AMEX Platinum Charge Benefits - Q&A

[Foreigner]

I could almost accept the fee if platinum status was retained. At this point it's a pretty bad deal to swallow:
Wasn't there Marco Polo Gold some years back? i'd like that!, perhaps VA Gold/Plat would be appropriate given the Amex/Virgin relationship.

$300 travel credit
priority pass
unlimited amex & virgin lounge access
hilton gold
starwood gold
shangri-la gold
hertz gold
avis preferred
carlson rezidor gold

Isn't Delta lounge access also a benefit?

 

[trippin_the_rift]

I could almost accept the fee if platinum status was retained. At this point it's a pretty bad deal to swallow:
Wasn't there Marco Polo Gold some years back? i'd like that!, perhaps VA Gold/Plat would be appropriate given the Amex/Virgin relationship.

$300 travel credit
priority pass
unlimited amex & virgin lounge access
hilton gold
starwood gold
shangri-la gold
hertz gold
avis preferred
carlson rezidor gold

sydney airport express path access
best credit card travel insurance on teh market
ability to transfer to QF *AND* other FFPs

the other benefits are a bit meh. I'd fire myself if I were in charge of member benefits/partnerships @ Amex given constant drop in value of the card over the years

 

[Foreigner]

sydney airport express path access
best credit card travel insurance on teh market
ability to transfer to QF *AND* other FFPs

the other benefits are a bit meh. I'd fire myself if I were in charge of member benefits/partnerships @ Amex given constant drop in value of the card over the years

Not forgetting free trolleys on departure level in SYD. Yes, more than 1.

 

[SponsorSFC]

Amex has 2 hotel partners - Hilton and SPG - where MR points may be transferred for hotel stays.

2 MR points equals 1 SPG point.

What's the rate to Hilton?

MR to HHonors is 1:1

Not the best value.

 

[ninja-tim]

MR to HHonors is 1:1

Not the best value.

I think SPG isn't the greatest of value too imo. 30k Starpoints (=60k MR points) to redeem 1 night in cat 6/7 hotel seems like a waste, if you don't have 'a lot' of points to burn. You can/almost get a one way J redemption to Asia for that much points.

 

[dcooper]

Well I received my letter saying that the accor benefit is gone. Rang amex and acked how a $349 benefit can just be replaced by at $100 benefit? Basically its a price rise in disguise. Our annual fee is now essentially $1400 per year. I'm getting very disappointed by the lack of benefits for this card for $1200. So I'm about to cut my card up. Its terrible that it has come to the point where I have to look at other cards as I don't feel that amex respects its long serving customers. Gone are the good old days when member since 01 actually meant something. I wonder if getting an onlie petition to the MD would actually yield any results. I'm pretty sure people would sign up to it. What does everyone think?

 

[M@rcoPolo]

best credit card travel insurance on the market

I really don't think so - since the travel insurance was "enhanced" a couple of years ago with the move to ACE it's now a pretty average policy with lots and lots of exclusions + requires to put all travel expenses on the card + very restricting pre-existing conditions clause. Just search this forum for feedback on the subject...

 

[TonyHancock]

I think SPG isn't the greatest of value too imo. 30k Starpoints (=60k MR points) to redeem 1 night in cat 6/7 hotel seems like a waste, if you don't have 'a lot' of points to burn. You can/almost get a one way J redemption to Asia for that much points.

I suspect quite a few here will see SPG as a conduit to AA or BA. 40,000 MR points = 20,000 SPG points = 25,000 BA or AA points.

 

[ninja-tim]

I really don't think so - since the travel insurance was "enhanced" a couple of years ago with the move the ACE it's now a pretty average policy with lots and lots of exclusions + requires to put all travel expenses on the card + very restricting pre-existing conditions clause. Just search this forum for feedback on the subject...

Ahh, I was planning on just using it for my euro trip later this year. Guess I gotta fork out a bit more for proper insurance.

