AMEX Gold vs Platinum

[MadJack]

is it worth the extra yearly fee for Platinum?

i love online bill pay thru my checking but may as well put as much as i can on the AMEX card and take advantage of the rewards.

feedback?

i know you know about this, marine, and looking forward to your thoughts.

thanks

 

[saint]

Jack FWIW I have the gold rewards and get harassed with offers for the platinum...I don't think the big increase in fee is worth it (150 vs 450 annual, extra card with gold is free and platinum is an extra 175 for up to 3 additional cards ). You get access to concierge services and stuff like that, which for me personally isn't worth it because we wouldn't use it. We have our checking linked to the Amex and pay it through amex's website online, it's very easy. They used to have free companion tickets with the platinum but looking at the site they don't seem to offer that anymore. That is the only thing that may have offset the high fees. Just my 2c.

I like the flexibility with rewards since you can use it on just about anything. We've used it for retail things and also hotel/travel and it's been very easy to cash in.

 

[hedgehog]

how about a mastercard

how about a mastercard

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/_ez9O8qkQW0&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/_ez9O8qkQW0&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

 

[marine]

Am assuming this will be a personal card and not business stuff...

If you travel more than 3 times a year on a major airline carrier the Plat pays for itself.

You get access to all the airline's exec lounges at airports.

Also, you get gold status with Starwood Hotels as well.. .which is a good program. You get status at rental car company too. Hertz, National and Avis.

Their purchase protection and dispute resolution are A-1. that little tiff you have about your las vegas charge incident woulda been taken care of waaay quicker and with less stress on you.

You don't seem like a guy who demands to have dinner at only the superstar 5 star uber snobby restaurants, so the main reason to go with plat over gold for you would be the travel benefits, and the dispute resolution/purchase protection department.

gold is $125 a year, plat is 450 a year.
so really, you're paying 275$ for airlines lounge access and hotel status and car status... which is an outstanding deal.

To me, it's a no brainer to take plat over gold - if yer spending a lot of time in the plane going to costa rica and vegas and places, probably going to be well worth it for you too. Heck, the airline lounges along would run you about $500 per year if you went and bought access on your own.

 

[saint]

Am assuming this will be a personal card and not business stuff...

If you travel more than 3 times a year on a major airline carrier the Plat pays for itself.

You get access to all the airline's exec lounges at airports.

Also, you get gold status with Starwood Hotels as well.. .which is a good program. You get status at rental car company too. Hertz, National and Avis.

Their purchase protection and dispute resolution are A-1. that little tiff you have about your las vegas charge incident woulda been taken care of waaay quicker and with less stress on you.

You don't seem like a guy who demands to have dinner at only the superstar 5 star uber snobby restaurants, so the main reason to go with plat over gold for you would be the travel benefits, and the dispute resolution/purchase protection department.

gold is $125 a year, plat is 450 a year.
so really, you're paying 275$ for airlines lounge access and hotel status and car status... which is an outstanding deal.

To me, it's a no brainer to take plat over gold - if yer spending a lot of time in the plane going to costa rica and vegas and places, probably going to be well worth it for you too. Heck, the airline lounges along would run you about $500 per year if you went and bought access on your own.

don't travel much...what is in the arline lounges? free internet? anything else?

 

[marine]

peace and freaking quiet!

drinks, snacks, internet, comfy chairs, tv's you can actually watch and listen to.

no rush of donkeys falling over you, being able to talk on the phone without people talking over you or listening in.

its priceless really.

 

[Sun Tzu]

Have it -worth it for the lounges alone. Plus if you fly there are upgrades, free tickets, perks at hotels...

 

[MadJack]

Am assuming this will be a personal card and not business stuff...

If you travel more than 3 times a year on a major airline carrier the Plat pays for itself.

You get access to all the airline's exec lounges at airports.

Also, you get gold status with Starwood Hotels as well.. .which is a good program. You get status at rental car company too. Hertz, National and Avis.

Their purchase protection and dispute resolution are A-1. that little tiff you have about your las vegas charge incident woulda been taken care of waaay quicker and with less stress on you.

You don't seem like a guy who demands to have dinner at only the superstar 5 star uber snobby restaurants, so the main reason to go with plat over gold for you would be the travel benefits, and the dispute resolution/purchase protection department.

gold is $125 a year, plat is 450 a year.
so really, you're paying 275$ for airlines lounge access and hotel status and car status... which is an outstanding deal.

To me, it's a no brainer to take plat over gold - if yer spending a lot of time in the plane going to costa rica and vegas and places, probably going to be well worth it for you too. Heck, the airline lounges along would run you about $500 per year if you went and bought access on your own.

for biz and personal.

i do travel 3-5 times a year but wouldn't use the lounges anyway. hell, i'm usually only in the airport for 2 hours max. unless they let you smoke in there

i don't rent cars and the gold card has all those other features you mentioned too except the airport lounges.

thanks, i'll just stick with the gold card.

 

[MadJack]

Have it -worth it for the lounges alone. Plus if you fly there are upgrades, free tickets, perks at hotels...

the gold card has those perks too and i have the delta card.

