Time to Play The Premium Credit Card Shuffle

by Robert McGarvey

Is it time for me to shuffle my premium card?  For longer than I remember Amex Plat has been my premium card but a headline in the New York Times caught my eye: “Now Arriving at an Airport Lounge Near You: Peloton Bikes, Nap Pods and Caviar Service.”  The subhead elaborated: “In recent months, a handful of exclusive credit card lounges have opened in airports in the United States. More are coming this year.”

The storyline of course is that now Plat has competition, particularly from Chase Sapphire Reserve ($550 per year) and Capital One Venture X ($395 per year).  Amex Plat is $695 per year, the priciest of the bunch.  Is it still worth keeping?

Probably the key premium card benefit is airport lounge access and, frankly, as I mentally scroll through recent flights I struck out at Denver Airport (the wait time for Centurion entry was longer than I had), at Love Field (no clubs), and walked away from a couple of Delta clubs because the lines seemed too long.

But that does not add up to an instant Amex Plat fail. The calculus is more complicated.

For starters Amex has many more Centurion clubs (14 including one in Phoenix, my home base) than Chase (3 – JFK, LaGuardia, Logan) or Capital One (3 – DFW, Denver, Dulles). Plat and Sapphire Reserve both throw in Priority Pass which I’ve found useful in Europe, not so much recently in the US.

Only Plat is currently in Phoenix – a huge plus for me – but Sapphire says it has a Phoenix club on its roadmap.

Amex also includes Delta club access if you are flying Delta (which I often am) and, yes, a 10 visit limit kicks in next year but I pray I won’t need that many entrances anyway.

So far I see Amex Plat retaining a big lead over the competitors, at least regarding club access.

That may not mean so much. As I noted above, when planes are packed as they are nowadays, so are airports and that especially means the clubs.  In the past year or so I’ve flicked a mental switch and no longer need club access.  If I get it that’s a plus but if I don’t, I shrug and carry on.

Then, too, I honestly don’t give a hoot that Capital One apparently is equipping its clubs with Peletons – which I have never used and don’t plan to. Nor am I salivating about Sapphire’s private suites – with caviar service! – $2200 to book! In a war of shiny objects look for me on the sidelines.

With Plat there also are useful benefits in addition to club access. There’s a $200 annual Uber credit ($15 per month, with $35 in December) and a $240 annual digital entertainment credit which pays for my NYTimes subscription.  There’s also free Walmart+ access ($12.95/month), a $200 hotel credit, and a $200 airline fee credit.  Right there, the annual fee is covered and my wife’s $195 card is paid for with a $100 Saks credit and $189 for Clear.

Could I make out as well cashing in perks at Chase Sapphire or Capital One Venture? Very probably.

But if my Amex Plat fees are in effect reimbursed in credits, why would I bother switching?

Another Amex Plat plus is the ease with which Membership Rewards points transfer into Delta miles.  

There simply isn’t a good reason for me to switch cards.

The real question is if you don’t have a premium card, do you need one?  My advice is to work through the fees and perks of the three leaders, factor in your specific needs and location and take it from there. Look at all three cards, sure. Your main goal: get the premium card for free once available perks are cashed in – and be realistic about the perks you’re likely to grab. Yes, there’s a $300 annual Equinox credit for Plat cardholders are I know I’m not going to use it so it’s value to me is nil. Many credits are cool but will you really use them? Be realistic – nay, ruthless – in assessing the real usefulness of the many perks that come with premium cards. You’ll never use most of them, I know I don’t.

But I still find real value in Amex Plat. Your mileage might vary.