$50 Saks Fifth Avenue statement credit every six months (January-June and July-December; up to $100 each calendar year). Up to $20 monthly statement credit for digital entertainment (up to $240 per calendar year). Annual Equinox statement credit of up to $300 each calendar year.
Plus, up to $15 in monthly Uber Cash for US purchases (but remember the extra bonus of up to $20 in December; up to $200 per calendar year).* Up to $200 statement credit each calendar year for airline affiliate fees — but not airfare . Up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year for stays booked through the Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts program. Registration is required for select benefits; Conditions apply.
And all that is just the beginning.
No, it’s not the number of options from a luxury coupon book. Those are some of the benefits available to those on $695-a-year Platinum Card® from American Express (See Rates and Fees).
Although my brain works almost as hard to find and track deals and travel perks, I find it bordering on mental exhaustion to keep up with the various small-to-medium-sized credits offered by a growing list of cards. is .
While premium cards once offered a short list of mostly significant benefits, they’ve now gone down a road where the list of benefits is long, the annual fee is high, and you almost have to have a mindset to come out ahead. A luxury-focused extreme couponer.
*You must have downloaded the latest version of the Uber app and your eligible American Express Platinum Card must be the payment method in your Uber account. You must pay for your Uber ride with an Amex card to use your Uber Cash.
The list of benefits gets longer — and more confusing
It’s usually a good thing that an issuer adds more card benefits and perks. However, when you get to the point where you need a spreadsheet to keep track of all the different benefits and whether you’ve used them each month, it may be a sign that things have gone too far.
This Amex Platinum By itself it now has at least eight different built-in statement credits that are divided into monthly to semi-annual, annual and every four year timeframes.
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And that doesn’t even begin to touch on the benefits and protections for different categories of bonuses and different types of charges on the card, or the different ways you can use the welcome bonus and ongoing points you earn with the card.
The statement credits alone are more than enough to offset the current $695 annual fee. But it’s only worth it if you use it — would you pass up a $15 monthly Uber Cash credit, a $20 monthly statement credit for (limited) eligible digital entertainment services, and a $50 Sux credit every six months?
Chase Sapphire Reserve® has lower periodic statement credits and categories. However, if you want to make the most of it, you’ll need to move your Peloton monthly subscription to that card.
Then there’s the $300 annual travel credit, which, luckily, is pretty easy to use.
But wait – there’s more. Holders of co-branded American Express Hilton, Marriott and Delta cards receive credit at US restaurants and select properties based on the card. It’s even more benefits that require monthly tracking and, sometimes, meticulous planning.
Simpler can be better
Personally, I’ll be ahead when card issuers implement all these different credits and benefits. But I know I’m not a typical card user in that regard.
The less obsessed people I know, like my husband, parents and most friends, aren’t going to start switching which cards they use for this, that and other only available statement credits to chase a few dollars here and there.
It may be “easy,” but it still takes up brain space and may be in short supply in an already stressful reality.
While every single card benefit may not be of the $300-a-year-travel-credit variety, there is something to be learned from the ease of credit. Sapphire reserve. You can use it as fast or as slowly as you want in that year, and you can use it for a wide number of charges that fall under “travel”.
This Amex Platinum An annual digital entertainment statement credit of up to $240 in each calendar year is a good example on the opposite side of the simplicity fence.
This credit is paid in monthly installments of up to $20. It’s not good at any old form of digital entertainment, only at the charge of select brands: Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ — or the Disney bundle — Peacock, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.
It can be a more user-friendly benefit if it’s valid across a wider group of providers – like towards any streaming service, for example.
Alternatively, if the list of providers is kept short or if the credit is available to be used annually rather than in monthly installments, it may be easier to take advantage of since most subscriptions are cheaper when paid annually rather than monthly or quarterly.
This American Express® Gold Card Offers up to $20 in monthly benefits that can be used toward dining each calendar year, but one credit of up to $10 is for Uber Cash in the US, while another credit of up to $10 is valid only at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly . , wine.com And five guys.
You’ll receive up to $120 in dining credits annually and up to $120 in Uber Cash per year (you must have downloaded the latest version of the Uber app and your eligible American Express Gold Card must be the payment method in your Uber account. To use your Uber Cash, you must use your Uber The ride must be paid for with an Amex card.). Enrollment is required for select benefits and conditions apply.
Additionally, cardmembers earn up to $7 in monthly credits at Dunkin’ (up to $84 per calendar year) and up to $100 per calendar year in Receipt credits. Using Resy Credits is easier than you realize, as any restaurant registered with Resy is eligible and does not require a reservation. Receipt credits are awarded biannually in increments of up to $50.
All these benefits come for a lower annual fee than Amex Platinum at $325 per year (see rates and fees).
I like an occasional free piece of cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory as much as the next person, but the card wants to train its users to opt for it for most dining charges by default. It would be significantly easier if it offered a monthly dining credit that was valid at all dining locations. Enrollment is required for select benefits and conditions apply.
Related: Is Amex Gold Worth the Annual Fee?
How to get ahead
I get more value in points, benefits and credits from each card in my wallet than I pay the annual fee. If I didn’t, I’d dump that card in a hurry. But I’m willing to put some mental energy into maximizing most — though not all — of the benefits my particular cards offer.
You need to be very honest with yourself about what you are willing and able to do to squeeze value out of your premium cards. Sure, the high-end Amex offers Platinum An assortment of credits, but which ones will you actually use?
I’m unlikely to use up to $300 in Equinox credits per calendar year, and I haven’t figured out yet how I’m going to use up to $240 in digital entertainment credits per calendar year.
You may not be interested in up to $50 in Saks credit every six months, or maybe using up to $15 monthly in Uber Cash (with an increase of up to $20 in December). That’s OK — you could give up some benefits and still be in the black with that card, but do the real-world math for your situation from the beginning and at least before each account anniversary when you pay that annual fee again.
But after you’ve done the math on what benefits you’ll actually get and what won’t, it can be useful to have a tool that reminds you of the various benefits. This is especially true if you have more than one or two cards in your wallet.
Maybe it’s a Google or Excel sheet you set up that lists all your card credits that you check monthly, or a sticky note on your computer or the labels on the physical cards in your wallet.
All you need to do is remember to use your up to $15 monthly Uber Cash (in the US) with you. Amex Platinum Card (with up to $20 extra in December) or yours Amex Gold To pay for a monthly meal at Five Guys or the Cheesecake Factory, having some sort of tracking system is really the only way to keep up with it all.
Pick the credits you care about most and keep at least one list that you refer to monthly if you want to make sure you’re not leaving valuable statement credits on the table.
RELATED: How the Amex Platinum Card Gave Me Access to $3,000+ in Value This Year
The bottom line
It’s great that rewards credit cards have evolved with new lifestyle and everyday benefits that help them stay relevant in a world where travel isn’t always at the top of everyone’s to-do list. However, this evolutionary approach has left us in a situation where you have to adopt a couponer mentality to get true value from cards that charge $500 or more in annual fees.
Many of the new benefits require a nickel-and-dime approach to using those $10 and $20 statement credits that often only apply to a select list of retailers. You don’t need to use a monthly tracking spreadsheet to get fair value from a high-end premium card. There are many ways to create high-end cards that are relevant to everyday life without overcomplicating the situation.
Related: Why Chase Needs a Rival to Amex Gold
For Amex Platinum Card rates and fees, click here.
For Amex Gold Card rates and fees, click here.