The Amex Platinum Charge Card - is it worth it?

The Full Updated Review of the Amex Plat Charge Card

Overview

The Amex Platinum Charge Card offers extensive perks, including access to global airport lounges, premium hotel memberships, and top-tier concierge services. With no pre-set spending limit, it functions as a charge card.

Here’s everything you need to know.

Here’s the top reasons you should get this card

Bold Indicates the reasons that were important to me and why I got the card.

• 1 - The joining bonus for this card is 110,000 Amex points for paying the 78,000 fees, which is worth anywhere between Rs.55,000 - 1Lakh, paying for the fees in the first year.

• 2 - The base conversation on all amex cards is earning 1 point on spending 50 rupees. This card gives you 1 point on spending 40 rupees, making it 20% better.

• 3 - You get 5x accelerated reward points on Gyftr, 10x on rewards multiplier, and even 20x when buying luxury products from Ras or Darveys, so if I buy a 1L rupee Louis vuitton bag, I get 50,000 points back, which is pretty crazy.

• 4 - When you book hotels using this card on the Fine hotels and resorts website - you get some crazy benefits like a few hundred dollars in free spa credits, or an extra night free on booking 2 nights. 

• 5 - You get a free Accor Plus Traveller Membership which gives you better rates on Accor hotels, vouchers for free dining at different hotels + upto 50% off on all dining at different Accor Hotels in APAC.

• 6 - “Do anything concierge” - the Amex concierge service helps you with anything you need, like booking flights, helping with visas, reservations, and a lot more.

• 7 - The concierge has preferential rates when you book flights through them and you also get a Rs.15k Yatra voucher on making a 1L booking with them directly. (So preferential rates + 15k voucher + base points on your card!)

• 8 - Access to the Amex Centurion Lounge in Mumbai and Delhi (domestically), and all centurion lounges internationally too. These lounges provide fresh a la carte food and premium alcohol all for free!

• 9 - Direct upgrade to top tier hotel programs like a Marriott Gold Membership, Radisson Rewards, Hilton Honors, and Hertz premium for car bookings too.

• 10 - ALL your other Amex card charges are free when you get this card! So the Rs.5k fee on my Amex Plat travel card is waived off as well.

• 11 - A very Premium tier of the Times Prime Membership called Times Ace, giving you 15+ subscriptions (Hotstar and Lionsgate are quite nice imo).

Full Review Below - ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️

Annual Fees

The card comes with a significant joining fee of ₹66,000 + GST (₹77,880). New cardholders enjoy welcome benefits, including 100,000 Membership Rewards (MR) points or ₹45,000 in Taj vouchers.

You can earn an additional 10,000 MR points, bumping up the joining benefit to 110,000 MR points if you use the referral link here to apply.

Understanding the Credit Limit of a Charge Card

Charge cards have no pre-set limit and can be charged for much higher amounts than credit cards usually. For instance, the highest limit I have on my credit card at the moment is 10L rupees, but I can swipe north of 25L on my charge card. Though it has no preset spending limit, Amex assigns an internal "shadow" credit limit that grows with your payment history. This limit varies based on usage.

Reward Points

Earn 1 MR point for every ₹40 spent. Note that every other Amex card gives 1 MR point for every ₹50 spent, meaning this card offers a base conversion rate thats 20% better than all other Amex cards.

The value of an Amex Point typically ranges from Rs.0.50-Re.1, depending on which airline or hotel partner you’re using for redemption, giving this card a base return rate of 1.25 - 2.5%.

Accelerated Rewards

Get 5x Accelerated Rewards on Amex Rewards Multiplier (The Gyftr portal, just type Amex Gyftr in Google).

You will get 5x reward points on buying vouchers like Swiggy, Amazon, Uber and others, which translate to upto a 12.5% return rate.

Get 10x Accelerated Rewards on Amex Rewards Xcelerator (Link here).

This gives you upto a 25% return rate on your spend when you spend on any of these partners - (The ones with the squares around them are the ones that I frequently use)

Get 20x Reward Points on Darveys and Ras

If you’re feeling extra splurgy you can buy luxury products on Darveys and Ras and get upto 50% back in points/value. I frequently buy products from Ras when gifting luxury skin-care bundles to friends or family.