Any recommendations? I normally just use TID and get annual insurance cover.

 

[Foreigner]

I think SPG isn't the greatest of value too imo. 30k Starpoints (=60k MR points) to redeem 1 night in cat 6/7 hotel seems like a waste, if you don't have 'a lot' of points to burn. You can/almost get a one way J redemption to Asia for that much points.

That's right. Between SPG and HH it looks like HH may be somewhat better.

I looked at 3 night stay in San Diego which could cost 36k SPG points, requiring 72k MR points.

HH in comparable hotel would cost 50k points requiring 50k MR points.

 

[ninja-tim]

That's right. Between SPG and HH it looks like HH may be somewhat better.

I looked at 3 night stay in San Diego which could cost 36k SPG points, requiring 72k MR points.

HH in comparable hotel would cost 50k points requiring 50k MR points.

Lol, I thought SPG was the better of the 2.

 

[exp1k]

HH in comparable hotel would cost 50k points requiring 50k MR points.

IIRC, when I did my last transfer from MR to Hilton I first converted the points 1:1 to Virgin Atlantic and from there 1:2 to Hilton. I ended up with 2 HH points per 1 MR point. Once there was even a 20 or 25% bonus to transfer to Virgin Atantic.
In the end the transfer was useless as Hilton enhanced their points requirements and my planned trip using HH points in Bora Bora fell through.

I'm not sure if this transfer via VA is still possible, but it is certainly worth checking.

 

[ninja-tim]

Just a question or three:

I an Amex Business Plat card holder.

I've been having trouble logging in and getting into the Benefits directory so I can join the hotel programs.

Tried calling up and getting them to join for me and spoke to a few different people, over 1.5hrs on the phone -_-, and 1 person said they can't see HH Gold to join me up. Another said they can't do it for me and that only I can do it online. Another told me to speak to my business development manager to fix the problem so I can join up online. Another agent said they'd forward my details onto accor/spg so they can sign me up. In the end, I don't think I got anywhere.

Apparently today, not 15th April, is the last day for business card holders to join Accor. Does any other business card holder know if that's correct of if any member have been able to renew/extend an existing Accor membership? Mine expires later this year so was wondering if I can get Amex to extend/renew my membership?

Also one of the operators said supplementary card holders aren't allowed to sign up to accor plus or other programs, but online it says for SPG that supplementary cardholders can join up. Can anyone confirm this?

Really frustrating when operators are spewing out different info from each other and compared to info online.

 

[albyd]

I have a personal platinum charge. I've had a look on the website & my understanding is the business card has a smaller feature set (such as excluding the hotel memberships) which I find strange as I'd imagine business people would likely travel more and be more likely to use these features.
There are other features like Afr online subscription which isn't available on the personal card.

 

[ninja-tim]

I have a personal platinum charge. I've had a look on the website & my understanding is the business card has a smaller feature set (such as excluding the hotel memberships) which I find strange as I'd imagine business people would likely travel more and be more likely to use these features.
There are other features like Afr online subscription which isn't available on the personal card.

The thing is, I use to have access to it up until a few months ago. I even applied for the shangri-la jade membership online when that was made available last year. I had one platinum call centre operator tell me no hotel membership benefits are available to the business card. I don't get why these operators don't know the basics of the cards they are representing.

One other thing which is confusing is why there seems to be a difference in benefits between the personal vs business charge cards? Seems like the business card has less benefits in terms of memberships to hotels, even though there is a higher annual fee.

Besides the business reporting feature of the business card, is there any other benefit over the personal card?

 

[andye]

That's right. Between SPG and HH it looks like HH may be somewhat better.

I looked at 3 night stay in San Diego which could cost 36k SPG points, requiring 72k MR points.

HH in comparable hotel would cost 50k points requiring 50k MR points.

