American Express Platinum Card
Discussion
bad company said:
Been looking at this further. I can get annual cdw cover for car hire for £50,my bank already give me world wide travel insurance so the only thing missing for me is Priority Pass for lounge access.
Amex is starting to look expensive.
Do you have others you can add to the card?Amex is starting to look expensive.
I have 6x CDWs and the BA card...so it's cost neutral and lazy.
I bust my knee skiing in Austria
in the hospital waiting room I heard half the people
In there arguing with their insurance companies .
They were told to travel home for treatment.
2 hours later I was operated on .
Sometimes you get what you pay for .
On a more negative note ,two years ago I was in the lamentable Doha airport
and was turned away from a lounge because they only accepted
Middle East platinum cards .
in the hospital waiting room I heard half the people
In there arguing with their insurance companies .
They were told to travel home for treatment.
2 hours later I was operated on .
Sometimes you get what you pay for .
On a more negative note ,two years ago I was in the lamentable Doha airport
and was turned away from a lounge because they only accepted
Middle East platinum cards .
swerni said:
I've just gone back to platinum having moved to a BA Amex when they made the change.
BA have f
ked up avios and tier points, for a priority pass would cost me £250.
I now pay for all my own flights so get full insurance cover so it's become worth its again.
What value it represents really depends on the individual circumstance at the time
If you have the BA AmEx under the Platinum, I believe (I was told by AmEx) that the insurance coverage of the Platinum was extended to that flight booking.BA have f
ked up avios and tier points, for a priority pass would cost me £250. I now pay for all my own flights so get full insurance cover so it's become worth its again.
What value it represents really depends on the individual circumstance at the time
swerni said:
Why bother with both?
The PlaAmex gives travel insurance to me and 5 family members. If you're going for Avios, Membership Rewards isn't that good at 1 Avios per £1.The BAAmex does't have the insurance benefits....but does mean 1.5 Avios per £1 and a Companion Ticket when spending £10,000. The £150 fee is also included as part of the £450 fee on the PlaAmex.
I agree that BA Avios aren't what they were...but I am pretty tied in from a few years of very, very heavy BA use (necessity of travel between Jersey where I used to live and London where I now live).
Edited by EJH on Saturday 30th May 11:27
Edited by EJH on Saturday 30th May 11:31
swerni said:
I've been a heavy BA user for years.
Was on a flight Tuesday, wasn't allowed to change the seats at all without paying, that's despite being a silver member.
With the changes to tier points and a bit less travel, I won't retain silver for next year.
No seat booking, no lounge and avios being crap, there's no compelling reason for me to use BA or have the BA Amex card anymore.
Wonder how many people will fill the same and how it will impact their business.
I'm in the same camp. I have gold, shall be soft landed to Silver and shall then be blue. At that point, I shall walk away from the Avios card...but I still have 1/4m points to use (even after some heavy points use in the last 4 years).Was on a flight Tuesday, wasn't allowed to change the seats at all without paying, that's despite being a silver member.
With the changes to tier points and a bit less travel, I won't retain silver for next year.
No seat booking, no lounge and avios being crap, there's no compelling reason for me to use BA or have the BA Amex card anymore.
Wonder how many people will fill the same and how it will impact their business.
They aren't what they were and the service provided by other carriers means I shall be looking to move my business on. In time.
bad company said:
So what extra perks do you get with black and at what cost please?
I was invited once but my Amex spend has reduced considerably as I spend a lot of time abroad now and pay with a Halifax Clarity card to avoid the 2.99% foreign exchange fee. That with the membership fee is what is making me consider options.
£1800 a year. I did read that there is now an additional initial fee in the UK, but I've had mine many years now, so hopefully Greg can clarify if that is the case.I was invited once but my Amex spend has reduced considerably as I spend a lot of time abroad now and pay with a Halifax Clarity card to avoid the 2.99% foreign exchange fee. That with the membership fee is what is making me consider options.
Well I have looked around & I reckon the Lloyds Avios reward card looks good:-
http://www.lloydsbank.com/M/credit-cards/avios-rew...
No non sterling charges & the chance to earn points for travel all @ £24 a year.
http://www.lloydsbank.com/M/credit-cards/avios-rew...
No non sterling charges & the chance to earn points for travel all @ £24 a year.
