Calm Down: Don’t Cancel Your Amex Platinum Card Just Yet

American Express made several notable changes to its signature The Platinum Card® from American Express.

One adjustment was Amex raising the card’s annual fee from $550 to $695. (See Rates and Fees). That’s a chunk of change.

Some People Are Billed The Higher Fee Now

I read several comments on blogs and messages boards where people reacted emotionally and said they’re canceling their cards post haste because the annual fee isn’t worth it. (Is it? We’ll discuss that in another post down the road.)

But keep this in mind.

The $695 annual fee is effective immediately only for cardholders who applied on July 1 or later. If you currently hold the card, you won’t be billed the $695 until on or after January 1, 2022. You should still be billed only $550 until then (assuming your annual fee is due between now and December 31. See Rates and Fees.)

(By the way, no matter how much some people insist, neither René nor I am on American Express’ payroll, nor does Amex have a say in what we write or don’t. Trust me.)

Before you call Amex and scream “CANCEL MY ACCOUNT!” into the phone, you might want to consider this:

The Added Benefits are Effective Immediately

Both new and current cardholders can enjoy the new, added benefits right now — regardless of when their annual fee is billed.

Mine isn’t due until Spring 2022. But the monthly $20 “Entertainment Credit” (enrollment required), $200 Fine Hotels & Resorts and Resorts Collection statement credit (the latter requires a minimum two-night stay and must be booked through American Express Travel and paid with your Platinum Card), $199 CLEAR Plus statement credit, and $300 Equinox credit (enrollment required) are all available for me to use.

In fact, I’ve already partaken.

My daughter wanted to watch the new Boss Baby movie on Peacock. Hey, why not? It’s “free” now.

A family friend expressed interest in CLEAR. We added her to our family plan.

(Uh, not sure when I’ll get around to that Equinox credit… 🙂 )

And I plan to meet some friends in Vegas soon. I’ll likely stay at Fine Hotels & Resorts property so I can use the $200 hotel statement credit.

I’m getting a pretty good return on my Platinum card membership right now. Will I re-up for almost seven hundy next year? I honestly won’t know until then. I have to see what my budget and travel plans look like.

So don’t cut off your nose to spite your face — or leave hundreds of dollars in statement credit on the proverbial table just to make a point. You can do that later.

You pay a bunch of money for that Platinum card. There’s nothing wrong with using its benefits. That’s why they’re there. (Sorry for the double homophone assault in that last sentence.)

Final Approach

The Platinum Card® from American Express‘ annual fee climbed from $550 to $695. (See Rates and Fees). But members who held the card June 30 or earlier won’t be billed the higher fee until next year. So take advantage of all the benefits now. Then decide if you’ll keep or cancel the card.

To see rates and fees for The Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this link. Terms apply.