3 Reasons Why I applied for Amex Platinum amidst Covid-19

By | July 8, 2020
Amex Platinum Charge Card

As you might know, I recently upgraded my Amex Gold Charge Card to Amex Platinum by June 2020. 

If you’re new to Amex Platinum, let me tell you that it’s not a typical rewards credit card but its a card for those who do a lot of travel, especially international travel and do good chunk of luxury spends.

I don’t do either of them as much as it demands, for ex, I did not even make a single international trip in 2019, yet I got this card and that too during COVID-19 pandemic. 

There must a reason isn’t it? Well there are 3 strong reasons why I got this expensive metal card. Here you go!

1. Better Amex Offers

amex diwali offer 2019

If you’ve noticed the trend, you might be aware that Amex have started sending better offers, in-fact “separate” version of the offers to plat charge cards compared to other Amex Cards.

You can see them here: 2019 Amex Diwali offer and others sent out recently which usually comes with better max caps.

Overall they always get better offers and it makes sense, as its priced at about 10X more than the usual ones.

2. Covid-19 Special offers

Amex Platinum Utilities offer

Amex India has been heavily affected compared to other issuers, probably due to high # of travel profiles. They lost over 75% of the transaction volume (Feb 2020 to April 2020 comparison) during the lockdown.

As this card is primarily used for travel benefits and as that is now being heavily affected, Amex has come up with some aggressive offers to add value to customers for the fee paid.

Here are some of the current offers on Amex platinum:

All of these offers are highly lucrative. Double rewards especially is a great offer at this time, more about that later.

3. Better Concierge

Amex Concierge

American Express India Do Anything Platinum Concierge works round the clock all through the year, yet it used to be pretty bad in the past (2019 and before) as reported by many and my experience did not differ much either when I used to use the Supp. Card. 

But after sending over 20+ requests in last 3 months in 2020, I can say that it has become a LOT better. 

It definitely saves a lot of time for me as I frequently use them to get things done, which otherwise would take me extra 10-30 mins per request if I do it all by myself.

The Cost

Whatsoever the offers be, you might ask, “Its still 60K+GST. That’s a lot isn’t it?”. 

Well, the joining fee of Rs.60K+GST (70K) gives you 100k points as welcome bonus. This welcome bonus gets credited as soon as you spend the 50K INR (instead of 90K as it used to be).

You don’t need to wait for next billing cycle to use the points either. So the double rewards offer if used right simply slashes the fee from 70K to nice 20K.

Further, if you use the referral link for signup, you save another 5K, thereby making the net joining fee to 15K INR.

Yes, you can get better point value by redeeming points for Marriott just as I used to get anywhere from Rs.1 to Rs.3 per point.

But by redeeming points for cash it helps us to reduce the out of pocket expense, especially in tough times like this. So why not?!

Bottom line

So overall, I felt its the right time to take it as a primary card even though I was holding the Supp. card of Amex Platinum for a year now.

Also I expect even more offers all through 2020 in non-travel segment and some aggressive offers through 2021 in travel segment. I can’t wait to see those good old Amex MMT offers in 2017.

Amex basically has to retain the high value card holders, if not their expensive marketing campaigns done for the metal card in 2019 would be of no use. 

The current offers are the proof of their aggressiveness and I’m pretty sure this will continue for quite sometime.

What’s your thoughts on Amex Platinum at the moment? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.

182 thoughts on “3 Reasons Why I applied for Amex Platinum amidst Covid-19

  1. Sumit Gupta

    Dear Siddharth,
    I am happy to give first comment…u r too good in explaining credit card features and benefits. And it also seems u r too fond of getting max value from cards. Always good to read your articles. Keep it up dear.

    Reply
  2. Akshay

    Thanks for the detailed article. Just wanted to understand if it makes sense when one already has a Diners Black LTF. I don’t travel a lot and don’t forsee one given the current times.

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Depends on so many factors that you see on the main review article + personal preference.

      Reply
  3. Aman

    I like AMEX for its rewards but you really need to plan to get maximum benefits from their offers. Their acceptability remains a challenge forever.
    I found that Infinia provides similar rewards without additional work required to earn them

    Reply
    1. Shrikant Soni

      Agreed. Once you start using Infinia, it is very difficult to go back to any other card as the primary card. It is the go to card for usual transactions.
      I keep the other ones for special benefits, like Vistara Infinite and ICICI Amazon Pay

      Reply
  4. Rakesh

    Good luck Sid with new Plat charge !
    I also got my Plat charge in the month of FEB 2020 and even I thought to cancel the card and get my money back but later on their wonderful offers stopped me from doing that, be it double the rewards and double the value and also 18K cash back, now the utility 5k points offer ! Truly, I got my value back and waiting for some fantastic offers for the rest of 2020.

    Reply
    1. kumar v

      You can get your feed refunded if you cancel the card??? Is it on pro-rata basis?

      Reply
  5. Anshul

    Points earning rate has never been the USP of this card. A monthly spend of Rs 10000 (6*1000 + 4*1000) on Gold charge card and companion MRCC gives 2200 MR points (@1MR per Rs 50 and 2000 bonus points). To earn the same 2200 MR points on platinum charge, one needs to spend Rs 88000 (@1MR per Rs 40)! Citi Prestige gives 4 miles per Rs 100, Infinia gives 3.3 miles per Rs 100 while Platinum Charge gives only 2.5 MR (equivalent to 1.25 miles at most partners) per Rs 100.

    While this card excels in other lifestyle benefits (deriving value from which depends on the cardmember), it fails extremely poorly as far as rewards earning rate is concerned even with offers and double rewards. The MR gains from Amex offers can easily be offset through normal spends on other cards even without them having any ongoing offers.

    Reply
    1. naina

      I agree with you completely Anshul. This card is poor at rewards earning rate, even with offers and double rewards. And moreover, such reward offers are very tough to play (you have to take care of merchant you are spending, offer dates, and other T&Cs) whereas with other bank credit cards we are more relaxed and can enjoy spending the money on goods instead of wasting our time in thinking about the “rewards game” as we know our card will give us good points no matter what.

      Reply
  6. TheTaxGuy

    Hi Sid, can you give some examples of the requests you made to the concierge. Also from a pricing point of view, were they competitive or do you think it would jaane been cheaper if you had got the job done yourself.

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      I just use them for small day-to-day needs, yet saves me time. Will do a detailed article on this shortly.

      Reply
      1. Philip Choudhury

        Having this card since January 2020 but haven’t used concierge service anything for.

        Reply
  7. Raghav swami

    Hi. I am planning to go for plat card. But i am curious is it really worth it? I spend around 7 lac every month on an average and if purchase business materials and things this can go upto 16 lac per month. Can you give my an idea how much limit i can expect if i apply for amex plat as i don’t have any amex till now with me just hdfc/sbi/kotak/rbl/icici. I have a ITR of Rs 35 lac. And highest limit on my cc is with hdfc 9,60,000. Also cibil is 770+.

