Some premium cards now require an ‘extreme couponing’ mindset

04.11.2024 - 19:15 / thepointsguy.com

An up to $50 Saks Fifth Avenue statement credit every six months (January-June and July-December; up to $100 each calendar year). An up to $20 monthly statement credit toward digital entertainment (up to $240 per calendar year). An up to $300 annual Equinox statement credit each calendar year.

Also, up to $15 in monthly Uber Cash towards U.S. purchases (but remember the extra up to $20 bonus in December; up to $200 per calendar year).* An up to $200 statement credit each calendar year toward airline incidental fees — but not airfare. An up to $200 statement credit each calendar year for a stay booked via the Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts program. Enrollment is required for select benefits; terms apply.

And all of that is just the beginning.

No, that's not a rundown of options from a luxury coupon book. Those are some of the benefits available for those with the $695-per-year The Platinum Card® from American Express (see rates and fees).

Although my brain is hard-wired almost to love finding and tracking deals and travel perks, even I feel like it's bordering on mental fatigue to keep up with all of the different small-to-medium-sized credits offered by a growing list of cards.

While once upon a time premium cards offered a shorter list of mostly substantial perks, now they have gone down a road where the list of perks is longer, the annual fee is higher and to come out ahead, you almost need to have the mindset of 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 a method of payment in your Uber account. You must pay for your Uber ride with an Amex card to use your Uber Cash.

An issuer adding more card perks and benefits is generally a good thing. However, when you reach a stage where a spreadsheet is needed to keep up with all the different benefits and whether you have used them each month, that could be a sign things have gone too far.

The Amex Platinum by itself now has at least eight different built-in statement credits that are divvied out in time frames that range from monthly to semiannually, annually and every four years.

And that doesn't even begin to touch the different category bonuses and the benefits and protections for putting different types of charges on the card, or the variety of ways you can use the welcome bonus and ongoing points earned by the card.

The statement credits alone are more than enough to offset the current $695 annual fee. But they are only valuable if you use them — will you go through a $15 monthly Uber Cash credit, a $20 monthly statement credit toward (limited) eligible digital entertainment services and that up to $50 Saks credit every six months?

The Chase