In June, Chase refreshed its Sapphire Reserve card with a whopping new $795 annual fee and a slew of new coupons. Suddenly, the Platinum card was no longer the most expensive and most couponized mainstream rewards card in the U.S. This was clearly unacceptable to American Express. So, Amex rushed out an announcement stating that it would soon resolve this situation with a major Platinum card refresh. That time is now. In addition to introducing a new mirrored finish, Amex has increased the Platinum annual fee to $895 ($100 more than the Sapphire Reserve), and they’ve altered and added credits to fight Chase coupon by coupon. Overall, despite the hefty new annual fee, the refreshed consumer Platinum card is exceptionally compelling. Here’s everything you need to know about the refreshed Platinum Card® from American Express.
This post is specifically about changes to the consumer Platinum Card® from American Express and its co-brand siblings, including: The Platinum Card® from American Express for Schwab; and The Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley.
Details about the refreshed Business Platinum Card® from American Express can be found here.
Overview
As predicted and feared, American Express has increased the annual fees on its Platinum cards from $695 to $895. That’s the bad news. The good news is that they’ve enhanced existing perks and added valuable new ones. Even better, none of the consumer card’s old perks have gone away. I believe many cardholders will find that the card’s new and enhanced coupons more than offset the extra $200 per year in fees.
For card members who opened accounts before September 18th, new benefits are available immediately, but the new annual fee won’t go into effect until their next renewal dates on or after January 2, 2026 (or December 2, 2025 for Business Platinum cards).
Consumer Platinum card authorized user fees remain unchanged at $195 per year. The annual fee for Business Platinum employee cards is now $400 (up from $350).
Enhanced Perks
The following are enhancements to perks previously available to consumer Platinum cardholders:
$600 Hotel Credit
Earn up to $300 back in statement credits semi-annually (January through June, and July through December) on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or 2+ nights with The Hotel Collection booked through Amex Travel™.
- What changed? Previously, this benefit was limited to $200 and was valid for the entire calendar year.
- Transition for existing cardholders: From now to the end of 2025, you will be able to earn up to $300 back even if you have already earned cash back since July of this year. If you have not already earned cash back this half-year, you will be limited to $300 total cash back.
$300 Digital Entertainment Credit
Earn up to $25 back per month on select digital subscriptions: Paramount+, YouTube Premium, YouTube TV, Disney+, a Disney+ bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, The Wall Street Journal.
- What changed? Monthly credit has increased from $20 to $25. Also, Amex added Paramount+, YouTube Premium, and YouTube TV to the list of eligible services.
- Transition for existing cardholders: Any eligible new charges between now and the end of September can qualify under the new rules. If you’ve made qualifying charges in September before September 18th, the amount rebated (up to $20) will reduce the amount of entertainment credit you have left this month. For example, if you spent $30 on Hulu on September 17th, you can expect to get $20 back from that charge and you’ll have $5 of additional credit available for other qualifying streaming purchases.
New Perks
$400 Resy Dining Credit
Earn up to $100 back each quarter after making eligible purchases directly with Resy or for dining purchases at any U.S. Resy restaurant. Enrollment required.
$120 Uber One Membership Credit
Earn up to $120 in statement credits each calendar year with an auto-renewing Uber One membership in the U.S. This complements the card’s existing monthly Uber credits.
$300 lululemon Credit
Earn up to $75 back each quarter in statement credits for eligible purchases at Lululemon stores or Lululemon.com in the U.S. Enrollment required.
$200 Oura Credit
Earn up to $200 back each calendar year in statement credits when purchasing an Oura Ring through Ouraring.com. Enrollment required.
Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) Sterling Status
Enroll to get Leaders Club Sterling Status from The Leading Hotels of the World®. Details about Sterling Status benefits can be found here.
