New Centurion Lounge benefit for American Express Platinum holders

American Express Platinum cardholders lost United Club membership a few years ago after Chase and United/Continental began solidifying their relationship over their cobranded cards. This year, starting March 22, Platinum cardholders also lost access to American Admiral's Clubs.

This is certainly a large benefit lost, but many cardmembers were successful in calling in and having between $100 to $500 of AA/US Airways fees reimbursed.

Amex countered that they were adding Centurion Lounge access steadily to replace the club access. Currently they only have locations in DFW and Las Vegas, and are building in LGA and SFO.

I guess we'll soon see if they keep the Amex Platinum Card worthwhile.

Free Executive Status on National Car Rental

When you have National Car Rental's Executive Emerald Club status, you can choose any vehicle from the Emerald Aisle while paying only the mid-size sedan rate. There are usually only two ways to get Executive Emerald Club status: complete 12 rentals in a calendar year or for 40 rental days. The other way is to get it as a free benefit from the American Express Platinum card.

But here is a chance to get the status for free!

Free Executive Emerald Club status

Other benefits include a free rental after every 6 rental credits, and the ability to walk straight up to the car in the Emerald Aisle and drive off without waiting in any lines.

Saving $200 off my Spring Break flight

This year, several of my friends and I found a week that we all had off and were free, and we booked a spring break trip to Cabo. We found some very reasonable flights on United that we decided to buy immediately. Instead of paying the full fare, I used my Amex Platinum's $200 Airline fee reimbursement feature to shave $200 off.

This is how you do it. I logged in to my Amex account to choose the airline I wanted my $200 in fees to be reimbursed from.  Then I went to United's website and purchased a $200 gift card on my Amex Platinum. Using the gift card, I was able to book the ticket with United and pay almost half of what my friends paid for their tickets. Within a day, Amex credited the $200 back to me.

Free 10,000 American Express Membership Rewards Points for Extended Payment Option

American Express is offering 10,000 Membership Rewards points for enrolling a charge card in their extended payment option. Amex offers charge cards such as the Platinum and Preferred Rewards Gold that require payment in full each month. If you add the Extended payment option, you get the option to pay larger purchases over time (but are not required to). You can get 10,000 bonus MR points, worth $100 in gift cards, for adding an option you don't have to use.

If the 10,000 MR signup doesn't work, then try the 5,000 MR bonus.

10,000 registration link

5,000 registration link

Remember, you don't have to use this option to get the bonus points! Points will take 6-8 weeks to credit to your Membership Rewards account, according to the terms and conditions.

My US Airways VIP lounge access today

I had an hour and a half layover today in Phoenix, NM, and as I arrived to the connecting gate, I saw that the area was completely packed. All the chairs in the seating area were taken and the few electrical outlets were all occupied, and there were several people sitting on the floor. There were kids crying and it was overall pretty chaotic. I needed to get some work done and this was not what I was looking for.

Fortunately, there happened to be a US Airways club right above my gate that I had access to with my Priority Pass membership from my American Express Platinum. It was a godsend to have a nice couch to sit on, free snacks and cocktails, and peace and quiet. At all the lounges, they give you a free wifi access code that works for 24 hours.

With the amount of traveling I'm doing these days, I've been able to utilize the lounges more and more!

The American Express Platinum Card and the Membership Rewards First program

In previous posts, I've written about getting a 20% Membership Rewards rebate anytime I spend the points on the Amex Travel website. Over the past few months, this has saved me about 50k points! However, this is only one of the small benefits of the Amex Platinum Card.  Here is a synopsis of the other main benefits of the card.

American Express Platinum Card

25,000 MR points bonus - When signing up for this card, if you spend $1000 within 3 months, you will get an automatic 25,000 MR points bonus. Due to various transfer bonuses to airlines (67% bonus to Delta) as well as bonuses when booking on Amex Travel, these points are worth about $0.02 each, making this bonus worth about $500. These points can be transferred to most airlines instantly, except for Continental and United.

Free unlimited access to airport VIP lounges - through the Priority Pass Select program, cardholders get free access to 600 VIP lounges worldwide, worth at least $50 per visit, or about a $399 value for a yearly pass.

$200 of airline fees reimbursed - up to $200 of airline fees are reimbursed every year from an airline of your choice. These can be baggage fees that are often $25-35 per bag, or airline change fees that are $150 per change, or award ticket fees of $75. They are also known to reimburse giftcard purchases as well.

Elite status in National Car Rentals, Hertz #1 Gold Program, and Avis First program - status in these programs usually requires a large amount of spending, many car rentals each year. Elite status in these programs provides cheaper rates, instant car upgrades, and grace periods for rental returns.

Starwood Preferred Guest Gold status - you get instant room upgrades, priority check in, late checkout at 4pm, 50% bonus for SPG points.

Fine Hotels and Resorts - this travel booking service has nice amenities at fine hotels around the world, getting good rates, hundred of dollars in free service or food credits, and automatic room upgrades.

No Foreign Transaction fees - most cards charge up to 3%, so spending $2000 abroad will save $60 in fees.

Free Global Entry - expedited entry into international airports, a $100 value.

Free International Companion ticket - when you book a First or Business class ticket through AMEX, you can get a companion ticket for free.

Platinum Concierge service - personal attendant that is known to be able to get tickets to sold-out events, get reservations at booked restaurants, and anything else you need.

Membership Rewards First - spending MR points on the AMEX Travel Site will return a 20% bonus.

Considering that this card has a $450 annual fee, I needed to make sure that it was worth every penny.

25k MR points - $500
Airline VIP Lounges - $399
$200 fee reimbursement - $200
Free Global Entry - $100
$1099 of direct benefits!

Additionally, this doesn't take into account taking advantage of all the other benefits that vary depending on usage. I've saved 50k MR points, and used all of these benefits already except the companion ticket. This is definitely worth the annual fee.

25,000 Membership Rewards bonus link here.

American Express Platinum Card - overview, benefits, and links

I recently found out about the American Express Platinum Card and all the perks associated with it. Considering the $450 annual fee, they had to be pretty substantial for me to sign up. Here is a list, as well as links to sign up for each feature if you already have the card.

• 25,000 bonus Membership Rewards points after spending $1000 in the first three months using this link. You may need to log out of your Amex account and clear your cookies first. These points can be transferred to airlines such as Delta, Continental, British Airways, Virgin, Airtran, JetBlue, Frontier, Air France, KLM, Hawaiian, ANA, and Singapore. 
• $200 airline fee credit - any time you are charged a fee whether for baggage, itinerary change, or standby fee on the airline of your choice, American Express will reimburse you up to $200.
• Access to airport lounges around the world free through Priority Pass Select ($399 value)
• Starwood Preferred Guest Gold status - 50% points bonus, late checkout, room upgrades.
• No foreign transaction fees - most cards charge up to 3%
• Free Global Entry - expedited entry in international airports ($100 value)
• Fine Hotels and Resorts membership - get extra benefits like free meals, upgrades, resort credit
• Hertz #1 Gold club status - enroll for better rates, 4 hour grace period on rentals
• National Emerald status - enroll for free selection from Executive Level vehicles at mid-size sedan rates.
• Free Avis Preferred Select status
• Free international companion ticket when you buy First class or Business class through AMEX.
• Free Purchase Protection, Return Protection, Extended Warranty.

This is mainly for those that travel frequently, as you can judge from the benefits. Also it is a charge card, so you must pay the balance in full each month.