Best combination of convenience and features
Written: Jan 25 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great perks, good value, good service, good billings
Cons: None that I can think of
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| led_zec's Full Review: American Express Platinum |
I have been an Amex cardholder for 11 years and a Platinum cardholder for the last four. Prior to having the Platinum card, I was a Gold card holder. There is no real point to holding the Gold card over a regular green card, however the Platinum card has given me and my family incredible benefits over the years.
Many people get the Platinum card for the "respect" or "glamour" of having the top Amex card. However, there are a lot of Platinum card holders these days, and this really isn't a good reason to shell out $300 per year, unless you have really low self-esteem or are really insecure. There are however plenty of other good reasons.
First of all, the Platinum card can literally save your life. It has not saved mine personally, but a colleague of mine was travelling in a small car on a mountain road on a remote tropical island when it was hit by a large truck. All members of his family were seriously injured and faced the prospect of very limited medical care on the island. One call to the Amex emergency assistance center and not one, but TWO medivac learjets were dispatched to bring them back to the states. My wife and I decided to get the Platinum card because we are avid divers and the medivac insurance for divers (similar to what is provided by Amex) runs almost $300 a year itself! So this perk alone can pay for itself. Let's hope you never have to use it.
The other perks of the Platinum card are pretty nice too. If you travel on business or personal trips in Business or First class, on certain airlines booked through American Express travel, you get a FREE SECOND TICKET. This can be worth thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, many corporations require a corporate credit card or travel agency be used, either of which can derail this benefit. In addition, the card give you access to certain airline clubs if you are traveling on that airline.
One of the best features is the Preferred Hotels program through Amex travel. If you book many of the top hotels and resorts in the United States and around the world, you get free breakfasts, early check-in and check-out, a room upgrade and other amenities. Every time we have done this, we have received a killer upgrade, most recently at The Boulders in Carefree, Arizona, where we were upgraded from a regular Casita room to the nicest three-bedroom Villa on the property, according to most of the staff. This is a great perk.
The Platinum status also gets you great financial features and emergency service in other ways. On one business trip, I needed to pay off a delivery crew in cash for the final payment of their journey. Due to an expired drivers license, I could not cash the travelers checks I had brought for that purpose. American Express arranged for me to obtain the nearly $4,000 I needed in cash from a local Amex office in just under two hours. This saved me a tremendous amount of time and prevented a ticked off delivery crew. I was told that this was unusual for even a Platinum card holder and would never happen for any other type of Amex card holder. This type of "out of the box" service is what Amex Platinum is all about.
The customer service is usually very good, although Amex has taken to very complex automated call routing systems, instead of having an agent just pick up the phone immediately like they used to (usually before it even rang). This less personal touch is somewhat annoying. However, overall service is very good.
I highly recommend this card if you qualify and especially if you travel alot and internationally. Enjoy the prestige, but get it for the perks (and use them!).
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
led_zec
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Location: Los Angeles, CA
Reviews written: 96
Trusted by: 38 members
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