I’m here to give you a detailed breakdown of whether the American Express Platinum card is worth spending £650 a year on, or not.
In 2019, I posted Amex Platinum Card Review: Is it Worth the Annual Fee? outlining the benefits I’d received and it turned out that it was worthy of my wallet back then.
It was only £450 a year though, increasing to £575 shortly after. We’re now at £650 each year.
I’ll go into detail on whether I believe the AMEX Platinum card is worth the annual fee or not. I’ll include all monetary benefits received for 2023 but I’ll also include 2022 and 2021 just below each section.
Is the American Express Platinum card value for money? Let’s find out!
Lounge Access
Does the AMEX Platinum card have lounge access is a question I see quite a lot. It’s one of the main benefits for me, if not the main benefit. So yes, the American Express Platinum card does come with lounge access at no additional cost.
As I’ve outlined before having ‘free’ access to airport lounges all over the world with Priority Pass is so handy. You get in to hundreds of lounges all over the world alongside one guest for free.
If you want to take another guest in then it costs an extra £24 per person (increased from £20 this year). This is a discounted rate as the lounges are usually £30+.
I had some really long layovers in 2023 and even when they say 3 hours maximum I’ve been let in longer, making those layovers much more bearable.
I’ve used the lounge access for myself and my wife a total of only eight times in two countries. This would’ve cost £341.37. I’ve also got in a guest (not my wife) on six occasions in two countries. This would’ve cost £227.39 in total. I’ll not include these as savings though.
I’m not sure I’d have paid the money every time but I’ll show the maximum ‘savings’ here anyway.
I have to admit I do like being able to find a decent, quiet seat to have some food and drinks.
Lounge Value: £341.37
(2022: £567.94, 2021: £217.98)
Hotel Status
The hotel status benefits have changed slightly since my last post. You now get:
- Hilton Honours Gold status
- MeliaRewards Gold status
- Marriott Bonvoy Gold status
- Radisson Rewards Premium status
You’ll no longer get Shangri-La Jade status.
You get a variety of benefits depending on which scheme you’re using including upgraded rooms, late check-out, welcome gifts, additional points and free breakfast.
When I wrote the last article I was travelling a lot with work and was able to stretch the benefits out to a value of £99.
I’ve since moved roles at the same company so travelling with work is non-existent. I actually didn’t get any value in 2023 for the hotel status perks. You can see below I got £143 value in 2022 though.
Hotel Status Value: £0
(2022: £143.35, 2021: £27.02)
Hotels
There are a few different ways of booking hotels with the American Express Platinum card. Using their booking portal you have access to standard bookings or the two schemes below.
- Fine Hotel & Resorts gives multiple perks such as noon check-in (if available), room upgrade (if available), daily breakfast for two, guaranteed 4pm late checkout and a unique property benefit (such as $100 food and beverage credit or a massage for two people).
- If you book two consecutive nights with The Hotel Collection then you get $100 hotel credit and, if available, a room upgrade.
I’ve not travelled as much in 2023 as usual either due to the birth of my son in November. As such I’ve not used either of these Platinum benefits in 2023.
The last time I used the American Express Fine Hotel & Resorts scheme it was a trip to Australia and the Shangri-La Sydney in 2022. I stayed there twice – once at the start and once at the end of the trip. This meant I got the benefits twice and I’d definitely recommend taking a look when booking hotels.
I don’t use this benefit enough so I got £0 value in 2023 and 2021. With the Shangri-La I did get £146 value in 2022.
Hotels Value: £0
(2022: £145.60, 2021: £0)
Travel Insurance
Whenever I am booking any travel I always put it on an American Express card – typically my British Airways AMEX. This means that I’m covered by the Platinum worldwide insurance. It also covers you, your partner, your children and any supplementary cardholders. It doesn’t have to be paid for by the Platinum card, just any AMEX.
I’ve had to use it a few times now and I’ve had absolutely no issues in getting most of my money back.
I can get travel insurance through my work for £3.50 a month so I’ll include a saving here of £42. I’ll also double that as it also includes my partner.
In 2022, I made a claim due to cancelled flights and was able to get £572 back that I wouldn’t have without travel insurance so I’ll include that in 2022.
Travel Insurance Value: £84
(2022: £655.95, 2021: £84)
Other
There are other benefits that I’ve been able to utilise in 2023.
- £150 dining credit in the UK
- £150 dining credit abroad (used in Ensenada, Mexico)
- 2 x £50 Harvey Nichols credits
You can also book exclusive events curated by American Express. These include VIP London Art Fair Previews, Burns Night with Glenfiddich, Trips to Dubai and hospitality at Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club plus lots more.
I’ve only used this once during the pandemic. I ordered a Japanese food night where AMEX sent food with instructions and a talk on how to do it. I can’t remember the exact price but it was reasonable for what you received.
AMEX will also offer savings on your regular spending with various retailers. These offers change quite frequently and I’ve used £10 off in M&S. I get most of my offers on my British Airways AMEX so rarely use the Platinum card for offers.
Other Value: £410
(2022: £633.33, 2021: £210)
Supplementary Cards
When you’ve signed up for a Platinum card you can also share the benefits by adding someone to your account and giving them their own Platinum card without having to pay the annual fee. They’ll receive all the same benefits above so you can essentially double your savings.
I’ve added my wife as a supplementary card holder in 2022 so she has her own card now. If I wanted to add a second person it would be at a discounted rate of £285 per year.
You can also add up to four complimentary Gold or Green supplementary cards. If you want more then this would be at a cost of £170 per year for Gold or Green. I’ve not used any of these to date.
I’ll include a ‘saving’ of £100 here due to the benefits received including lounge access for her only. It’s likely to be higher than this as she has used it on her own quite a bit.
Supplementary Card Value: £100
(2022: £100, 2021: £0)
Totals:
Lounge Value: £341.37
Hotel Status Value: £0
Hotels Value: £0
Travel Insurance Value: £84
Other Value: £410
Concierge Value: £0
Supplementary Card Value: £100
TOTAL VALUE: £935.37
TOTAL COST: £650
TOTAL SAVING: £285.37
Is the AMEX Platinum worth it for me in the UK?
As you’ll have seen from my detailed totals above, the American Express Platinum card is worth it for me.
I’ve been able to get more value out of it each year I’ve had it than the annual fee.
However, the question is if I didn’t have the card would I have paid cash for all of those lounge entries or those meals? Maybe not…
Would it be worth it for you?
