“We probably shouldn’t do the Delta Sky Club® without her… right?” My wife and I each have multiple Amex Platinum cards, which give us access to Delta Sky Clubs when flying Delta the same day. But my mom doesn’t have one, and we were scheduled to fly with her later that week… and we were going to be at the airport at dinner time. Normally, we’d just pop into the Sky Club for a free meal, but my mom threw a wrench into that plan. What to do? We could pay $50 to guest her in, but the Sky Club experience is hardly worth $50. We could go to an airport restaurant and probably pay far more than $50 for the three of us. Or, we could leave my mom to fend for herself. That was a nonstarter. Yes, this was an extremely minor problem, but I was still happy to find an easy, free solution thanks to my Morgan Stanley Platinum card.
Background
There are currently three nearly identical versions of the consumer Platinum card from American Express:
- American Express Platinum Card®
- The Platinum Card® from American Express for Schwab
- The Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley
All three currently cost $895 per year and are loaded with valuable perks, including airport lounge access, hotel & car rental elite status, $200 airline fee credit, $600 hotel credit, $400 Resy Dining credit, $200 Uber / Uber Eats Credits, $300 Digital Entertainment Credit, and much more. See our Amex Platinum Guide for full details.
The Morgan Stanley card has a few perks that make it unique (details here), but the most valuable is that it offers one free Platinum authorized user (then $195 per additional authorized user). With other consumer Platinum cards, every Platinum authorized user, including the first, costs $195.
I have all three Platinum flavors. When I first signed up for the Morgan Stanley variant, I added my wife as the free authorized user. My thought was that she might not have Platinum cards in the future, and so the authorized user card could be used to get her into airport lounges. Now, though, we get so much value from her Platinum cards that we have no plans to cancel them. There’s no longer any reason for my wife to have an authorized user card from my Morgan Stanley Platinum card.
Easy solution
I called American Express to change the authorized user on my Morgan Stanley Platinum card. Instead of a card for my wife, I wanted an authorized user card for my mom. No problem. It was just a few days until the flight, so I asked them to expedite shipping. No problem. The call was done in minutes.
My mom’s Platinum card arrived the next day. I activated it and gave her the card information to enter into her Delta profile. I brought the card with me to the airport just in case, but it wasn’t necessary. When my mom scanned her boarding pass at the Delta Sky Club, the system automatically recognized that she had a Platinum card in her Delta Wallet and let her in.
A new problem
Each Platinum card offers 10 Sky Club visits per year. My mom had now used just one of hers. So she turned to me and, half-jokingly, said, “Now you need to take me on 9 more trips!”
Where should we go next?!
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
I really wonder how much longer the MS plat will stay as it is, with all of the people getting the card through E-trade I can’t imagine the free AU will stay as it is.
3 Platinum cards is just ridiculous and wasted value. As for taking a guest, if ypu predominantly fly Delta, and have a Delta Amex (silly not to just for the perks) the $200 airline credit that non of us use a penny of would cover the $50 lounge access. With 3 cards plus a spouses, theres about $1000 on the table not being used. Easily solving the problem. I literally find myself buying drinks for other passengers and twice I’ve paid to bring a “guest” into the lounge that was really just some stressed out person lost in the hustle and bustle of the airport. Of course the new rule stops any sort of kindness offer.
Your comment is the all too familiar refrain that because something doesn’t work for you, it can’t possibly work for anyone else. It is self-absorbed and arrogating.
Most people don’t capture every single credit on the Platinum. Some people are able to capture enough of the credits on one card to more than overcome the annual fee. Other people can do so on two cards. Yet other people can do so on three cards. It all depends on the specific person’s circumstances.
Like Greg, I have three Platinum cards and NET about $1200 over the annual fee on each card. While I don’t know Greg’s circumstances, I’m inclined to defend him holding three cards because I know it’s possible.
Like you, I’m inclined to use the airline incidental credit. A pal of mine does the same.
You absolutely do not “net” $1200, because you wouldn’t otherwise be spending money on almost any of that crap without the credits. You are by all measures a useful idiot to Amex, pretending in your mind to be saving money while you spend more.
The all too familiar refrain is actually your “just because it doesn’t work for you” nonsense.
Listen to yourself. I wouldn’t spend money on any of that crap? You don’t know anything about my spending. In fact, I already spend money on that crap and I don’t put a dime on the Platinum that I was not already going to spend.
If you and “Matt” are not the same person, you are cut from the same cloth. You each have a massive chip on your shoulder. I think the average reader would agree.
The only reason I have 3 Platinum cards is that I get far more value from them than the $895 annual fee. Great point that one could use the $200 airline fee credit for guest lounge access, but I used all of mine on airfare in January (unfortunately, that loophole has closed with Delta since then). I have the Delta Platinum card, which does not offer lounge access.. If I didn’t have Amex Platinum cards, I’d probably upgrade back to the Reserve card (which I had for years until I successfully rolled over 4 years of Diamond status a few years ago).
I have run into an issue opening a Platinum CashPlus account to qualify for the MS Amex Platinum. I have had an eTrade account for years and the terms of the card specifically say that eTrade clients qualify to open a Platinum CashPlus account. However when I call MS they direct me to local Wealth Management offices to open the PCP, but those offices – while always friendly – say they only work with clients with $X amount in a WM account with their office. I’ve tried to get eTrade to escalate the issue with MS, but they say it is not “their” product (despite being owned by MS). So I am stuck without a way to utilize my eTrade account to obtain a PCP account (in order to obtain the MS Amex Platinum) unless I open a WM account with MS. Has anyone else encountered this problem?
You don’t need a cash Plus account to open the MS plat.
The E*Trade account alone started qualifying a few months back.
There has been a resurgence of excitement about the CashPlus account because of the $895 engagement bonus, but I think it’s only because people aren’t thinking it through. You have 2 ways to play the CashPlus account:
Get the $55/mo fee waived, which requires ALL of the following:
If you do that you get $895 deposited into the CashPlus account as a bank bonus, which generally has tax considerations. At the time of this post treasury bills are earning 3.6% (state tax exempt) so on $25,000 held earning 0.01% you’re giving up $900 in interest to chase a $895 bonus.
or… Pay the $55/mo fee, so you pay $660 to get the $895 Engagement bonus.
If you do this you’re effectively fighting your way through opening a CashPlus account with Morgan Stanley to get a $235 checking account bonus. That’s remarkably weak in the world of checking account bonuses.
To add insult to injury, if you don’t hold certain minimum balances in the account starting about 18 months in your account will get flagged for closure. So not only is it a poor bonus in year 1, but it’s not a longevity play either.
the tax on the Engagement bonus make it a negative value for many vs just paying the annual fee.
Forget about the Cash Plus Platinum. You can get the card with just an ETrade account. Some obsess over getting the relationship rebate. The relationship rebate is taxable. Then, there’s the interest opportunity cost on your cash balance. When you do the math, I think you will find there is little net benefit.
For those who have difficulty using the airline incidental fee credit, the lounge guest access fee would be a good use of that credit.
Sounds like your mom is ready to join the Frequent Miler Team!
Doesn’t that free AU perk only kick in if you qualify for the annual fee waiver which requires maintaining $25000 balance and monthly deposits totalling $5000? It’s “free”.
No, it has nothing to do with that.
Looks like the MS rep gave me some wrong information when I called to downgrade my Platinum checking account. Thanks.
Good stuff, but this is where my DL Business Reserve Amex helps with the SC passes. It already pays for itself with the various credits + FC companion pass.
Loved the last part 🙂
Count DMoney!
That’s Di Monet!