American Express® Platinum Card: Best for Luxury Hotel Memberships & Golf Benefits

• Vouchers worth up to Rs. 60,000 on spending Rs. 50,000 in first two months of card membership and on payment of annual fee. Cardholders can choose from the below options:
  • Option 1: Taj Hotels & Palaces worth Rs. 50,000
  • Option 2: Reliance Brand (Luxe Gift Cards) worth Rs. 35,000
  • Option 3: Postcard Hotels & Resorts worth Rs. 60,000
• Complimentary Times Ace Membership, allowing cardholders to access 40+ OTT and publications including Disney+ Hotstar, Amazon Prime Lite and more
• Vouchers worth up to Rs. 35,000 from Taj Hotels, Reliance Brands Limited (Luxe Gift Card), Postcard Hotels & Resorts on spending Rs. 20 Lakh in a year

Avail complimentary benefits worth Rs. 44,300 at some of the finest hotels and resorts worldwide including the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, Mandarin Oriental, The Ritz-Carlton and more. Enjoy privileges like:

• Room upgrades at check-in
• Daily breakfast for two
• Guaranteed 4pm late checkout
• Access to free Wi-Fi
• Complimentary credit worth US $100 to use against eligible charges

Additionally, cardholders can also avail below mentioned benefits under the Domestic Lodging Programme:

• 25% off at Taj, SeleQtions and Vivanta Hotels
• 50% off on Suites at Oberoi Hotels and Resorts

Other Hotel Benefits: Third night free, a dinner for two, and spa service on booking minimum 2 nights at 10 select Lalit Properties in India.

Complimentary Hotel Memberships

With American Express® Platinum Card, cardholders can get access to top-tier hotel loyalty programs with exclusive benefits without having to fulfil the usual criteria. The following hotel loyalty programs are included:

• Marriott Bonvoy™ Gold Elite Status
• Hilton Honors Gold Elite Status
• Taj Reimagined Epicure Plus
• Radisson Rewards Premium Status
• Hertz Gold Plus Rewards®
• Accor Plus Traveller Membership
• The Postcard Hotel Sunshine Club – Platinum Tier Membership
• I Prefer – Titanium membership at The Leela Hotels & Resorts, Dusit Thani and more

Once they receive their card, users will have to activate each of these memberships by registering on the respective loyalty program’s website.

Among all other premium cards in India, American Express® Platinum Card possibly provides the best hotel benefits. Users can avail hotel benefits in two ways- 1) complimentary memberships to multiple hotel’s elite tier program, and 2) direct discount at select domestic chains. While most premium cards offer base membership to hotel programs, this card stands out by offering Elite Tier membership. To be eligible for most of these memberships, you would need to book a certain number of stays at participating hotels or pay a considerable amount for the membership, but with this card, you get these benefits complimentary. Moreover, these memberships entitle you to additional benefits like discounted stays, room upgrade, free breakfast, higher loyalty points, etc. In addition to these, cardholders get 25% discount at Taj Group and 50% discount at Oberoi Group hotels within India.

Complimentary Lounge Access

Access to over 1,300 airport lounges across the globe via American Express Global Lounge Collection, applicable to the below lounges:

• American Express Lounges
• Priority Pass Lounges
• Escape Lounges
• The Centurion Lounge
• Delta Sky Club Lounge (when flying Delta)
• Other Domestic Partner Lounges in India

Note: Complimentary guest visits to Centurion Lounges in Delhi and Mumbai have been discontinued.

Most premium credit cards offer unlimited domestic and international lounge visits but they are associated with one of the leading lounges like Priority Pass or Dreamfolks. However, American Express® Platinum Card offers lounge benefits with multiple lounge programs including Priority Pass, The Centurion, Escape Lounges, Delta Sky Club Lounges and other domestic partner lounges. Since the benefit is not limited to one lounge partner, this feature can be quite valuable for users who frequently travel overseas.

Benefits with Leading Airlines

Cardholders can avail exclusive deals and offers on popular airlines, including Emirates, Qatar Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air France, KLM, Delta Airlines and much more.

The golf benefit on American Express® Platinum Card is possibly the best among all credit cards. You get unlimited complimentary games and lessons at 30+ golf courses in India and 50+ golf courses worldwide. These include some of the finest golf courses of India such as:

• Jaypee Greens Golf Club, Greater Noida
• Prestige Golfshire Club, Bengaluru
• Kalhaar Blues & Greens Golf Club, Ahmedabad
• Golden Greens Golf Club, Gurugram
• Golden Swan Golf Academy, Mumbai
• AKDR Village, Chennai

The terms and conditions vary as per the rules laid down by the golf courses. However, some common rules that apply to most of the golf courses are mentioned below:

1. For Weekdays, you will have to make a booking 4 days in advance for domestic golf courses and 15 days in advance for international golf courses
2. For weekends, you will have to make a booking 10 days in advance for domestic golf courses and 15 days in advance for international golf courses
3. Only green fee is complimentary. The fee for caddy, cart fee or any other charges will be borne by the customer.
4. A cardholder can hold only one confirmed slot per card account at any point of time.
5. The card only waives off the green fee; it should not be regarded as a golf club membership.

