Keep or Cancel? Amex Platinum & SW Priority cards
A few weeks ago, Travel Freely reminded me that the annual fee would be charged soon on both my Amex Platinum and Chase Southwest Priority cards. Having lots of credit cards (30 between my husband and I) means that I need to be constantly taking stock of the cards with annual fees to make sure I am getting value from them. In this post, I’ll walk you through how I decide whether or not to keep the card. To see a similar analysis for the Southwest Business Premier card, check out this Instagram post.
What is Travel Freely?
Travel Freely is a super helpful website and app that allows you to input all your credit cards and annual fee due dates. It will remind you when you have an annual fee coming up on a card in 45 days, and then 10 days, so you can decide if you want to keep the card. It also will remind you when the minimum spend for a new card sign up bonus is coming up. This can be a helpful check to make sure you aren’t missing any deadlines. Before signing up for Travel Freely, I had a spreadsheet to keep track of these dates. I much prefer not having to track it myself! Interested? Sign up for a free account here!
Amex Platinum Card
I signed up for the Amex Platinum card in 2020 because the card had a huge sign up bonus! The bonus is way better now, but since I didn’t have a crystal ball, I jumped on it. The annual fee on the card at the time was $550, so I already wasn’t sure if I would keep it. In 2022, the annual fee has increased to $695, but since my annual fee was charged in December, I was grandfathered into the $550 fee one last time. Either way, this is a crazy large fee, so I went into this analysis really unsure that I want to keep it. It is within my budget to keep the card if it provides value, but at such a high price point it may not be in everyone’s budget and that’s okay! If you know you want to cancel your card, skip below for some pointers on how to do that.
To determine the value of my card, I went through each of the benefits it provides and assigned a dollar value to it. Keep in mind, this value isn’t the value that American Express claims that the benefit is worth - it is the value that the benefit is worth to me. That means if you go through this exercise, even with the same card, you will probably get different answers.
Benefits
5x Points on Bookings Made at AmexTravel.com. I value this at $0 because I have not used this benefit at all while I’ve had the card. I typically book directly with airlines and hotels.
$200 Airline Fee Credit. I value this at $124 because that’s how much I was able to use this year on checked baggage charges with Delta. I am not sure that I will be able to use this much in future years, but that remains yet to be seen.
Lounge Access. I went to the Centurion Lounge in SFO once this year, and the Escape Lounge in Oakland twice. I also visited the Delta Sky Club in Atlanta using my Amex card. I value this at $60 because it saved me from getting food elsewhere in the airport all three times. To search lounges at your frequently visited airports, click here.
Cell Phone Protection. I value this at $0 because I have other cards that provide this benefit as well.
CLEAR Credit. While it has been helpful to have CLEAR, I value this at $15 because I don’t think I’d pay more than that for the CLEAR benefits.
Global Entry or TSA Pre Check Credit. While I love having Global Entry, I have many cards that provide this benefit so I value this one at $0.
Emergency Medical Transportation Assistance. This is a really cool benefit, and one that I have trouble putting a value on because I hope I never need to use it! I will value it at $10 because I truly hope I will never need it, but I would be willing to spend a few bucks for the peace of mind that I could get access to medical care in an emergency.
Hilton HHonors Gold Status. I value this at $0 because I get the better Diamond status through my Amex Hilton Aspire card.
Marriott Gold Status. Similarly, I get Gold status through my Bonvoy Brilliant card so I don’t value this benefit on this card particularly.
International Airline Program. This program is theoretically cool, in that it offers discounts on business and first class flights. However, even discounted, premium cabin flights are outside my budget so I don’t expect to get much value here.
Fine Hotels and Resorts. I’ve enjoyed the stays that I’ve made through Fine Hotels and Resorts and will make more if I keep the card, but I don’t think I’d pay to get access to this booking option.
Preferred Hotels & Resorts Elite Status. I’ve never used this.
Fiesta Rewards Platinum Status. I’ve never used this.
National Car Rental Executive status. I used my National status once this year and really enjoyed it. I value this at $10.
Hertz Rental Car Privileges. I book my rental cars with National, so I haven’t used this.
Cruise Benefits. I’ve never used this and have never taken a cruise, so I value this at $0.
Premium Private Jet Program. I’ve never used this and definitely have no plans to.
