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Amex Platinum - Elevated Welcome Offer of 175,000 Points (instead of 80,000)
American Express currently has an offer for 175,000 Membership Rewards® Points (instead of the typical 80,000) on the Platinum card after you spend $8,000 in the first 6 months of membership.
A note on the website implies this is a limited-time offer: "This offer may not be available if you leave this web page and return later."
https://www.americanexp
Note: This offer may not be available for everyone.
A note on the website implies this is a limited-time offer: "This offer may not be available if you leave this web page and return later."
https://www.americanexp
Note: This offer may not be available for everyone.
Created 04-10-2025
at 08:54 AM
by TasteMyCookie
in
Credit Cards
(5)
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I'm waiting for a boosted sign up bonus on the AMEX Schwab Platinum card. It gives 1.1¢ cash back per point, deposited directly into your Schwab account.
Highest I've ever seen for Schwab was 125k on (I think) 8k spend but it's only once in a while- and last time ended Jan 8 2025.
Note- Amex changed their terms a while back to lump ALL personal platinum cards together for sign up bonuses--- getting one makes you ineligible for any of the others.
I'd certainly rather than 175k points than 125k points, though I suppose if you can't find ANY use for MR points besides straight cash that wouldn't be true for you.... Most can get a LOT more value using em for travel, or at least gift cards at 1c instead of 50k less points at 1.1c.
Makes me miss the old days when Amex had like 4 different platinum cards (regular, Mercedes, Schwab, Morgan Stanley) and you could get the bonus on each of em...
it's also a link to an Australian credit card (hence the weird annual fee and earning rates)-- the US platinum is $695 AF.... so easily profitable in year 1 but a lot harder to justify in future years unless you can dig a LOT of value out of the coupon-book-of-credits it offers or you get a fantastic retention offer.
TBF, if you're only keeping the card for one year it's pretty easy to be profitable above the $695, even excluding the sign-up bonus that itself can be worth thousands of dollars.
For one AF you can double dip the $200 airline credit, so $400.... And you can double dip the $200 hotel credit so $400. You're already $105 ahead of the annual fee... and haven't even used the $200 in Uber credit which is trivial to use if you uber at all (even to order a meal) and the $240/yr ($20/mo) streaming credit for pretty commonly used stuff like Disney+/Hulu/ESPN.
Then you've got the Saks credit for $50 every 6 months (so 3 uses for one annual fee if you time it right) for $150.
That's almost $1300 in credits that are pretty easy to use before you get into the weird stuff like the obscure gym discounts.... so even if you only valued some of that stuff at like 75% you're profitable beyond the annual fee without the signup bonus included which itself could get you thousands of dollars in premium airfare.
Now, for FUTURE years the value prop is a worse since you only get single dips of the hotel and airline credits and one less Saks credit (prob. the least valuable of the ones I mentioned). But even then if you're someone who uses uber and streaming that gets you to almost $900 in credits-- at 75% value you're "down" 20 bucks vs the annual fee... So tis' not really worth keeping past year 1 unless you either:
Get a good retention offer (usually you can the first renewal at least)
And/Or
Have a home airport with a centurion lounge (though losing free guests hurt a lot)
And/Or
Legit get nearer to full value out of the "easy" credits I mention
Neither 2 or 3 apply to me, so I tend to only keep mine for the 2 years (original year plus retention offer year) they're profitable each time I get one (currently on my fifth go round, though 2 were the Mercedes one you can't get anymore).
175,000 x $0.006 = $1,050
Very biased post. There are plenty of ways to get $0.01 per point such as on travel booked through AMEX Travel - airfare is the same as with the airlines. Plus there are a number of perks
Uber Cash [google.com]: Receive $15 in Uber Cash each month, plus a bonus $20 in December,
Saks Credit [google.com]: Receive a statement credit of $50 each 6 monthsfor eligiblepurchases at Saks.
Clear Plus andGlobal Entry Credit [google.com]: Statementcredits for these memberships.
Walmart+Membership Credit [google.com]: FreeWalmart+ credit.
Point transfers to many airlines
Access to Centurian and Priority Airline lounges
$300 for airline 'incidental' expenses (ways to get around the'incidental' requirement)
175,000 x $0.006 = $1,050
Less:
- $695 annual fee
- Apx $112 opportunity cost for spending $8000 on a card, getting 0.6%cb when you would have gotten about 2%cb.
That's $243, similar to most sign up bonuses.
Plus, the cash back is a statement credit, not cash, so you may have to spend a little more on the card to spend down the credit.
I'm waiting for a boosted sign up bonus on the AMEX Schwab Platinum card. It gives 1.1¢ cash back per point, deposited directly into your Schwab account.
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So, the only relevant deal listed is the $0.008 for having an AMEX bank account. That one is useful and changes the math significantly.