Redemptions

While there are various redemption options for MR points, transferring them to Marriott Bonvoy provides the highest value. Many cardholders also use points for airline miles or luxury hotel stays, further enhancing the card’s value.

A few of my favorite Airlines to transfer to are Kris Flyer (Singapore Air), British Airways, for Avios that can be transferred between the alliance partners, and sometimes even United Airlines via Marriott.

United via Marriott - Transfer 60k Amex points to Marriott at a 1:1 rate (Can be better if you do it during the transfer bonus.

Then transfer points from Marriott to United at a 3:1 rate + a 5,000 bonus. For every 60,000 Marriott points you transfer to United, you get 20,000 United Miles, plus a 10,000 point bonus, making it 30,000 United Miles, making the ratio 2:1. You can make the transfer here.

Forex Spends

The card applies a 3.5% + GST fee on international transactions, with a reward rate of 3.75% to 7.5%. If you can redeem points for ₹1 per MR, the net gain is about 3.3%, making it a viable option for foreign transactions.

Airport Lounge Access

The card offers unlimited access to domestic lounges, Amex lounges, Priority Pass lounges, and Delta Sky Clubs. A digital Priority Pass is available upon request, offering global coverage at over 1,200 lounges.

The main benefit of this card is access to the Amex Centurion lounge which is amazing. It has an a-la carte menu for food and offers premium alcohol, all complimentary. You’re even allowed 1 guest with you. If you frequent BOM, DEL, LHR, and other airports, this is definitely a perk you can make use of.

Travel Spend Benefit

Spend ₹1 lakh on domestic travel, and you’ll receive a ₹15,000 Taj Yatra e-voucher. This can be earned twice a year. This is honestly kind of useless in my opinion because it’s really difficult to make 1L of transactions for a domestic travel itinerary

Hotel Elite Tier Benefits

The card grants elite tier memberships with several hotel chains, including Marriott Bonvoy Gold and Hilton Honors Gold, which can deliver significant value through upgrades, complimentary breakfasts, and other perks.

Golf Benefits

Cardholders get four complimentary golf games and two lessons each month at select courses across India. However, some restrictions apply.

Dining Benefits

Amex partners with EazyDiner Prime, offering up to 45% savings on dining bills when coupled with PayEazy offers.

They also have other benefits that keep coming from time to time, for example - getting a free bottle of wine worth Rs.5,000 or more, at Indian Accent when you book through the Amex Concierge -

Platinum Concierge

Amex's concierge services are divided into two categories: Travel and Lifestyle. They handle travel bookings, itinerary planning, and VIP upgrades. Lifestyle services include event ticket bookings and personal requests. The concierge team adds value, especially for time-saving tasks.

American Express Invites®

This exclusive program allows cardholders to buy tickets to events before public sale. Occasionally, Amex invites cardholders for complimentary meals at top hotels.

Airport Fast Track

The Platinum card allows access to fast-track lanes at select international airports, providing smoother security checks.

Supplementary Cards

You can get up to four supplementary cards for family members or friends, all metal and offering similar benefits to the primary cardholder.

Renewal

Get Taj Hotels, Reliance Brands Limited (Luxe Gift Card), Postcard Hotels & Resorts vouchers worth up to ₹35,000* in a year on Card renewal when you spend ₹20,00,000* in a Card Membership year.

It’s safe to say that if you’re considering this card, you probably spend more than 20L a year, so getting something back for the renewal is beneficial. If you spend less than 20L, renewing this card becomes a little less attractive. Additionally, the Taj or Postcard Hotels vouchers don’t seem very attractive, however a Reliance brand voucher might be worth it, and the Rs.35,000 will pay for at least half the renewal cost.

Is it Worth ₹77,800?

The card offers excellent value for frequent travelers and those who make use of its luxury benefits. The welcome bonuses, travel perks, and concierge services easily outweigh the annual fee for the right customer. In total, you can extract more than ₹75,000 in benefits from the card annually.

Bottomline

With a rating of 3.9/5, this card is ideal for those seeking luxury and premium experiences. It offers significant benefits not only for the primary cardholder but also for family members with supplementary cards. If you enjoy Amex's premium services, the Platinum Charge Card is a great choice.

Please use the link here to apply and feel free to DM me on Instagram here if you have any more questions on how to optimize the usage of this card! :)