    It will be worthy for me if i can get high limits and can use a single card for swipes greater than 10 lac.

    Waiting for your advice on this.

    Regards

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      If limit is your need, you can even get it with Gold Charge Card. Will easily allow >10L in couple of months.

      Reply
      1. Ajai

        But dont ever get the AMEX Credit Card’s I have a Platinum Reserve credit card which is still stuck at 2.5Lac limit after 7-8 months and 40-50k usage per month. The Gold charge card is best for you since your dynamic limit will go up with time.

        Reply
        1. sukhdev

          Yes. even I have amex which is stuck at 2lac limit after 12 months. I have same usage of 50k per month like you. amex credit cards are very bad like this. you should go for charge card only raghav.

          Reply
  8. Neo

    2x points + 18k cashback are easily the best promos run by any bank during this period.
    But with the 2x offer expiring soon, what are your thoughts on maximizing value from the card.
    Paying rent via Cred doesnt seem attratctive on 1x & i didnt get the 15k points offer.

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      We will get more offers. Stay tuned 🙂

      Reply
      1. Neo

        Was about to use my Plat charge, then remembered 2X is gone. LOL That was indeed a wonderful offer, along with the 18K cashback. The 5X is too restrictive i feel. Hopefully we see some more offers.

        Reply
  9. Akshay

    where do you make utility payments using American Express as they are not accepted in most places.

    Reply
    1. Kiran

      Hi,

      You can register your bill ID on Amex EPAY and pay from any of the amex cards you hold.

      Cheers,
      Kiran

      Reply
      1. Suraj

        @Kiran

        You told you were not given a fee waiver even on spending more than 65 Lakhs. Just wanted to know, were you invited for the Centurion card ?

        Reply
        1. Kiran

          @Suraj

          No I wasn’t given the invite for centurion, in fact I did not get good offers after taking plat charge when compared with my gold charge card.

          Cheers,
          Kiran

          Reply
  10. Kashyap R Ranganathan

    Hi Siddarth
    This is Kashyap and I have been a reader of your blog for more than a year now. In fact reading your blog also made me apply for the amex platinum travel card and I did from your referral link.

    I have another issue that I want to talk to you about. This is regarding my HDFC platinum credit card. in the month of January I received sms communication about a spend best offer. if I spend 50000 rupees I would be entitled to a voucher of rupees 5000 at an online merchant of my choice like Flipkart or Amazon. Subsequently I went ahead and spent over and above rupees 50000 during that month. However they still have not fulfilled the promise of the voucher. I have reached out up to the nodal team regarding this and the nodal team got back to me e stating that I am not eligible for the offer. I have gone ahead and reached this issue with the banking ombudsman, is there any other method of recourse you would suggest.

    apart from this I would also like to mention that the HDFC customer care team has been absolutely abysmal especially during this time and situation.

    please do let me know your thoughts at your convenience. Thanks

    Reply
    1. AC

      Thats HDFC for you.

      That bank neither has any ethical standard nor does it have any regard for its customers. It royally screws around its customers (devaluating rewards without substantial notice, their fee structure can rival rocket science etc), it sucks its employees dry ( try visiting any branch and you will find them overworked and begging you to buy some shitty insurance policy disguised as “investment schemes” ). The only group of people for whom HDFC is worth a long term relation is its share holders.

      Long story short, if you hold their super premium cards like Diners Club Black / Infinia, it somewhat makes sense. Otherwise you should either move out, save yourself some disappointment or lower your expectation from the bank / card. Their shitty tech powering these targetted offers is unreliable at best and should be taken with a pinch of salt.

      No wonder their tagline is – “We Understand Your World”. How else will they screw you without that understanding. Good luck Kashyap in your endeavour with them, hope you get those vouchers.

      Reply
      1. Vikram

        I hold a Diners Black and have been their credit card customer for over a decade now and I still all I get from them is BS. Absolute BS. They don’t value customers, they don’t know what they’re doing. Bank offers things that customer care personnel have no clue about. Customer Care personnel speak to customers without actual knowledge and out of their own imagination.

        I have a current limit of 12.55L on my DCB and despite showing interest repeatedly in upgrading to Infinia, I don’t get proper response. I mean they can be secretive about the eligibility but they should at least tell me upfront that I am not eligible. They just make me go round and round and round. I have heard several versions of stories from several people in HDFC regarding the Infinia.

        First they said 6L limit is needed on the Regalia or DCB to upgrade to Infinia, then it became 8 and then they said that min take home of 3L is needed for upgrade. That’s absolute BS I know. And it was my RM who told me this. And whenever I ask him about Infinia he tries to sell me some shitty insurance scheme. Now I am no longer able to reach him. So I contacted the customer care and this time they said that I can try approaching any branch and they have the authority to approve my request and get me one.

        Went to the branch nearby and spoke to the manager. He called in the person responsible for Credit Cards in that branch. He asked me the limit on my DCB and I said it was 12.55L. He said then Infinia is possible. He then made a call and came back and told me that it’s not possible to upgrade from DCB to Infinia as both are equal. I was shocked. Then I asked him how they were equal and he said it’s because they both have the same annual fee of 10K. He said that the only option was for me to write a letter saying that I have a DCB and I wish to get an Infinia instead. They gave me an upgrade form too. The manager approved the request and they sent it. The manager told me that it’s quite a lengthy process and asked me to be patient.

        After 2 weeks I got a call from the branch and they told me that the bank has responded to them stating that the card can no longer be issued this way and that the only way one can get it is they had the option available to upgrade to it in their netbanking account.

        I can’t take any more of this BS. I have decided to do away with this card now. However my only issue is that HDFC cards have been my go to cards for over a decade now. I also use my SCB Ultimate card heavily. Now I don’t know what else to get instead of this. One good thing about HDFC was that they regularly increase the credit limit. No other card that I hold has anywhere near as much limit. The second best is SCB Ultimate at 7.13L. That’s the only thing holding me back. I also hold Amex Plat Reserve and MRCC cards and the Yes Bank YFE (LTF variant). I am kind of out of choices when it comes to finding a replacement for DCB.

        Reply
    2. Anshul Kothari

      +1,
      Its same situation for me. They are not replying properly and giving random answers after long delays. And finally gave a number for unresolved queries which is never picked up.

      Reply
    3. Sumit Gupta

      If u have screenshot of sms/email then continue raising to higher ups in hdfc.
      1. Cc
      2. Escalation
      3. Grievance redressal
      4. Principal nodal officer
      5. Chairman desk

      U will get the resolution at one of the level. U can raise the same level wise and in the final email at every level they will tell that if not satisfy then raise to next higher level..