• 1 Membership Reward Point for every Rs. 40 spent
• 3X Membership Reward Points on all international spends
• 5X Membership Reward Points on spends at popular brands like Myntra, Apple, Dyson, MakeMyTrip and more through Reward Multiplier
• 1 Membership Reward Point for every Rs. 100 spent on fuel
• 4 additional bonus Membership Reward Points for every Rs. 100 spent on fuel, capped at 5,000 points per month*
• Pay with points or redeem from 500+ options on the Reward Redemption Portal

*Transactions applicable for bonus Membership Reward Points will be approved by American Express. Note: Insurance and utility spends are not eligible for earning Membership Reward Points.

Membership Reward Points Redemption

Cardholders can redeem Membership Reward Points against products, vouchers or travel bookings through American Express’ Rewards Catalogue at a value of 1 MR Point = Rs. 0.25. Besides this, cardholders can also transfer Membership Reward Point into airlines and hotel loyalty programs as per the below details:

Note: You can also use your Membership Rewards® Points to pay for your card charges.

American Express® Platinum Card offers a much lower reward rate in comparison to other premium cards like Axis Reserve and HDFC Infinia. Since this card is also a part of their Membership Rewards Program, it gives the same redemption value of Rs. 0.25 for each point, which is quite low for a super-premium credit card, especially considering that you get only 1 point per Rs. 40 spent. For example, the redemption value for Axis Reserve is also quite low at 0.20 per reward point. However, the card makes up for it in the form of a better earning rate of 15 points per Rs. 200. On this American Express card, both earning and redemption rates are low. Hence, rewards program is not the best feature of this card. Cardholders who plan to transfer reward points into air miles can still fetch decent value, as the card offers 2:1 redemption with popular carriers like Singapore Airlines, British Airways, Qatar Airways, etc. Transferring to Marriott Bonvoy Points provides the highest redemption value of 1:1.

On spending Rs. 1 Lakh, users will earn reward points as shown in the table above. Now, let us see what you can get on redeeming these rewards:

While reward points are not the sole criteria for comparing super premium cards, they do give a basic idea of how much value users can earn on their spends. When compared to premium cards like Axis Reserve or HDFC Infinia, the American Express® Platinum Card falls behind due to its comparatively lower reward rate. Additionally, its point-to-mile conversion ratio of 2:1 is quite low, especially considering the card’s annual fee of Rs. 66,000. On the other hand, HDFC Infinia stands out with a 1:1 point-to-mile conversion ratio, and though Axis Reserve offers a 5:2 point-to-mile conversion ratio, it compensates for this by offering the highest reward earning rate (7.5%) among these cards.

• Access to pre-sale tickets of VIP-only events and experiences, such as house for concerts, fashion weeks, Grammy awards, etc.
• Instant cashback, up to Rs. 8,000 on Apple products on shopping via Apple stores or website
• Up to 50% off at premium restaurants with complimentary EazyDiner Prime Membership along with other benefits, including complimentary drink, preferential reservations & 24×7 VIP helpline
• Complimentary golf games and lessons every year at 30+ golf courses in India and over 50 international golf courses across the world
• 24×7 concierge services for last minute reservations, assistance regarding visa and much more
• Travel insurance of up to Rs. 5 Crore as per the below details:
  • Air accident cover: Rs. 5 Crore
  • Overseas medical insurance: US $50,000
  • Protection against loss or damage of goods within 90 days of purchase

Though American Express® Platinum Card charges a very high annual fee of Rs. 66,000, users who smartly use the card and make the most of its benefits can derive much better value than what they pay. Interestingly, it is one of the few cards that provide better savings through the additional features than its rewards program. Since this is a charge card, it does not come with a pre-set credit limit, offering a higher purchasing power to the users. You should consider getting this card if:

• You frequently travel overseas
• You often stay at 5-star properties and would like to save on this expense
• You are a high-spender and would prefer a charge card with no pre-set credit limit
• You can easily utilize the airline and hotel benefits several times in a year to compensate the high annual fee
• You are ready to pay a high annual fee for an exclusive set of benefits
• You are a high spender and will be able to earn substantial reward points