AMEX Platinum Charge Benefits - Q&A

[thatsthatmattressman]

@sudoer Mate you are awesome .. a treasure for this thread thanks for the insight.

 

[kevinyhli]

On the itinerary @kevinyhli was looking at (AU to EU open jaw with a stopover in Japan in one direction, mid next year) the price dropped from $5.6k to $5.1k through Amex IAP.

That was JAL I class which I believe is their usual discount business bucket, with X being the business sale bucket (could be wrong on this)

Thanks again for helping out - much appreciated. I am looking to book for partner and myself, so as you say, this plus the credits and etc will make up for the annual fees!

 

[thatsthatmattressman]

I'm under the pump now to get 2 Amex Travel Credits booked in that expire in the 1st and 3rd weeks of October. Struggling to find good value and with lockdowns in place keep fiddling with where we could end up in NSW .. Amex has to extend the expiries again!

 

[Infrequent traveller]

I'm under the pump now to get 2 Amex Travel Credits booked in that expire in the 1st and 3rd weeks of October. Struggling to find good value and with lockdowns in place keep fiddling with where we could end up in NSW .. Amex has to extend the expiries again!

There is a hack (not sure if it’s ethical, don’t shoot) - make a cancellable hotel booking using up the credit m, cancel well in advance of the last cancellation deadline (in view of no foreseeable improvement in travel restriction), get travel credits reinstated for a further 12 months. I have multiple genuine (in terms of intention) bookings and have to cancel them all in the past two weeks

 

[thatsthatmattressman]

There is a hack (not sure if it’s ethical, don’t shoot) - make a cancellable hotel booking using up the credit m, cancel well in advance of the last cancellation deadline (in view of no foreseeable improvement in travel restriction), get travel credits reinstated for a further 12 months. I have multiple genuine (in terms of intention) bookings and have to cancel them all in the past two weeks

Sorry to hear mate .. a bummer eh. Thanks for the advice; looks like I should be booking Refundable either way so this could suit my plans.

And to clarify, after cancelling (past the deadline of when your credits were to expire) they appeared back in your account with an extra year tacked on to them?

Tally-ho!

 

[Infrequent traveller]

Sorry to hear mate .. a bummer eh. Thanks for the advice; looks like I should be booking Refundable either way so this could suit my plans.

And to clarify, after cancelling (past the deadline of when your credits were to expire) they appeared back in your account with an extra year tacked on to them?

Tally-ho!

In my case, I cancelled the booking before the hotel booking cancellation deadline (without regard to thr travel credit expiry date, I think once you applied the credit, the expiry date becomes irrelevant) via Amex Travel online chat. Within a week (longest, may be sooner), a “new” travel credit showed up on my account with a further 12 months validity (say 3 Sep 2022)

 

[Daver6]

I'm under the pump now to get 2 Amex Travel Credits booked in that expire in the 1st and 3rd weeks of October. Struggling to find good value and with lockdowns in place keep fiddling with where we could end up in NSW .. Amex has to extend the expiries again!

Or book some QF flights for international travel at the earliest possible date. I don't see these actually going ahead, but you do run the risk of the flight not being cancelled.

Oh, and remember you can use the two credits for one booking. Either call up to get it done or I was told just use one and then contact them to use the other and they'll credit back to your card.

 

[thatsthatmattressman]

Cracker idea D6 ..good to see you still on the thread ..so helpful. Worse case scenario I end up in Fiji for a week ..what could go wrong! .. we will all need to meet up at the New W in Sydney when it opens for a coughatil

Or book some QF flights for international travel at the earliest possible date. I don't see these actually going ahead, but you do run the risk of the flight not being cancelled.

Oh, and remember you can use the two credits for one booking. Either call up to get it done or I was told just use one and then contact them to use the other and they'll credit back to your card.

 

[Pele]

Gday

Does the Hilton Gold status last for the exact period you hold the card or does it run to the Hilton status calendar. For example if I got the card today and cancelled in 12 months would the Hilton Gold cease on 6th September 2022 or would it run through until 31 March 2023?

