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Amex is sending holiday gifts to targeted customers

Ethan Steinberg
Ethan Steinberg
Contributor
Ethan's been a frequent flier for as long as he can remember, from studying abroad in Paris to moving to Shanghai after graduating college, where he served as TPG's eyes and ears for all things travel in the Asia-Pacific region. If you asked him where he wants to travel next he'd quote Anthony Bourdain and tell you "anytime I'm eating spicy noodles in a bowl, I'm happy."
Dec. 13, 2019
•
3 min read
Amex Business Platinum_20191022_NYC
Amex is sending holiday gifts to targeted customers
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Update: Some offers mentioned below are no longer available. View the current offers here.

Over the past few years, Amex has made a habit of surprising and delighting select The Platinum Card® from American Express cardholders with holiday gifts. In the past, these have included BLADE gift cards, Tiffany & Co. gift cards, Amazon Echos and more. It's unclear how Amex chooses which customers to send gifts to, but this promotion is highly targeted every year.

Amex has begun sending out gifts for the 2019 holiday season, and for the first time in my three years as a Platinum cardholder I was selected to receive one! I received an envelope from Amex with the headline "With appreciation from American Express," so make sure to pay close attention to your mail before you throw it away.

Inside was a $175 gift code for Hook & Albert, a "modern luxury travel brand" selling high quality leather products.

This was a very nice gift, though as I suspected, $175 didn't stretch all that far at Hook & Albert. The leather backpack, one of the cheaper items in the catalog, cost $315 and a surprisingly large number of products were out of stock. I was still able to get a new leather bifold wallet, a small packing cube, and a medium leather organization pouch that looks to be the perfect size to carry my kindle on the road so it doesn't get scratched up.

The total for these three items came to $170 (out of the $175 credit Amex gifted me), though I did have to pay the $7.95 shipping out of pocket.

We polled the TPG Lounge Facebook group and asked what others targeted for this offer received. It included:

  • $250 gift card for Tiffany & Co.
  • $150 gift card for Frame luxury denim
  • $250 gift card for Ippolita jewelry

Bottom line

My wallet is starting to show some wear and tear, but I wasn't exactly in the market for any new travel accessories. This completely unexpected $175 gift certificate from Amex fits very well with the idea of "Platinum" being a lifestyle brand, and more than just a piece of metal in your wallet. At the very least, it makes me feel a bit better about continuing to pay $695 each year (see rates and fees) to keep my Platinum card open.

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For rates and fees of the Platinum Card, please click here.

Have you received a holiday gift from Amex? Let us know in the comments

Editorial disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airline or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.