Do I still need my Amex Platinum?

[Anonymous]

It was based on two one ways bc we actually flew into Geneva and out of Zurich. Was the only way it worked to get there… agree it was a lot of points considering it used to be 66k each way, even 60k at times (United). Now I’ve even seen up to 395k each way which is insane. The 155k one way we got was the lowest I saw for our dates, which were inflexible. The return was actually 70k pp in economy and I used plus points to upgrade to business, which you can do on award tickets with GS. Literally a miracle 4 upgrades cleared.

Another reason I prefer using Saph Reserve to transfer to United is that I can redeposit miles w/o penalty (to United, not Chase obv) With Amex points am not sure that would be possible, if we needed to cancel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It was based on two one ways bc we actually flew into Geneva and out of Zurich. Was the only way it worked to get there… agree it was a lot of points considering it used to be 66k each way, even 60k at times (United). Now I’ve even seen up to 395k each way which is insane. The 155k one way we got was the lowest I saw for our dates, which were inflexible. The return was actually 70k pp in economy and I used plus points to upgrade to business, which you can do on award tickets with GS. Literally a miracle 4 upgrades cleared.

Another reason I prefer using Saph Reserve to transfer to United is that I can redeposit miles w/o penalty (to United, not Chase obv) With Amex points am not sure that would be possible, if we needed to cancel.

Two one ways isn't the proper comparison, because international oneways are wildly inflated. If booking with cash you would have booked this as a multi-city or "open jaw" booking, IAD-GVA and ZRH -IAD. This would price out almost exactly the same as a basic roundtrip, and on the same dates in June that booking is still around $6k/person in business.

Yeah those mileage levels are anytime awards, which are usually the only option for business to Europe except spending a ton of time searching constantly, or being flexible with dates, or booking early and then making changes close-in as availability possibly opens up close to departure. In this situation you couldn't use Amex points to book those flights without saver award availability, because without that a transfer partner like Aeroplan or Singapore wouldn't be able to book the United flight as a partner. This is all part of the learning curve of maximizing points. It gets really complex at times.

But if you are going to Europe, Flying Blue is going to be your best availability, generally. BA is pretty good also, but their fees are ridiculous, and their planes/service are still a step below for business class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Where are people finding that doesn’t accept AmEx (other than Costco)? I can’t remember the last time I was anywhere that wasn’t cash only but didn’t accept AmEx. With the rise of aggregators like Stripe and Square, most small places take every card now.

Platinum is a no brainer if you travel a lot. Air credit plus hotel credit plus streaming credits plus lounge plus Saks. Fine Hotels is a great program for nice hotels, and air transfer partners are great. Transfer to Air Canada for Star Alliance redemptions if needed.

I pay for both Platinum and CSR and still save money from them…

You are probably not traveling a lot outside of the US.
Amex cards are widely accepted it in the US, but not in Europe for example. Many places don’t take Amex.

[Anonymous]

I keep wanted to get into this game, but it sounds like such a huge pain. Is it really worth it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I keep wanted to get into this game, but it sounds like such a huge pain. Is it really worth it?

That's up to you.

It isn't very hard. Read a couple websites and your off to the races.

I started 2 years ago. Spent a Saturday afternoon reading about how to do it and then all of a sudden I had 2 million points. My normal monthly credit card spend is probably about 2000.

The most time consuming part is making the travel arrangements. That can take a long time. But there are paid services that will do the leg work for you. Places like points.me, roame, seats.aero and others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was based on two one ways bc we actually flew into Geneva and out of Zurich. Was the only way it worked to get there… agree it was a lot of points considering it used to be 66k each way, even 60k at times (United). Now I’ve even seen up to 395k each way which is insane. The 155k one way we got was the lowest I saw for our dates, which were inflexible. The return was actually 70k pp in economy and I used plus points to upgrade to business, which you can do on award tickets with GS. Literally a miracle 4 upgrades cleared.

Another reason I prefer using Saph Reserve to transfer to United is that I can redeposit miles w/o penalty (to United, not Chase obv) With Amex points am not sure that would be possible, if we needed to cancel.

Two one ways isn't the proper comparison, because international oneways are wildly inflated. If booking with cash you would have booked this as a multi-city or "open jaw" booking, IAD-GVA and ZRH -IAD. This would price out almost exactly the same as a basic roundtrip, and on the same dates in June that booking is still around $6k/person in business.

