The Infamous American Express Platinum card… That shiny, stainless steel metal credit card that can make you feel powerful when you slam it down on the bar to buy a drink. This iconic card is one of the most recognizable credit cards out there because it’s so exclusive. You may be asking, if it’s so “Exclusive” why should EVERY military service members get this card? Well, let’s get into it.

Platinum Card Benefits

Besides the feeling of “prestige” you may feel from owning your very own Platinum Card from American Express. There are plenty of huge benefits you can receive.

Sign Up Bonus & Earning Points

As of writing this, when you sign up for the American Express Platinum Card, you’ll receive 125,000 Membership Rewards Points when you spend $6,000 in 6 months. So, if you typically spend $1,000 a month on regular credit card expenses, just use your card and you’re all set. If not, you may want to look at paying different bills, like Wi-Fi or utilities, with your American Express Platinum to earn those rewards.

You can also earn more points during and after those 6 months. Right now, you’ll earn 5X Points on Flights and Prepaid Hotels when you book through the amextravel.com site. You can also earn 5X Points on Flights purchased directly from the airline or American Express Travel. These points earnings are limited up to $500,000 on purchases per year, but I imagine most people are able to stay well under that number.

Travel Benefits

Having been touted as “The Luxury Travel Card”, the travel benefits for this card are seemingly endless. However, we’ll focus on some big ones, the first being the American Express Global Lounge Collection. With the Platinum Card, you have access to over 1,400 airport lounges in 500 airports worldwide. That means you can find comfort, free food, and drinks while waiting for that delayed flight home from for that Bachelor Party weekend in Las Vegas (trust me, you’ll need it). The lounge partners include;

• The Centurion Lounge

• Delta SkyClub

• Priority Pass Select

• Airspace

• Escape Lounges - The Centurion Studio Partner

• Plaza Premium

• Lufthansa Lounges

• And More!

Having used the lounges on more than one long work trip while in the military, I can tell you they come in handy, especially during serious delays.

The next big benefit, especially to service members, is the Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Statuses. With this card, you get included Gold Status or Gold Elite Status at Hilton and Marriott Hotels. That means free room upgrades, earning reward points faster, Welcome gifts, late checkout and often more. Be sure to check the specific benefits as they can often change. So, why is this especially beneficial to service members? We often have to travel for work and there may not be available housing on base. So, if you are staying off base at a Hilton or Marriott Partner, you could get free upgrades and benefits while the Military pays the tab. Get a little extra bonus for your work trip.

Of course speaking of delays, that brings us to the benefit of Travel Insurance. When booking travel with American Express Platinum, you could be eligible for Premium Car Rental Protection, Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance, Baggage Insurance, Trip Delay Insurance, and Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance. Those scary things with booking travel are now handled. The fear of having cancel that non-refundable plane ticket for unforeseen circumstances, losing your luggage when you land somewhere new, or answering the Rental agent when they offer you the additional car insurance (just say NO), are handled by the American Express Platinum Card. That peace of mind is extremely helpful.

Some other travel benefits are also;

• No Foreign Transaction Fees

• $200 Hotel Credit per Year

• $200 Airline Credit per Year

• $189 CLEAR Credit

• Premium Global Assist Hotline

• International Airline Program

• Fine Hotel and Resorts Program

• Premium Car Rental Status

• And more!

Other Benefits

Now, the points and travel benefits are great, but it can get even better! The Entertainment and Shopping benefits are also huge! First things first, my wife’s personal favorite benefit is the $200 Uber Cash Benefit. The way it works is every month, you’ll receive $15 in Uber Cash for Uber Eats and rides in the US, plus a bonus $20 in December. Also, you can become an Uber VIP which results in service charge discounts (which I believe is now called Uber One) if it’s available in your area. This benefit let’s you save both by providing you with Uber Cash and by discounting service charges.

The next big benefit is the $240 Digital Entertainment Credit. If you sign up for Audible, Disney+, the Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, Peacock, SiriusXM, or the New York Times with your Platinum Card, you’ll get up to a $20 Credit each month. So for an example, the Disney Bundle costs $15.87 as of writing this. You could get the whole Disney Bundle for FREE if you pay with this credit card. That’s a huge benefit.

