The American Express Platinum card is worth of being a "dresser drawer" card for frequent travelers, but for the rest of us the $450 annual fee just isn't worth it. So why do I have two of them right now?
Well, I've been "suckered" in by their upgrade offers. You see, Amex will often offer bonus Membership Rewards points to customers who have their Premiere Rewards Gold personal and business cards. In mid December I accepted an offer of 25,000 Membership Rewards points to upgrade from PRG business to Platinum. That's a minimum value of $250. Plus, by upgrading in December I was able to use one of the card's most valuable features, the $200 per year airline fee credit, in 2012. The credit will be available again in 2013. So, by upgrading, I've gotten effectively $650 in benefits. That more than pays for the cost of the annual fee, so I'll probably keep the card after paying the pro-rated annual fee for my current cardmember year.
Of course, I'll probably cancel my personal Platinum card.... but not until January when I can get credit for $200 more in airline "fees."
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