Tl;dr: Although the Amex Platinum can pay for itself thanks to a raft of statement credits, you’ll have to keep track of a lot of them. Meanwhile, the card offers more luxury perks than long-term travel boosts.

Last week, the Chase Sapphire Reserve’s big refresh led me to assess whether it was time for existing Reserve cardholders to cancel their accounts. Since then, Amex has refreshed its own top-tier Platinum Card, raising the annual fee by $200 to a whopping $895. But I’m not going to ask the same question about the Platinum—virtually anyone who thought the Platinum was worth it before should like it even better now.

Instead, I’m wondering if holdouts should start thinking about adding the Platinum to their wallets. The upfront fee is massive and Amex points are tricky to maximize, but the card can easily pay for itself, and offers a raft of premium benefits to boot. So today, I want to break down the Platinum’s credits, perks, and points from a LazyPoints perspective: how accessible, useful, and valuable are they for middle class travelers looking to keep things simple?

Read on to see why the Amex Platinum can enhance your travels while paying for itself, but might not be the best choice for optimized simplicity.

How valuable are the statement credits?

Amex says the $895 you spend to put a Platinum Card in your wallet will get you “over $3,500 in Annual Value.” Potentially. In my book, true value comes from credits toward things you were already going to pay for. That value goes down when you have to expend a lot of effort to use those credits and avoid breakage. And the value can even be negative if it induces you to spend on products or services you wouldn’t have otherwise.

With that in mind, how do the current Platinum credits stack up?

$300 Digital Entertainment Credit ($25 monthly)

This is the Platinum’s best credit. Virtually everyone pays for digital entertainment these days, and with a broad range of qualifying services (YouTube TV and Premium, Disney+, ESPN, Hulu, Peacock, Paramount+, the New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal), you can set the Platinum as your recurring payment and easily get the full value without any effort past the initial setup.

$200 Airline Fee Credit (annual)

On paper, this is a low-value credit. You must pick a single airline each year (potentially hard to predict if you are not a loyalist), and you are limited to credit for “incidental” expenses like seat upgrades, checked bag fees, or in-flight purchases. I avoid incidental fees like the plague, so those benefits are worth almost nothing to me.

In practice, this has been one of the easiest and most valuable credits for me. I just choose United as my airline of choice and load up on TravelBank credits. This doesn't always work for everyone, so be careful, but it always has for me. If you’re concerned, you can run a smaller test amount before spending the full $200. But the worst case scenario is prepaying $200 toward your next United flight, while the best case is that the payment is fully refunded by Amex.

$400 Resy Credit ($100 quarterly)

This credit is pretty flexible. It will trigger automatically when eating at any restaurant listed on Resy and paying with the Platinum card—no reservation needed.

There is a lot to like about this credit. A $100 credit could cover a splurge on a family dinner, or a series of smaller purchases over the course of the quarter. Resy restaurants are available in most major cities and plenty of smaller ones. There are also numerous options abroad. If you want to take the credit and just have fun, Resy makes helpful guides to find Michelin-starred restaurants linked to Resy.

Unfortunately, even in bigger cities Resy restaurants are few and far between, and usually on the pricier side. If you’re paying $50 more than you normally would for a meal, then you’re not really getting the full value from this credit. Worse, you’ll have to keep track of which restaurants are Resy-affiliated because you won’t want to use your Platinum anywhere else, given that it only earns one point per dollar on dining while so many competitors offer triple points or more.

Despite those drawbacks, I love this credit. Amex’s terms & conditions say that gift cards “may not” trigger the credit. But it’s always worked for me. For my Delta card, I just buy a new gift card at the beginning of each month until I have enough for a night out. But with a $100 credit, stacking gift cards probably isn’t even necessary—unless you want to save up for a nice dinner for two at one of those higher-end restaurants.

$200 in Uber Cash ($15 monthly, plus $20 bonus in December)

The Uber Cash works for both Uber and Uber Eats. Just note that if the Uber Cash doesn’t cover the whole purchase, it will only apply if you pay for the remainder with an Amex card.

Even if you don’t ride Uber or order delivery each month, I find this benefit pretty easy to redeem by simply ordering takeout via Uber Eats. It’s fairly easy to find a good restaurant nearby, and you won’t have to pay tips or delivery fees on pickup orders.

$300 lululemon Credit ($75 quarterly)

I have never bought anything from lululemon in my life, but they have a ton of items available for under $75, and they offer free shipping within North America. Even clearance items can be exchanged or returned for a gift card with a lululemon membership (which is free). With a wide range of clothing and accessories for both men and women, it should be pretty easy to get a lot of value from this credit.

Even better? You can often get even more bonus points by using a shopping portal.