You also receive a $155 Walmart+ Credit. It works much like the other credits. Sign up with your Platinum Card and receive $12.95 plus tax each month. This credit will cover the whole cost of the Walmart+ membership, allowing you to receive free, same day delivery for groceries and whatever else you need, where available. With the way gas prices have been, this could save you a substantial amount just in gas costs.

For the fitness buffs, you also get a $300 Equinox & SoulCycle At-Home Bike Credit. With this benefit, you get a $25 monthly statement credit when you pay for Equinox membership using your Platinum Card. Also, if you chose to buy a SoulCycle At-Home Bike with your card, you’ll get a $300 credit per bike. Personally, I don’t use either service but $300 a year discount sounds pretty nice.

There are a lot of other benefits as well, so it’s worth looking into which ones are applicable to you. The American Express Platinum is now being considered a “Lifestyle” card, so see which benefits apply to you at this link, the Platinum Card.

Cons to the Platinum Card

With all the benefits mentioned above, there are definitely some downsides to the Platinum Card.

The Annual Fee…

Remember how I mentioned this card was “Exclusive”? Well, here is why. Just to own the card and get all the benefits we mentioned above will cost you $695 a YEAR! Needless to say, that’s a lot of money to spend just to spend money on a credit card, especially if you don’t use all the benefits. However, if you’re traveling all the time, live at an Equinox, get all your food from Walmart+ and Uber Eats, and watch the Disney Bundle when you aren’t listening to Audible, you might be coming out ahead on your annual fee. However, if you’re an active duty service member, we have a secret for you coming up…

Inflated Points & Limited Earning

Another issue is the points you earn for your spending may not get you very far. Depending how you redeem your points, you can get anywhere from 0.5 cents to 1 cent per point. With that math, one point is less than 1% cash back. Also, you’re ability to earn points is extremely limited. You can only receive points from flights and hotels booked on American Express Travel. Because of this, you aren’t able to shop prices and may end up paying more overall than you would elsewhere. For example, you’ll often find a hotel for $300 a night when you could find the same or comparable hotels for $150 or $200 a night. You may feel “Free” because you paid with points, but other cards offer better points or cash back where your net return on spending would be higher.

Now, you can Transfer Points to other Miles or Memberships. For example, you can often transfer your American Express Points to Delta Skymiles and end up getting more for your points, but this can be a frustrating and complicated process. Many other cards offer better points rewards programs that can be redeemed at cheaper hotels and flights.

Why should Service Members get this Card?

If you just read the cons, you may be thinking “no WAY I’m getting a card that cost $695 a year! That’s Crazy!” I used to think that way until I found out this secret. The Annual Fee is waived for Active Duty Military… That’s right! That $695 cost per year is just gone! You can enjoy all the benefits this card has to offer without paying any of the fees. This makes this card a “No Brainer”. You can get all the benefits of Airport Lounges, Travel Insurance, Entertainment Credits, and more without paying the $695. All you have to do is contact American Express when you apply and they will verify your Military service with an automated program and either waive or refund the fee. It’s just that simple, but you do have to call. American Express will not automatically waive the fee unless you verify with them.

Now to be clear, this only applies to Active Duty Military so Reservists, Guardsmen and women, and veterans do not get this benefit. Therefore, when you leave the service, you may want to cancel this card. You also may not want to get this card if you have had issues with managing credit cards in the past or are already heavily debt. If so, you may want to contact a personal finance specialist who can help counsel you through this decision. However, if you can manage your money well and are still in active service, it has huge benefits to you. Essentially, you have nothing to lose. You can learn more at the link here, the Platinum Card.

*Disclosure* This is NOT financial advice and I am NOT a Certified Financial Planner. All information is provided for educational purposes only and is not to be construed as advice. Everyone’s financial situation is different and requires individualized planning. Seek out a Certified Financial Planner for assistance with your own financial situation.