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Amex has implemented a few changes to The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum® from American Express that should you undoubtedly be aware of, but I’m not 100% sure everyone will agree on whether they are entirely negative or not.
This is a the reason for the AU changes…
The biggest change: Authorized User fee increases
Before today, you could add up to 3 Platinum Authorized Users for $175. Yes, 3 more Authorized users, and then $175 per user starting with the 4th. This was very advantageous for lounge access since Amex changed the lounge access and required a minimum annual spend of $75k to bring guests into the lounge or pay a fee.
Now, the cost of an authorized user has increased from $175 to $195, but it’s per Authorized User meaning the cost for 3 AUs is now $585…up from $175.
This should dramatically reduce the number of people that are coming into the lounge. Sure, this is negative to those who were adding 3 AUs, but not really a big deal if you’re just bringing in a single guest and adding them as an AU. Many cardholders without families will consider this a positive change as it will have an impact on reducing crowd size and kids in the lounge. Those who have used the 3 AU trick will find this painful.
Additional Platinum Card fee is already in effect
The Free Gold Authorized Users are now called Companion Platinum Card® from American Express
Amex Business Platinum Changed a bit too
You used to be able to get Green Business Cards free of charge, now they’re called Employee Business Expense Cards…
Up to $240 Amex Platinum Digital Entertainment Credit – Audible gone on 10/1/23
As of October 1st – Audible is dropped and replaced by The Wall Street Journal. I use all of my credits on Hulu and add in Showtime or Cinemax. This isn’t a big move to me, but I’d presume that many will be happy to WSJ added to the list, and some will be annoyed that Audible is removed. It’s a push to me.
the list now looks like this:
- Get up to $20 per month at Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, SiriusXM, and The Wall Street Journal
The minimum spend requirement has increased
Currently the public offer is 80k Membership Rewards after $8k spend in 3 months. This had been set at $6k in 6 months. The same goes for the Resy 100k Membership Rewards after $8k in 6 months + 10x on dining for 6 months, and I’d guess that once the new referral offers begin to populate that they will include the higher spend as well.
Personally, I don’t really think this is a big deal. $8k over 6 months is a low bar and if you can’t hit that spend, maybe you shouldn’t have a $695 annual fee card to begin with.
Overall
This really comes down to whether or not you value adding AUs on to your account or not and I suppose if you really valued the Audible credit…which I did not.
For rates and fees of the The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Welcome Offer
75k Ultimate Rewards after $4k spend in 3 months
*you may find an elevated offer walking into a branch – see below
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 75k Ultimate Rewards after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $937.50 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- Some people have seen Chase branches offering the following:
- 75k Ultimate Rewards After $4k spend in 3 months + 10k Ultimate Rewards after $6k in 6 months
- 5x on all travel purchased through Chase Travel℠
- 3x on dining, including eligible delivery services for takeout & dining out
- 3x on select streaming services
- 3x on online grocery purchases
- (excluding Target, Walmart and wholesale clubs)
- $50 Annual Chase Travel Hotel Credit via Chase Travel℠
- The begins immediately for new cardmembers and after your account anniversary for existing cardmembers
- 2x on all other travel
- 10% Anniversary Bonus
- Every year you keep the card, your total spend will yield a 10% points bonus. If you spend $10k in a year, you’ll get 1k bonus points
- Chase Sapphire Preferred continues to redeem at 1.25c in the Chase Travel℠ and the slew of other benefits remain in tact including Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver ( primary ), purchase protections, etc.
- Points are transferrable to 14 Ultimate Rewards partners
- Redeem in Chase Travel℠ for 1.25 cents per point
- No foreign transaction fees
- Suite of Travel and Purchase Coverage
- Auto Rental Collision Damage Waiver is my favorite
- Get complimentary access to DashPass which unlocks $0 delivery fees and lower service fees for a minimum of one year when you activate by December 31, 2024
- $95 Annual Fee
We keep an up to date spreadsheet that lists the best ever offers: You can find that spreadsheet here.
Historically 80k is a very, very good offer and hit in both 2022 and 2023. In 2021, we saw the offer hit an all time high of 100k. Who knows if that will ever come back.
Main Cast:
Cards that earn flexible points and should be used on the bulk of your purchases.
Supporting Cast:
Cards that earn fixed points in the currency of the airline/hotel and can not be transferred at attractive rates. These cards yield benefits that make it worth keeping, but not necessarily worth putting a lot of your everyday spend on.
The Chase Sapphire Preferred® is exceptional starter card and offers transferrable Ultimate Rewards, and pairs well with other Chase cards.
If you carry this card alongside Chase’s cashback cards like the Chase Freedom Flex℠and Chase Freedom Unlimited® or the business versions: Ink Business Cash® , Ink Business Unlimited® you can combine the points into Preferred account and transfer into hotel and airline partners
Annual fee is quite low at $95 a year + you get a 10% anniversary bonus on points + $50 hotel credit in Chase travel.
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