Yeah those mileage levels are anytime awards, which are usually the only option for business to Europe except spending a ton of time searching constantly, or being flexible with dates, or booking early and then making changes close-in as availability possibly opens up close to departure. In this situation you couldn't use Amex points to book those flights without saver award availability, because without that a transfer partner like Aeroplan or Singapore wouldn't be able to book the United flight as a partner. This is all part of the learning curve of maximizing points. It gets really complex at times.

But if you are going to Europe, Flying Blue is going to be your best availability, generally. BA is pretty good also, but their fees are ridiculous, and their planes/service are still a step below for business class.

I booked it 10 days before having changed routes several times😬 Was actually thrilled to find that availability bc there was nothing without multiple connections (GVA wasn’t our final destination) and then the flight back through ZRH indicating good possibility for upgrades. Definitely was paying a premium in points for convenience, ability to cancel, and upgrade potential on return.

I just haven’t figured out yet the AMEX game but will look at Flying Blue again. I found the ANA site very un-user friendly, tired both mobile and laptop and felt defeated 😭 Will continue to build points as I learn it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I keep wanted to get into this game, but it sounds like such a huge pain. Is it really worth it?

That's up to you.

It isn't very hard. Read a couple websites and your off to the races.

I started 2 years ago. Spent a Saturday afternoon reading about how to do it and then all of a sudden I had 2 million points. My normal monthly credit card spend is probably about 2000.

The most time consuming part is making the travel arrangements. That can take a long time. But there are paid services that will do the leg work for you. Places like points.me, roame, seats.aero and others.

2M? s0me details. I am stockiling now with Amex Gold. Saving f0r business class to Australia or China for 4.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I keep wanted to get into this game, but it sounds like such a huge pain. Is it really worth it?

That's up to you.

It isn't very hard. Read a couple websites and your off to the races.

I started 2 years ago. Spent a Saturday afternoon reading about how to do it and then all of a sudden I had 2 million points. My normal monthly credit card spend is probably about 2000.

The most time consuming part is making the travel arrangements. That can take a long time. But there are paid services that will do the leg work for you. Places like points.me, roame, seats.aero and others.

2M? s0me details. I am stockiling now with Amex Gold. Saving f0r business class to Australia or China for 4.

Australia in biz for 4 is very unlikely unless you are watching availability like a hawk. China probably easier as more flights restart. But still hard, especially for.more than 2 people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Member since 1990- since I was in college.

Getting the Platinum card was great a few years ago, but it kinda has lost its luster. Getting too expensive to keep with the high membership fees and the $275 fee for each additional card.

We used the Amex card for everything- then when Costco didn't take it anymore, it really messed up our tracking!
I'm finding more and more places not taking Amex- especially on my most recent international trip.
Using only some of the perks.

We're thinking of just switching everything to Visa, perhaps getting a Chase Sapphire Reserve.
Do I even need Amex for anything anymore?

TIA for your input!

Best perks (IMO) for Amex Platinum:

1) Centurion Lounge access (and if you spend $75K+ in a year, for a guest as well)
2) Travel---Great rates on luxury hotels, with guaranteed 4pm checkout, possible early checkin, room upgrade if available, a $100-150 credit per stay and FREE breakfast ($75-90 credit typically).

Spouse has AmexPlatinum, I have Sapphire reserve. I think AmexPlatinum is a better deal.
You get enough perks (Airline credit of $200 I think, $15 off Uber monthly, TSAPre free every 5 years) that the cost is not that much

+1.

I just got $200 off a three day stay at a luxury hotel. Between that and the Uber, airline credit, & $20 a month for Hulu, the card pays for itself. That’s before the 5x fees for airfare and hotel, and the “coupons” which are for good things I actually buy and easy to use. I also like the automatic status with hotels & car rentals & lounge access.

Agree that it would probably not be worth it if you don’t travel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I keep wanted to get into this game, but it sounds like such a huge pain. Is it really worth it?

That's up to you.

It isn't very hard. Read a couple websites and your off to the races.

I started 2 years ago. Spent a Saturday afternoon reading about how to do it and then all of a sudden I had 2 million points. My normal monthly credit card spend is probably about 2000.

The most time consuming part is making the travel arrangements. That can take a long time. But there are paid services that will do the leg work for you. Places like points.me, roame, seats.aero and others.

