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In 2017, the American Express Platinum Card underwent a huge facelift as new $200 Uber credits were added to the card along with other perks like 5X on airfare. Unfortunately, the annual fee also increased from $450 to $500. Since that annual fee rose to $550, many people have been forced to rely more on the credits offered by the Amex Platinum in order to justify the annual fee. And now there will be one more credit to help accomplish that.
Amex Platinum credits
To date, the Amex Platinum offers the following credits:
- $200 airline incidental credit
- $200 Uber credit
- $100 Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check credit (every four years)
The new Platinum credit
But now the Platinum Card will come with an additional $100 credit to Saks Fifth Avenue.
The new credit will offer a $50 credit from January to June and a $50 credit from July to December. The credit should work with both in-store purchases and online purchases.
It’s not clear if it will work with gift cards but many speculate that it will.
The credit is part of a new program called “Shop Saks with Platinum,” which is set to launch on July 1, 2018. Like other Platinum credits, you’ll need to register at a link.
Now, the Platinum will come with annual credits totaling $500 (not counting the Global Entry credit). If you can purchase gift cards and be reimbursed this is a pretty big perk because you can knock down your annual fee to close to an effective $50 by utilizing all of your credits.
But if that doesn’t work, then obviously this perk won’t benefit people much who don’t shop at Saks Fifth Avenue.
I’m not a huge fan of credits like the Uber credit and the Saks Fifth Avenue credit that are not issued on an annual basis because they make things more complicated and increase the odds of the credits going to waste, but getting two credits per year isn’t too bad.
It’s also not clear if you’ll be able to use the credit at Saks Off Fifth, which offers discount SAKS clothing and would thus be easier to utilize your credit (though you could always use a gift card at Off Fifth if gift cards activate the credit).
Final word
Overall, it’s nice to see a new perk that helps to mitigate the annual fee of the Platinum Card by $100 but we’ll have to see just how broad this credit is to realize it’s true value.
Daniel Gillaspia is the Founder of UponArriving.com and the credit card app, WalletFlo. He is a former attorney turned travel expert covering destinations along with TSA, airline, and hotel policies. Since 2014, his content has been featured in publications such as National Geographic, Smithsonian Magazine, and CNBC. Read my bio.
