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AMEX Platinum

SynixMan said:
Sorry I meant for this Chase Sapphire. It appears it isn't quite the deal that the AMEX is.
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It's better in some ways.

Their intro offer right now is pretty kickass.

3-4.5% for travel/dining expenses.

"Travel" is broadly defined...so that $300 travel credit can burn down the cost of the fee on drunk night Ubers.

Just a matter of what your preferences are.
 
armada1651 said:
While I do enjoy the Sky Club and Admiral's Club (American will let military in free, usually they'll want orders though), the Amex Centurion Club seems to be a cut above.
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Absolutely - big fan of Centurion. Only problem is they are pretty rare. I usually fly AA and go out of my way to schedule XC flights through DFW so I can take advantage of its Centurion. It's far superior to any domestic lounge and it's on-par or better than the higher end international lounges that I sneak my way into with Priority Pass. The food is pretty legit, and the drinks are all top-ish shelf, definitely way, way better than what a domestic AA/DL/UA lounge offers.

I'll also give a shout out to the Airspace Lounges (I've only been to the one at SAN). AMEX Plat gets you in there with a $10 premium drink voucher. Nice lay out, lots of comfortable seating and power outlets; limited snack selection, but a really good bar. I'd rate it below Centurion but easily superior to the usual AA/DL/UA lounges.
 
I forgot about the $200 airline fee credit. I actually used that for the first time this Xmas so I could buy my box of carbohydrates since I had been delayed several hours. I'll admit, I didn't realize the booze was free, but I also don't really drink while flying, but that's another fair argument. I tend to fly Delta more often than not, so I'm with you there.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
Not a high end card, but one with good benefits nevertheless. American Express Blue Cash Preferred has a whopping 6% cash back on your first $6,000 in groceries per year. $6,000 x 6% = $360 benefit per year. It does cost $95 per year to have the card, but you are still $265 ahead per year. Another way of thinking about this is that you can get a top of the line iphone every 3 years for free by using this card (which is what my wife does.)
 
My dad travels roughly 60% of the year nowadays and the CSR is definitely worth it for him; he made his money back in his first 2 weeks of owning it.

The AMEX is nice, but the second they start charging me the $450 annual fee, I'm out. Some of the perks are nice, but I don't get to use them often enough. I've been turned away from a Delta lounge despite booking the Delta flight with an AMEX; the concierge is nice but I've only used that service once; book travel with them and it's the same as kayak.com plus a $30(?) fee; the rewards program is crap (my Discover card I pay $0 is arguably my best); the Priority Pass lounges you generally have to have a flight in that terminal to make it work; if I was paying for it, so far, I'd be disappointed in the AMEX Platinum.
 
DanMa1156 said:
My dad travels roughly 60% of the year nowadays and the CSR is definitely worth it for him; he made his money back in his first 2 weeks of owning it.

The AMEX is nice, but the second they start charging me the $450 annual fee, I'm out. Some of the perks are nice, but I don't get to use them often enough. I've been turned away from a Delta lounge despite booking the Delta flight with an AMEX; the concierge is nice but I've only used that service once; book travel with them and it's the same as kayak.com plus a $30(?) fee; the rewards program is crap (my Discover card I pay $0 is arguably my best); the Priority Pass lounges you generally have to have a flight in that terminal to make it work; if I was paying for it, so far, I'd be disappointed in the AMEX Platinum.
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Denied access to the delta lounge, even when you booked delta? Something went wrong there.

But I agree, the perks don't match the $450 fee.

And anyone looking into the Barclay's, it's a no-go as of november. I applied and then found out I missed it by a couple of weeks.
 
Hopeful Hoya said:
The CSR. I have the Platinum and am debating getting the CSR and the Freedom, but I don't think the CSR is worth it unless they waive the $450.
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The 100,000-point signup bonus was a pretty compelling reason for me. The $300 yearly travel credit essentially reduces the annual fee to $150, so the first year at least will be worth it. Haven't decided how long I'll keep the card.
 
