Stay at Home Essentials Card Refresh by American Express!
Earlier this week we reported that American Express would be refreshing their cards in May 2020 to suit a more "stay at home lifestyle", since now isn’t the time for non-essential travel just yet. American Express came through with some pretty amazing new rewards and benefits that are certainly curated to the lifestyle we are currently living. Let's go through each card and the enhancements American Express made.
Streaming and Wireless Enhancements
Personal Platinum Card: Receive up to $320 in statement credits on select streaming and U.S. wireless telephone services up to $20 per month, from May through December of 2020. The wording of the press release seemed a bit vague, so I made contact with a Platinum Concierge. Sheldon from American Express confirmed that Platinum cardholders will be credited up to $40 per month! $20 will go toward streaming services and $20 will go toward your wireless telephone bill. Sheldon also confirmed that you will get statement credits for multiple companies until you reach that $20 limit. For example, if you pay $15.99 for Netflix premium, but also have Spotify, you will get the remaining $4.01 streaming credit toward your Spotify payment. Also, you will get a separate $20 toward your wireless telephone bill! Make sure you switch your wireless and streaming services over as soon as possible in case you have bills incoming early this month. If we break down the math, $40/month for the next 8 months in 2020 gives you $320 total in statement credits. If you haven’t read read our article on how to get Spotify Premium for free, check out this article. This way, you can have your Platinum Card from American Express statement credit go toward a different streaming service, to save you more!
Business Platinum Card: Very similar to the personal Platinum Card, Business Platinum cardholders will receive up to $320 in statement credits for U.S. wireless telephone services and U.S. purchases for shipping up to $20 per months for each, from May through December of 2020. This credit is also $40/month, divided $20 for wireless telephone services and $20 for shipping costs. If we break down the math, $40/month for the next 8 months in 2020 gives you $320 total in statement credits.
Personal Green Card: Receive up to $80 in statement credits on U.S. wireless telephone services, up to $10 a month from May through December of 2020.
What Streaming Services are Eligible?
American Express lists the following U.S. streaming services as eligible for statement credits, but certain bundled products may not be eligible. Make sure you verify you are eligible!
Amazon Music Unlimited
Apple Music
Apple TV+
AT&T Now
Audible
CBS All Access
Disney+
ESPN+
Fubo TV
HBO Now
Hulu
iHeartRadio
Kindle Unlimited
Luminary
MLB.TV
NBA League Pass
Netflix
NHL.TV
Pandora
Prime Video
Showtime
Sling TV
SiriusXM Streaming and Satellite
Spotify
Stitcher
YouTube Music Premium
YouTube Premium
YouTube TV
What Wireless Telephone Services are Eligible?
American Express lists the following U.S. wireless telephone service providers as eligible for statement credits, but keep in mind that bundled services (like phone + television service bundles), as well as hardware purchases (like buying a new phone), are not included. It appears that you will only be credit for your phone bill. This is not a complete list per American Express, so make sure you call to verify your provider is eligible!
AT&T
Sprint
T-Mobile
Verizon
Dining Enhancements
Delta SkyMiles Reserve, Platinum, Gold and Blue Personal Cards: 4X Delta Sky Miles at U.S. supermarkets May through December of 2020.
Marriott Bonvoy and Brilliant Personal Cards: 6X Marriott Bonvoy points at U.S. supermarkets on up to $7,500 from May through December of 2020. Also, U.S. takeout and delivery purchases will qualify toward the $300 Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant statement credit starting June through August of 2020 only.
Hilton Surpass and Aspire Personal Cards: 12X Hilton Honors Bonus Points at U.S. supermarkets from May through December of 2020. Also, U.S. takeout and delivery will now qualify toward the Hilton Aspire $250 Hilton resort credit on your starting June through August of 2020 only.
All Hilton American Express Cards: All bonus points earned though eligible purchases that post between 5/1/2020 through 12/31/2020 will count toward Elite tier qualifications and Lifetime Diamond Status.
Small Business Enhancements
Business Platinum Card: Receive up to $200 in additional statement credit from U.S. purchases with Dell Technologies, for a total of up to $400 in statement credits in 2020. This credit is broken down bi-annually, much like the personal Platinum Saks Fifth Avenue credit. Business Platinum cardholders will get an additional $100 in statement credits on Dell purchases from 5/1/2020 through 6/30/2020 and another $100 from 7/1/2020 till 12/31/2020. Resy (which was recently acquired by American Express, is also waiving fees for new and existing customers. More info on this Resy benefit here. Keep in mind the Business Platinum Card also receives the $320 statement credit toward U.S. wireless telephone services as mentioned above in the wireless telephone section! Overall the Business Platinum Card gained $520 in statement credits on top of the existing ones in place.
The Final Point
Overall this temporary yet, extremely rewarding, American Express card refresh is exciting news to customers! Personal and Business Platinum cardholders certainly gain the most value from this refresh by earning up to $320 in statement credits for wireless telephone and streaming charges on top of the already lucrative statement credits. This is a huge win for current customers, but also could sway anyone on the fence about signing up for a Platinum product. On the Personal Platinum Card, you are looking at $820 in statement credits without even including the Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check $100 credit. The $80 wireless telephone credit for the American Express Green Card also makes this card much more attractive for at least the rest of 2020. Currently, less useful hotel cards can now be rotated into your wallet for food rewards, as well as the ability to spend unused Marriott Bonvoy Brillant or Hilton Aspire hotel/resort statement credits on dining. This is such a cool and unexpected addition from American Express and their hotel partners! Delta even came through and shockingly you can now earn more points (4X SkyMiles) on grocery trips and take-out than actually purchasing Delta flights! If you were in the market for a new credit card, right now might be one of the best times to capitalize on all these limited time statement credits and bonus rewards categories.
Next Steps
If you hold any of the cards we discussed, such as the Platinum Card, make sure you switch over your Netflix, Disney+, Spotify, or other streaming services to those cards before your next billing cycle to maximize your savings with the new statement credits. Now is a good time to review your wallet and develop a game plan for optimizing your rewards and minimizing your expenses. If we can be of any help with this, please feel free to email us at hello@thepointspassport.com. If you prefer, you can DM us on Instagram or Message us on Facebook! If you don’t have any of these American Express cards and are interested in taking advantage of these unique financial tools, we’d recommend reading our deep-dive reviews on the Platinum Card or American Express Gold Card. In our opinion, the American Express Gold Card is one of the strongest and most rewarding cards to have in your wallet for the current situation.
If you’re already interested in adding one of the cards mentioned above, found this article helpful, and want to support the Points Passport, please feel free to learn more about the cards with our partners at CreditCards.com by using the link below. Simply click the link, and scroll down to the card that interests you the most!