The Business Platinum Card from American Express will be losing four key benefits in 2020. Hopefully we’ll see Amex add something to replace these. Benefits being removed as of 1/1/20 are:
- 10 annual GoGo passes (unused passes in your account will expire on 12/31/19)
- WeWork membership (you can enroll for a free year until 12/31/19 — after that, you will no longer be able to enroll)
- Premium roadside assistance (no longer a benefit on 1/1/20)
- Boingo (membership will end on 1/1/20 if you have one currently)
Truthfully, I thought Boingo was already gone and barely ever used it. I’ve never used premium roadside assistance since I have AAA. WeWork looks interesting and losing the free year of that will be a bummer for those who were hoping to register for the benefit next year (but, again, I thought it had long been known that you only had until 12/31/19 to sign up for that benefit). The Gogo WiFi pass loss is surely a major bummer for those who made frequent use of that benefit. Personally, I found myself so rarely to be on a flight with Gogo WiFi that I’ve been known to give passes away to those sitting near me on a plane just to get a use out of them. I’m sure that others used every last pass and as such that is likely to be the benefit that is most painful to lose for some.
However, for those like me who didn’t assign much value to these benefits, this may actually be a good sign. With the Green card recently debuting with an Away Travel credit (update: that offer has since expired) and CLEAR and Loungebuddy credits, Amex has clearly been pursuing other partnerships. I assume that Amex will look to offer some other type of benefits in place of those above and I’m hopeful that they will be benefits I’d be more likely to use.
H/T: View from the Wing