Clearly, if you care about the non-cash benefits of the card, your benefit obviously increases.
However, for the most part, I don't, and I'm assuming other cheapskates don't.
175,000 x $0.006 = $1,050
Very biased post. There are plenty of ways to get $0.01 per point such as on travel booked through AMEX Travel - airfare is the same as with the airlines. Plus there are a number of perks
Uber Cash [google.com]: Receive $15 in Uber Cash each month, plus a bonus $20 in December,
Saks Credit [google.com]: Receive a statement credit of $50 each 6 monthsfor eligiblepurchases at Saks.
Clear Plus andGlobal Entry Credit [google.com]: Statementcredits for these memberships.
Walmart+Membership Credit [google.com]: FreeWalmart+ credit.
Point transfers to many airlines
Access to Centurian and Priority Airline lounges
$300 for airline 'incidental' expenses (ways to get around the'incidental' requirement)
That's not a man. That's a cat.
1) The biggest plus in my opinion, by far, is just having a premium AMEX itself. AMEX's customer service is unparalleled, even among the other premier cards (I also have a Chase Sapphire Reserve, which I would say is the better travel card). AMEX backs its own cards (unlike others, who are backed by VISA or MC) which means that if you have a dispute, the process is much more streamlined and transparent. AMEX saved me $12K because a local contractor messed up my concrete patio and then tried to skip out on repairs during the warranty period. AMEX refunded me the entire patio within one day of me contesting the charge and sending all the associated paperwork/texts/proof. For contrast, when I contested a bogus charge from Samsung on a TV deal in 2022, it took months and ultimately, VISA didn't help me out because the agent handling my case (and representing me to VISA) did not understand what had happened, despite me laying it out very explicitly in my documentation. I had to escalate it to Samsung's premier customer service team before I got the issue resolved (to Samsung's credit, they admitted their mistake and made it right, but it took forever and was highly stressful). I'm likely going to be a loyal AMEX customer for life just because of their customer service.
2) AMEX points are very valuable for travel if you are traveling internationally. In general, reward point redemptions in the US are garbage. Americans fly too much and our hotels have absurd redemption rates, so it's almost always a waste to use points domestically. But internationally, it's a totally different ballgame, and AMEX has good partners and (occasionally) great transfer deals. I used around 280K AMEX points to pay for two round-trip business class flights and several 5* hotels in Japan for my honeymoon. Standalone, that would have cost me around $20K, so that was almost 10c per point.
3) If you are only choosing a card for travel, the Sapphire Reserve is probably the better card. It has a partnership with Hyatt, and their points are more valuable than anyone else's. Everything I said above still applies: the real value comes from international travel, not domestic.
4) The various perks of the AMEX card are good, but I don't think they really move the needle. 240 in entertainment credits is fine ($20/mo), but I end up using it on services I don't watch that religiously. (It pays for Peacock premium and ad-free upgrades to the Disney bundle. Wife likes Hulu, so I guess there's that.) The $200 Uber credit is the same: I use it, but I could easily go without it. It helps offset the annual cost, but I'd happily exchange both credits for $2-300 off the annual fee.
Hope this helps anyone who's considering the card. Like I said, it's not for everyone, but it does have its niche and I am very happy with mine.
Did you ever sell anything on ebay? Look you have a business.
Did you ever sell anything at a garage sale? Look you have a business.
Did you ever CONSIDER doing either? Look you have a business.
You're missing out on a ton of sign up bonuses- often better than personal card ones- and not even counting against things like 5/24 limits since they don't show on your personal credit report as new cards- by sleeping on business cards.
PLUS since all Amex points are in one group account, the Biz plat (with a massive signup bonus much better than Schwabs best) is right there to solve your wanting to get cash from your points problem with the free biz checking account.
If you dont check and accept without looking, then it will be whatever is presented to you and not 175k offer that you were expecting.
So check and double check before accepting
2) AMEX points are very valuable for travel if you are traveling internationally. In general, reward point redemptions in the US are garbage. Americans fly too much and our hotels have absurd redemption rates, so it's almost always a waste to use points domestically. But internationally, it's a totally different ballgame, and AMEX has good partners and (occasionally) great transfer deals. I used around 280K AMEX points to pay for two round-trip business class flights and several 5* hotels in Japan for my honeymoon. Standalone, that would have cost me around $20K, so that was almost 10c per point.
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They've devalued the points a lot over the years, and we've taken to using the Marriott more. Marriott has devalued their points, too, I'm not sure at this point which is better, but it's worked out that the places we've gone we've found more Marriott stays at lower points. BUT it comes in handy to have the Hilton, too, for when you're looking for a place to stop on the road and want options for who has the cheapest points night nearby. Though we still use it on our may stay as well.