The American Express Platinum Card comes with a slew of rewards, but $895 is a pretty big price tag.
The Platinum Card from American Express has a new annual fee of $895—$200 higher than the previous fee, but the card advertises some $3,500 in annual perks, if a cardmember is able to use all of them.
American Express has addressed that too, in an announcement rolling out the new card benefits Thursday. They’re offering a new app feature for Platinum cardmembers to track exactly how much of their annual benefits they have used, in addition to a host of new benefits and increases to annual benefit amounts to justify the nearly four figure annual charge just for having the card.
Most of the card benefits come in the form of a credit for several brands, including Uber, Uber One, Clear Plus, Resy, Lululemon, Walmart, and Saks. The card also gives credits for airline fees paid to an airline the cardmember designates, and a credit on luxury hotels booked through the American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts program. The card also offers airline lounge access, either at Amex’s own operated lounges, an allotment of 10 visits to Delta Sky Clubs when flying Delta, and a Priority Pass Select membership.
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Many of the credits are offered on a monthly or quarterly rather than a cumulative basis. The Uber credits are doled out in monthly increments, while the Lululemon credits are quarterly, requiring that cardmembers be consistent customers for those products in order to take advantage of the full benefit.
There’s also the possibility American Express seeks to squeeze more revenue out of existing cardholders while reducing the total number of cardholders to reduce the number of eligible travelers seeking access to the company’s crowded airport lounges. Competitor Capital One has introduced its own restrictions to reduce crowding at lounges as card issuers grapple with how to keep benefits rewarding enough to justify the growing fees for their credit cards. Delta’s limit on the number of visits to Sky Clubs by Platinum cardholders is also a relatively recent move to reduce crowding in their lounges.
Amex will levy the higher annual fee on new card signups from today onward. Existing members will be charged the higher annual fee upon renewal of their card. Existing cardholders who feel that the benefits no longer justify their annual fee can cancel their cards or change to another Amex card with a different annual fee structure.
In addition to the travel benefits given members just for having the card, the card also earns Membership Rewards points, a currency that Amex allows cardholders to exchange for everything from statement credits to transferring into airline and hotel loyalty programs, or to pay directly for Amex travel products such as flights and luxury hotel stays.
The move is something of an arms race among premium credit cards. In June, Chase announced a then-industry-highest annual fee of $795 for its Sapphire Reserve card, besting the Amex Platinum card at the time. That fee jump represented a 77% increase since the Sapphire Reserve card was introduced in 2016. As part of the announcement, Chase announced a slew of additional benefits to justify the higher fee. Amex announced it would be refreshing the Platinum card’s benefits shortly after Chase’s announcement.
American Express first introduced the Platinum card as an “ultra-exclusive” option in 1984. That year, the annual fee was $250. If the annual fee had kept pace with inflation for that same period, it would be $779 today.