$600 Hotel Credit ($300 semi-annually)

This credit applies toward stays at Fine Hotels & Resorts or The Hotel Collection stays booked via Amex Travel (2-night minimum stay on the latter). You can explore FHR hotels at maxFHR, which can help you find the most affordable FHR hotels in the world. In my travels, I have never found a qualifying stay for under $350, but a few options do exist in that price range. That could mean one or two nights in a high end property for $50-100. No cash value in my book, but a definite travel upgrade. If you regularly spend $250/night or more on hotels, this credit could put money back in your pocket.

Other credits

There’s also a $100 credit for Saks Fifth Avenue ($50, semi-annually), a $300 Equinox credit, and a $200 Oura credit. For the Saks credit, check out Saks sale page—there are a few items available under $50, but remember that you’ll have to pay shipping. This has gotten me a bottle of sunscreen, but not much more. The Cheapest products at Equinox and Oura cost more than the credit, so these will provide little (or negative) value to most people.

Are the perks worth the hassle?

Although the statement credits can easily cover the annual fee, does the Platinum card have enough on offer to justify the time and effort of juggling all those credits?

Lounge Access

The Platinum offers space-available access to the following lounge networks: Centurion, Escape, Delta Sky Club (10 visits per year when flying Delta), Priority Pass Select, Plaza Premium, and Lufthansa lounges (when flying LH Group, access depends on ticket type).

Priority Pass membership is table stakes for premium cards these days. Where the Platinum excels is in offering lounge options beyond Priority Pass. Although Centurion and Delta lounges suffer from their own overcrowding issues, this additional network is far bigger than anything offered by the competition, and provides additional options when a Priority Pass lounge is not available.

Note that Centurion Lounge access is limited to the cardholder only. Guest access is unlocked after spending $75,000 on the card. That much spending will also unlock unlimited Delta Sky Club access, but without guest access. Authorized users can be added for $195 each, and access the Centurion and Delta lounges.

Marriott Gold Status

Gold status with Marriott comes with 25% bonus points on stays, 2pm late checkout, welcome gift points, and upgrades to preferred rooms when available (no suite upgrades).

Although you could get Silver status essentially for free with Chase’s co-branded Marriott cards, Gold status is a significant upgrade over Silver, which offers only 10% bonus points and late checkout priority.

Although Marriott points are not very valuable, and can be difficult to earn efficiently, Gold status is still useful to have when booking with the chain.

Hilton Gold Status

Gold status with Hilton comes with free bottled water, a 5th night free on reward stays, space-available room upgrades, 80% bonus points, and a daily food and beverage credit.

Those are solid benefits, and a huge step up from Silver status which gets no food and beverage credit or room upgrades, and only 20% bonus points. Getting them through the Platinum—with the many other benefits it offers—is probably a better option than the alternative path: Amex’s Hilton Surpass card, which requires quarterly paid Hilton stays to break even on its annual fee. But either the Surpass or the Hilton Aspire might be better bets if you find yourself staying at Hiltons regularly, due to the much greater returns on Hilton spending with those cards.

Leading Hotels of the World Sterling Status

LHW hotels generally start around $500 per night, but if you can afford that, Sterling status includes pre-arrival upgrades, daily continental breakfast for two, and more.

It also includes a status match to Sixt Platinum, including a free additional driver and car upgrade, among other things, although these benefits are limited rentals within the US.

These hotels are far too rich for my blood, but LHW is a transfer partner from Citi (not, curiously, from Amex), so if you have Citi points it might make some sense to transfer them to LHW to book then take advantage of your Platinum-based Sterling status.

Rental Car Status

Platinum cardholders can receive Avis Preferred Plus, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards, and National Emerald Club elite status. Benefits vary by program but tend to include upgrades, faster rewards earning, and the ability to skip the check-in counter.

Car rental status sounds fancy, but I usually find better deals elsewhere, so I rarely use it.

Clear+

The Platinum comes with a $209 Clear credit, enough to cover the cost of a Clear+ membership.

Most of the time, I see no benefit from my Clear+ membership. Security lines are often so short these days that you can walk straight up to the agent in the TSA Precheck line. The extra step of going through Clear can actually slow you down, especially if there are a lot of people using Clear. That said, it can be a life saver, and easily save me 30-60 minutes on one particularly hectic day in the Orlando airport. So while I wouldn’t pay money for the service, as a free perk of Platinum membership it is very nice to have.

Uber One

Platinum offers statement credits to cover the full cost of Uber One membership, which offers $0 delivery fees, 6% back on rides, and 10% off on Eats delivery and pickup. This is definitely a useful perk, and it actually makes the Platinum’s Uber Cash benefit even more valuable.

Walmart+

Walmart+ membership comes with an incredibly valuable collection of perks. When shopping it Walmart, you’ll get free shipping, free returns from home, and free same-day grocery delivery.

In addition to Walmart benefits, a membership offers a subscription to your choice of Paramount+ or Peacock (w/ ads), free online pet care with Pawp, 10¢ off per gallon at Exxon, Mobil, Walmart, and Murphy stations (you have to use your phone at the pump to get the discount), and 25% off Burger King digital orders plus a free whopper every 3 months.