Thank you.

 

[Daver6]

Gday

Does the Hilton Gold status last for the exact period you hold the card or does it run to the Hilton status calendar. For example if I got the card today and cancelled in 12 months would the Hilton Gold cease on 6th September 2022 or would it run through until 31 March 2023?

Thank you.

I don't know this answer for a fact, but my guess is it would run for the usual HH year. I doubt Amex have enough in place (or could be bothered) to reach out to a partner to let them know you no longer have the card.

 

[albyd]

I recall when it comes to Marriott that it’s a month to month proposition and they just don’t renew it if we’re no longer members. Not sure if I was given the right information though this came from Marriott first and Amex just corroborated it.

I don’t know the case with Hilton but would imagine it would be similar and they wouldn’t go to the trouble of cancelling your membership once renewed if done so for the year rather than month to month.

 

[andye]

It's usually only the Priority Pass not the Hotel statuses that gets immediately cancelled. Not sure what happens to The Australian subscription

 

[Actos]

Sorry if this has been posted already, but has anyone seen this article on CNN?

I was browsing the updated US counterpart benefits and noticed this in the article "Also, American Express International Lounge locations in spots like Mexico City and Sydney, Australia, will be converted into Centurion Lounges".

Couldn't quite find another source to support this... If Centurion Lounges follow the same guesting/access rules as in the US, I'm not sure how it would work for the other cards here.

 

[BJReplay]

I'm amongst many trying to work out what to do in terms of keeping / renewing my platinum card.

I'm about to cancel a hotel booking that used my $450 credit (as I will be stuck in lockdown), hopefully I can re-use this before it expires. I used to see value in the AFR subscription and don't see value in the australian.

Reading this thread, came across the International Airline Program, but am seeing limited availability, but it's hard to judge how much of that is the program vs reduced schedules. On a MEL-LHR return, if I get it to show the date grid, the cheapest date always seems to show a Malaysia Airlines flight that is part of the IAP and is about $1,000 cheaper than the next cheapest date (but nearly 36 hours gate to gate), but is still around $600 more expensive that good airlines with good routings and reasonable stops (e.g. 27-28 hours on Cathay and Lufthansa or Swiss)

Can anyone comment on whether I shouldn't hold out on the IAP because it is based on fare buckets with limited availability in the first place (which is likely to be beaten by competing fares anyway), or does it depend on the route?

The next big trip is Iceland for four next European summer. If I can save a fair chunk on four business class return air fares to Europe when schedules open up, it could be worth hanging onto the card.

Thanks,

 

[robbo135]

Does the Hilton Gold status last for the exact period you hold the card or does it run to the Hilton status calendar

I recall when it comes to Marriott that it’s a month to month proposition and they just don’t renew it if we’re no longer members

I cancelled my Charge card in March 2020 and I still have Hilton and Marriott Gold, part of this was probably due to the hotels extending status because of COVID

It's usually only the Priority Pass not the Hotel statuses that gets immediately cancelled. Not sure what happens to The Australian subscription

Yes PP was cancelled for me within a week. My AFR subscription lasted until they canned AFR in June this year, so I got a bonus year of AFR

 

[thatsthatmattressman]

Okay I give up..the Australian news subscription may in fact be rotting my brain.. Trust me I have given it a lot of slack and I mean no disrespect to folks who enjoy the paper. Gottliebsen I enjoy and tolerate but crikey why can’t they just stick to news reporting ..I made a grave mistake last week by committing time to venture in to the comments. Yikes..this is coming from someone who intentionally digs in to news of all extremes to ensure I get a broad range of perspectives. The business section isn’t “bad” per se provided they don’t feel obliged to weigh in on social or political issues. Anyways carry on ..don’t want to ruffle feathers but this will be marked as a write down on the annual fee charge after a month or so of reading.

 

[Actos]

Sorry if this has been posted already, but has anyone seen this article on CNN?

I was browsing the updated US counterpart benefits and noticed this in the article "Also, American Express International Lounge locations in spots like Mexico City and Sydney, Australia, will be converted into Centurion Lounges".