Coupon war: Platinum vs. Sapphire Reserve
I find it interesting to see how Amex has taken on Chase by offering more compelling coupons:
- Luxury hotel credits: Chase offers up to $500 per year towards stays booked with The Edit by Chase Travel℠. Amex now provides up to $600 per year towards stays booked with Fine Hotels & Resorts or The Hotel Collection. Amex’s solution is far superior: $100 more total value; many more eligible properties; and Fine Hotels & Resorts can be booked for just one night, whereas Chase requires at least 2. Possibly in response to Amex’s changes, Chase has announced that, starting in 2026, its credits will be usable any time of the year (rather than once every 6 months). Even with this change, I think that Amex’s luxury hotel credits are significantly better than Chase’s. Winner: Amex.
- Fine Dining credits: Chase offers up to $300 per year towards spend at restaurants in their very limited Sapphire Reserve Exclusive Tables collection. Amex now provides up to $400 per year towards spend at restaurants on Resy. Chase’s advantage is that the credits are broken up into semi-annual buckets ($150 per 6 months) rather than Amex’s quarterly buckets ($100 per quarter). That said, Chase’s list of eligible restaurants is absurdly small and hard to find, whereas Amex includes all restaurants that appear on the Resy platform. Winner: Amex.
- Rideshare credits: Chase offers a monthly $10 Lyft credit. Amex offers $15 monthly ($35 in December) Uber / Uber Eats credit, plus they now also throw in an Uber One membership. Winner: Amex.
- Food delivery credits: Chase offers DoorDash perks, including a complimentary DashPass membership, one monthly $5 restaurant discount, and two monthly $10 non-restaurant discounts. Amex’s solution is wrapped up in its rideshare solution (above). Amex offers a free Uber One membership plus a monthly $15 credit ($35 in December) that can be used with Uber or Uber Eats. I far prefer the flexibility of Amex’s solution. Winner: Amex.
- Digital Entertainment credits: Chase offers free subscriptions to Apple TV+ and Apple Music. Amex offers up to $25 per month towards your choice of subscriptions: Paramount+, YouTube Premium, YouTube TV, Disney+, a Disney+ bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, The Wall Street Journal. Winner: Amex.
- Fitness credits: Chase offers $10 per month towards a Peloton membership. Amex offers $300 per year towards an Equinox digital or club membership. Here, it’s hard to pick a winner. Peloton is probably a much more popular service, but Chase offers smaller credits. No winner.
- Shopping credits: Surprisingly, Chase didn’t step into this domain. Amex continues to offer $100 in Saks 5th Avenue credits ($50 per 6 months) and has added $300 ($75 per quarter) in lululemon credits. Winner: Amex.
There are a couple of areas where Chase’s coupons are significantly better than Amex’s:
- Travel credits: Chase offers $300 back per year for any travel spend. It doesn’t get any easier than this. Amex, meanwhile, continues to limit its $200 travel credits to incidental fees paid only to your selected airline. Winner: Chase.
- Event credits: Chase offers $300 per year ($150 per 6 months) in StubHub & viagogo credit. Surprisingly, Amex didn’t counter this one. Winner: Chase.
My Take
I’m shocked to find that I’m a fan of Amex’s consumer Platinum changes despite the annual fee skyrocketing to $895! Amex kept all of the consumer card’s existing valuable perks (airport lounge access, $200 airline fee reimbursement, $200 in Uber credits, etc.), improved some existing credits, and added valuable new credits. Here are my quick thoughts about each of the changes and additions:
My favorite enhancements
- $600 Hotel Credit: This is a big win for those who like to book Fine Hotels & Resorts or The Hotel Collection stays. Even if you only book once per year, this is an increased benefit (from $200 to $300). But if you can use the full $600 in credits each year, that’s terrific. Amex has recently added many new eligible hotels to its platform, making it even easier to use these credits than before!
- $300 Digital Entertainment Credit: The addition of Paramount+, YouTube Premium, and YouTube TV makes it more useful than ever. Since I already subscribe to YouTube TV, I can easily max out the full $300 each year without thinking about it.
- $400 Resy Dining Credit: I’m disappointed that this is divided into quarters ($100 per quarter), but otherwise, this is a great addition. I realize that not everyone has easy access to Resy restaurants, but Resy’s footprint is a bajillion (give or take) times bigger than Chase’s Sapphire Reserve® Exclusive Tables. The nice thing for me is that there are a few excellent Resy restaurants in Ann Arbor (where I live). I’ll have to make a point of dragging my Platinum card to those restaurants at least once per quarter. My wife and I tend to eat out a lot anyway, so this is not a hardship.
