Credit Card - Amex Platinum renewal looming

[claireyfairy8]

We're evaluating whether to keep our Amex Platinum cards as the annual fee has increased substainsially. There are osme good benefits (lounge acess, family insurance, BA Amex companion vouchers) but most of the other perks we just don't use. Finding companion voucher flights to FL can also be difficult. Has anyone found any other card schemes to be better for regular travellers to Florida? We already have Bank of America Travel Rewards cards but only use them whilst in the USA. In particular, a credit card that offers lounge access.

[BnDamo]

Are they still charging £450 a year for it?

[Cabbie]

Originally Posted by BnDamo

Are they still charging £450 a year for it?

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No, it's gone up to £575

-Steve

[Caroian]

I'm confused which card you have. I didn't think that the Amex Platinum gave you the BA companion voucher? Regardless, the BA Amex Premium Plus does give you that voucher - it does not give you lounge access but only costs £200 per year. £375 strikes me as a lot of money to spend on lounges, so I'd probably suggest looking at the BA card. In fact, you could get BA Premium Plus for £200 and an Amex Preferred Rewards Gold for £140 (possibly still free for the first year) to get your lounge access back. You'd still be saving money.

[Ladyshopper]

Originally Posted by Caroian

I'm confused which card you have. I didn't think that the Amex Platinum gave you the BA companion voucher? Regardless, the BA Amex Premium Plus does give you that voucher - it does not give you lounge access but only costs £200 per year. £375 strikes me as a lot of money to spend on lounges, so I'd probably suggest looking at the BA card. In fact, you could get BA Premium Plus for £200 and an Amex Preferred Rewards Gold for £140 (possibly still free for the first year) to get your lounge access back. You'd still be saving money.

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You're definitely right on this, the expensive Amex platinum DOES give lounge access but DOESN'T give a companion voucher. The BA Amex Premium Plus is cheaper and DOES give the companion voucher (assuming you make the spend!) but NOT the lounges.

Our Amex usage has changed dramatically, as we used to churn and refer each other, but now that you have to wait 2 years to get another sign up bonus (plus not have held any other cards for 2 years) it has massively effected what we do.

For now we are just sticking to Amex gold, and a pattern of one of us referring the other (so they still get the referral bonus), adding the referrer on as a supplementary card holder once they offer you the extra points for that (which they always do), hanging on to it for another few months, then doing the other. Each time one of us gets a new card it means we get 2 free lounge access passes, and if we need to, we can pay for access at £20 each.

No charge for the card as we cancel within 4 or 5 months (you get it free for a year), the referrer earns 6000 points, then the card holder earns 3000 points when they add a supplementary card holder on, so basically 9000 points per time. Not great considering how we used to be able to churn on a 6 monthly basis, but better than nothing.