      Reply
    4. Saurabh

      Yes. Same with me. I completed 5 Lakhs annual spend on my Regalia after card setup in Jan (for JAN 2019-JAN 2020) and didn’t get the milestone bonus. Have been following up with customer care for 6 months now. Finally, gave up on any hope.

      Reply
      1. gurkirat

        Similar situation, Milestone was completed in january 2020, and Anniversary is April 2020, Still haven’t received the milestone bonus. Everytime they keep explaining the methodology of milestone benefits. still clueless when it will be awarded.

        Reply
    5. Deva

      Bro,
      Me too got the offer for the month of oct and nov last year ..but yet to receive any voucher…
      Mailed so many times,and no any positive response so far…
      I had that promo on my regalia and now t card has been upgraded..
      Lost hope now

      Reply
  11. Pratik

    Do you expect the double dip to extend to get the value of 50K/55K on joining benefits ??

    Reply
    1. naina

      doesn’t matter. this card isn’t to be used for earning points. its for value you get for 60K you pay like premier event invites, concierge etc. read other comments for idea

      Reply
      1. Pratik

        Fair point, but wanted all those fancy memberships at low cost of 15K. For most of my spends, I use Infinia/ DCB.

        Reply
  12. Aakash Coimbatore

    Thala..Congrats For this..
    One doubt thala.. ungakitta already supplementary card iruku la of this same AMEX PLAT CHARGE CARD then why the primary one? Any particular reason ?
    Like Benifits change aaguma between Primary and supplementary cards or any other reason?

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      More of a personal choice. Ideally Supp. card is sufficient for most.

      Reply
      1. Aakash coimbatore

        Okay thala ❤️ Purunjudu!..Happy for you thala ❤️
        All the Benefits are same for both supplymentry and primary card la?

        Reply
      2. Aakash Coimbatore

        Thala.. 1st year 60k Fee okay! What about 2nd year? Renewal ku fee waiver edadhu iruka bro?

        Reply
  13. The Global Investor

    Wow…how much do you spend in a year to justify a 60k/year fee? And you have another 10-12 credit cards to boot? Boggles the mind! :O

    What sort of tasks have you found the concierge useful for? Can you give a few examples? I find it a pain making flight reservations over the phone for example. Just a waste of time, explaining, spelling out, and then confirming everything when I can be done online in just a few minutes.

    Thanks!

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Its less about spend and more about exploring the product.

      Never call, just email them.

      Reply
  14. Yash Sharma

    Hi Siddharth!

    Thank you for writing another comprehensive review. I appreciate your unbiased views on the products as you use them. I had a quick request. How about you write a small piece on which card can a new user opt for giving maximum weight-age to life post COVID. I spent a considerable time trying to find a suitable article over it but there is nothing which would guide a new user in the right direction. Let me know your thoughts!

    Thanks.

    Reply
  15. Nitin

    Hey!

    Any platinum reserve users around? Since platinum reserve is also focused towards travel related luxury benefits, are they getting similar offers as platinum charge users? I intend to apply for one but I fathom that it will only be useful for flipkart vouchers for the time being.

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Its slightly better than other Amex cards with some offers, but not as good as Plat

      Reply
      1. K Menon

        can you share some examples of offers that you got on reserve card but not on your travel card?

        Reply
  16. Srikkanth

    Hi Sid, I m not into Amex ecosystem but my uncle has platinum charge upgrade option available, but his usage of credit card is very minimum . So now I have two queries , first If I opt for add on card , are there any restrictions for add on card holders compared to primary card holder privileges ? Second , since the primary card will be unused , all the sms alerts / otps / monthly statements on my add on card will be delivered to my mobile or will they be sent to primary card holders respective mobile / mail every time when I transact ?

    Reply
  17. Prerit

    Great Article!

    I have a doubt. A bit different from the article, but should I opt for Regalia or AMEX MRCC?

    Reply
      1. Prerit

        😂True…But if I apply for both at this time…I think they will reject it…As a first option?

        Reply
        1. AbhiKohli

          Why would they ? HDFC & AmEx are different entity, they have no reason to reject if you applied for another bank.

          Reply
        1. Aslam

          Ha Ha! Yeah😂True…But if she apply for both at this time…I think they will reject it…As a first option?

          Reply
  18. Abilash S

    I’ve been using the Plat charge for the past 6 months. I can vouch for the offers!

    But the concierge sucks. The main USP for this card is do anything concierge and they have not met the bar that was told/sold during my sign up.

    For example, I tried to book a stay at Taj west end Blr. They are having an offer which says 25% on the best available rates. When I look into the IHCL website, it’s actually more expensive.

    That’s my only complaint. Offers are top notch.

    Reply
    1. Geeta

      Any examples of the offers? What has been your favourite offer?

      Reply
      1. Abilash S

        Flipkart’s 18k offer was my favorite. Anything upto 18k waived off. Absolutely amazing offer.

        The double rewards, double value was also an amazing offer.

        I had not redeemed by welcome bonus points of 1.25l. So that gave me 62.5k flat.

        Reply
  19. doubter

    sid, is your cibil > 800? I am guessing not, judging by what we see as your credit practices through this website

    Reply
    1. AbhiKohli

      What is the significance of 800+ ?
      And wondering what makes you think he’d not have that ? (Maybe he doesn’t I am just wondering about ‘credit practices’ your are talking about ?)

      Reply
  20. Aditya Bansal

    Hi Sidhharth, have the Plat charge card since last year. My renewal is fast approaching and i cant seem to make up my mind. Owing to Covid-19 couldnt travel in the last 4 months and the next 4 months also look improbable. While i appreciate the 18k cashback offer and 2x rewards, I am not sure whether renewing the card makes sense. Please advise.

    Reply
  21. Deep

    How are the golf benefits used by the platinum charge card holders? Any pointers are much appreciated

    Reply
  22. SAI RANGA

    Hi Siddarth, I heard that value for each point on AMEX Plat Charge card is half rupee till 20th July only, after that it’s going to be 25 Paisa per point, is it true, can you clarify

    Reply
  23. Sudheer

    I have received the complimentary CPP credit card protection plan from Amex for my Platinum card. Did anyone receive this benefit and started using it? Any positive review on CCP credit card protection plan? Can we go ahead and enroll all of our credit and debit cards?

    Reply
    1. Neo

      I had a CPP literally forced on me when i got the SBI Elite. Didnt find value then, dont find value now. The Platinum card i believe is already enrolled in CPP, rest didnt bother.

      Reply
    2. deep

      How did you get this Sudheer? I am still waiting for the CPP plan enrollment details

      Reply
      1. Neo

        The CPP kit comes on its own. If you havent received it, ask the customer care, they will send it across

        Reply
        1. Sudheer

          In my CPP kit they mentioned only reference no without any membership number. When I called to CPP India customer care, they didn’t find any of my details in their system. Not sure if I receive any additional kit with membership number.

