GMATT73 wrote:
pelihu wrote:
The only card that I will probably cancel is also the one that hurts the most. I'm probably going to get rid of my Amex Platinum.
Just out of curiosity, what is the annual fee for an AMEX platinum? Did Des ever get a chance to use any of those complimentary annual (companion) air tickets?
If I recall, the fee last year was $395, but I think it went up again this year; $425 or something. The Amex platinum has great perks; access to 5 (at least) airline lounges, premium status with dozens of airlines (many with free upgrades if available, 1.5-2x miles, etc.), premium status with all of the major hotel chains and premium status with all the rental car companies. Definitely well worth the annual fee if you charge and travel a lot.
The problem with the free companion ticket is that you need to purchase a ticket at the normal fare. I think a lot of Amex platinum users probably have this problem, but I always had so many miles that it didn't make sense to purchase a ticket to get one free. For about 3 years I accumulated over a half-million miles per year. I remember one month where I paid Fedex over $60k. No sense in getting a free companion fare when you can get flights entirely free. The hotel perks were nice. Even if you never stayed with them, they would treat you like a VIP. The status that Amex offered with Startwood was equivalent to 25 stays (not nights, stays) per year.