American Express Platinum Card VALUE - Year One of Membership ($5,524.76!)
Platinum Card: Year One Value
Cheers to one year of American Express Platinum Card Membership!
To the Point
Airport travel used to be a dreaded experience for me. I loved the destinations the airplane would take me, but the overall experience was much like getting on a packed city bus. I spent years of my life sitting in a busy gate terminal awaiting my boarding call, cramped on those uncomfortable bench seats, trying to use sub par WiFi, and purchasing over priced airport food. It seems like just yesterday I was sitting on those bench seats awaiting a flight to the Cayman Islands from the Miami International Airport. Our terminal was adjacent to the Starbucks coffee stand, which we had spent over $20 at for just a stale croissant and two mediocre cups of coffee. Also adjacent to the Starbucks and my gate, was an elevator vestibule which was labeled "The Centurion Lounge" with a large American Express logo, and a giant Centurion face logo. That's when my research about the American Express Platinum Card began.
After scouring the internet for information, details, testimonials, and even calling American Express to confirm the benefits, my decision was made. I was going to become an American Express Platinum Cardholder. To be honest, I was overly excited and could not wait to extract every ounce of value I could from this card. I knew the annual fee was $550, but after my research, I knew I would be getting FAR more value from this card. To my complete surprise the flashy metal card arrived overnight, in a very well presented box... not an envelope... a box. I unwrapped it as if it was Christmas morning, to reveal the card displayed on a wooden pedestal. Never would I have imagined getting a credit card could be this exciting, or did I think a credit card could provide these benefits, value and enhance the experience of traveling so much.
I have calculated all of my statement credits from September 2018 to September of 2019 to show a true value of statement credits (Uber, Airline, Saks, Global Entry ect.), as well as Amex Offers I have redeemed which resulted in credits applied to my account in my first year. It should be noted that because I got the Platinum before January 1, 2019, I was able to double dip some statement credits and benefits before the new year. I also utilized Purchase Protection, which refunded my the full amount for a pair of Ray Bans when I lost them in Barcelona last month. Please keep in mind while reading this, I only used my card, and the Amex Offers especially on purchases I would be making anyway. My goal was to just spend as I normally would. I did not go out of my way to try to gain MR or spend money on offers just for the sake of spending. I wanted this to be an organic experience and realistically I wanted this card to SAVE me money, but I wanted to travel more! That's the goal of travel hacking right? That being said, If we were going out that night, or had a trip/birthday/wedding/family event, I would try to utilize offers, points, or airline gift cards from the airline fee credits when possible to optimize benefits and save money. After the statement credits calculations, I will include Membership Reward accumulation and estimated total value.
2018-2019 Year 1 Platinum Statement Credits:
9/13/18 - Saks Credit - $50
9/18/18 - TSA Global Entry Fee Credit = $100 x 2 (Authorized Users also get $100) - $200
10/22/18 - Local Movie Theatre AMEX Offer - $5
11/1/18 - Airline Fee Credit - $50
11/5/18 - Airline Fee Credit - $50
11/7/18 - Harry and David AMEX Offer - $20
11/8/18 - Airline Fee Credit - $50
11/30/18 - Airline Fee Credit - $50
1/10/19 - Airline Fee Credit - $50
1/13/19 - Airline Fee Credit - $50
1/18/19 - Airline Fee Credit - $50
1/24/19 - Airline Fee Credit - $50
1/29/19 - Saks Credit - $50
5/3/19 W Miami Hotel - Marriott AMEX OFFER - $40
7/8/19 - Sunglass Hut AMEX OFFER - $30
7/16/19 - Saks AMEX OFFER - $10
7/17/19 - Saks Credit - $50
7/29/19 - Westin Cape Coral - Marriott AMEX OFFER - $40
9/26/19 - Purchase Protection Payment - Lost Ray Bans - $179.76
Total Statement Credits = $1,074.76
Now we need to add in the Uber Credits which equate to $200 extra in value = $1,274.76
Next we need to subtract the $550 Annual Fee which was charged in Q4 of 2018:
After subtracting the $550 AF the total comes to: $724.76
As you can see on statement credits alone, I am at a positive value of $724.76 for my first year as a Platinum Cardholder. Now please keep in mind this is ONLY statement credits and card credits. It's very difficult to add all of the free alcoholic beverage, coffee and food I've got in Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs, and Priority Pass Lounges thanks to this card’s access to these lounges. Also, out of nearly 20 hotel night stays in this time period, I have almost always been upgraded to suites, bigger rooms, higher rooms, and better view (ocean/water) rooms after only paying the lowest basic room rate. This is all thanks to thanks to the complimentary Marriott Gold Status that comes with the Platinum Card. Usually if you just ask you can get free drink vouchers at check in as well, thanks to the Gold Elite Status. This only seems to work maybe 30% of the time, but it's worth a shot (pun intended)! It's difficult to put a value on these benefits because they are in no way guaranteed. Your mileage will vary with most benefits out there! Regardless, this year I have gotten well over my annual fee in upgraded rooms alone, which makes the card insanely valuable alone to keep.