Couldn't quite find another source to support this... If Centurion Lounges follow the same guesting/access rules as in the US, I'm not sure how it would work for the other cards here.

Ah, I knew I'd find more information if I kept digging!

In the coming months, Amex says it will be updating 11 international lounges with “elevated design elements and food and beverage offerings to reflect the premium Centurion Lounge experience.” This will bring a more standardized experience across all Amex lounges around the world.

The locations that will be revamped into full-fledged Centurion Lounges include:

• One Centurion Lounge in Argentina (Buenos Aires)
• Two Centurion Lounges in Australia (Sydney and Melbourne)
• Two Centurion Lounges in India (Mumbai and Delhi)
• One Centurion Lounge in Brazil (São Paulo)
• Five Centurion Lounges in Mexico (Mexico City and Monterrey)

Notably, this does not affect the locations in Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) or the soon-to-open London Heathrow (LHR) lounge, both of which are already considered “true” Centurion Lounges.

Source: Amex to scale to over 40 Centurion-branded lounges worldwide, reduces upcoming guest fee for children - The Points Guy

I still don't know how this affects single use passes or how/when this rollout will occur, but interesting to keep an eye out on progress. Looks like Chase and Capital One are really putting the pressure on!

 

[TheRealTMA]

ahhahahahah!

So generous!

"

​ ​ ​ Enjoy more time to pay for purchases.​ ​ ​

​

​ ​ Take advantage of 25K bonus points and our 15.74% p.a. interest rate. ​ With a Flexible Payment Option, you have the choice of paying your Card in full every month or extending the payment over time.​ You can use Flexible Payment Option as little or as often as you like. Once you’re approved, simply choose how much of your monthly balance to pay over time, up to a maximum of $20,0001 (interest charges apply). Apply by 12 October 2021 and, if you’re approved, you’ll receive 25,000 Bonus Points​ ​ ​ ​ ​

 

[sydneyboi]

ahhahahahah!

So generous!

"

​ ​ ​ Enjoy more time to pay for purchases.​ ​ ​

​

​ ​ Take advantage of 25K bonus points and our 15.74% p.a. interest rate. ​ With a Flexible Payment Option, you have the choice of paying your Card in full every month or extending the payment over time.​ You can use Flexible Payment Option as little or as often as you like. Once you’re approved, simply choose how much of your monthly balance to pay over time, up to a maximum of $20,0001 (interest charges apply). Apply by 12 October 2021 and, if you’re approved, you’ll receive 25,000 Bonus Points​ ​ ​ ​ ​

I actually did this and the bonus points came through 6 weeks later - not bad for doing nothing really!

 

[Undercover Investor]

Ah, I knew I'd find more information if I kept digging!

In the coming months, Amex says it will be updating 11 international lounges with “elevated design elements and food and beverage offerings to reflect the premium Centurion Lounge experience.” This will bring a more standardized experience across all Amex lounges around the world.

The locations that will be revamped into full-fledged Centurion Lounges include:

• One Centurion Lounge in Argentina (Buenos Aires)
• Two Centurion Lounges in Australia (Sydney and Melbourne)
• Two Centurion Lounges in India (Mumbai and Delhi)
• One Centurion Lounge in Brazil (São Paulo)
• Five Centurion Lounges in Mexico (Mexico City and Monterrey)

Notably, this does not affect the locations in Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) or the soon-to-open London Heathrow (LHR) lounge, both of which are already considered “true” Centurion Lounges.

Source: Amex to scale to over 40 Centurion-branded lounges worldwide, reduces upcoming guest fee for children - The Points Guy

I still don't know how this affects single use passes or how/when this rollout will occur, but interesting to keep an eye out on progress. Looks like Chase and Capital One are really putting the pressure on!

The SYD and MEL Amex lounges have been renamed to Centurion

American Express Global Lounge Collection® Programs & Partners - American Express Global Lounge Collection® Programs & Partners

global.americanexpress.com

American Express Global Lounge Collection® Programs & Partners - American Express Global Lounge Collection® Programs & Partners

global.americanexpress.com