- $120 Uber One Membership Credit: This is great for me since I was already subscribed to Uber One! I was getting Uber One for free, for a limited time, thanks to my Delta Platinum card (see this post for details), but I’ll be happy to switch to the Platinum card’s ongoing Uber One benefit.
Let’s say that I use only $300 per year in hotel credits and fully use the other credits listed above. Further, let’s ignore the Uber One membership since I currently get it for free through my Delta card. Still, that all comes to $1,000 cash back per year. In reality, I think I’m very likely to use all $600 of the hotel credits, though, for a total of $1,300 cash back each year, just from the above benefits alone.
Enhancements I like, but with less enthusiasm
- $300 lululemon Credit: Since I’m not already a lululemon shopper, this perk won’t save me money, but it will mean that I can get free stuff each quarter. That’s a nice perk, but not one that I’d assign a dollar value to.
- Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) Sterling Status: I was initially excited about this one, but after researching the benefits of Sterling status compared to base-level Club status (found here), I became less enthusiastic. Base-level club status gives you almost all of the same perks (including upgrades and a daily continental breakfast for two). Still, I’m always happy to get a higher-level status for free.
Enhancements I’m not interested in
- $200 Oura Credit: The Oura ring is a device that looks like a regular ring, but it monitors your health and sleep. To get the most out of your ring, you need to pay for a membership ($5.99 USD/month or $69.99USD/annually before tax). It appears that this credit is only good for the purchase of the ring and won’t rebate membership fees. If it turns out that membership fees are rebated, I would be more interested in this credit.
My take, overall
As I described above, I should easily earn $1,000 or more back each year just from some of the consumer Platinum card’s new and enhanced perks. Considering I also benefit from perks like the card’s $200 airline incidental fee credits and $200 in Uber credits, it’s clear the consumer Platinum card is a winner… for me. As always, I recommend that everyone do the math themselves. Which credits are you really likely to use? Would you be spending more to use them? If so, is that really a win? Soon, I’ll update my post and spreadsheet “Which Premium Cards are Keepers?” That will help you understand how much you truly value this card’s perks.
Complete list of consumer Platinum perks
| Benefit | Benefit Description |
|---|---|
| 5X on flights | Earn 5x on flights booked directly with airlines (with Business Platinum cards, you must book through Amex Travel to earn 5x) |
| $400 Resy Dining Credit | Enrollment required. Earn up to $100 back each quarter after making eligible purchases directly with Resy or for dining purchases at any U.S. Resy restaurant. |
| $120 Uber One Membership Credit | Earn up to $120 in statement credits each calendar year with an auto-renewing Uber One membership in the U.S. |
| $200 in Uber / Uber Eats Credits | Get $15 in Uber credits per month ($35 in December) simply by adding your Platinum card number to your Uber account as a payment method. This benefit also includes Uber VIP status. Important: when requesting a ride, select Uber Cash for payment to use your credits. |
| $300 Digital Entertainment Credit | Enrollment required. Earn up to $25 back each month after paying for select digital subscriptions: Disney+, a Disney+ bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, The Wall Street Journal |
| Free Walmart+ Subscription | Get back the full cost, including taxes, for a Walmart+ monthly subscription. In addition to its standard benefits, Walmart+ also includes your choice of Paramount+ Essential or Peacock Premium streaming, at no extra cost. |
| $300 lululemon Credit | Enrollment required. Earn up to $75 back each quarter in statement credits for eligible purchases at Lululemon stores or Lululemon.com in the U.S. Enrollment required. |
| $100 Saks Fifth Avenue Credits | Enrollment required. Earn up to $50 back each January through June, and July through December for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue online or at locations in the US and US Territories. |
| $300 Equinox Credit | Enrollment required. Earn up to $300 back per year in statement credits for a digital or club membership at Equinox. |
| $300 SoulCycle Credit | Must join Equinox first. Charge the full price of a SoulCycle at-home bike and get $300 back in statement credits. |
