It comes with some hotel status, of which Hilton Diamond and ShangriLa Diamond is probably the most worthwhile, as is Emirates Gold for Airlines and Sixt Diamond for Rental Cars (he has most of this already). He said he rarely uses the card itself but most of his transactions are apple pay, self-pay terminal or electronic.įair enough so let’s see what the German Centurion has in terms of benefits that exceed those of the Platinum Card which he already has. If that’s not his style then a big chunk of the attraction is already gone. They want to get the card because it’s hip and they want to be flashy. I said that most folks probably don’t look rationally at this. His initial reaction was indeed that it was totally not worth it, but if I had any input that could change his mind, then he might consider it. Since this is a long-time personal friend and we’re pretty used to talking turkey my initial reaction in jest was why a value hunter (well actually, I used some profanity in the chat) like him would even consider paying that for a credit card, but of course it was a genuine question so we got to it. Some benefits which I’ll get into later were outlines and he asked me if it’s worth it. The annual membership fee is supposed to be 5000 Euro and he was advised of a 4000 Euro initiation fee. His Amex Platinum (and before that Gold Card) is older than 15 years and was one of his first credit cards. so any question on why he put this on the Amex Platinum rather than something else is pretty moot. Keep in mind that the credit card market in Germany is rather sparse and that there isn’t a lot of choice when it comes to card products, let alone cards with multipliers for certain purchase categories as we know it from the U.S. The cardholder had spent about 270,000 Euro this calendar year on his personal Amex Platinum card on expenses that range from travel, dining, and electronics purchases as well as the purchase of a small motor boat in Spain for ~ 20k EUR. The reader, who is a personal friend of mine, asked me yesterday what he should do as he was contacted by American Express Germany about his interest in upgrading his card.Īmex contacted the customer and offered a card upgrade to the American Express Platinum Card (German version) following about 10 months of rather heavy personal spending. For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum card, click here.However, it also comes at a significant annual cost of (in this case) 5000 Euro plus a 4000 Euro initiation fee. Plus, expansions are also underway in Seattle (SEA).Īdditional reporting by Joseph Hostetler and Ryan Smith.įor rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card, click here. New locations are planned for Washington National (DCA), Newark Liberty (EWR), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta (ATL) and Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) airports. The new Centurion Lounge guesting policy comes as Amex is working hard to expand and renovate its existing network of outposts. You can avoid this charge by spending $75,000 on your Amex Platinum or Amex Business Platinum Card each calendar year or adding authorized users to your card. Related: Is the Amex Platinum worth the annual fee? Bottom lineĪmex now charges $50 for adult guests and $30 for children aged 2-17 to access its Centurion lounges. Authorized users on the Business Platinum cost a whopping $350 per year each (see rates and fees).Ĭhildren younger than 13 can’t be added as authorized users, so this is a noticeable devaluation for families who must shell out $30 to bring each kid into the lounges - some of which have dedicated family rooms. You can add up to three Platinum authorized user cards to your primary personal Platinum account for a total fee of $175 per year (see rates and fees). ZACH GRIFF/THE POINTS GUY A handy workaroundįor those who can’t or won’t spend $75,000 per year on their Platinum card, a potential solution is adding authorized users to your Platinum card.Īuthorized users aren't subject to the $50-per-visit guest fee.
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