IS THE AMERICAN EXPRESS PLATINUM CARD A GOOD CARD?

At the end of 2025, Ameican Express revamped their popular platinum card and added a host of new perks and benefits. I got this card in early 2025 due to planned work travel and wanted to take advantage of the premium lounge access and hotel status benefits this card gives.

In the following post, I’ll explain how I use it in my lifestyle. As with any credit card, the only way to make this all work is to never carry a balance. I pay off my balance on a weekly basis on all my cards. Additionally I use the cash back I receive to invest every month which grows that money even more!

OVERVIEW OF My Credit Card System

I have a simple 5 credit card system I use, based on my life and things I value.

1. Visa Signature through my Credit Union.

   • This is a no annual fee card and is our main card. On average I get back about $120/mo cashback:

     • 5% back on gas and restaurants

     • 3% back on shopping and warehouse clubs and streaming

     • 1.5% back on everything else

       • All of this income gets invested into quality ETFs

2. American Express Platinum

   • This is an $895 annual fee card loaded with perks that we use for luxury travel and lifesfyle

3. American Express Hilton Honors Business

   • This is a $150 annual fee card I run all my photography and influencer costs through this and earn Hilton Honors points towards free rooms

     • I orignally got this for the travel benefits in 2022, but AmEx nerfed the lounge access which is what drove me to get the Platinum.

4. American Express Mariott Bonviy Bevy

   • This ia a $95 annual fee card that I got for Silver status, but that was trumped by the Amex Platinum with gold status. However I keep it because I get a free night worth 35,000 points every year and that has come in handy on our roadtrips. Plus I will use this to book directly with Marriott properties and get the elevated points bonuses.

5. Barclays American Airlines Mastercard

   • This is a $95 annual fee card. AA is our partner airline for work and I have a ton of miles on there, so by getting this card, it allows for a few extra perks on AA flights like free checked bags and Group 5 early boarding.

How I use the AMEX Platinum in everyday life

In order to make sure I could offset the $895 annual fee with all the credits and perks, I set up a spreadsheet with everything I plan to use and that is shown below.

As you can see, I’ll be getting around $1,900 in value from the card without even including all the travel perks you get from being an Amex Platinum holder. So for my family, it’s a win right out of the gate. I’m netting about $1000 in freebies alone.

View fullsize

Based on the calculations above, I’m estimating $1,900 in actual value I’ll be getting from from the $895 card price. Keep in mind, these are things that we are already doing or that help solve problems for me (like the Lululemon/SAKS credits giving me the ability to buy something a little nicer for birthdays and Christmas etc).

We’re already eating at RESY restaurants for date nights, so that’s just “free” date nights every 3 months.

We’re already staying at a luxury hotel on their list on a regular basis so the added perks of early check in, late check out, and free breakfasts are welcome.

WALMART+ and saving $100 on gas

The real unsung hero on the group of benefits is the Walmart+ subscription and the gas discount. Unfortunately, in Alabama the discount is only $0.05/gal and not the full $0.10/gal. BUT, here’s how powerful even the $0.05/gal is.

On avarege between our 2 cars, we fill up 3x a week at 13/gal per fill up, That works out to 2,028 gallons of gas a year we consume. The $0.05 savings works out to $101.40 in savings over the course of a year. IF we got the full $0.10/gal, it’d be over $200 a year in savings on gas.

The other bonus is, the credit includes Paramount+, which has some shows we enjoy watching.

---

THE OTHER PERKS

It’s hard to assign a cash value to these perks, so I lump them into an “Icing on the cake” kind of category. These are the most important AMEX perks to me and the way I travel.

Lounge Access

Flying is a big pain in the butt these days and there’s nothing I enjoy more than being able to go to a somewhat quiet lounge to relax inbetween flights.

AMEX touts over 1500 lounge locations. Historically, I’ve had to fly around 3x a year for my job on average. Most of my work takes me through Charlotte or DC Regan to BDL. The other route I do a lot is through DFW to LAX. I nearly always have a delay and having lounge access is a fansatic perk. On my last trip in April 2025, I was able to use the Centurian Lounge going and coming on my trip. The food and drinks were really nice and since they were “free”, I ate a ton for breakfast going, and lunch coming back. Included lounges are:

• AMEX Centurian

  • Refined and relaxing accomodations with a decent sized buffet with good vareity and complimentary drinks. I always eat good here and an equivalent meal with desserts would easily be $30+ at a sit down inside the airport.

• Priority Pass

  • Perhaps the perk I value most are the Minute Suites access, which are indiviudal rooms you can get for up to an hour in total privacy. They also have a private restroom which is super clean and private. This alone is worth the $895 to me as it’s very nice and keeps me out of the nasty main restrooms. Ha.

• Delta Sky Club (when flying Delta, up to 4x a year)

HOTEL STATUS

You get 3 hotel statuses with the AMEX Platinum

1. Hilton Gold

2. Marriott Gold

3. Leaders Club Sterling Status

The Hilton Gold is a step above the Marriott Gold in my experience. The Hilton status includes complimentary waters and snacks or Executive Lounge access in many places which means free food. The Marriot Gold hasn’t gottem me much of anything anywhere. Leaders Club is new for 2026 and I haven’t tried that yet.

CAR RENTAL STATUS

You get elevated rental status at:

1. AVIS

2. Hertz

3. National

These statuses let you skip the line and get free upgrades.

CONCLUSION

Where I’m at in my life, I really enjoy and place a large value on convenience and relaxation. If you also value these kinds of things, do a similar analysis on the credits like I did an see if they work in your favor. If they do, then consider getting the American Express Platinum using my affilate link and you can get up to 175,000 points to get started with your luxury travels.