| $200 Oura Credit | Enrollment required. Earn up to $200 back each calendar year in statement credits when purchasing an Oura Ring through Ouraring.com |
| Active Military Fee Waiver | Amex will waive consumer card fees (including annual fees) for US active military personnel. Call the number of the back of your card and tell them you are serving on active duty military and had heard that AMEX offers to handle your account in accordance with the Military Lending Act (MLA). This may work to waive authorized user fees too. |
| Flight & Airport Benefits | Benefit Description |
|---|---|
| 5X through American Express Travel® | Earn 5X points for prepaid hotel and airline bookings via American Express Travel® |
| $200 airline fee credit | Registration required. Amex will automatically reimburse up to $200 per calendar year for airline fees for your selected airline only. Eligible fees include: baggage fees, flight-change fees, in-flight food and beverage purchases, and airport lounge day passes. For tips on using this benefit, please see: Amex airline fee reimbursements. What still works? |
| International Airline Program | Save money when booking select premium cabin international flights originating in the US or Canada. This benefit is also available to Platinum authorized users. |
| Airport Lounge Access: Centurion Lounges | The cardholder is allowed free entry. Guests are charged $50 per adult, or $30 per child aged 2 through 17. After $75K of eligible spend in a calendar year, the cardholder is permitted 2 complimentary guests per visit. This benefit is also available to Platinum authorized users. |
| Airport Lounge Access: Airspace Lounges, Escape Lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges | Cardholder plus two guests are allowed free entry. This benefit is also available to Platinum authorized users. |
| Airport Lounge Access: Delta Sky Clubs | Cardholder is allowed 10 Sky Club visit-days per year. After $75K of eligible spend in a calendar year, the cardholder is permitted unlimited visits through the end of the following calendar year. This benefit is also available to Platinum authorized users. |
| Airport Lounge Access: Priority Pass Lounges | Registration is required to obtain your Priority Pass card. Member plus 2 guests are allowed free entry. This version of Priority Pass does not cover Priority Pass restaurants. This benefit is also available to Platinum authorized users. |
| Airport Lounge Access: select Lufthansa Lounges | Free access to Lufthansa Business Lounges (with confirmed ticket) or to Senator Lounges (with Business Class ticket) in the satellite building of Terminal 2 at Munich Airport and in Terminal 1, Departure Area B, at Frankfurt Airport. Valid only when flying Lufthansa, SWISS or Austrian Airlines. This benefit is also available to Platinum authorized users. |
| CLEAR® Plus credit | Get up to $209 per year reimbursed for CLEAR® Plus subscriptions. See also: 5 ways to get CLEAR® Plus for less. |
| Global Entry or TSA Pre fee credit | Get reimbursed for the cost of Global Entry or TSA Pre once every 5 years. This benefit is also available to authorized users. |
| Hotel Benefits | Benefit Description |
| Fine Hotels & Resorts | Book high-end hotels through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts and get: room upgrade, daily breakfast for 2, 4 pm late checkout, noon check-in, free wifi, and a unique property amenity. Also: Earn 5X Membership Rewards for prepaid bookings. This benefit is also available to Platinum authorized users. |
| $600 Hotel Credit | Up to $300 back in statement credits semi-annually on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings through Amex Travel™. The Hotel Collection bookings require stays of 2 nights or longer. |
| Hilton Honors Gold Status | Registration required. Hilton Gold members receive food & beverage waivers or free breakfast, room upgrades when available, and other perks at Hilton hotels. This benefit is also available to authorized users. |
| Marriott Gold status | Enrollment required. Gold members receive a welcome gift (bonus points) with each stay, room upgrades when available, 2 pm late checkout, and other perks (details here). This benefit is also available to authorized users. |
| Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) Sterling Status | Enrollment required. Enroll to get Leaders Club Sterling Status from The Leading Hotels of the World® |
| Other Travel Benefits | Benefit Description |
| Emergency Medical Transportation Assistance | Call the Premium Global Assist Hotline: 1-800-333-Amex (toll free), or 1-715-343-7977 (direct-dial collect). This benefit is also available to Platinum authorized users. |
