The Amex Platinum Card: ACTUAL Value 3 Years Later (2025)

The American Express Platinum Card (Amex Platinum Card) is the poster child of luxury travel credit cards in the credit card space. But is it worth it in 2025 still? And how much value does it ACTUALLY provide to substantiate the $695 annual fee? In this video I'll discuss my personal use of this card and how it provides me value to give you a real look at how this card is used in the wild and if it would be worth it for you.

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0:00 Intro
0:40 First Impressions
I applied for the card back in late 2021 to get an elevated sign up bonus of 125,000 Amex MR points. When redeemed for cash back thats worth $1,250 but can be worth much more than that when redeemed for travel.

1:30 How I Actually Use the Card For MAX Value
The credits and perks I definitely use on this card every year to offset the $695 annual fee is the $200 Hotel credit that I use with Fine Hotels and Resorts through Amex Travel. I also use the $240 entertainment credit for streaming services to get Peacock, but I imagine most people would go for the disney plus bundle. I count the airport lounge access at around $40 of value per year since usually I buy something to eat at the airport which would cost me around $10 per visit. And I would count the $200 uber cash credit at 60% of that value since I mostly use it on Uber Eats that has inflated pricing on their food. So just from a credits standpoint, $695 Annual Fee - $200 Hotel Credit - $240 Digital Entertainment - $120 Uber - $40 Lounge Access gives you a $95 effective annual fee for this card for all the things I use definitely every year. In addition I try to take advantage of the 5x on flights that the card provides when I do pay for those.

5:46 What I Somewhat Use On The Card
Global Entry/TSA Pre Check is one that now I would probably pay for, but before I got the Amex Platinum Card I did not have it. This is a value of $24/year since Global Entry is good for 5 years. The $200 Airline fee credit is good for bags and lounge access at select airlines, but sometimes I find that I am just paying for stuff I wouldn't normally, just to use the credit. You have to pick your specific airlines and can't change it once you lock it in. The card also has purchase protections and rental car protections that can come in handy if need be. But if I do utilize all these credits, the effective annual fee of the Amex Platinum card is +$129 every year, so it makes sense for me to keep the card.

8:06 What I Wouldn't Pay For But Nice To Have
Walmart Plus is something that is nice, but I wouldn't pay for. Clear is only good for traveling solo since my finacee doesn't have clear and I wouldn't pay for it. The Saks Credit I'll only use if I am in a city with a Saks. I also don't shop. Rental Car and Hotel Status is something that you can't pay for, but even if you could, I'm not sure that I would. Events with Amex is probably cool but I don't use that. And I don't have an Equinox, so don't use that either.

10:29 Is It Worth It? Comment Below!

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