ShopRunner. Although this is theoretically helpful, it’s hard to remember to use, so I value it at $0.
Neiman Marcus In-Circle. Never used it.
$200 in Uber or Uber Eats Credits. This is a credit that I should be able to use every month. I value it at $150 because I don’t think $200 in cash limited to use at Uber is as valuable as $200 in cash with no restrictions.
$200 Hotel Credit. I think booking through Fine Hotels & Resorts is fun, and definitely took advantage of my $200 credit this year (by prepaying this year for a stay in January). However, I am going to value this as $0 because ultimately I did book a hotel stay that I wouldn’t have otherwise booked to use this credit. I do think in the future I could use it on a planned hotel stay to get more value from it, though.
$240 Digital Entertainment Credit. Although I probably shouldn't have, given that there are apps to provide access to free audiobooks through libraries, I did have an Audible account prior to this credit being added to the card. That has gotten me $14.95 of value per month, or $179 of value per year. I hesitate on this valuation because I could just cancel Audible if I cancel the card, but I do like using it, so I will keep the valuation as is.
$100 in Saks Fifth Avenue Credits. I’m always able to use my credits to make valuable purchases (typically on home goods). Stacked with Rakuten cash back, this is usually a pretty good deal. Again, I’d rather someone hand me an unrestricted $100 than $100 I need to use at Saks, so I value this at $75. For the credits in the first half of 2022, I purchased an item that was on my baby registry and a delayed Secret Santa gift (we have two Platinum cards in our household).
Free Walmart+ Subscription. I don’t shop at Walmart so this is not a valuable benefit for me.
$300 Equinox Credit. I don’t go to Equinox so this is not a valuable benefit for me.
$300 SoulCycle Rebate. I do not plan on purchasing a SoulCycle bike, so this is not a valuable benefit for me.
5X points on flights booked directly with airlines. This year, I’ve been booking all my flights with points and miles, so I value this at $0. However, it is my highest earning card on flights, so I could see it being helpful in the future.
After typing all that out, I feel like this is a ridiculous card. Part of me wants to cancel just because they make you jump through so many hoops to access the benefits! With 27 benefits at least (did I forget any?), they clearly expect you not to use them all. Most also need to be activated before use, which creates extra friction and I have been burned by before.
However, I like to make these decisions by the numbers, and in this case, the numbers say that I get $623 of benefit from this card. This is honestly way higher than I thought going into this, and it does outweigh the annual fee of $550. When my annual fee increase goes into effect for 2022 next December, I’m still paying $72 out of pocket to keep this card if I decide to keep it. Also, I will have a newborn next year, which means a lot less time to keep track of all these credits and remember to maximize value.
A few additional reasons that I like this card not covered above are:
This is a charge card, not a credit card. This means that there is no credit limit on the card, which would make it my go-to for a large purchase or emergency. It also evades some of the rules that Amex has around how many credit cards you can have at once, because it is not a credit card.
Access to Amex Offers, which provide savings on purchases at specific merchants. This year I’ve saved $41 with Amex Offers on my Platinum card, so not a crazy amount, but worth noting.
What Are My Options?
Based on the math, it is clear that I should probably keep the card this year. Since many of you will be making your decisions based on the increased 2022 annual fee, here’s how I would think about it if I was paying that higher fee, and therefore at a small deficit in value:
The easiest option is to go ahead and cancel. I will save time by not needing to optimize these credits each year, and I will save money if I end up not optimizing the credits. I do think this is less fun, because I will miss out on some of the benefits I enjoy, like Centurion lounge access, Fine Hotels and Resorts, and National status.
My husband has this card, so I could consider canceling my card and having him add me as an authorized user on his card. For $175, I would get to keep lounge access, National status, and access to Fine Hotels and Resorts. However, the only credit I would get access to is the Global Entry/TSA Pre-Check benefit, so my net cost here is actually greater than if I kept my own card and maximized the credits. This calculus may change if you have more than one Authorized User you want to add, because you can add up to three Authorized Users for that $175 cost.
The last option is to keep the card. This would be a bet that I can eek out that last $72 of value from the card. If I counted the value of Amex Offers, I would already be $41 of the way there! Honestly, though, I’m not sure it would be easy to get $72 of additional value from the card without increasing my spending, which I don’t want to do.