2M? s0me details. I am stockiling now with Amex Gold. Saving f0r business class to Australia or China for 4.

Earn points in bulk using sign up bonuses. Unless you are a huge spender (there are some small business people that rack up hundreds of thousands per month), just getting points through normal spend will take forever.

And plan. For example, I knew I had a 10,000 dollar expense coming up. So I got a new Amex Business Platinum, paid the bill and got 220,000 points.

[Anonymous]

We downgraded from platinum. Was not worth the cost. We have the gold now but after reading some of the post I might look into the business blue. My son gets the platinum for free. Military benefit!

[Anonymous]

OP here.

I just got a Sapphire Reserve.
Then I switched the 3 additional cards I had on Amex Platinum to companion cards, which has no fee. My husband lost his Priority Pass on Amex but regained it on the Sapphire Reserve. I have another 4 months before my Platinum fees are due. Not sure if I'll keep it or not but we'll start transitioning all our spending on the Sapphire card.

What I plan to use on Sapphire Reserve right away:
- $300 travel credit. I'm about to book a flight. Will book it on their portal to get the 10x points.
- The Chase Lounge at Dulles.

One thing I'll miss on the Amex platinum is the $20 digital entertainment credit.
The Uber cash has been nice, but we don't use uber much so our credits usually expire.
We haven't used any of the Luxury hotel credits-- I just don't like to pay more than $400 a night for a hotel, even with the credit, it's still too much.
What else will I miss?

[Anonymous]

Love the Sapphire Reserve. Find both cards useful. I don’t even plan anything for the $300 CSR credit- they are so liberal about what counts as travel, it takes care of itself.

I’m always torn between using Amex Gold -4x points, and CSR, 3x points, on restaurants and just end up alternating. Anyone know how an Amex point and a Chase point compare value-wise? Are they essential 1:1?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here.

I just got a Sapphire Reserve.
Then I switched the 3 additional cards I had on Amex Platinum to companion cards, which has no fee. My husband lost his Priority Pass on Amex but regained it on the Sapphire Reserve. I have another 4 months before my Platinum fees are due. Not sure if I'll keep it or not but we'll start transitioning all our spending on the Sapphire card.

What I plan to use on Sapphire Reserve right away:
- $300 travel credit. I'm about to book a flight. Will book it on their portal to get the 10x points.
- The Chase Lounge at Dulles.

One thing I'll miss on the Amex platinum is the $20 digital entertainment credit.
The Uber cash has been nice, but we don't use uber much so our credits usually expire.
We haven't used any of the Luxury hotel credits-- I just don't like to pay more than $400 a night for a hotel, even with the credit, it's still too much.
What else will I miss?

Recommend against booking the flight through the Chase portal. You will still get 3x points if you book directly through the airline, and if there are any flight changes or issues, you really want to be able to go directly to the airline to deal with it, versus having to start with the Chase travel agency, and then have them bring in the airline. Lots of horror stories online about ticketing issues in those sorts of situations

In terms of the Amex Plat, the new Centurion Lounge at DCA looks set to open in the next 2 months. Probably won't move the needle on renewal, but something to go check out if you have a flight out of DCA soon

Dulles Chase lounge is nice and has good food, but is small and I am sure will get crowded quickly with how many Sapphire Reserve holders there must be in the DCA area, and they get started using it now that it's opened. Just be prepared to deal with waits to use it- really common with popular lounges now.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Love the Sapphire Reserve. Find both cards useful. I don’t even plan anything for the $300 CSR credit- they are so liberal about what counts as travel, it takes care of itself.

I’m always torn between using Amex Gold -4x points, and CSR, 3x points, on restaurants and just end up alternating. Anyone know how an Amex point and a Chase point compare value-wise? Are they essential 1:1?

They are pretty similar in overall value- lot of the same transfer partners like BA, Air France, Aeroplan ,etc. If you can get use for Hyatt reservations that's a really popular transfer option for Chase points that Amex can't match. I also think in the DC area, Chase having United and Southwest as partners both with big hubs in the region, adds a bit more value than Amex. So overall Chase points are worth a bit more, but not some massive difference, and it depends on your usage pattern. If you have family in Canada and end up transferring to Aeroplan a lot, then they would be equivalent since they are both partners.