your needs. If you travel only a moderate amount, you would be better off using one of the other American Express Cards that charges a lower fee. Things like complimentary airline tickets, access to airline lounges, and access to premium seats at specific concert and sports venues is nice but unless you really think you will use these added benefits, then it will be difficult to justify paying so much for an annual fee.

One other negative point with American Express Platinum (and other American Express Cards) is that it is still not as widely accepted as Mastercard or Visa, even though the number of businesses accepting AMEX continues to rise. On the big business end, most all of them accept American Express. Where members still have trouble is with certain smaller businesses, like a small local restaurant or retail outlet. Many of these businesses still do not accept American Express.

Customer Service is another definite plus with American Express Platinum. I have always had good experiences with American Express and Platinum is no exception. This card has its own customer support line that is open twenty- four hours a day, seven days per week. It never closes, not even on Christmas, New Years, or any other major holiday. American Express knows its Platinum members pay a premium price so they offer premium service, answering the phones in a very short time and offering the courtesy that members deserve.

Overall, American Express Platinum is a good card to have but potential members need to ask themselves whether or not the added benefits are worth the added cost. In many instances, members might find that the American Express Gold is sufficient and others might find that one of the other American Express cards (with even lower fees) is better still. American Express Platinum carries a very high annual fee and unless you can justify it, you are wasting your time and money with this card.



Recommended: Yes