Are you a Platinum 'All-Star'? Amex wants cardmembers to see just how many perks they’re using

In July 2021, The Platinum Card® from American Express underwent one of the most dramatic overhauls of its decades-long existence.

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The so-called “lifestyle refresh” included an annual fee hike to $695 (see rates and fees), but also the addition of several new benefits. Those included:

• Up to $200 annual hotel statement credit: Must use for prepaid Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings made through American Express Travel.*
• Up to $189 annual Clear statement credit: Activated when using your card to pay for a Clear (membership doesn't have to be for you).*
• Up to $300 annual Equinox statement credit: On select Equinox memberships or digital subscriptions to the Equinox+ on-demand fitness app.*
• Up to $240 annual digital entertainment statement credit: Up to $20 in statement credits per month toward purchases or subscriptions to Audible, The New York Times, SiriusXM and Peacock.*
• Private charter flight discounts with Wheels Up: Up to 40% off a membership for the Premium Private Jet Program with Wheels Up, plus up to $2,000 in-flight credits toward charter flights booked in the first year.*

*Enrollment required for select benefits.

Related: Is the Amex Platinum worth the annual fee?

The Amex Platinum continues to offer the following perks:

• Up to $200 airline fee statement credits per calendar year: For incidental charges on the airline you select.*
• Up to $100 statement credit for Global Entry or an $85 statement credit for TSA PreCheck every four years (4.5 years for PreCheck)
• Access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection, which includes Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass lounges, Delta Sky Clubs on same-day Delta flights, Airspace and Escape lounges.*
• Register for complimentary Gold elite status with both Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy.*
• No foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees).
• Various travel and purchase protections.
• Up to $200 in Uber Cash for U.S. rides or Uber Eats orders each calendar year: Up to $15 per month, plus an extra $20 in December.*
• Up to $100 in annual Saks Fifth Avenue statement credits per calendar year: $50 to use from January through June, and $50 to use from July through December.*
• Various travel and purchase protections.

*Enrollment required for select benefits.

Related: 10x bonus categories and 100k welcome offer: The Platinum Card from American Express review

As you might expect, the reaction to these developments was decidedly mixed among both existing and prospective Amex Platinum Card members. The new hotel and Clear statement credits are easy enough to leverage, even if you only travel occasionally. But unless you are a subscriber to the four digital entertainment services mentioned and are an avid Equinox gymgoer (or at-home trainee), chances are the card lost some of its luster.

Perhaps sensing the grumbling among some of its highest-value customers, American Express sent out updates designed to show Amex Platinum cardmembers just how much value they’re getting from their cards. The results are humorous, but only slightly useful.

Explorers, Achievers and All-Stars, oh my!

American Express has subdivided its card membership into four tiers based on how many of their benefits they’ve unlocked so far this year.

They start with general Members, who presumably don’t use their card for much at all. Next, come the Explorers. One card member who shared their Explorer status update maintains a relatively low points balance and has used just $25 of their $200 airline credit, used their semi-annual Saks credit and saved $238 via Amex Offers.

At the next level, we found quite a few Achievers in the mix. This one has over 224,000 points, and has used up the airline fee credit, not spent any of their semi-annual Saks credit, along with saving $365 through Amex Offers this year.

Another has nearly 248,000 points, maxed out both the airline and Saks credits, and got $200 back through Amex Offers.

The next cardholder has nearly 429,000 points, has gone through the airline but not the Saks credits, and has received $402 worth of savings from Amex offers.

Still another has a whopping 795,537 points, used the airline credit, and has saved $479 via Amex Offers. Not bad, but not enough to make them an All-Star, apparently.

Perhaps Amex is going to release new rankings once folks start burning through those Equinox and digital entertainment credits. Or maybe this is just another elite-like hamster wheel (awkward tier names and all) to convince folks that they are actually getting hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars from a card that now costs nearly $700 to hang onto year after year.

While these status update emails are unlikely to convince anyone who was thinking of closing their Amex Platinum card to continue carrying it, they are nonetheless helpful for folks who do want to hang onto their Amex Platinum and are wondering how they’re doing on using their benefits this year.

If you haven’t hit All-Star yet, though, time to take a good, hard look at your spending activity, how you’re doing with all the annual statement credits you’re entitled to – both ongoing and new – and evaluate what you need to do in the remainder of 2021 to make it worth your while to keep using your Amex Platinum card.

Hopefully, Amex will add more of these tallies, including those Uber credits and hotel credits, to make it easier to do so.

For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card, click here.