American Express Increases Platinum Rewards, Fees
By Liz Morris
American Express is heaping more rewards on its high-end Platinum card for consumers and businesses—but it’s coming at a price. American Express is increasing the annual fee on its consumer Platinum card to $450, up from $395, while the annual fee on its Platinum Business card will increase from $300 to $395. Here’s what American Express Platinum cardholders are getting for their extra money:
- Up to 4 free coach-class airline companion tickets per year when airline tickets are purchased via American Express
- For consumers, special food, wine and golf “experience” rewards created exclusively for American Express customers
- For business customers, free membership in the Regus Executive Club, which provides access to more than 950 Internet-equipped business lounges in 400 cities worldwide
- Increased hotel reward options
- Increased baggage insurance
- Increased assistance options in the case of medical emergencies away from home
For most cardholders, the complimentary companion tickets are probably the big draw, with the special experience rewards being valuable to consumers, and the access to work space while traveling being valuable to business customers. Are the upgrades enough to make the increased fees worthwhile? American Express will know soon enough, as new cardholders are already being charged the higher fees and existing cardholders will see them upon card renewal.
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1.Discover® More Card - 0% APR on balance transfers for 12 months & 6 months on purchases, 5% cashback bonus in popular categories, up to 1% cashback bonus on all other purchases
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2.Chase Freedom Card - 0% Intro APR and no Annual Fee, 5% bonus cash back in popular categories , 1% cash bank on everything else
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3.Citi® Platinum Select® MasterCard® - 0% on purchases & balance transfers for Up to 18 months, APR as low as 9.99% variable. $30 statement credit.
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4.Blue Cash® from American Express - Earn up to 5% cash back on gas, groceries and drug store purchases, and up to 1.5% back on all other purchases, no annual fee, fast approval under 60 seconds
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6.American Express® Gold Card - 10,000 American Express Membership Rewards bonus points when you use the card for at least $500 in purchases within the first 3 months.
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7.TrueEarnings® Business Card from Costco & American Express - 4% cash back for annual gas purchases up to $6,000, 3% restaurants, 2% travel, 1% everywhere else, 0% APR on purchases for first 6 months