| National Car Rental Executive status | Registration required (Enroll here). Book midsize cars and select any car from the Executive Aisle for no extra charge. This benefit is also available to Platinum authorized users. |
| Hertz Rental Car Privileges | Registration required (Details and enrollment form found here). Privileges include President's Circle Status, discounts, plus a four-hour grace period for rental car returns. This benefit is also available to Platinum authorized users. |
| Avis Preferred status | Registration required (Details and enrollment form found here). Preferred status offers priority service at the counter, discounts, and a one-car class upgrade for groups C-E (Intermediate, Standard, and Full size). This benefit is also available to Platinum authorized users. |
| Cruise Benefits | Pay for your cruise with your Platinum card and receive $100 to $300 per stateroom shipboard credit plus additional amenities unique to each cruise line. This benefit is also available to Platinum authorized users. |
| Miscellaneous Other Benefits | Benefit Description |
| Cell Phone Protection | No need to enroll. Pay your cell phone bill with your Platinum card. Max $800 per claim, $50 deductible. This benefit is also available to Platinum authorized users. |
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It really boggles my mind how people get all giddy about getting an extra $25 off streaming per month, and excited about an extra hotel credit, and this and that…..as if they are not pre-paying for all of that up front in the annual fee.
Almost everyone makes it sound like if it’s actual FREE credits they are getting with no upfront investment required. Congrats on the $25 per month, you can shave that off the $895 you paid. (not even counting the authorized user fees).
Yay, Lululemon $75 credit. Let me buy a pair of socks! Wow, Amex Platinum is great! LOL. Then the argument is “but you get more credits than the card is worth”….Ok, for some people yes, but you still require an upfront investment of almost $1,000 or even more than that if you have authorized user. So what are you talking about?
Mind you, on a card that gets you a MAX of 5x points only for airfare and prepaid hotels through the Amex portal. Every other expense you make on the card, is literally 1x points which is beyond shameful for such an expensive card.
Now all of a sudden EVERYONE loves the Amex Platinum because of EXTRA coupons, when not long ago everyone BASHED it for being a coupon book. You can’t make this stuff up.
No one is suggesting actually spending money on the Platinum card that is not either (1) fully reimbursed as a statement credit or (2) on airfare.
As for the coupons, a sufficiently rich coupon deal is a good deal if (1) the coupons are desirable to you and (2) you do not actively dislike couponing. Those are, of course, very personal and circumstantial things but I think it’s clear that the new version of the coupon book will be better for some people than the old version.
Since people generally evaluate the AF against the SUB when signing up for the card, any indication that the welcome / upgrade offers will be increasing?
Ouch. For me, all but the Resy credits require significant management and behavioral changes (and even the Resy credits mean I need to remember to pay with the Platinum, and not the Gold, card once per quarter). So, it ought to be a “no” for me. But if I was previously keeping the card then the addition of $400 of easy coupon rebates ought to more than make up for the $200 fee increase.
After enrolling make sure to use your new 3rd quarter $100 Resy credit in the next 12 days.
It had not even remotely occurred to me that Q3 was still ongoing, so this is great.
Are we confident that everything starts immediately upon enrollment? Like if I enroll in the app and immediately go buy $75 worth of Lululemon kit and an Oura ring I should get reimbursed?
Yes
Hopefully Chase does something more for CSR holders, otherwise their ‘premium coupon book’ offering is going to start losing customers fast.
Maybe they should have stuck with a simpler card and not tried to beat AMEX at the coupon book game.
“You come at the king, you best not miss”
this means i lost 200 by not using the hotel credit until today lol
I might or might not – I know in the past with Dell and other credits it was hit or miss (Dell often ended up shipping (and thus billing would post.following month so credit would apply for that window and not prior window.
I booked on 9.16.2025 ~ it’s still pending …. I hit “Enroll” this morning. So if waiting the 24 hr rule before using airline credit applies here – I may have as well ended having to rebook if neither the $200 or $300 credit applies.
