Originally Posted by
Charham
ok Amex is offering an "upgrade" to platinum. 60,000 points which I think is worth about $600, and it looks like $200 uber credits a year and $200 airline credit. cost $550 a year, but I think I can just take the 60,000 and then move back to gold at the end of the year. funny enough I was thinking about dropping amex altogether. anyone looked at this upgrade offer?
Experience You've Ever Had
Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $5,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months of Card Membership.†
Upgrading your Card is simple - Your account number will not change and any existing Additional Card(s) will also be upgraded. You can continue using your existing Card(s) until you receive the new Card(s).
ANNUAL FEE
The annual fee for the Platinum Card is $ 550. The annual fee for Additional Cards is $175 for up to 3 Additional Cards. The annual fee for the 4th or more Additional Cards is $175 for each Card.¤
NO INTEREST CHARGES
No interest charges because you pay your balance in full each month.‡¤
Request an Upgrade
Add to Compare
†Offer Terms ‡Benefit Terms ¤Rates and Fees
New! Uber Rides With Platinum‡
Enjoy $15 in Uber credits for U.S. rides each month plus a bonus $20 in December1, simply because you're a Platinum Card Member. That can be up to $200 in annual Uber savings.
1Credit and Uber VIP status available to Basic Card Member only
I didn't realize they were offering the bonus for upgrading existing accounts. I would do it. 60k MR points should be worth in the neighborhood of $1,000, depending on how you use it. Some things to consider:
*The $200 airline credit is per calendar year. That means you'll actually get a $400 credit in the first 12 months of having this card. Unlike the Sapphire Reserve or Citi Prestige, the Amex airline credit is supposed to only be used for incidental purchases, such as baggage fees. BUT, there's a way around it. You can buy 4 $50 gift cards and they'll be re-imbursed and then you can use those GC's towards a $200 plane ticket. Whereas if you just buy a $200 plane ticket, it won't be reimbursed. It's important to buy the GCs in $50 increments because to the Amex system it'll look like you're paying for a baggage fee.
*Yes you can downgrade your card back to gold (or even a no-fee Amex) after you use all the benefits. You should wait until at least January 2018 to do this tho, so you get the $200 airline credit twice.
*The Amex platinum isn't a particularly rewarding everyday spending card but there are some nice benefits. You should be using the card for buying airfare direct (5x points) and hotels (tho annoyingly you'll have to do it through the amex portal). You'll get access to the Centurion lounges, which are some of the nicest stateside lounges, but they're few and far between. You'll also get access to Delta lounges, but only when flying Delta.
Personally, I think out of the 3 main premium cards (Chase Sapphire Reserve, Citi Prestige, Amex Platinum), that the Platinum is the weakest. But I would still definitely take this offer and then downgrade the card in 2018. You should be getting approximately $1,600 in benefits for $550.