 

[MadJack]

don't travel much...what is in the arline lounges? free internet? anything else?

it's basically for guys that want to be bigshots :SIB

they might be worth it if you have a long, long layover but 2 hours is a long layover for me and i can occupy myself for 2 hours without running around looking for the lounge :shrug:

 

[vinnie]

it's basically for guys that want to be bigshots :SIB

,,,,,,,,,,,.................,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.......,,,,,:00x32



..................:00x33

Have it -worth it for the lounges alone.

 

[MadJack]

,,,,,,,,,,,.................,,,,,,,,,,,,,,.......,,,,,:00x32



..................:00x33

:142smilie :142smilie :142smilie

 

[marine]

have you gone to american express dot com and done a side by side comparison of the cards. it's pretty easy and gives you exactly what you'll be looking for to compare the two.

 

[MadJack]

have you gone to american express dot com and done a side by side comparison of the cards. it's pretty easy and gives you exactly what you'll be looking for to compare the two.

yup, did that this morning.

thanks for the replies

 

[Theboundbook]

Jack FWIW I have the gold rewards and get harassed with offers for the platinum...I don't think the big increase in fee is worth it (150 vs 450 annual, extra card with gold is free and platinum is an extra 175 for up to 3 additional cards ). You get access to concierge services and stuff like that, which for me personally isn't worth it because we wouldn't use it. We have our checking linked to the Amex and pay it through amex's website online, it's very easy. They used to have free companion tickets with the platinum but looking at the site they don't seem to offer that anymore. That is the only thing that may have offset the high fees. Just my 2c.

I like the flexibility with rewards since you can use it on just about anything. We've used it for retail things and also hotel/travel and it's been very easy to cash in.

I have AM EX Delta Platinum and pay 110 I think or 140. I get a FREE airline ticket each year to anywhere delta flies in continental US. (Buy 1 with card get 2nd free except for taxes)... But to be honest, AM Ex dropped my credit from 10 k to 3.9 k for NO REASON AT ALL 2 mos ago affecting my FICO score becuase of credit to debt ratio. So FOOOK THEM!!!! Still have the card but when my debt is reduced on other cards I am dropping them. I had a 743 mid Fico which is now 728 thanks to the 6 k drop. Bam. They did this to everyone I know... Whats fucked up is they are offering me another card (Business Gold) that I am pre qualified....

If you want a free ticket this is a good card. You pay 140 and save 2-5 hundred as long as you use the companion ticket each year....


I have had the offer for the 450 card also. That is a different one (I guess Platinum too), but I dont fly enough to worry about the CROWN ROOM and the extra perks to warrant the 450.00. the companion ticket for Delta is great for me... I will post what happens now that I have proof that my FICO score was affected for them punishing me and reducing my credit even though I have had no problems... They stated one reason was because an ATM declined my card. (I was drunk at a casino and forgot my password!!!)

 

[Woodson]

They stated one reason was because an ATM declined my card. (I was drunk at a casino and forgot my password!!!)


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Get that in writing... I'd love to see where they state a possible fraudulent activity is punishable to the credit account holder.

I would be licking my chops on the way to see the most vile lawyer (not you Eddie) possible...

That is complete bs!

 

[marine]

amex dropped a lot of credit lines in the past month. some people taking significant cuts in their credit lines with them. like going from 50k on a card to 4k.

They've always been fairly lax about higher credit limits on their cards... with the crunch going on, it looks as if they are trying to reduce their risk by lowering cards so if someone loses their job or whatever, they cant run up the amex card and then go bankrupt and amex gets stuck with it.

It's mainly happened to people with more than one product from AMEX, but some people with just one card have taken a little hit as well.

sorry to hear you got the hatchet job TBB.

 

[MadJack]

my amex has no limit :shrug:

i do have one of their other cards with 30K but that's a biz card and i have their delta card with 25k. haven't heard anything yet.

i did recently get cancelled from jupiter visa because i never used it and had it for about 8-10 years.

they can have all my cards except amex and one visa to use where amex isn't accepted. i have a stack in my safe that i accumulated over the years. hell, they use to send them out without even asking for them.

 

[Theboundbook]

They stated one reason was because an ATM declined my card. (I was drunk at a casino and forgot my password!!!)


+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++



Get that in writing... I'd love to see where they state a possible fraudulent activity is punishable to the credit account holder.

I would be licking my chops on the way to see the most vile lawyer (not you Eddie) possible...

That is complete bs!

I have it in writing.... Now what?

 

[kneifl]

But to be honest, AM Ex dropped my credit from 10 k to 3.9 k for NO REASON AT ALL 2 mos ago affecting my FICO score becuase of credit to debt ratio. So FOOOK THEM!!!!

Did the same damn thing to me! I then canceled my Starwood and Blue and only kept my Citi Amex card because I bank with them, get thank you points off it, and they did not drop the limit on this card. The other ones I canceled where they dropped the credit lines, one was 8K and the other one was 10k - got dropped to 4k and 2k. I said fuck'em have plenty of MC and Visa and they're not dropping my limit. Pissed me off royally!!

kneifl