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Started By
Message
Just switched back to Amex Gold from Platinum
Posted on 10/30/23 at 1:00 am
Posted on 10/30/23 at 1:00 am
Had the platinum for a few years and started to realize I was wasting money on that annual fee and not really taking advantage of benefits. I have the Sapphire Reserve so a second travel focused card seemed redundant since I don't even travel often.
I think 15 years ago the AmEx platinum had some kind of prestige attached, so I think I just wanted it for that nostalgia then realized I wasn't getting that much benefit.
- I don't fly frequently enough to take advantage of clear, and I get precheck reimbursement through Sapphire.
- The lounge access is always a nice concept but I almost never have downtime before or between flights in airports that have lounges, and I hear the crowding has gotten wild.
- $300 annually for Equinox sounds nice but the gym costs $200 a month.
- $15 for Uber Eats just means I generally have to spend an extra $15 to make use of it with all the fees.
- Elite rental status I'll miss but with how much rentals cost lately it's typically more cost effective to just get Lyft/Uber around towns; I almost never rent.
- Sad I don't' get free Peacock anymore even though I watch it once every two months.
Anyone else make the switch off Platinum recently?
I think 15 years ago the AmEx platinum had some kind of prestige attached, so I think I just wanted it for that nostalgia then realized I wasn't getting that much benefit.
- I don't fly frequently enough to take advantage of clear, and I get precheck reimbursement through Sapphire.
- The lounge access is always a nice concept but I almost never have downtime before or between flights in airports that have lounges, and I hear the crowding has gotten wild.
- $300 annually for Equinox sounds nice but the gym costs $200 a month.
- $15 for Uber Eats just means I generally have to spend an extra $15 to make use of it with all the fees.
- Elite rental status I'll miss but with how much rentals cost lately it's typically more cost effective to just get Lyft/Uber around towns; I almost never rent.
- Sad I don't' get free Peacock anymore even though I watch it once every two months.
Anyone else make the switch off Platinum recently?
6
Posted on 10/30/23 at 3:43 am to Thundercles
No but I made the switch off of CSR because of how poor their service is. I tried to book a trip through them and it was 6 hours of fighting with everyone in Pakistan. AMEX travel has never let me down.
Posted on 10/30/23 at 6:27 am to Thundercles
Wife and I have an AmEx Gold for this reason. We studied the benefits of Platinum. It was mainly geared around travel. Where Gold, in our opinion, was geared around living. Neither her nor I travel all that much. And our main airport (Hobby HOU, I know, Southwest, OT Poor) doesn't have any VIP lounges anyway.
Posted on 10/30/23 at 7:18 am to Thundercles
Ya it can be tough with their coupon book benefits.
$240 entertainment credit is easy.
$200 Uber is easy for me since I spend that money on Eats anyway.
Walmart+ comes with Paramount Plus lowest tier which I do use so that's $72 if I value Walmart+ near zero since I use that perhaps 3 times a year.
Clear is only useful a couple times a year because the line is slower than precheck lines. They really need to improve their process because it is only faster around a holiday when precheck is over 30-50 people long at my airport, maybe even more. Therefore I don't value this at $189 to me. Maybe $25 at the moment.
Saks is similar. You're going out of your way to spend the $100. Buying socks and stuff
Again, you're spending $50 on something you probably would have bought for less somewhere else, so that value is probably less than $50 to you.
Finally used the $200 hotel credit this year since I'm usually using points at Hyatt. That benefit ended up being awesome as the upgraded room to suite, but most years I don't get to use this.
$200 airline credit I usually use on Southwest either by paying the taxes on a flight award or upgrading boarding. Sometimes upgrade in laws so they will travel with us.
Lounges are packed but I get to use them occasionally.
Equinox is laughable.
I do use global entry credit but again you use that once every four years so that's worth $25 a year.
I end up coming out about the annual fee when all is said and done, not counting 5x airfare. Just barely though. For a lower fee you get 3x airfare with Gold, so the delta is 2x between them.
$240 entertainment credit is easy.
$200 Uber is easy for me since I spend that money on Eats anyway.
Walmart+ comes with Paramount Plus lowest tier which I do use so that's $72 if I value Walmart+ near zero since I use that perhaps 3 times a year.
