Frequent Miler's latest team challenge, Million Mile Madness, is happening now! Follow us as Greg, Nick, and Stephen compete to earn 1 Million SAS miles by flying 15 airlines before November 23rd. Who will complete the challenge with the most Speed, Affordability, and Style?
Earlier this month, we reported that the American Express relationship with Mercedes-Benz is ending and therefore the Mercedes-Benz Platinum card is being discontinued (See: Mercedes-Benz Platinum discontinued; get 60K while you can). Doctor of Credit now reports that application links are disappearing for the card and rumors are that it will no longer be available for new applications after 3/31/18.
If you are interested in picking up the card and its associated welcome offer, it looks like your last chance may be in the next few days. Note that the terms state that the welcome bonus is not available to applicants who currently have a Platinum card. Data points indicate that this is not being enforced for people who have a non-Mercedes version of the Platinum card. Of course, it’s only been a few weeks since the announced end of this card, so it isn’t impossible for those points to be clawed back. People have long been able to get different versions of the Platinum card at the same time, so I don’t think the intention was to exclude current vanilla Platinum card holders / Scwab Platinum holders / etc, but it’s worth being aware of the term if you’re a current Platinum card holder.
As noted in our previous post on the announced ending of this card, those who have never had the “vanilla” version of the Amex Platinum might not want to jump on this offer. Amex notes that the Mercedes-Benz Platinum card will be replaced with a different Amex Card when the program ends. It stands to reason that Mercedes-Benz Platinum card holders will likely be transitioned to the plain Amex Platinum card. Since Amex usually restricts welcome offers to those who have never had the card in question, you might cost yourself the chance to get a welcome offer on that plain version of the card by getting converted to it from the Mercedes-Benz version. There are occasionally targeted 100K offers on the plain version, so it might make more sense to hold out for that if you haven’t had the card before.
On the other hand, if you’ve had the plain Amex Platinum, this appears to be your last chance to get a 60K welcome offer on the Mercedes-Benz version.
Remember that every version of the personal Platinum card comes with $200 in airline incidental credits (See: Amex Airline Fee Reimbursements. What still works?) and $200 in annual Uber credits that also work for UberEATS (though note that this is split into monthly $15 credits and a $35 credit in December — not a bulk Uber credit). The suite of benefits of a Platinum card (Hilton Gold status, SPG Gold status, National Executive status, higher purchase protection limits, Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts, the Platinum concierge, Priority Pass Select, Centurion Lounge access etc) certainly present good value for some.
We will monitor the link on our Best Offers page and make sure it is up to date as long as links continue working.
H/T: Doctor of Credit
Want to learn more about miles and points? Subscribe to email updates or check out our podcast on your favorite podcast platform.
Got approved for it yesterday; between my wife and I we now have 4 Amex Platinums. $2200 in fees? Nope, we’re both active duty so have never paid an Amex fee (I do pay the CSR fee though).
I’ll now have $45 of Uber credits per month! The only bad thing is that if I put them all in my wallet at once, my pants will fall down.
nice for getting $0 AF
If I have not had the “plain Platinum”,
Get approved for the Mercedes Benz Plat.
Can I cancel the Benz in January 2019 and still “protect” being able to apply for the “Plain Platinum” sometime in 2019?
I was going to apply for this but then I realized that I’m paying $550 for 60k points, which is ok but I can do better. The alternative is to get the Ameriprise Plat with the same benefits and a waived annual fee.
You can double dip the $200 travel credit, and assuming you use the Uber credits, the AF is offset right there, before you even factor in the sign-up bonus.
Yes, but the Ameriprise has all this AND a waived annual fee.
right, but no sign-up bonus.
Be patient as Always a better deal comes up this was never a deal unless NO ONE will give u a card..
CHEERS