When to cancel?
There are a few things to keep in mind when thinking about canceling a card.
First, you should wait until after your annual fee is posted to cancel. If you cancel within 30 days of the annual fee posting, they will fully refund the annual fee charge.
When you call to cancel, tell them you are thinking about cancelling and ask if there are any retention offers. If they offer you something, you have the option to decide if you will go through with cancelling or if you prefer to take the offer instead. You should have a number in mind when you call, so you know if what they offer you is good enough.
My Decision
I decided to reach out for a retention offer to see if they would entice me to stay a Platinum customer. While most banks require you to call, Amex allows you to have this conversation over chat, which made the experience much smoother. I’d always rather talk to customer service on online chat over a phone call.
After reaching out and letting them know I was thinking about cancelling, the chat representative asked me some questions about how I use the card and shared with me some information about the new benefits that have been added to the card. I responded honestly about which of those credits were helpful to me and which weren’t. Then they shared that they had an offer that they would apply to my account if I decided to keep the card:
“You can earn 55,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $4,000 or more in eligible purchases on your Card within 3 months of accepting this offer, starting today. The 55,000 Membership Rewards® points will be credited to your account 8 to 12 weeks after the purchase requirement has been met.”
Since I was pretty close to being pushed over the edge, I decided this would definitely be worth me keeping the card! I accepted, and had to stay on the chat for a few minutes to read over some paperwork and formally accept. Now I’m working on the spend!
Although I still think this card is hard to use, it’s hard to deny that there is value there if you are willing to put in the work. For now I am willing, but I will have to reevaluate that as life circumstances change.
SW Priority Card
The other card that I needed to decide on was the Southwest Priority card. I signed up for this one a few years ago to earn Companion Pass qualifying points, and also because it is a very beneficial card for frequent Southwest flyers. Although I recently decided not to pursue the Companion Pass for the first time in five years, I have loved my experience on the airline and plan to continue flying with the airline when it is convenient.
The annual fee for this card is $149, so when I am assessing benefits I need to make sure I am getting greater value than $149 from this card.
Benefits
3x Rapid Rewards points on purchases made with Southwest - I value this benefit at $0 because I also have the Chase Sapphire Reserve card that earns 3x points on travel, and can be directly transferred to Southwest.
2x Rapid Rewards points on purchases made with Rapid Rewards hotel and car partners - I value this at $0 because I don’t use the Rapid Rewards portal to book hotels and car rentals - I’d rather book directly with the hotel or car rental agency that I’m using.
2x Rapid Rewards points on purchases made on local transit and rideshare - I value this at $0 because the Chase Sapphire Reserve card earns 3x points on these purchases.
2x Rapid Rewards points on purchases made on internet, cable, phone services, and select streaming - I value this at $0 because I get a discount on internet by paying directly from my bank account, I don’t have cable, I pay for my phone on a card that provides cell phone insurance, and streaming isn’t a big enough expense for me to worry about the points I get from it.
1X Rapid Rewards points on all other purchases - I value this at $0 because I can earn more points on unbonused spend with the Citi DoubleCash card.
Big spend bonus: Earn 1,500 TQPs for each $10K in purchases - I value this at $0 because status is not valuable enough for me to spend this much to get it, I’d rather just not have status and put my spend toward minimum spends.
7,500 anniversary points each year - Using Frequent Miler’s Reasonable Redemption Values as a guide, these points should be worth $105. Given that I’d rather take cash than points limited to use at Southwest, I will value them at $95.
$75 Southwest annual travel credit = I value this at $65 because I get use of the full credit each year, but I don’t think $75 of Southwest limited money = $75 cash.
Four A1-15 boardings every year = I value these at $0, because although they are a nice perk, I wouldn’t pay cash for this.
20% back on in-flight drinks, Wi-Fi, messaging, and movies = I value this at $5, because I typically make at least two purchases per year in flight.
My Decision
Overall, I receive a value of $165 per year in benefits from this card. This outweighs the annual fee of $149, but not by much. If I do fly Southwest significantly less next year, I will need to make sure that I get value out of the card, or else I should cancel it.
What cards are you considering cancelling this year? Let me know what hard decisions you’re making and which cards you are definitely keeping for 2022!
