Well, this isn’t great news for some SiriusXM subscribers who enjoy a statement credit when paying with a certain premium rewards card.
In updated marketing verbiage sent to credit card affiliates late this week, American Express confirmed the news first flagged by Frequent Miler: SiriusXM will no longer be eligible for the $240 Digital Entertainment Credit that’s part of the The Platinum Card® from American Express.
(Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.)
Per Amex, SiriusXM will no longer be a participating partner as of May 8, 2024. The change is reflected in the Amex Platinum card’s terms and conditions.
Amex Platinum primary cardholders are eligible to receive up to $20 in statement credit each month (up to $240 each calendar year) for eligible “Digital Entertainment” purchases charged to their card. These inlcude:
- The Disney Bundle purchases made directly through www.disneyplus.com. The Disney Bundle includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, or Disney+ and Hulu.
- Disney+: All Disney+ purchases made directly through www.disneyplus.com are eligible, for example, a Disney Bundle. The Disney Bundle includes Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, or Disney+ and Hulu. Access content from each service separately.
- ESPN+: All ESPN+ purchases made directly through plus.espn.com are eligible
- Hulu: All Hulu purchases made directly through www.hulu.com are eligible
- The New York Times
- Peacock: Eligible purchases for Peacock include all Peacock subscriptions, for example, Peacock Premium and Premium Plus, made directly online at www.peacocktv.com.
- The Wall Street Journal
Given that so many people now listen to podcasts and streaming audio services, this doesn’t exactly surprise me. That said, I’m a SiriusXM subscriber and still enjoy the service.
What do you think of this change?
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So Amex found out that some people actually use this “Coupon Book” item to get some value out of their platinum cards so they kill it. Sounds about right.
They seem to know what I know. They know that most people don’t read newspapers like the NYT or even WSJ journal anymore and if they do they likely get it through some other means, not a paid subscription via Amex cards. They know that many people get free access to Hulu, Disney, Peacock, ESPN from some cable tv or cell phone perk. So it’s an empty promise for many folks.
Devaluing benefit on top of recent removal of ability to use credit for Audible.
I’m 100% serious here: I wouldn’t be surprised if some lawyer filed a class action against Amex and argued that the removal of SiriusXM and Audible benefits are somehow prejudicial against visually-impaired cardholders. I’m not saying whether or not they have a valid case. But given the litigious nature of our world these days…
Why would that require a (presumably negative) “litigious nature“, as if equality of access is some sort of frivolity? There were some audio-forward options, and now there are none. It’s not made up or fake or unimportant that this meaningfully, negatively impacts visually impaired people.
Calm down. I didn’t say anything about it being unimportant. I worked in radio for several years and have narrated several audio books. I know audio programming is important for visually impaired people.
I pay for my SiriusXM and Netflix subscriptions with my no annual fee Citi Custom Cash card and transfer the points to my Citi Premier card. Because these are the ONLY charges I put on this card monthly they are in the bonus category for the most spend that month earning 5x points/cash back. Clearly not as good a deal as getting statement credits on AmEx Platinum, but an option for those looking for another card to move this spend now that AmEx Platinum is no longer advantageous.