          Reply
  24. Alok

    Sidharth please let me know is there any way of getting Amex card in cities like Varanasi and Lucknow
    As per there website these are unserviceable location
    At present I am working with Govt organisation permanently and having 2 credit card with good spending

    Reply
  25. deva

    @Sid

    off topic
    Previously insurance spends on hdfc infinia are capped at max 2000RP for single transaction and 5000 max per day..
    Is that revised..i found t 5000 per day limit intact but not that 2000 per transaction..
    could you pls throw some light bro ?..
    thanks

    Reply
  26. Abhisek Parija

    Hi Sid,

    What is the value of 1MR point for Amex Plat charge card. Did you get an upgrade ?

    Reply
  27. NMS

    Congrats on the Platinum card Siddharth. I just renewed my card for another year because I really love Amex’s customer service and also because they basically refunded my annual fee through their points. It will be interesting to see what new offers they come up with in the near future while travel plans are still uncertain.

    Reply
  28. Abhi

    How many Amex cards can I hold?
    I got corporate card over 4yrs back.

    Based on that they gave me personal MRCC as LTF almost 3yrs back, which I have religiously used for 4x1000pm.

    Then they gave me Platinum Travel 1.5yrs back with only FYF.

    Now I ve been getting invites to “upgrade” to Platinum. If I go for it, does it mean I have to give up existing PT card, or will that still stay?

    Already have DCB Ltf, Icici rubyx visa signature Ltf, YFE Ltf, and several other cards which I don’t use unless there’s a campaign. Have annual spends around 16-18L, of which I have to distribute 8L for DCB, 4L for PT, 50K MRCC, and rest amongst the others.

    So not sure I can justify the astronomical 71K fee on Amex Platinum especially in current situation, but someday I ‘d want to go with it for it’s elite status. Does anyone believe there’s a chance the fee might reduce in future or rewards would improve?
    Coz with this fee you gotta be a traveler like George Clooney in “Up In The Air” to milk an Amex Platinum! (Must watch movie for cardlovers)

    Reply
    1. Kushal

      As far as I know, you can hold 1 charge and 2 normal cards apart from business cards

      Reply
      1. Suraj

        Currently holding 4 AMEX cards (2 charge cards and 2 credit cards, all personal cards, neither business nor corporate) simultaneously.

        – Platinum Charge Card
        – Gold Charge Card
        – Platinum Travel Credit Card
        – Smart Earn Credit Card

        I too believed for a while that AMEX India allows one to have a combo of only 3 cards (2 credit cards + 1 charge card). But I hold these 4 cards at present. One account, one fee of ₹70,800 (₹60,000 + 18% GST) applicable. Spends north of ₹ 65 Lakhs in a year (on the account as a whole) tends AMEX towards a reversal of this fee too. Have received the fee waiver once last year.

        Reply
        1. Aseem Garg

          How many years of holding the card? Fee waived off entirely?

          Reply
        2. Abhi

          All 4 personal cards, no business spends, yet you do 65L pa. How? Do you buy a new premium car every year, or take whole extended family on foreign vacations by first class! For that level of spends having Platinum certainly makes every sense.
          On fee reversal they don’t have clear criteria. They reversed 5900 on my PT after I met given target to spend 4L in 3 months. This can vary every year.

          Reply
          1. Suraj

            I just said that beyond that many Lakhs, they may tend to easily giving you a waiver. But then, no, I don’t think they’ll waive the annual fee every single year just on the basis of a certain number of spends and I’m sure they aren’t bound by ‘spend ₹XYZ Lakhs’ to qualify for the waiver (on the Platinum charge card). What I’ve come to realise how it could be working is maybe the kind of categories one is spending in, is what decides their earnings from you and the eligibility for you to get a waiver. I guess they have different TDRs for different merchant categories, wherein if they’re earning 3% from one merchant, they could also be earning just 2% with some another merchant. For example, if you’ve spent ₹1000 on a merchant coded under a category with a fee margin of 3%, Amex gets ₹30, however if the same was spent at a merchant with lower margins for Amex, it could be between ₹20-₹30. Sometimes they also charge an exorbitant 4% to merchants. However, with AMEX, I don’t think their TDR ever falls below 2% (at least in India), hence the low acceptability. Now I’d be in a better position to earn a fee waiver or a partial fee waiver in the case where AMEX has earned ₹10 more from me. Also it’s evident that we can’t really manage this as it is not practical to keep a track of MCCs we’re spending at. So going by the annual spends, transaction history, their earnings in total from you at the end of the year, is what I think makes them decide whether to keep you happy and a customer for longer or not.

            Coming back to the spends again. Who knows, maybe someone who’s spent ₹50 Lakhs earned them more than someone who spent ₹65 Lakhs all dependent upon the TDRs & MDRs. I’ve got it once only last year and I just mentioned that I’d spent this much. The spends were on 3 international trips for 2 persons (onward and return) in business class. I had renovation work at my home, so spent a significant bit on new fittings, electrical equipment, furniture, bathroom fittings and probably on a lot more that goes on when one renovates their place. Anyways, I’d already designated funds for this renovation. So I decided why not spend on the card (wherever possible and wherever accepted). The total renovation cost was obviously not even in the ballpark of what I spent on the card (as it was way more than that), but as I mentioned, I tried using the card as extensively as I could for my home renovation. Then about ₹8.5-9.5 Lakhs must have been the regular average joe spends such as on Amazon, Flipkart, local shopping, new gadget purchases, groceries, eating out, fuel, car servicing, insurances, hotel stays, etc. Two high ticket purchases at least for me 🙂 were a Harley Davidson Iron 883 and the other one was a Hublot watch.

            I’ve been an AMEX member since 2016. First was PT, then gold charge, then smart earn (have had that for longer when it’s name was everyday spends credit card), then an upgrade offer for the Platinum charge in JAN 2018 with 100K points only. Then a fee waiver in 2019. Didn’t get a waiver this year as I had shifted significant amount of spends to the DCB. However, I still love the indirect benefits on the card and the flex value associated with it. The new 18k cashback offer made it even better this year given the pandemic hit spends.What I’d like to add to all this is that you can easily break even the card fees and just with a little effort get over and beyond in return (as what you pay in fees) provided you use it the right way and you have a lifestyle that allows you do that. So I’d suggest anyone to go with it only if their normal lifestyle (and not forced) can back it up. If it does, you’ll thoroughly enjoy yourselves using this card.

          2. Siddharth Post author

            Thanks Suraj for taking time to share your views & experiences in detail.

        3. Rakesh

          HI Suraj,
          Do they give fee waiver every year if we reach 65L criteria or is it alternate years they do this fee reversal ?