Wow, very pleasantly surprised with these changes. The Amex Plat was the least defensible card in my wallet that I was only able to rationalize by saying that I used the Centurion lounges so much that it ended up being like paying $8/visit. Now I will easily get enough value from the credits to more than offset the annual fee – to the point where I almost wish I hadn’t cancelled my Morgan Stanley version a couple years ago because I wouldn’t mind having a second one.
I also appreciate that Amex just makes all the credits available immediately without any complicated transitions. I already used my $200 FHR credits this year, but now I get another $300 to use before the end of the year! I even have 12 days to hurry and use the Resy and Lululemon credits for 3Q, even though it would have been easy for them to say it doesn’t start until 4Q or 2026. Compare that to Chase where new card members have been using the new credits for 3 months but I still have to wait until late October (conveniently for Chase, that is after the MLB season ends where I would have used most of my Stubhub credit).
Agree pretty sure we will be PC both our CSRs next renewal and possibly keep Plats for P1/P2.
If you have the gold and want to upgrade, is your AF still your Gold AF date?
Your annual fee date remains unchanged with an upgrade/downgrade. Should you upgrade, you will receive a pro-rated refund for the remainder of your card’s year at the Gold rate and you will be charged a pro-rated amount for the remainder of your card’s year at the Platinum rate.
If someone upgraded yesterday (the 17th), the pro-rated amount would be based on the old ($695) Platinum. If someone upgrades today (the 18th) or later, the pro-rated amount would be based on the new ($895) Platinum rate.
Wow, thanks. I haven’t played the upgrade/downgrade/Product change with Amex. Should have done that yesterday obviously. If you got a retention offer on your Gold a month or two ago and fulfilled it, would they let that remain as they said you must keep the account open 12 months, which I assume it is you’re just upgrading the account. I guess we also needed to wait until today to confirm the changes as the LuLu and the current benefits seemed to be somewhat up in the air. As confident as the experts were in the new Hotel and Resy credits, nothing was guaranteed until this morning too I suppose. That being said any upgrades today give you a week or so to hit the $100 3Q Resy.
This is EXACTLY what we needed living in a major city. I am so excited to use these, especially since we have a trip booked I can now use the extra hotel credit on.
Is anyone excited about the Oura benefit?
Yes you can buy the $200 version (so you’d be on the hook for sales tax), PDF receipt for your HSA files as it’s eligible, and then sell the Oura for $100-$130 probably very easily. Probably what, 10 minutes of your time to list it and answer an email on whatever medium you use to sell ?
Make sure to cancel the recurring subscription
Good tip, looks like it’s first 30 days you have to have it but it’s free in that time frame, so cancel immediately
No it’s sh!t
You can wear it to the Equinox gym along with your Lululemon clothes.
Dunno. Check your ring to see how excited you are.
This is a home run by Amex. Good analysis. Dare I say I am excited about these positive benefit changes? Can’t remember the last time there was much to be excited about.
Heads should roll at Chase. I guess the good news is that they have until 10/26 to adjust their poor offering before the cancellations come rolling in.
Not at all, it’s further coupon book stuff that’s banking on breakage. Very anti consumer.
Hmmmm we both PC to CSR in June before refresh – never thought about PC back after 10/26 ( we did use the Travel credit but ok paying that back).
Wow, this is a pleasant surprise. I mean I still hate coupons, but at least enough of these are useable to get my money’s worth especially combined with the $200 Schwab credit.
Hi Jimmy, what Schwab credit are you referring to?
If you have the Chuck version of the Plat and have enough invested with them, they will give you a yearly $200 credit to help offset your annual card fee, though I feel like the amount they offer should have been increased with the last Plat fee bump.
Thanks AM, I don’t invest enough to quality for that benefit so I just overlooked it.
Any way to split payments over multiple cards for lulumon?
Go into a store and ask. Usually they will.
Store? Like drive and go into an establishment? Yuck. I don’t need $75 worth of crap I’ll eventually give to goodwill that bad! :0)
Yes, you get your yoga pants one month, then get your thong the next month.
I need them to LHW as a transfer partner!