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Are the Non-Travel Amex Platinum Card Benefits Worth it?
The American Express Platinum Card is known for its great travel benefits, but the card also offers fantastic non-travel rewards as well. Continue reading to learn more about the benefits of the Amex Platinum Card.
The Amex Platinum card is arguably one of the original travel rewards cards. The card obviously comes with a slew of great travel benefits. But now we’re in the middle of a global pandemic with limited ability to travel. So does having a travel rewards card still make sense?
Luckily, the folks at American Express recognized the need to be flexible given the circumstances, and added a few more temporary benefits to sweeten the pot. The Amex Platinum card benefits include a number of non-travel related perks that can put a nice dent into the $550 annual fee.
Non-Travel Amex Benefit #1: Monthly Streaming Credit
Who isn’t watching more TV these days? Between Tiger King and Ozark, it seems like everyone is binging Netflix. Or Hulu. Or Disney+. We might as well keep ourselves entertained while we’re stuck at home.
Because of the pandemic, American Express provided a new, temporary benefit for Amex Platinum card holders. For May-December 2020, card holders can receive a $20/month credit towards the cost of virtually any streaming service. For a full list, you can check out the Amex website. But seriously… they’ve really covered all the bases.
So watch Hamilton on repeat through Disney+. Or rewatch Game of Thrones on HBO. Stream to your hearts desire. Pay for any streaming service with the Amex platinum card, and the card will credit you $20/month. It’s important to note that the streaming credit is a use-it-or-lose-it type credit. So it can’t be applied retroactively or towards future purchases.
Potential value: $20/month x 8 months = $160
Non-Travel Amex Benefit #2: Cell Phone Service Credit
In addition to the temporary streaming credit, American Express also introduced a temporary cell phone service credit. It’s only only applicable from May-December 2020, and the credit is worth $20/month. Essentially, Amex will provide a $20 credit to your account when you use the Amex Platinum card to make your monthly bill payment. So this is another one of the great Amex platinum card benefits that can be easily redeemed.
Note that the credit applies to U.S. wireless carriers, so you probably won’t receive the credit if you’re making payments to a foreign cell carrier. Also, it unfortunately doesn’t count towards any hardware or devices that you might buy at the Sprint or Verizon store. So nice try, but you can’t buy a new phone charger to earn the credit. Definitely a bummer to those on a family plan who just Venmo the parents money each month to cover your portion of the bill.
Potential value: $20/month x 8 months = $160
Non-Travel Amex Benefit #3: Uber Credit
Yes… the Amex Platinum card benefits include a monthly credit for Uber. Each month, American Express will credit your account up to $15 back for any transactions with Uber. Fortunately, this is not a temporary credit, either. This was actually one of the benefits even before the temporary pandemic benefits (like the streaming and cell service credits).
While Uber credits probably don’t seem as valuable these days, the real beauty with this benefit is that it is also valid for UberEats purchases. And who hasn’t ordered more takeout than they should these past few months? This is another benefit that is incredibly easy to redeem considering you can simply have a Chipotle burrito delivered and probably max out the $15 credit.
Potential value: $200. Yes, I know that doesn’t add up ($15/month x 12 months = $180). That’s because card holders receive a bonus $20 credit in December. A perfect excuse to order more delivery.
Non-Travel Amex Benefit #4: Saks Credit
Yes… more credits! The $100/year Saks credit is another one of the Amex Platinum card benefits available even before the pandemic.
If you shop at Saks Fifth Avenue, this credit will be easy to redeem. But if you’ve never set foot in Saks and didn’t know that guys can spend $150 on Versace underwear, this credit will be more difficult to redeem. With that being said, it’s a free $100 in credit, so maybe they’ll be something that catches your eye.
One quick thing to note. The $100 in credit is split into $50 between January-June and the other $50 between July-December. So while the total credit is $100, to redeem the whole credit will require two trips.
Potential value: $100
Non-Travel Amex Benefit #5: Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty
These are often overlooked card benefits and not entirely unique to the Amex Platinum card. Nonetheless, these are worth pointing out.
The Amex Platinum card offers 90 days of purchase protection. That means that if an item you purchased with your Amex Platinum card is lost, stolen, or damaged within 90 days, you can seek compensation from American Express. Think of it like an insurance policy provided by Amex. The intent is to encourage card holders to use the card for more (or most?) purchases. If you have an eligible item lost, stolen or damaged, Amex will reimburse you up to $10,000 per incident ($50,000 lifetime maximum). Given all the online shopping going on, this is a benefit to keep in mind.
Another little known Amex Platinum card perk: extended warranty protection. Let’s say you purchased an item with your Platinum card and a day after the manufacturer’s warranty ends, the item breaks. With this card benefit, American Express adds a complimentary additional year to the manufacturer’s warranty. Some restrictions apply, such as a maximum coverage of $10,000 per item. And the extra year of warranty coverage only applies if the original warranty was five years or less.
The bottom line: you can make purchases more confidently knowing that Amex has your back in case something goes wrong.
Potential Value: Peace of Mind (and maybe $150 for a new FitBit)
Non-Travel Amex Benefit #6: Free ShopRunner Membership
Everyone is shopping online during this pandemic, which also means everyone is trying to avoid paying shipping charges. Yet another benefit of the Amex Platinum card is complimentary membership with ShopRunner. ShopRunner is a shipping service that offers free two-day delivery from a variety of online stores including 1-800-Flowers, Kate Spade, Under Armour, and dozens of others.
This is a nice perk, but at the same time, it seems like most retailers have already hopped on the “free shipping” bandwagon by now. Still, there might be cases where you don’t want to spend $75 for free shipping or the coupon code you Googled isn’t working at checkout. That’s when a complimentary service like ShopRunner can really combine handy.
Potential Value: Since most items are free shipping, we’ll say $15 for that one time you would have had to pay shipping if it weren’t for ShopRunner
Are the Non-Travel Amex Platinum Card Benefits Worth it?
Let’s quickly add up the different credits:
- $160 in streaming services credits
- $160 in cell phone services credits
- $200 in Uber/UberEats credits
- $100 in Saks credits
- TOTAL: $620 in credits
The Amex Platinum card’s annual fee is $550/year, yet the card provides up to $620/year in non-travel benefits. This is an exceptional value. And it doesn’t even take into account all of the travel benefits (airport lounge access, hotel loyalty status, $200/year airline reimbursement, etc.).
If you can maximize these different credits, the Amex Platinum remains a very competitive card even during the pandemic.
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