Platinum Card® from American Express Review – The Shining Premium Card

First up, you should know that the AMEX Platinum card is not a typical credit card – it is a charge card.

This means that at the end of every month, you will have to pay for what you spent with the card in full, and no exceptions. This makes using the card pretty convenient – you don’t have to keep track of how much you owe because at the end of every month, your debt goes back to zero.

This is the reason the AMEX platinum card has no APR – you have no need of one. The payback for it being a charge card is its huge annual fee of $450. And you can think of the annual fee in two ways – one is that you pay the fee and get all the perks associated with the AMEX platinum card. The second is that you are paying for the services the card brings you for a yearly fee of $450 – not perks, but paid privileges.

The Perks or Privileges with American Express Platinum Card®

We are not going to list all the benefits this card offers. The list is huge.

Built inside the card are several kinds of insurance a traveler needs. For example, auto insurance for car rentals while you are traveling might seem trivial, but it is added protection for you – the reason it is called insurance is because you never know when you need one. You also have protection for purchases, returns and warranties of products and services bought with the card, which is pretty much standard in any case. Plus, you also have a $500,000 accident insurance while traveling, in case of dismemberment or accidental death.

Then you have the more tangible benefits such as a 24 hour concierge service for making reservations at 5 star restaurants, and a special access to advanced screenings, concerts, to the point of even having first choice at the preferred seats in theaters. With resorts, luxury hotels and boutiques associated with the AMEX Platinum card, you instantly receive special treatment, from free upgrades of your room to even a late check out time.

You also get a yearly airline fee credit of USD 200 which you can use for airport expenses such as fees for changing flights, baggage, or maybe even food and drinks during your flight, but only for airlines associated with the AMEX Platinum card.

Finally, you have access to any airport’s Delta Crown Room Club, the US Airways Club or any other club associated with the Airport Club Access Program. This means no more waiting with ll the other passengers – you have at your disposal all of the club’s amenities like free Internet access, better washrooms, and food and drinks on the club’s expense.

This is what you pay for in the $450 annual fee, and we are still not talking about the benefits of actually using the AMEX Platinum card for your other needs.

American Express Platinum Card® Points

And then there are the points. Right off the bat, you get 25,000 points for spending at least USD 2,000 in your first three months with the card. If you are a frequent traveler, you are certainly going to reach the mark. Then you get one point for almost each dollar of purchase you make – up to 4 points if you make your purchases online through the American Express website, or through the Bonus Malls Points web pages with listed retailers.

Use the AMEX Platinum card of you are a frequent traveler. You will certainly rack up a couple of thousand dollars a month, and with that kind of spending, the AMEX will be your perfect traveling companion.

Our Recommendation for American Express Platinum Card®

This card is not for everyone, period.

If you in search of a really low cost personal organizer, this card gets you every good things in life at your finger tips. Make a phone call and the Platinum customer service would bring you what you are looking for.

Want to reserve premium seating in a concert of sporting events? Call customer service and they would bring to you the hard to find tickets. They have tie-ups with almost all luxury hotels, restaurants and sporting venues to get you what you are looking for.

If time is the only constraints, not money, you can go for this card. Also, you can benefit from this card even if money is a constraint for you. The benefits this card offers are more than enough to offset that $450 annual fee. This is also the best airline card we have come across.

We will recommend this card for the affluent, jet setters, executives and busy business men. The 24/7 concierge is a huge benefit you don’t want to ignore.

In terms of prestige, this card can only be beaten by another AMEX product, American Express Centurion Card or the black card. Centurion card can not be applied for, if AMEX thinks you are worthy enough to carry that card, they would invite you to be a Centurion card member.

One caution on credit card usage, the best way to handle any credit card is by paying off debt in full every month, you have to pay interest on the remaining balance otherwise, which definitely going to offset all the rewards you get out of your card.

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