3 Times My Amex Platinum Card Saved Me Hundreds on a Trip

With a $695 annual fee and an additional $175 to add my wife as an additional cardholder (see rates and fees), I'm often asked why I keep such an expensive credit card in my wallet. And my answer is that I get more than double the annual fee back in value from the Amex Platinum Card.

While the card certainly has other benefits, many of its biggest benefits are travel-focused. With that in mind, here's a rundown of the travel benefits of The Platinum Card® from American Express and a few specific examples of the value I get from it.

Travel benefits of the Amex Platinum Card

The Platinum Card® from American Express certainly has a relatively high annual fee, but it is also one of the most feature-packed cards you'll ever come across.

Many of its benefits are travel-focused, and just to name the most valuable:

• $200 in statement credits toward incidentals at an airline you specify each year (mine is Delta).
• $200 in statement credits toward certain prepaid hotel bookings.
• $200 in Uber credits for rides or Uber Eats delivery each year.
• $189 to cover the cost of a CLEAR Plus membership.
• A credit to cover the cost of a TSA PreCheck or Global Entry membership once every four years.
• The most comprehensive airport lounge access of any card on my radar, including the Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta), and more.
• Terms apply; enrollment may be required.

In addition, the card earns 5X Membership Rewards points per $1 spent on flights, as well as prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel. Terms apply.

Plus, these are just some of the benefits of The Platinum Card® from American Express. Click "apply now" below to learn more about all the features this card offers.

Three examples of the Amex Platinum Card saving me hundreds on a trip

In an average year, I take 10-12 round-trip flights as a combination of professional travel and family/leisure travel. I typically pay for my flights and hotels with my Amex Platinum Card and get significant value out of its other benefits.

In May 2023, I flew to Omaha, Nebraska to attend the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders' meeting. Since the trip technically extended over two months, as I left home the last day of April, I was able to use $30 worth of Uber credits. I connected through Charlotte, North Carolina, and spent most of my two-hour layover in the fantastic Centurion Lounge, which saved me the cost of food and beverages, and gave me a quiet place to work. And above all, I paid for the flight itself with Membership Rewards points I earned from using the card, which saved me about $500. (Note: I conservatively value Centurion Lounge visits at about $50 each, based on what the typical annual airline membership costs and how often I use it. But you might find even more value, depending on the particular amenities you use.)

In October 2023, I flew to Las Vegas to attend a financial industry conference. I visited lounges three times (Centurion in Charlotte on layovers both ways, as well as in Las Vegas). I used my $15 monthly Uber credit to get from the Las Vegas airport to my hotel. And I used part of my airline incidental credit to move to an exit row seat with more legroom, which would have cost $89 on that long flight.

In February 2024, I flew my family (four people) to Miami for a cruise vacation. We flew on Delta and used a total of about $50 of my incidental credit to buy food on the airplane. We didn't have time for any lounge visits, but did use a $15 Uber credit toward a ride when we needed to get to the cruise port. And most valuable on this trip, I booked a one-night stay at a very nice hotel through Amex Travel and got a $200 statement credit for doing so.

Worth the $695 annual fee (to me)

The bottom line is that The Platinum Card® from American Express is an expensive card, but it can be well worth the cost if you take full advantage of the benefits. These are just a few examples of how the card saved me hundreds of dollars with its travel benefits, and I've made the case that the value I get from The Platinum Card® from American Express is more than double its annual fee. If I crunched the numbers trip by trip, it would probably be worth even more.