          Reply
          1. Abhi

            Thanks Suraj, indeed fee reversals might depend on how much they earn from your spends. I think if their average MDRs are 3%, they would be ok to part with 1% in the form of fee reversals (fee which is already been charged to cardholder). So if they have a fee of 5K on a given card and you spend 5L on it, they probably earn 15-18K from you, then they let go of the fees charged from you.
            So as a thumb rule you gotta spend atleast 100X the fee in a year to seek a fee reversal. Probably thats why they waived your fee of 60K on spends over 65L.
            Is there an option to adjust 60K fees for 120K RPs, like they do with other variants?

          2. Kiran

            Not necessarily for me they have refused to give waiver even though my spends were more than 65 lac in 2018-19 card anniversary year.

            Cheers,
            Kiran

        4. Manjunath U

          Hi Suraj, I have a query, since you swiped for a Harley Davidson on your Plat charge card, were there any extra fees paid for the transaction, as most automotive dealers charge for the same as card swipe charges.

          Reply
          1. Suraj

            Indeed a good question. Yes automotive dealers seem to be unceremoniously finicky in this regard. However, I too remained adamant on my end. I told upfront that I’ll buy it if offered a good discount and that I won’t pay a single penny in addition (upon using my card to make the payment). It’s funny how in the beginning they were telling me that Harley doesn’t give discounts Sir. The guy said as a courtesy, they’ll get an approval from their manager to have the fuel tank filled upto the brim on the day of the delivery. Ridiculous! I then literally said,” I don’t buy anything without a discount, so you can have your Harleys pick up dust at your showroom, no issues, let me know when you’re really interested in selling one. ”

            They got back to me in like a week, maybe because the month was ending and these people have targets to fulfill. They agreed in giving me a discount as well as 0% extra charges on card payment.

            This topic however opens up a new discussion as to what is the maximum amount of charge put down in one single transaction by a user having a Gold, Platinum or Centurion card. Would love to have a new post on this with data points from the users.

    2. Rakesh

      Plat charge upgrade won’t make your Plat travel cc deactivated ! Amex says its an upgrade but its a actually different card you get along with Plat travel !

      But, I think if we get upgrade on Gold charge to Plat charge, we would loose Gold charge. As one can hold 1 charge and 2 credit cards from Amex.

      Reply
  29. Abhi

    3 reasons why I decided to let go this offer.
    I read up this article on Saturday and opted in for the offer. Yesterday I got a call from Amex about this. I asked following queries and she put in significant effort in answering all my queries.

    1. Non-lucrative upgrade offer: The upgrade offer said it gives 100K welcome gift which is the same as what is available if I wish to apply from their website (or more if I use referral). Spending 90k in 3 months later will be easier than 50k in 2 months during pandemic.

    2. Non-delivery before 20 July: She verified back and forth with few teams and her manager to confirm me that they will try their best but can’t guarantee the card delivery before 20 July. I also knew it will be not possible since Bangalore has lockdown. But I expected something on the lines like providing e-card (like I got for SBI Ola card earlier this year) or exceptional extension of offer for first transaction or something.

    3. No benefit of complimentary plat travel: As per offer, if the customer paid plat travel annual fees for this year, it will be reversed. But earlier this year I got an option to give 10K regular plat travel MR points for annual fees waiver. In this case, Amex refused to reverse the 10K MR points.

    Reply
  30. ss

    Could you do a post of how to use the Amex concierge service? For me, those small task include buying groceries and stuff from local kirana store. Or even finding items to buy from e-commerce sites. Does concierge help here?

    Also, can you redeem those 100K points for cash or is it worth ₹50k?

    Reply
    1. Neo

      I would assume they could but they would be very expensive. If your area is under Swiggy/ Dunzo, I would recommend using those compared to the Amex Plat concierge

      Reply
    2. Manjunath U

      Well concierge offers unique proposition where in you can’t access certain services due to high demand such as Concert Tickets, First class air travel tickets on special routes, resort bookings during special occasion to avoid clutters. For the services mentioned from your end you can try Amazon grocery, Big basket, Grofers, Ferns N Petals etc.
      Well yes they can help in getting special items from e commerce sites that is quite special & officially legal as per the country rules.

      Reply
  31. Sudheer

    Is there any tax implication if I redeem Amex points to offset the purchages? Is it a good idea to redeem the 1lkh bonus points for cash before 20’th as travel is uncertain in near future?

    Reply
    1. Sudneer

      Can someone please suggest on this before 20’th Jul deadline?

      Reply
      1. Ankur

        Cash redemption is never recommended. if I recall on this website somewhere it’s mentioned by someone, above 50k cashback is considered as income.

        Reply
    2. AbhiKohli

      For sure there is tax implication. Anything you get has to be taxed (mostly) but for smaller values usually no one declares it in ITR, but that doesn’t mean it is legal and taxman can’t know it. It is upto you whether to declare it or keep it ‘black’ and fear a tax dept’s action. I think more than 99% people will get away without declaring, but if you get a scrutiny, they will dig out for each & every rupee you got. However, in my opinion, if you have renewal fee upcoming, I think you can offset that with points without any serious tax implication. Also, the default point value used to be higher for fee offset (only problem is I can’t find it… not sure if that option is discontinued.)

      Reply
  32. Karthik

    Bummer, they have stopped offering the 150,000 MR joining bonus, right? Or was it 125,000. One of the two, fairly sure, as recently as last July/August.

    If I recall correctly, just before they jacked up the annual fee for the platinum card.

    Enjoy your new card, Sid!

    Reply
  33. Ani

    Hi sid how r u doing ? Hope u and family is safe ! You are so brave determined man that’s why why u opted for platinum card at this time . Very good and congrats . By the way I ahve 2 lac points in my charge card I am thinking on redeeming the points for double value which gives me 1 lac statement credit then on 21st I am thinking of buying 4 lac Points by using the statement credit … assuming amex May come out with marriot point transfer with 100% bonus which can give me 8 lac Marriott points future which will be a good startegic move as per my calculation … kindly give ur suggestion if it’s a good idea or not as 20th is the last date to get double value for existing points …hope we can buy points in India

    Reply
    1. Sudheer

      I didn’t get the point about buying reward points using the statement credit after 21’st. How can you buy points?

      Reply
      1. Ankur

        Ani is talking about Marriott Bonvey points buying offer that is currently going on as Platinum gives extra points for foreign transaction.

        Reply
    2. Tejas Ghongadi

      You can buy points equal to the number of points in your account. So if you redeem the full 2 Lac Points, you will be left with zero points and you cannot buy any points.

      Furthermore, you can redeem the points you bought for non-travel spends only. Now its upto the interpretation of Amex system if converting to Marriott is a non-travel spend or not. In my opinion, conversion to Marriott Points will be Travel Spends.

