Fri Sep 26 02:10:00 UTC 2025: **Summary:**
The American Express Platinum card has been refreshed with new perks like a higher welcome bonus, increased hotel credit, and digital entertainment credits, but the annual fee has also increased to $895. The card offers a potential annual value of over $3,500 through various credits for hotels, digital entertainment, dining, shopping, and travel. However, many benefits have specific requirements, making them less universally useful. Whether the card is worth the cost depends on whether the cardholder can effectively utilize these benefits.
**News Article:**
**Amex Platinum Gets a Refresh, But Higher Fee Raises Questions**
NEW YORK – American Express has revamped its Platinum card, introducing new perks and improved benefits, including a hefty welcome bonus of up to 175,000 Membership Rewards points and up to $600 in annual hotel credit. However, these upgrades come with a steeper price tag: the annual fee has jumped to $895.
The revamped card now offers credits for digital entertainment (up to $300 annually), dining at Resy restaurants (up to $400 annually), lululemon purchases (up to $300 annually), Uber One memberships (up to $120 annually), and Oura Ring purchases (up to $200 annually), in addition to existing benefits like airline fee credits, CLEAR Plus membership credit, Walmart+ credit, Uber Cash, and Saks Fifth Avenue credit.
The Amex Platinum’s benefits could be worth over $3,500 annually.
However, many of these benefits come with caveats. The hotel credit, for example, only applies to prepaid bookings through Amex Travel’s Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection. Similarly, the airline fee credit is limited to incidental fees like baggage charges. The lululemon credit is limited to $75 per quarter and the Resy credit has limited number of restaurants participating depending on your location.
Experts say the card’s value ultimately hinges on whether cardholders can fully utilize its diverse range of benefits. While the high annual fee may deter some, those who can maximize the credits and perks, especially new cardholders taking advantage of the welcome bonus, may find the Amex Platinum worth the cost.
“It’s a card for a specific type of spender,” said credit card analyst Joe Finance, “Those who are frequent travelers, enjoy premium experiences, and are willing to jump through a few hoops to maximize the value of each benefit.”
First Piper 