I haven’t gotten much value from Walmart+, but it’s nice to have as an option and alternative to Amazon.

TSA PreCheck or Global Entry

You can receive a statement credit for the cost of TSA PreCheck or Global Entry every few years. These programs can make your airport experience much more efficient and relaxing. Although you could get the same benefit with many other credit cards, including ones with much lower annual fees, this is still a useful credit if you haven’t already signed up for Global Entry.

Is it worth it?

I think for most people, or at least most city-dwellers, if you can afford the annual fee (big “if”), you can easily recover the cost of that fee through the statement credits. But just because you can break even doesn’t necessarily mean it’s worth it.

The case for “no”

Complication. Although you can break even or maybe even come out ahead, to do so you’ll have to keep track of half a dozen credits and work to optimize them. Even taking an Uber instead of a Lyft to make sure you use your Uber Cash, or buying lululemon instead of Nike can be a real cost, even if the prices are the same. You might come out ahead, but you’ll have to put in the work, and be able to take a $900 gut-punch to your bank account once a year.

Redundancy. Most of the card’s perks are available elsewhere. All of the Platinum’s direct competitors have Priority Pass lounge access and many have their own proprietary lounges. The Delta lounge access is nice if you fly Delta and can get in. But other cards can give you limited access to less-crowded lounges, like the United Explorer (2 United Club passes annually), Citi Strata Elite (4 AA Admiral’s Club passes annually), or Atmos Summit (2 Alaska Lounge passes quarterly). For Hotel status, as long as you’re in the premium card game, you’d be better off with a Hilton Aspire, which offers higher status and much greater rewards on direct bookings. Marriott Gold status, meanwhile, is nice but not a game-changer.

Poor earning rates. The Platinum isn’t ideal as a single-card solution. Beyond the 5x points on flights (best-in-class for direct bookings), the 1x earning on base spending is mediocre, and dreadful when spending in categories that receive big bonuses from other cards, like dining, gas, groceries, travel, and more.

Other complicated Amex cards. You could add other Amex cards to maximize your Membership Rewards earning, but that will come at the cost of even more credits to keep track of—unless you get a Green card, in which case you’ll pay $150 for the privilege of earning 3x on dining and travel, with nothing else in return.

Better competitors. Amex points have lost ground to competitors like Bilt and Citi. Cards from these issuers have lower fees, simpler credits, and better transfer partners and easier redemptions to boot.

No Gold bonus. You’ll also lose your eligibility for a bonus on the lower-tier Gold and Green cards by adding this card to your wallet.

The case for “yes”

So many points. The welcome bonus is currently “up to 175,000 points.” If you can get that many points (many applicants will get offered less, but you can back out without your credit getting checked), the Platinum is a more than worthwhile addition to your wallet, even if a temporary one. In my experience, that’s easily enough for four round-trip tickets to Europe when transferred to Delta, one round-trip business class ticket to Europe on Aeroplan, or two round-trip business class tickets from the Northeast to Europe on Iberia. That’s incredible value for a card that you can break even on.

Amex universe. Although Amex has lost ground to the competition, it still has an excellent set of transfer partners. If you’re willing to keep track of dozens of credits, the combination of a Platinum card and Gold card can collect points very quickly if you eat out regularly. Combine that with a Delta co-branded card, and you could be flying around the world for years on Amex points.

Luxury. Hey, maybe the math doesn’t math all that great. But you get all the lounges, elite status, and access to luxury options like Fine Hotels & Resorts and Leading Hotels of the World. If you’re willing to make some sacrifices in the name of luxury, you could do a lot worse than the Amex Platinum.

Lazy Take 🦥

Despite the annual fee increase, the value proposition of the Amex Platinum is undoubtedly better today than it was last week. It should easily break even on the cost of the annual fee given the incredible slate of statement credits and perks it brings to the table, and most of these are fairly easy to take advantage of. With a welcome offer that’s more than big enough to get you flying across the ocean (perhaps in style, perhaps with a companion, perhaps a couple times), there are worse decisions than applying for an Amex Platinum.

However, Amex hasn’t launched this refresh with a major offer that tops what it has had on the table for months, so there’s little urgency to rush and grab this card. The Platinum itself earns points at an embarrassingly slow rate, and earning more efficiently will probably require filling out your wallet with more Amex cards and probably even more statement credits to keep track of. With competitors like Bilt, Citi, and Atmos offering competitive benefits with much lower costs, much simpler setups, and much more lucrative earning rates, it’s hard to make the case for the Platinum except as a luxury flourish to your credit card portfolio.

But oh, what a luxury.

Amex Platinum Refresh: Worth $895 a Year?

Tl;dr: Although the Amex Platinum can pay for itself thanks to a raft of statement credits, you’ll have to keep track of a lot of them. Meanwhile, the card offers more luxury perks than long-term travel boosts.

How valuable are the statement credits?