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Yesterday, Nick Reyes at FM spread the word that the waived fee American Express Platinum card branded for Ameriprise had changed. The new offer was akin to the non-branded Amex Platinum: 60k welcome bonus after $5k spend in 3 months and gone was the offer that waived the $550 annual fee. All other benefits remained the same. Personally, I like the new offer, but for the vast majority of people who heard the news…they were apoplectic.
It’s double-edged
I get why people are upset. For “Ameriprise” clients it was agreat way to make incredible use of the benefits without getting hit with a fee. I’ve written about these benefits and they are outstanding even when paying $550 a year for them. Some of my favorites…
- $200 Annual Uber Credit
- $200 Airline Incidental Credit
- Access to Amex Fine Hotels and Resorts
- Hilton Gold, Marriott Gold
- Priority Pass membership
- 5x on airfare purchased on Amex Travel or Directly with Airlines
- 5x FHR bookings ( prepaid)
- The list goes on and on
Having the ability to make use of these benefits without paying an annual fee is undoubtedly attractive. However… there are people like me. I already have an Amex Platinum, and a Business Platinum, so my wallet is pretty Platinum already and many of the benefits are redundant for me. I’d rather have the 60k after $5k bonus
I qualify because I’ve never had the card before
American Express enforces a once in a lifetime restriction on new cardmember sign up bonuses. However…just because I carry a personal Platinum card doesn’t mean I don’t qualify for the Ameriprise version – it is a different product and I should qualify if I chose to sign up.
In fact…I’m more likely to get it now than I would have before because it offers me something extra…a welcome bonus. I steered away from the Ameriprise Amex Platinum in the past purely because the added value wasn’t there.
The opportunity to earn more bonus points…
Furthermore…Ameriprise incentivizes spend with tiered bonuses: 5k after every $20k in annual spend up to 30k bonus points a year. I put most of my Air Travel on my current Amex Platinum because it earns 5x points on tickets booked via Amex Travel or airline’s websites.
If I spent $20k a year on my travel or even client’s travel and reimbursed myself, I would be earning 105k points or 5.25x on every dollar I spent for airfare. Quite attractive…
I know there is a collective sigh hitting the points and miles landscape right now, but for me and those in my situation…I welcome the change
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
60k Points after $4k spend in 3 months
Annual Fee
$95
Points Earned
Transferrable Chase Ultimate Rewards
- 60k points after $4k spend in 3 months
- Worth $750 in Chase Travel℠ and way more if you maximize transfer partners
- 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.
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.