The AMEX is only a good deal so long as you're military. As soon as it starts costing you, it's not worth the 450 (less 200 annual credit). CSR's annual credit is far more flexible; the 100K sign up bonus is worth beaucoup flights, and the travel portal is legit. The numbers work out for you to break even or come out ahead for at least 10 years with that card, just from the sign up and annual travel bonus.

At only $55/year more than my United card, it'll still be a no brainer even after 10 years.
 
scoolbubba said:
The AMEX is only a good deal so long as you're military. As soon as it starts costing you, it's not worth the 450 (less 200 annual credit). CSR's annual credit is far more flexible; the 100K sign up bonus is worth beaucoup flights, and the travel portal is legit. The numbers work out for you to break even or come out ahead for at least 10 years with that card, just from the sign up and annual travel bonus.

At only $55/year more than my United card, it'll still be a no brainer even after 10 years.
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Where did you get the 10-year figure? I was trying to explain to somebody yesterday why I signed up for the card, but I certainly didn't have that compelling a case.
 
That was dependent on earning the 100,000 points. 100k points is worth about 1500 bucks. Spread that over the effective annual fee of 150 bucks, and voila...you get 10 years before the card actually starts costing you anything.
 
I have the AMEX Platinum because I needed a second card and sure it does have it's perks, but I still like my Navy Fed card. In terms of features, the rewards points program with Navy Fed is way better and simpler. I usually return the rewards points for a Visa gift card that I can use on anything I want. The AMEX is kind of a pain and doesn't return points at nearly the same rate as the Navy Fed card. Plus, I've been very happen with my experience with Navy Fed.
 
Luxury Card Gold is officially dead. They will only honor the letter of the law with the SCRA.

They did refund me the $1000 fee and close my account nicely when I asked however. And I got a sweet free monogrammed gold pen out of it.
 
xj220 said:
I have the AMEX Platinum because I needed a second card and sure it does have it's perks, but I still like my Navy Fed card. In terms of features, the rewards points program with Navy Fed is way better and simpler. I usually return the rewards points for a Visa gift card that I can use on anything I want. The AMEX is kind of a pain and doesn't return points at nearly the same rate as the Navy Fed card. Plus, I've been very happen with my experience with Navy Fed.
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I'm not a crazy point chaser, but I have 3 cards for distinctly different reasons:

1. Discover More - this is my main card. The rewards are 1% on everything and 5% back on rotating categories throughout the year, and they are all things that I already spend on (like right now is gas), groceries is an annual one, as are home improvement, and they for the past several years have made online shopping and amazon.com 5% back in the final quarter of the year right when you're doing holiday shopping anyway. I get a considerable amount back and parlay that into a gift card that usually has a 5-20% bonus on top of it to a restaurant or something. I'm ideally saving up for a cruise at this point. The travel protection for insurance is similar to AMEX Platinum.

2. AMEX Platinum: the perks, pretty exclusively. I use occasionally, they do have the nice added in extra warranty for purchases, but haven't had to use it yet. I plan on eventually using the international first class bonus seat here. I have 50,000 + points here, but it's not a great value unless you're trading in for airline miles at a higher than a 1:1 ratio. Using the points for cash (in the form of paying off purchases) is a terrible ratio.

3. NFCU Cash Rewards Card (the green Visa they offer): Simplicity and safety. Visa is literally accepted everywhere. NFCU's website loads on even the slowest, crappiest boat internet and their rewards are a straight 1.5% cashback all the time, which adds up quicker than one might think. Redemption options are not quite as good as the Discover, but redeeming some cash to put in your checking account is super simple.
 
DanMa1156 said:
3. NFCU Cash Rewards Card (the green Visa they offer): Simplicity and safety. Visa is literally accepted everywhere.
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I had USAA set me up with a low limit VISA card that I use as my travel card overseas (for me mostly to Latin/South America and Caribbean).
 
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