The Platinum Card From American Express Review 2024: Is It Worth It?
Sep 3, 2024The Platinum Card from American Express, or Amex Platinum, offers impressive travel benefits and insurance coverage but charges a high annual fee.
Best for travellers who want added premium perks.
The Platinum Card from American Express offers an impressive combination of travel benefits, exclusive offers and insurance coverage, but it comes with a high annual fee
The glitzy Platinum Card from American Express carries a high price tag, but its top-tier travel perks offer significant value.
Rewards breakdown
Rewards breakdown
NerdWallet's take
NerdWallet's take
Card details
Card detailsThe Platinum Card from American Express full review
The Platinum Card from American Express is a metal charge card that earns American Express Membership rewards points. Cardholders earn points for each eligible dollar spent, with accelerated rates on dining, food delivery and travel purchases.
Charge cards are different from credit cards in that you are typically not permitted to carry a balance, which means you need to pay your bill in full each month.
Benefits of The Platinum Card from American Express
There are several benefits to The Platinum Card from American Express. As a cardmember, you:
Can enhance your travel experiences with complimentary, personalized service from Platinum Concierge — available 24/7.
Benefit from a full suite of Platinum-level travel perks, such as worldwide airport lounge access, the Global Dining Collection and more.
Gain access to priority security lanes, complimentary valet service at Terminal 1 and discounted parking rates when departing from Toronto Pearson International Airport.
Are covered by trip cancellation and lost bag protection, car rental theft/damage insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage, and more.
Drawbacks of The Platinum Card from American Express
The primary drawback of The Platinum Card from American Express is its high annual fee ($799), which is hard to recoup unless you plan to travel frequently and use all the card’s perks. What’s more, some of those perks, like priority security screening, are only available to cardholders who fly out of Toronto Pearson International Airport. If you live in another city or province, or don’t typically use Pearson, those benefits won’t be of much use.
Also, there is no medical coverage for cardmembers over the age of 65, which may be a deal-breaker for some travellers.
Who should get The Platinum Card from American Express?
The Platinum Card from American Express offers its highest earn rates on dining, food delivery and travel purchases, so cardholders will earn the most Membership Rewards points if those are among some of their most frequent expenditures.
Some of The Platinum Card from American Express’s most exciting benefits are elevated travel perks, which makes it most valuable for travellers who take to the skies several times a year.
Is The Platinum Card from American Express worth it?
With a steep annual fee of $799, the people who get the full monetary value out of their Platinum Card from American Express will typically be those who make enough purchases to cash in on the welcome bonus and take frequent advantage of its premium travel perks, like complimentary airport lounge access and elevated hotel services.
At a minimum, you’ll want to recoup your cardholder costs. According to NerdWallet analysis, one American Express Membership Rewards point can be worth as much as 11.52 cents. You’d need to earn at least 6,935 points to recoup the card’s annual fee of $799. To earn the 6,935 points needed to offset the card’s annual fee, you’d need to spend at least $3,467 — and that’s money spent in this card’s highest earning category of 2 points per $1.
American Express customer ratings
High in customer satisfaction: American Express ranks second (and well above industry average) in customer satisfaction with credit card issuers, according to J.D. Power’s 2024 Canada Credit Card Satisfaction Study, a survey of 11,430 cardholders in Canada.
Low Trustpilot rating: 1.4 out of a possible 5 stars, based on over 4,400 reviews, at the time of this writing.
Low Better Business Bureau rating: 1.1 out of a possible 5 stars, according to more than 500 customer reviews on the Better Business Bureau website, at the time of this writing. American Express is not accredited by the BBB itself.
Amex Platinum Card eligibility
Who qualifies for The Platinum Card from American Express?
You must be a Canadian resident and at least the age of majority for your province or territory to be eligible for The Platinum Card from American Express. You also must meet credit score and income requirements.
American Express doesn’t publicly disclose annual income requirements for its Platinum Card. You must provide your annual income during the application process, which may be a factor during card approval.
Approximate credit score needed for approval
Canadian credit card issuers rarely disclose required credit scores, which makes it hard to know your chances of approval when comparing credit cards. What we do know is that higher scores have better chances of approval — that’s true no matter what type of credit you’re applying for.Want to learn more? Our guide can help you figure out what credit score is typically needed for a credit card.
The Platinum Card from American Express rewards
Welcome offer
Welcome offer: Earn up to 140,000 Membership Rewards® points – that’s up to $1,400 towards a weekend away.