      Reply
    3. Neo

      Excerpt from the Amex site –
      “4. If I don’t have enough points can I buy them?

      Yes, you can. Your Points can also be ‘topped-up’ by purchasing Points in multiples of 1,000 (1,000 Points can be purchased for Rs. 400 only). You can buy Points equal to the Points already accumulated in your account or 10,000 Points (whichever is lower) and redeem them immediately against Non Travel Rewards. The cost of the Points purchased will be charged to your Card and will appear in your next statement #.

      # The charges for Points purchased under Points Top-up and balance payment made under ‘Points+Pay’ are not eligible for earning further Membership Rewards Points. Purchase of Points shall be purely at the discretion of American Express. “

      Reply
  34. Mayank Agarwal

    Hello,

    What is the value of 1 lakh rewards points for statement credit?

    Reply
    1. Maheem

      Till July 20th the redemption rate for 1 MR on the Plat charge card was INR 0.50 but from 21st July its
      back to normal its INR 0.25 so 1 lakh MR points give you statement credit of INR 25,000.

      Reply
  35. Karan Singh

    Any suggestions on what to do with the taj stay gift card which came with the plat charge card,, mine got revalidated and they now expire in October ,

    Don’t have a need to stay but they are worth 30k,

    Any suggestions on what to do and the procedure on making a booking

    Reply
  36. Kevin T

    Hey Sidd
    Are you paying the Rs 60,000 annual fees ?
    If yes then are you even getting close to recouping the Rs 60,000 from the rewards

    If no then how are getting away by paying no annual fee?

    need to know this

    Reply
  37. Arjun

    I have had an Amex Platinum Reserve card for 2 years but recently switched to HDFC Diners Black LTF, and had plans to cancel the Amex card since I do not have enough spends to justify their annual fee. However, I’ve been charged the annual fee in the latest statement generated on 23rd July. Is there any way to get it waived now? I heard that in the USA, cancellation of the card within 30 days of the statement generation (with the annual fee) reverses it.

    Reply
      1. Arjun

        I got the Diners Black LTF thanks to a premier institute promotion HDFC ran towards the end of 2019 for alumni of 20-25 colleges (mostly post graduation) in India. They had even lowered the eligibility criteria by a bit. It is unfortunate that they changed the smartbuy offers recently, otherwise it was a great card for LTF.

        Reply
        1. Abhi

          Converted mine to LTF as well, towards very end of last year. Offer was for MBA alumni from certain institutes, mostly IIMs and IITs and few others. Min salary criteria of 1lac pm. Luckily what I was using was FYF, and converted to LTF so never paid for DCB. New card had exact same details only with name of institute embossed on it.

          Reply
    1. Gaurav

      You can request the reversal of annual fee and then cancel the card. Amex reverses the annual fee upon card cancellation. Give them a call.

      Reply
  38. MAA-traveler

    I’ve received upgrade offer on my Plat Travel:

    “Upgrade now & get 115,000 Membership Rewards Points. Offer Valid till Sept 30, 2020. *T&C apply”

    Can we hold Plat Charge, Plat Travel, MRCC and Gold Charge together? I know Amex says 1 charge and 2 credit card per person. Do they follow this strictly?

    Reply
    1. Gkcards

      I also got this email, but hard for me to justify fees with my lifestyle unless they start giving some renewal benefits

      Reply
    2. Suraj

      Currently have this combination only. I’m holding these 4 cards you made a mention of simultaneously. All personal cards (neither business nor corporate).

      Reply
      1. MT

        Wow that’s a Gr8 combination.Could you tell us do you Pay fee for which cards & which are the companion cards.
        Thank you for sharing.

        Reply
    3. Siddharth Post author

      Technically you can hold 2 charge cards but practically they won’t allow it as you are exposed to 2 lines of very high credit.

      Reply
      1. Suraj

        I’ve commented on this on another post as well that I’m currently holding 4 AMEX cards (2 charge cards and 2 credit cards, all personal cards, neither business nor corporate) simultaneously.

        – Platinum Charge Card (NPSL)
        – Gold Charge Card (NPSL)
        – Platinum Travel Credit Card (CL 789000)
        – Smart Earn Credit Card (CL 327000)

        I agree, one is exposed to a very high credit line with you having 2 charge cards and 2 credit cards. But, the fact is, I’ve never really tried using the ‘CHECK YOUR SPENDING POWER BUTTON’. As long as you don’t play with it unnecessarily, you’d be able to keep the 2 charge cards. However, it doesn’t also mean that you can’t use that feature at all. Yes you can, after all, AMEX provides you with that option online for your convenience. But when I say, playing unnecessarily, it is tantamount to you putting in random numbers for no real reason and to check your credit exposure in order to brag about it to others, (which in my opinion clearly goes to show that you’re not wise enough to handle credit). Always be careful with credit, it’s great to have high credit lines, but you’re playing with snakes, so always be careful with it😊. So coming back to the feature, when you’re testing your spending power, you’re actually telling AMEX’s internal (and not known by a human) algorithm/system that you’re intending to make a certain purchase which should amount to the numbers being put in by you. AMEX then basically wants you to make an actual purchase of those amounts you just fed into the system (obviously if the algorithm approves you). Just testing different amounts for no real reason will always pose a risk to them. So, do not unnecessarily play with that feature.
        Suppose I want to make a purchase of ₹8 Lakh and if I’m unsure if it’ll go through or not, I should either call in to check with the CSR or check online through the spending power feature.
        The other scenario would be when I just randomly put in 10 lakhs, 15 lakhs, 30 lakhs to see how much AMEX trusts me with. One should outright avoid doing this at all costs.

        I’ve been an AMEX member since 2016. First was PT, then GC, then was the Smart Earn credit card (have had that from the time when it’s name was everyday spends credit card), then an upgrade offer for the Platinum Charge in JAN 2018.

        I too believed for a while that AMEX India, unlike it does overseas, allows one to only have a combo of 3 cards (2 credit cards + 1 charge card). But I hold these 4 cards at present. One account, one fee of ₹70,800 (₹60,000 + 18% GST) has been applicable so far for me but if the spends are low across the account (on all cards combined), then it may trigger a standard fee on other cards as well as informed by a CSR. Platinum Travel card was turned a companion card upon getting the Platinum Charge card. So don’t have to worry about getting hit with a fee on it as long as I continue to hold the Platinum Charge. For the gold and Smart Earn cards, fee doesn’t apply as long as the overall spends on the account are good enough, even if they aren’t and you’re made to pay a fee, you can surely talk to the CSRs and more often than not, they do love to keep their card members happy. This has been the story so far, let’s see how it goes on in the future with the fees for my account 🙂

        Reply
        1. MAA-traveler

          I got an offer to Upgrade to Plat Charge with bonus of 115,000 MR points. I hold 2 credit and one charge card presently. I asked the CC executive if I can hold 2 charge cards & 2 credit cards and he replied it is not possible. Also he added you may upgrade and at the time of processing they may allow but as per guidelines not possible.