I find the Lifestyle Team very good i.e. they've managed to get us a booking at a "fully booked" restaurant, a table in a bar we otherwise couldn't etc.
Also, the benefits you get when booking via their Fine Hotels & Resorts collection are well worth it IMO. Via this, I'd guess we've probably benefitted from over £1,200 worth of "free" stuff after only 3 stays - including the last time where we were upgraded from our booked room to a £900-a-night suite.
For example, when we go to Italy in September, we'll receive a complementary room upgrade, complimentary breakfast each morning, £85 credit to spend on food/drinks during our stay, early check-in (midday) and late check-out (midday). As we're there for 3 nights, I'd hazard a guess we would have to spend the best part of £600+ in total to get all of that if we didn't book via Amex and we're paying no more than the room only rate if booking directly with the hotel. Granted, the hotels they have aren't cheap however I'd rather do 3 nights in a 5* hotel than 5 nights in a 3/4* hotel.
Also, the benefits you get when booking via their Fine Hotels & Resorts collection are well worth it IMO. Via this, I'd guess we've probably benefitted from over £1,200 worth of "free" stuff after only 3 stays - including the last time where we were upgraded from our booked room to a £900-a-night suite.
For example, when we go to Italy in September, we'll receive a complementary room upgrade, complimentary breakfast each morning, £85 credit to spend on food/drinks during our stay, early check-in (midday) and late check-out (midday). As we're there for 3 nights, I'd hazard a guess we would have to spend the best part of £600+ in total to get all of that if we didn't book via Amex and we're paying no more than the room only rate if booking directly with the hotel. Granted, the hotels they have aren't cheap however I'd rather do 3 nights in a 5* hotel than 5 nights in a 3/4* hotel.
Yes the lifestyle stuff is good but remember if you pay in Euros or $'s its plus nearly 3%.
Just found out Amex offer a $ or Euro card with similar benefits:-
https://www.americanexpress.com/icc/eurodollar/per...
Not sure how it works if I use that card when I buy in £'s?
Just found out Amex offer a $ or Euro card with similar benefits:-
https://www.americanexpress.com/icc/eurodollar/per...
Not sure how it works if I use that card when I buy in £'s?
A contrarian perspective here.
I was in an airport lounge that some arseh0le brought his screaming toddlers into, and sought escape back into the relative sanctity of the main airport.
Upon reflection, I realised that I fly mainly short-haul direct flights with a carry-on bag and online booking so usually don't need to get to airports early &/or do not have time for lounges. Whilst saving a load of money on a Platinum Card, I appreciate that I do now have to buy my own coffee or beer.
I buy travel insurance with ski cover for £60pa, and car hire excess insurance for £50pa and I use Quidco and a cashback card to book hotels etc, and a Caxton Euro card to handle Euro transactions.
I feel much happier overall. The excitement of paying full price for a Standard room, and being upgraded to a Deluxe room (3sqm more and a trouser-press!) has waned and now I just book the room I want using my phone - sometimes using the hotel wifi - and always at a discount, which the hotel reception staff are never aware of anyway.
I'm sure premium cards were brilliant once, however I feel that they haven't kept up with technology, and now add almost no benefit to me personally.
I was in an airport lounge that some arseh0le brought his screaming toddlers into, and sought escape back into the relative sanctity of the main airport.
Upon reflection, I realised that I fly mainly short-haul direct flights with a carry-on bag and online booking so usually don't need to get to airports early &/or do not have time for lounges. Whilst saving a load of money on a Platinum Card, I appreciate that I do now have to buy my own coffee or beer.
I buy travel insurance with ski cover for £60pa, and car hire excess insurance for £50pa and I use Quidco and a cashback card to book hotels etc, and a Caxton Euro card to handle Euro transactions.
I feel much happier overall. The excitement of paying full price for a Standard room, and being upgraded to a Deluxe room (3sqm more and a trouser-press!) has waned and now I just book the room I want using my phone - sometimes using the hotel wifi - and always at a discount, which the hotel reception staff are never aware of anyway.
I'm sure premium cards were brilliant once, however I feel that they haven't kept up with technology, and now add almost no benefit to me personally.
MKA29 said:
z4RRSchris said:
black gets you pretty decent hotel upgrades as long as you book with them. Don't have to pay with them.
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