How to earn the welcome offer: New Platinum® Cardmembers, earn 100,000 Welcome Bonus points after you charge $10,000 in net purchases to your Card in your first 3 months of Cardmembership. Plus, earn 40,000 points when you make a purchase between 14 and 17 months of Cardmembership. Offers end Jan 28, 2025.
Ongoing rewards
How to earn ongoing rewards: Earn 2x the points on eligible dining and food delivery purchases in Canada, 2x the points on eligible travel purchases and 1x the points on everything else.
Card value
Welcome offer value
The welcome offer for The Platinum Card from American Express includes up to 140,000 Membership Rewards points. The total value of the offer will depend on how you redeem the 140,000 points.
Amex suggests the welcome offer is worth up to $1,400, which is the minimum value when redeemed through statement credits. You need to spend at least $10,000 within the first three months of card membership, then make one eligible purchase of any amount between the 14th and 17th month of card membership to get the full 140,000 points.
Annual value
The Platinum Card from American Express offers plenty of value beyond its welcome offer.
Cardmembers receive a $200 annual travel credit through American Express Travel Online or Platinum Card Travel Service. They can also receive a $100 statement credit every four years for NEXUS application or renewal fees charged to the card.
With Fine Hotels + Resorts, Platinum cardmembers can receive benefits such as guaranteed 4 p.m. late check-out, complimentary daily breakfast for two and other benefits at more than 1,500 properties. Amex says these benefits have an average total value of $600 USD.
Cardholders also receive complimentary access to the more than 1,400 airport lounges that make up the American Express Global Lounge Collection. It’s hard to put a dollar amount on that kind of comfort.
The insurance included, particularly the out of province/country emergency health coverage, can be invaluable if you ever need to use it.
Point value breakdown
The value of an American Express Membership Rewards point varies on the redemption method you choose, but you can expect to get around 0.6 to 11.5 cents per point.
11.52 cents per point for hotel redemptions.
1.74 cents per point for business class air fare redemptions.
1.42 cents per point for economy class air fare redemptions.
1 cent per point for statement credits.
0.76 cents per point for gift cards.
0.65 cents per point for merchandise.
How to apply for The Platinum Card from American Express
Click the Apply Now button on The Platinum Card from American Express page on the American Express CA website.
Review the card’s terms and conditions. Select Agree and Begin to continue.
Enter your personal details, including your full name, date of birth, phone number, email address and residential address.
Enter your financial details, including your annual personal income, household income and employment details.
Choose a four-digit PIN.
Review the information you’ve supplied and submit your application.
The Platinum Card from American Express vs. American Express Gold Rewards Card
American Express Platinum Card | ||
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Annual fee | $799 for first card. | $250 for first card. |
Rewards rates |
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Travel perks |
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Reasons you might want a different card
The Platinum Card from American Express may not be for you if:
You don’t want to pay an annual fee of $799.
You don’t travel enough to make use of the card’s perks.
You don’t often spend money on dining or food delivery.
If The Platinum Card from American Express isn’t a good fit for you, there are plenty of cards out there to choose from, including less exclusive rewards credit cards and cash back credit cards that charge a lower annual fee.
The Platinum Card from American Express facts
Rating Methodology
NerdWallet Canada rates credit cards according to overall consumer value and their suitability for specific kinds of consumers. Factors in our evaluation methodology include annual and other fees, rewards rates, the earning structure (for example, flat-rate rewards versus bonus categories), redemption options, bonus offers for new cardholders, introductory and ongoing APRs, and other noteworthy features such as airline or hotel perks or the ability to transfer points.
Frequently asked questions
Is the American Express Platinum Card the same as The Platinum Card from American Express?
Is the American Express Platinum Card the same as The Platinum Card from American Express?
Yes, the American Express Platinum Card (aka Amex Platinum) and The Platinum Card from American Express are the same thing. The names are used interchangeably.
Is it hard to qualify for The Platinum Card from American Express?
Is it hard to qualify for The Platinum Card from American Express?
There’s no publicly-available minimum income requirement for The Platinum Card from American Express. Household income is, however, a required input when filling out your application. A combination of strong income and good credit will improve your chances of approval.
Does the Amex Platinum have a limit?
Does the Amex Platinum have a limit?
The Platinum Card from American Express has no preset spending limit because it’s a charge card, rather than a credit card that allows you to carry a balance from month to month. A no-limit card can be a helpful feature when you’re making purchases, but it can also make overspending a lot easier.
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