          Anyone else with having 2 charge cards and 2 credit cards with Amex?

          Reply
  39. Mukund Nair

    Nice article. I have been using this card for a year now and yes sometimes you wonder if you have any benefit and sometimes you dont. Patricularly if you use some airlines like Emirates, Etihad, Qatar they really give you decent rates. More with Etihad and other airlines but really depends on what and how you book.

    Just wanted to know what is the best renewal benefit anyone got? I see someone got a full waiver. I spoke to the team and the best they gave me was 50,000 MR points or Taj voucher which seem to be the usual for any renewal. Is there a better offer I can push them for?

    The cost of this card cant really be quantified. But at times like COVID especially since travel is skewed they really need to push for better offers or even try different methods. The Rs. 18,000 cashback is one but I think they should bring out more.

    Reply
  40. Vikram

    Firstly, congrats Sid! It came as a surprise to me as I had no clue in any of your postings so far that this would happen. With respect to many other cards, your reviews would carry hints on your inclination towards or away from the card in question. But his was one card you always seemed to be suggesting as something you’re not even thinking about. So you caught me by surprise. 🙂

    Are you planning to continue using it beyond a year? I think Amex needs to put some thought into the renewal benefits because I heard that this card has a high cancellation rate going into the second year, especially since it’s more open now and membership is not as elusive as the Infinia.

    I too got an invite to upgrade my Platinum Reserve to this card. I am not a frequent traveler, not even locally. I also have their Membership Rewards card purely for the sake of the monthly 4k points scheme. In my 4 years of holding the PR credit card I have put it to good use only twice, once for 25% off in Taj hotels and resorts and the other time for 10K up front discount at Tanishq.

    Off late they seem to be very aggressive with their offers. Even then the Platinum Charge Card will still be too much of a stretch for me. I am trying to get it out of my mind.

    What kind of use do you put their concierge through? The “Do Anything” doesn’t give me any clue. Can you share some of your usages so I and others like me could get an idea?

    Reply
  41. Sanchit Khandelwal

    Today, I discovered another great benefit of Amex cards. They are giving one full year of free access to pro version of Calm app which generally cost 60 USD. Simply go to calm.com/americanexpressglobal and register with your Amex card. to get first year free and 50% off on second year 🙂

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Indeed a great offer and its available to ICICI Emeralde Amex variants too.

      Reply
    2. Sanket

      Wow. thanks for sharing. This is really a great offer. Out of curiosity, I am a long time amex user but haven’t recieved any email about it, how did you get to know about it?

      Reply
  42. Saion

    I recently moved from Hong Kong to India, and I hold the HK version of this card already. I did apply for the India version, which got approved but I decided to cancel my application at the last minute. I had already paid my renewal fees for the HK card (whose benefits are actually more than than the version we have here in India), and could not justify paying 70k INR for a travel card during a time when there is zero likelihood of traveling anywhere! Maybe I will apply for it again when the situation approves – they really tried very hard to convince me to keep the card, so I am not sure if this will be held against when I apply again in the future.

    This is really a phenomenal card though, I have had this card in HK for 2 years and the benefits are insane – but again, only if you travel a lot.

    In the meanwhile, I got myself a Standard Chartered Ultimate and a HDFC Regalia for now. Any other cards you would recommend?

    Reply
    1. Vikram

      You already seem to have picked 2 of the best cards. Not sure what else to suggest. Any reason why you went for the Regalia and not the Diners Black from HDFC?

      Reply
  43. Abhi

    Can anyone shed some light on typical retention offers on Platinum charge? Whether they waive fees or adjust against points or reduce the fee based on spend targets, etc. Any real life examples would greatly help.

    Reply
    1. Neo

      To my knowledge, the fee is never waived off.
      Yes, given the current scenarios, i know folks who are negotating aggressively with Amex for the Plat travel.
      And there isnt any single retention strategy being followed by Amex.
      Its on case to case basis.

      Reply
  44. DIVAKARAN RAMANATHAN

    How many cards do you have currently? will you carry all your cards with you ?

    Reply
  45. Ravi

    Isn’t it true that the welcome gift is available for the 1st year of card membership? 2nd Year onwards, what are the terms and conditions?

    Reply
  46. Pratik Rangnekar

    Can we cancel in year 2 and apply again to get the joining bonus? Is there a drawback to this strategy?

    Reply
  47. MAA-traveler

    After the 115,000 MR Points offer, Amex has come out with another offer:

    – Rs 5000+GST monthly fee rather than Rs 60,000+GST fee. 100K points will be given as 40k after 3 months, 20K each after the next 9 months in gap of 3 months. That is 40K+20K+20k+20K. No spends required like Rs 50K within 2months or Rs 90k within 3 months, etc.
    – Valid till 31st Dec

    I tried enrolling but couldn’t do and now it is not visible. I guess slowly they would roll out with email and site pop up.

    Looks good and I might apply this time!

    Reply
  48. Gkcards

    I also got this offer of getting this card with 5000 monthly fee. I wish they give equivalent rewards also every year than only in first year.

    Reply
  49. Abhi

    Instead of 60K pa (plus gst) fee, Amex is now offering me this card at 5K pm (plus gst). Also instead of 1lac bonus pts on certain spend after joining, they have broken it to 40K on 3rd month and then 20K each on 6, 9 and 12th month on making min 1 spend in each of those quarters. Nothing materially different, but is this the new fee pattern for all users, whenever they complete their current fee cycle?

    Reply
    1. Neo

      Its a different offer for everyone who are negotiating their Plat renewal.
      I was offered 120K MR / 12 month no cost EMI for paying annual fee + 20k Taj GV.
      I opted for the former though i felt I could have pushed for more.

      Reply
  50. PT

    Closed this card yesterday, don’t see myself travelling for the good part of next year. Renewal offer was just 50k MR points or Taj vouchers, was hoping that they would at least increase the MR points to 70K but that never happened, they never budged to give a better offer.
    But after seeing that some card holders were offered renewal MR points in the tune of 120K, I felt foolish to continue with this card (70k of liquidity suddenly seems a lot now).

    Though no qualms of not able to reap full benefits as I was able to utilize both 18K and 12.5K cashback offer. Will definitely try to re-apply once the situation eases around the pandemic, provided that they let me.

    Reply
    1. AbhiKohli

      You won’t get joining benefit next time (1L points) You know that, right ?

      Reply
        1. AbhiKohli

          Cool off period is to reapply (I think its is less than 1 yr, but I maybe wrong) However, welcome benefit is once in a life offer is what I got to know.