IME pretty easy to get 2c value from an SPG point. Harder to get 1c from a Hilton

 

[andye]

IIRC, when I did my last transfer from MR to Hilton I first converted the points 1:1 to Virgin Atlantic and from there 1:2 to Hilton. I ended up with 2 HH points per 1 MR point. Once there was even a 20 or 25% bonus to transfer to Virgin Atantic.
In the end the transfer was useless as Hilton enhanced their points requirements and my planned trip using HH points in Bora Bora fell through.

I'm not sure if this transfer via VA is still possible, but it is certainly worth checking.

Still going but at 1:1.5

 

[kaktusdigital]

So to sum up the recent swapping out of accor plus + platinum status with HH gold. Here's a rough comparison of hotel benefits:

Lost free breakfast.
Lost early check-in
Lost potential to upgrade to better room
Lost access to Hotel lounge

We've now been given...

HH GOLD

• Guaranteed Discount: A discounted, changeable & refundable rate is exclusively available for Hilton HHonors members. SAME
• Digital Check-In: choose your room, and customize your stay from your mobile device up to 24 hours in advance. Ehh, O.K, might be a nice gimmick? (never tried it before)
• Complimentary in-room and lobby Standard Internet access during stays at Waldorf Astoria™ Hotels & Resorts, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Curio - A Collection by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton™, Canopy™ by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels™ and Hilton Grand Vacations™ SAME
• Quick reservations and check-ins based on your room preferences
• Late check-out[SUP]2 SAME[/SUP]
• Express check-out SAME
• 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Guest stays free[SUP]3[/SUP]
• Complimentary access to fitness centers and health clubs[SUP]5 ISN'T THIS A STANDARD FOR ALL HOTELS?[/SUP]
• Two complimentary bottles of water per stay When this is listed as a perk you know there's not much hope.

There's really nothing there that's a killer perk IMO (other than late check out maybe). Of course you may value some over others, but too loose all the things that make an experience better is pretty sobering.
Not that there's anything we can do, but I hope it gives you some ammunition to negotiate a better annual fee when the time comes. At the very least I'll write them a very stern letter of disappointment!

 

[Daver6]

I think some of those benefits you listed are applicable to any level of HH membership if I'm mistaken. Eg, digital check-in, discounted rate and free wifi.

 

[jackthomas]

So to sum up the recent swapping out of accor plus + platinum status with HH gold. Here's a rough comparison of hotel benefits:

Lost free breakfast.
Lost early check-in
Lost potential to upgrade to better room
Lost access to Hotel lounge

We've now been given...

HH GOLD

• Guaranteed Discount: A discounted, changeable & refundable rate is exclusively available for Hilton HHonors members. SAME
• Digital Check-In: choose your room, and customize your stay from your mobile device up to 24 hours in advance. Ehh, O.K, might be a nice gimmick? (never tried it before)
• Complimentary in-room and lobby Standard Internet access during stays at Waldorf Astoria™ Hotels & Resorts, Conrad® Hotels & Resorts, Curio - A Collection by Hilton, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton™, Canopy™ by Hilton, Embassy Suites Hotels™ and Hilton Grand Vacations™ SAME
• Quick reservations and check-ins based on your room preferences
• Late check-out[SUP]2 SAME[/SUP]
• Express check-out SAME
• 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] Guest stays free[SUP]3[/SUP]
• Complimentary access to fitness centers and health clubs[SUP]5 ISN'T THIS A STANDARD FOR ALL HOTELS?[/SUP]
• Two complimentary bottles of water per stay When this is listed as a perk you know there's not much hope.

There's really nothing there that's a killer perk IMO (other than late check out maybe). Of course you may value some over others, but too loose all the things that make an experience better is pretty sobering.
Not that there's anything we can do, but I hope it gives you some ammunition to negotiate a better annual fee when the time comes. At the very least I'll write them a very stern letter of disappointment!

Not sure where you got your Lost list from, as HHonors Gold includes complimentary breakfast, more than often lounge access especially in Australia, good upgrades, often more than one level depending where you stay and early check in upon request also....