American Express to make largest ever investment in travel-focused Platinum Credit Cards

Bloomberg: American Express Co. teased updates coming later this year to its travel-focused Platinum credit cards, announcing what it called “its largest investment ever” in a credit-card refresh.

“We’re going to take these cards to a new level, not only in what they offer in travel, dining and lifestyle benefits, but also in how they look and feel,” Howard Grosfield, Amex’s group president for US consumer services, said in a statement Monday.

Increase in fee

Amex raised its Platinum card annual fee to $695 in July 2021, when it also added $200 in annual hotel credits. Since then, the New York-based company has faced intensifying competition for premium credit-card customers, including from JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Sapphire Reserve card and Capital One Financial Corp.’s Venture X Rewards card.

The Amex update will apply to both the US consumer and business Platinum cards, the company said. It didn’t provide more specifics on what changes are coming.

How are premium cards different from regular cards?

Typically premium cards, as the name suggests, offer premium services such as hotel stays, fine dining, access to golf, among others. These cards are usually invite-only and can be applied for. However, most of these cards have a high annual fee i.e., upward of ₹50,000. The Amex card mentioned here has an annual fee of $695 (equivalent to ₹59,770). The complimentary services, meanwhile, are too premium to be availed for anything less than this.

These cards are accepted around the world and come with concierge service which can assist you in booking flowers, movie tickets and fine dining reservations.

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