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“Have been an American Express cardholder since 1988....”

Written on: 12/11/2008 by pleasant

Good Points
Travel insurance, airport lounge access and overseas assistance.

Bad Points
cost, poor recognition by Am-Ex customer advisors as to the status of Platinum cardholders (supposedly).

General Comments
Have been an American Express cardholder since 1988. Started with a gold card and have been a platinum cardholder for at least 10 years. I have just had my notification come through that on my November statement it will show my £300 annual fee. Sorry to say, but I have today cancelled my membership after 20 years. I simply cannot justify the fee the card commands - sure it hasn't gone up from last year, but for what I use it for and what I get out of it, the ends don't justify the means.
To be honest I don't travel enough to use most of the bolt on features of the card, although a lot of the features, such as hotels, flights and other such offers are ridiculously uncompetitive in term of price, so I wouldn't entertain them anyway.
I suppose I enjoyed the status of being accredited with the Platinum card, but £300 a year is a lot for just flashing it about in your wallet.
I have applied for the American Express Platinum credit card and can confirm I have been accepted. This will give me a more than adequate credit limit (albeit without a lot of the charge card benefits and/or overpriced tat offers) and as I am used to paying off my monthly statement in full, the principle of usage will be exactly the same- without the £300 annual fee.
Just enquired about 12 month travel insurance for my wife and I, and I can confirm it's less than £100 for both of us- so I'm £200 better off already!
In summary- if you want absolute piece of mind when traveling, then the platinum card will give you that- but at a price.