Clear is only useful a couple times a year because the line is slower than precheck lines. They really need to improve their process because it is only faster around a holiday when precheck is over 30-50 people long at my airport, maybe even more. Therefore I don't value this at $189 to me. Maybe $25 at the moment.
Saks is similar. You're going out of your way to spend the $100. Buying socks and stuff
Again, you're spending $50 on something you probably would have bought for less somewhere else, so that value is probably less than $50 to you. Finally used the $200 hotel credit this year since I'm usually using points at Hyatt. That benefit ended up being awesome as the upgraded room to suite, but most years I don't get to use this.
$200 airline credit I usually use on Southwest either by paying the taxes on a flight award or upgrading boarding. Sometimes upgrade in laws so they will travel with us
. Lounges are packed but I get to use them occasionally.
Equinox is laughable.
I do use global entry credit but again you use that once every four years so that's worth $25 a year.
I end up coming out about the annual fee when all is said and done, not counting 5x airfare. Just barely though. For a lower fee you get 3x airfare with Gold, so the delta is 2x between them.
This post was edited on 10/30/23 at 8:45 am
Posted on 10/30/23 at 7:45 am to Thundercles
quote:
realized I wasn't getting that much benefit.
If you're not traveling, likely not. The fee is paid for quickly on my side
Clear - 190
Saks - 100
Uber Rides - 200
Airline Credit - 200
Digital - 240
Walmart+ - 150
Thats just the other stuff... As for points, think I've earned 150k so far this year from flights.
Worth it in my world.
ETA: What I'm debating is whether to add the gold card to get the 4x on dinining since I travel so much.
This post was edited on 10/30/23 at 7:47 am
Posted on 10/30/23 at 8:26 am to Lsut81
quote:
ETA: What I'm debating is whether to add the gold card to get the 4x on dinining since I travel so much.
I think it's pretty easy to justify Gold.
More Uber credit I'm gonna use anyway.
And I use the GrubHub credit to order a pickup for lunch.
That offsets $240 of the $250 fee, so now you need 4x dining to offset $10.
You can look at this as an easy $250 is dining accomplishes this if we value the points conservatively at 1 cent ($250 x 4 = 1,000 points x .01 = $10) , OR vs a 3x dining card (especially Freedom Unlimited being no fee):
You'll need to spend about $1,000 in dining for the 4x vs the 3x to offset the $10 you're paying for the 4x benefit.
4 x $1000 = 4,000 points x .01 = $40 - (3 x $1000 = 3,000 points x .01 = $30). $40-$30 = $10, which now makes you even vs CFU.
I think I got that right, math isn't my strongest attribute.
Also don't forget Gold has 4x groceries up to $25,000.
This post was edited on 10/30/23 at 8:32 am
Posted on 10/30/23 at 9:07 am to nugget
Yup. CSR customer service sucks.
I have the…
AMEX Platinum
AMEX Hilton Honors Aspire
CSR
Venture X
Barclays Arrival +
SW Card
AMEX is by far the best customer service. I only have the rest to maximize point accrual and take advantage of the benefits. I travel a ton.
I have the…
AMEX Platinum
AMEX Hilton Honors Aspire
CSR
Venture X
Barclays Arrival +
SW Card
AMEX is by far the best customer service. I only have the rest to maximize point accrual and take advantage of the benefits. I travel a ton.
Posted on 10/30/23 at 9:26 am to Thundercles
I've always received around $500 in credit when I threaten to cancel every year. Don't be afraid to call the retention department.
Posted on 10/30/23 at 10:24 am to Thundercles
It is all gimmicks
I use cash back cards that have no fees and pay at least 2% back on all purchases. Wells Fargo, Amazon visa I use only for amazon purchases--i don't even know where the card is and paypal mastercard i use only for other online purchases and monthly subscriptions
I use cash back cards that have no fees and pay at least 2% back on all purchases. Wells Fargo, Amazon visa I use only for amazon purchases--i don't even know where the card is and paypal mastercard i use only for other online purchases and monthly subscriptions
Posted on 10/30/23 at 10:33 am to Hou_Lawyer
quote:
I've always received around $500 in credit when I threaten to cancel every year. Don't be afraid to call the retention department.
Maybe because I was just switching to gold they didn't even bother to try. I didn't mind.
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