          Reply
      1. PT

        That is not entirely correct, I have seen cases where re-application landed people some sort of reward, either in terms of MR or vouchers. Though you won’t get the same offer which you get at time of fresh application. However last week I have came across a post where the guy was able to get 150K MR points +10K Taj vouchers as a renewal benefit which is certainly more than any joining benefit. Hence I believe it depends more on the spending pattern or the weight of the business someone brings in which helps to stretch the pampering.

        Reply
        1. Kiran

          I’m not sure spend is the criteria, I had spent close to 60-70 lac and they refused me to give any kind of renewal benefits even after I said I’ll be closing the card.

          Actually even I applied for closure and retention team said they don’t offer any kind of renewal benefits.

          Cheers,
          Kiran

          Reply
          1. Neo

            Very surprising Kiran. No retention with such high spends is unusual at these times.

          2. Rohit

            When did you do this? I am assuming it was not this year. Given the COVID thing, I think they would want to have some sort of renewal offer pushed out thanks to the fear of not losing a lot many customers all of a sudden and reducing the revenue. Yours must have been in the pre-covid times. At present, one should be able to push for renewal benefits.

        2. AbhiKohli

          Must be a big big spender to get renewal better than fresh application.

          Reply
  51. Aakash Coimbatore

    DOES ANYONE HOLDS AN AMEX CORPORATE PLATINUM CARD?
    What is the major difference in benefits between that & personal platinum charge card?

    Reply
    1. Amex Guy

      No hotel status is the biggest difference. Most Amex offers exclude corporate cards. It’s basically an Amex charge card with PP and FHR. Only makes sense for companies who were already buying $399 PP subscription for employees.

      The major draw of the card is that corporate program doesn’t hit your income tax as it uses company PAN number. But that’s true for any corporate card.

      The Gold Corporate + Personal Plat is a good way to go and is what I do. When Amex considers you as a customer, they see spends across your Gold Corporate and Personal Plat. Corporate card purchase will get considered for Centurion.

      Reply
      1. Suraj

        Have you ever been invited to the Centurion membership? If not, do you have any insights (since your company is listed on AMEX corporate) on what exactly triggers AMEX (on a personal plat charge) for them to offer a Centurion membership. The kind of spends or where the rupee is being spent, the amount of spends in a year, vintage on the Platinum Charge. How does all of this matter in getting an invite for the Centurion.

        I’m currently holding 4 cards with AMEX, all personal. Plat Travel, Smart Earn, Plat Charge and Gold Charge. Have always wondered how they’ve let me keep 4 cards and that too 2 credit + 2 charge (all proprietary AMEX cards). Anyways, it’s been over 1.5 years with this AMEX card setup of mine.

        Reply
      2. Aakash Coimbatore

        AMEX GUY, IF WE HAVE GOOD SPENDS (approx 1.5-2L a month) ON AMEX CORPORATE PLAT then is there any chance AMEX would INVITE for AMEX PERSONAL PLAT CHARGE?

        Reply
      3. aakash Coimbtore

        Also Any idea on the Eligibility for the Corporate card (PLAT OR GOLD) for people doing Business? as it not mentioned on AMEX WEBSITE!

        Reply
      4. Aakash Coimbatore

        Hey Amex Guy , Sid & other,
        Suppose if i am using AMEX PLAT or GOLD CORPORATE and spending 2-3 lakhs a month would AMEX consider for PERSONAL PLAT CHARGE?

        Reply
        1. Siddharth Post author

          Personal Plat has its own eligibility criteria. Good spends on other personal amex cards might at times trigger the upgrade offer to Plat. I don’t think they’re linked to corp. cards for this matter.

          Reply
        2. Shimul

          My Travel card offered an upgrade to PERSONAL PLAT CHARGE after one year of use. And total usage was less than 7L only on the travel card.

          Pal charge not for me! Fee too high

          Reply
  52. Gkcards

    i was wondering how many platinum card holders will be there? 1 lakh? so they will be earning around 600cr per year in fees alone!!

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Somewhere in 5 digits I guess. Wish they report the numbers like bike/car sales volume 🙂

      Reply
  53. Anand

    Has anyone applied for this card or any other via OFFLINE ( via SALES GUY AT AMEX OUTLET AT AIRPORTS OR ANYWHERE ELSE?)
    Will, they lower the eligibility or some thing like that?

    Reply
  54. Tarun Agarwal

    Hi Sid,
    Can you list some of the requests, you got done through Concierge services. I want to understand if there is a way, we can recover part of our annual fees through this.

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Hopefully by month end. Basically it saves your time from doing research/small things.

      Reply
  55. Gaurav Malik

    Just a very strange and out of box question. Is Amex vaccinating or providing concierge services for vaccinating its Plat Charge members. Would make a lot of sense to do it.

    Reply
  56. SAI RANGA

    Anyone tried for retention offer after recent RBI ban on AMEX cards?
    My Plat Charge card due for renewal coming 2nd Aug, any inputs / thoughts / suggestions ?

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Someone got a decent renewal offer last month, but nothing outstanding yet.

      Reply
          1. SAI RANGA

            Got generous + 10K as renewal offer. As always articles helped me in choosing right card and useful info.

    1. Siddharth Post author

      Referral program has been re-enabled this week until Sep 2023.

      Reply
  57. Yash Bhavnani

    Hi Siddharth,
    The renewal fee for my Plat charge card has been charged to my account this month. Although, I didn’t expect any waiver on the fee, I still asked for it and amex offered 40k worth of taj vouchers which was a pleasant surprise.
    Just wanted to know if that’s the best that amex is offering or did I settle for less.

    Reply
    1. Sunny G

      I got 100k for the past 2 years during renewals. This year they offered 60k and I flatly refused. They came back with 100k points or 60k TAJ vouchers.

      I’m inclined towards 100k points but wish they’d offered 120k.

      Marriott 1:1 conversion lets me choose from a host of redemption options and Titanium Elite gives upgrades almost always. Plus the usual 4+1 nights offer makes Marriott my hotel of choice.

      I still have some time to decide between 100k points vs 60k Taj, what would y’all recommend?

      Reply
  58. Mr rakshit Khanna

    Given the demise of axis reserve, does this card make sense in the current times? i already hold an infinia and am eyeing amex as the second one.
    and does amex offer c2c on basis of infinia?

    Appreciate the valuable help!

    Reply
    1. Siddharth Post author

      Infinia with >10L limit can get you Amex.
      Amex plat for 1st year is good to go without a doubt if you know where to redeem Amex 100K points (not given by default though, can get on request).

      Reply
  59. Bhavin Shah

    Was getting offer to upgrade for 115000 but I was waiting for better offer which finally I got today at 135000 points

    Reply

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