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American Express’ recent changes to their personal Platinum card (SEE: 6 major changes to the American Express Platinum) were mostly disappointing. The new perks don’t really justify the fee increase, at least in my opinion. I even offered some potential changes that Amex should have considered that would be a lot more appealing to cardholders (SEE: 5 better enhancements Amex *should* have made to the personal Platinum card).
Now it looks like some of the changes made to the personal Platinum card will be coming to the business Platinum card as well. Changes include:
- Earning 5 MR points per dollar on both prepaid hotel bookings and airfare booked through Amex travel
- The priority pass membership will have guesting privileges of 2 guests per cardholder
Note how the 5x earning differs from the personal Platinum Card: the personal Platinum earns 5 points per dollar on flights booked either through Amex travel or booked directly with the airline, but the Amex Business Platinum will only earn 5 points per dollar on flights booked through Amex travel.
Still, this is welcomed. Booking flights through Amex travel still earns you miles/status/etc, and prices are usually the same.
The priority pass change is huge, and puts the card a step above the CSR now in terms of overall lounge access, when considering both guesting and networks.
Like those for the personal Platinum card, changes will take effect starting March 30.
Will the annual fee increase like the personal Platinum card?
So far there is no mention of a fee increase, which is great news! There is also no mention of any Uber credits, which I am more than happy about. I would rather the fee remain at $450 and be without the Uber benefit.
The changes to the Amex Business Platinum are only positive, unlike the recent changes to the personal version of the card. I hope Amex can continue to improve upon their premium cards to make them more competitive with the Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Kudos to Amex for implementing some positive (although minor) changes to their Business Platinum Card without increasing the annual fee.
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Some people have considered signing up for the Amex Platinum before March 30 to save $100 on the annual fee. For $450, they will be able to double dip two $200 airfare credits and score the $200 Uber credit.
But maybe people should take a moment to consider whether rushing into the Platinum for $100 would be shortsighted. A long-term perspective guides Amex in its decision making, and maybe there are reasons why we should consider what’s next.
These are all speculative thoughts, but nearly all of the blog posts and comments about upcoming changes to the Platinum Card that I read from the points, miles, and rewards community have been rather negative—with many repeated expressions that, well, Amex must be stupid. Really? Do we think Amex is that dumb? Could Amex executives have popped a nice bottle and celebrated after seeing the initial response to its announcements?
Again, my thoughts have no real basis, but there are certain things that provide insight to Amex’s thought process. For example, did Amex implement and enforce its once-in-a-lifetime policy to engender love from the churning, bonus-loving crowd? No. It proactively tried to eliminate cardholders motivated by those goals. Last week’s reactions might be exactly what Amex execs were seeking and now could be celebrating.
Amex consistently expresses its desire to develop long-term relationships with its cardholders. That business model cares little about what churners, points enthusiasts, or short-term maximizers think. If you ran a business, would you cater to your least profitable customers? I wouldn’t. And isn’t the points, miles, and rewards community one of if not the least profitable segments of Amex’s consumer portfolio?
Amex no doubt has been forced to react to the Chase Sapphire Reserve. It does want to maintain its cachet as the premium card. And Amex addressed those needs for the clientele it likely prefers. From Amex’s perspective, the ideal Platinum cardholder, might be the one to respond to someone mentioning 3x earnings on travel by saying “the Platinum card gives me 5x travel on flights and nights”—without considering the tradeoffs of booking through Amex Travel. Amex’s ideal Platinum cardholder might be the one to respond to someone mentioning a $300 travel credit by saying “the Platinum card gives me $400 in travel credit—$200 in the air and $200 on the road”—without considering the inflexibility of those credits. And the Amex-desired Platinum cardholder might be one to really care about the metal card. (Metal is cool—I get it. But someone who really cares.)
That profile of the ideal Platinum cardholder helps explain why Amex may not have felt a need to step up to the Reserve’s 3x on dining: that Plat cares more about some perceived status than 3x and will slam a Platinum card on dining bills for that reason alone. Again, the cachet of what it means to be a Platinum cardholder is consistent with Amex’s investment in Centurion Lounges and Global Dining programs (rather than investing $300 million in 100k bonuses).
In sum, if you think Amex is touting the new Platinum Card’s 99 fee-free gold cards as a means to increase the value you obtain from Amex Offers, think again. There actually are people out there who like to be a provider, give Amex cards to family or friends, and generate spend on Amex cards—risk-free to Amex. The ideal Platinum cardholder!
But to return to the original premise, why would one consider holding off on getting in on a $450 annual fee now? Because while Amex might actively try to make the Platinum Card less attractive to churners and more attractive to the ideal cardholder, it still wants the vast majority of cardholders between the two extremes. And there just happen to be a ton of folks in that market segment who will have a Reserve annual fee coming up for the first time in the latter half of this year. Without having to worry about loss-leading churners excluded by once-per-lifetime rules (perhaps caught through leaked links or perhaps rushing into the last chance at a $450 annual fee), Amex can go huge.
Prove you are smart, Amex. “You got 100k bonus points? The Plat gave me 150k.” You can do it, Amex. Public 150k links!