The day before Chase unveiled the overhauled version of its flagship Sapphire Reserve premium card, American Express teased that a major update to its iconic Platinum Card was also in the works. Since then, we haven’t heard any solid (read: official) updates — but rumors about some possible changes have become more pervasive in the past couple of weeks. So, as a Platinum fan myself, I wanted to talk about some of these apparent updates and my thoughts on them.
First, one rumor that pretty much seems official (apparently the Amex site was showing updated terms for a short while before being fixed) is an increase to the Fine Hotels & Resorts/Hotel Collection credit. Currently, cardholders can earn up to $200 per year when booking a room using these programs. However, this is apparently set to increase to a total of $600 per year with this refresh, broken down into two $300 semi-annual credits. That means $300 to be used between January and June, with another $300 active for July through December. Adding even more fuel to this theory is something I just wrote about earlier this week: Amex recently added 400 properties across its FHR and Hotel Collection.
The next rumor I’ve now seen in a few places is a Lululemon credit. More specific reports suggest this would be a credit of $75 per quarter (for a total of $300 per year). Conventional wisdom is that this would likely replace the current Saks Fifth Avenue credit, which is $50 semi-annually.
If that were the case, I’d say I’m largely in favor of the change. While I make good-enough use of the Saks credit every six months, I do need to do quite a bit of searching in order to find something that maximizes my $50 credit. Meanwhile, after buying some ABC pants for myself, I’ve become quite a fan of Lulu and would be happy to add some more of their clothing to my wardrobe. Of course, with most of their pants coming in at over $120 a pair, a $70 credit would leave you quite short. Still, I’m sure I could find some accessories or other items to purchase in between new pairs of pants.
Finally, we come to a credit that’s a bit more of a headscratcher: one for Resy. The latest rumor I saw pegs this credit at a total of $400 per year. Presumably, in true Amex fashion, this would be broken down into smaller increments, but there’s no obvious answer for how they’d go about that. Hopefully, it would actually just be annual, but my head says $100 a quarter is far more likely.
The reason I say that this one is a bit ponderous is that the Amex Gold Card is the dining card. Therefore, it seems that putting such a large Resy credit on the Platinum might disincentivize members from adding a Gold card to their mix. Anyway, one of the reasons I actually canceled my Gold card was because there aren’t any (or very few) Resy restaurants in my area. But, having tapped one Resy credit while traveling, it is quite easy to use once you do find an eligible spot. Therefore, I wouldn’t hate this overall — as long as it’s not monthly.
That brings us to the big question: if these credits did all come to fruition, what would the new annual fee be? Currently, I’ve seen estimates of $895, but some are thinking it could be even higher. Thankfully, with my Platinum set to renew next month, I should have a decent amount of time with the updated credits while paying the lower annual fee, allowing me to assess whether it’s worth paying whatever the new fee is in the future.
Ultimately, while reading these rumors is interesting, I’m still holding my breath until Amex gives us official details. On that note, it seems we may get some answers in the next couple of weeks if those leaked terms are any indication. Let’s just hope they don’t go ruining my favorite card and that I can afford to keep it when all is said and done!