Next, I calculated my Membership Rewards (MR) earnings. Keep in mind, this includes my 60k sign up bonus, 30k in referrals for 2018, 55k in referrals in 2019, and many Amex Offers which were providing extra MR for purchase. Examples of these were offers like Sephora purchases earning 9x MR per dollar spent and Amazon offering a "Spend $75 get 1,500 MR" deal. Also, I joined any promotion American Express offered me such as the "Pay Over Time" which resulted in 10k MR for simply enrolling. Keep in mind I would never pay over time, my tab is paid in full every billing statement to keep my credit score high and utilization low. Again, I am not spending frivolously to gain MR or benefits. Obviously, your mileage may vary, you may not get as many referrals, you may not use any of the Amex Offers, or you many not spend as much money in general.
Total Membership Rewards Earning: ~240,000
We value an MR at $0.02/per points which equates to $4,800
Yes, we do value MR at $0.02, let me give you an example of a redemption we are looking to book:
The Ritz Carlton in Truckee California:
January 2020 booking costs ~$1,250/night or 70,000 Marriott Bonvoy Points.
At this rate a Marriott Bonvoy point is valued at = $0.018.
Currently until 10/31/19, MR can be transferred to Marriott Bonvoy with a 30% bonus, meaning:
1000 Membership Rewards = 1300 Marriott Bonvoy
That being said:
0.018 (Marriott Bonvoy Point Value) x 1.30 (30% Transfer Bonus) = 0.0234/Membership Rewards Point Value.
In the past Membership Rewards have transferred for even more. In 2019, American Express had a promotion where you could transfer Membership Rewards for a 40% bonus to Marriott Bonvoy. This being said, if you get lucky and transfer at the right time, you could be getting even more value from your Membership Reward points.
Final Point
Finally, if we add our total statement credits/benefits value of $724.79 to our total Membership Reward Balance with a value of $0.02/CPP we get a whopping $5,524.76 total gain from one year of card membership.
Please keep in mind, this is year one, so the sign up bonus is included, as well as double dipping credits between 2018 and 2019, as mentioned above. Also, I was lucky to get referrals between both years which obviously cushioned my MR bank. All in all, I am extremely pleased with my year one result of card membership. I was recently charged my Annual Fee ($550), and called last week. Luckily, I received a $200 statement credit retention offer! Comment down below if you'd like me to expound on how I managed to get that! I would love to help you guys cut back on your upcoming annual fees in the future! I may even write a script if people want one.
Feel free to comment down below if you have any questions about this post. If you enjoy this type of analytic information consider subscribing to our YouTube Channel where we review credit cards, teach travel hacking, review luxury hotels and teach how to stay at them free, total on points. We've made a goal to visit all of the Centurion Lounges worldwide and take you with us! We are traveling to three this month!