Rumor has it that there will be some changes occurring on the Amex Platinum card in July, including an increased annual fee. According to the rumor, the changes will happen on July 1st, this Thursday, and the Platinum annual fee will go from $550 to $695.

Sign up for the card before Thursday so that you can lock in the lower annual fee for a year. Card issuers must legally tell you what the card annual fee is when you apply for a card so if you sign up before Thursday, Amex will have to give you the lower, current annual fee (for the first year).

Since the annual fee might be going up, it would make sense for Amex to also increase the welcome bonus, though no one knows. So if you apply for the Platinum card now before July to lock in the lower annual fee, you might be missing out on a new welcome bonus that may be coming in July (Amex welcome bonuses are not available for cardholders that previously had the card and Amex does not match higher offers even within 30 days). 

The current welcome bonus is technically an all time high offer- Earn 75,000 points after spending $5,000 within the first 6 months, plus earn 10 points at U.S Gas Stations and U. S Supermarkets on up to $15,000 in combined purchases within the first 6 months, so it’s hard to imagine that Amex will go up even higher. But in the current situation with all time high offers going up everywhere, anything is possible.

Benefits

Rumor also has it that changes to the Platinum card benefits and credits will also be occurring. And given that Amex info about benefit changes to the Centurion Lounge benefit accidentally leaked out, there might be some truth to the other benefit changes too. However, we don’t know what will be.

It’s likely that cardholders paying the lower annual fee will still be able to cash in on the newer benefits, as seen in past times, but nothing is for sure.

As per the rumor, here’s what’s changing:

Added Benefits

• Get $179 credit for CLEAR. CLEAR, which is becoming available at more and more airports, gets you better and faster security check-in at the airport and gets you through check-in, security, and boarding quickly and easily. May begin 07/01/2021.
• Get $300 credit for Equinox. Get fit with $25 per month that you can apply towards the $39.99 monthly fee for Equinox and the fitness app. May begin 07/01/2021.
• Get $240 credit for Entertainment. Get $20 a month to use for magazine and news subscriptions and video and music streaming services. May begin 07/01/2021.
• Get $200 credit for prepaid hotel bookings. May begin 07/01/2021.
• Get $100 credit for Resy. May begin 07/01/2021.

Changed Benefits

• Centurion Lounge Access will be free for only the cardholder, and not for 2 guest as is now. Guests will have to pay $50 for access. Cardholders who spend $75,000 within a year will however keep getting complimentary access for 2 guests. This policy will begin 02/01/2023.
• TSA Precheck will no longer be reimbursed. You will get a $100 reimbursement but it will only cover Global Entry, once every 5 years.

*These are all rumors. We’ll keep you updated as soon as we have more details.

Following are the current benefit details of the Platinum card, but as mentioned above as per the rumor, some may be changing as of July 1st.

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Amex Platinum remove

Card Details

Welcome Bonus

Amex Platinum Select card

Earn 80,000 points after spending $8,000 within the first 6 months (terms apply).

Annual Fee

Amex Platinum Select card

$695

Rewards

Amex Platinum Select card

– 5 points on flights booked directly with airlines and Amex Travel on the first $500,000 you spend within a calendar year
– 5 points on prepaid hotels booked directly with Amex Travel
– 1 point on other eligible purchases

Benefits

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