American Express Platinum/Black Card

[NBCNewsGuy]

Hi Guys,

 

I just got off the phone with American Express Platinum and Black Card Travel and they told me as of two weeks ago Royal Caribbean has signed on to the cruise privileges program.

 

This means if you pay with your American Express Platinum/Black Card you get a 300 dollar on-board credit, double membership rewards points, free dinner one night in a specialty restaurant and a bottle of wine when you arrive on board.

 

This was the case with most other luxury cruise lines such as Celebrity, Cunard, Holland Etc.... So it was a welcome surprise... I can not find anything online yet - as my travel agent said it just started on Oct 15th.

 

The annual fee for the card is 450.00 dollars a year, however, it is worth it if you cruise many times a year... I have already earned more than 1500 in on board credit alone this year by using my card - not to mention the upgrades...

[PH8]

Very nice.......not that I have one of those,but what great perks..

[Elizanessie]

Hi Guys,

 

I just got off the phone with American Express Platinum and Black Card Travel and they told me as of two weeks ago Royal Caribbean has signed on to the cruise privileges program.

 

This means if you pay with your American Express Platinum/Black Card you get a 300 dollar on-board credit, double membership rewards points, free dinner one night in a specialty restaurant and a bottle of wine when you arrive on board.

 

Thanks for this great news :D

[PLEIKU68]

Hi Guys,

 

I just got off the phone with American Express Platinum and Black Card Travel and they told me as of two weeks ago Royal Caribbean has signed on to the cruise privileges program.

 

This means if you pay with your American Express Platinum/Black Card you get a 300 dollar on-board credit, double membership rewards points, free dinner one night in a specialty restaurant and a bottle of wine when you arrive on board.

 

This was the case with most other luxury cruise lines such as Celebrity, Cunard, Holland Etc.... So it was a welcome surprise... I can not find anything online yet - as my travel agent said it just started on Oct 15th.

 

The annual fee for the card is 450.00 dollars a year, however, it is worth it if you cruise many times a year... I have already earned more than 1500 in on board credit alone this year by using my card - not to mention the upgrades...

 

 

 

Is the $300 on board credit in addition to the balcony discount or do you have to select one or the other:)

[Nickles]

Nice ... I booked this trip on my MC, but I will keep that in mind for the next trip.

[Tony O]

The black card is by invitation only. If you are selected you must have stellar credit,charge at least $250,000 a year pay the initial $5000 initiation fee and the $2500 yearly fee. I think I'll pass in the black card and stick with my gold

[Ashland]

The black card is by invitation only. If you are selected you must have stellar credit,charge at least $250,000 a year pay the initial $5000 initiation fee and the $2500 yearly fee. I think I'll pass in the black card and stick with my gold

Invitation was nice...but I'll stick to Gold too..;)

[PH8]

The black card is by invitation only. If you are selected you must have stellar credit,charge at least $250,000 a year pay the initial $5000 initiation fee and the $2500 yearly fee. I think I'll pass in the black card and stick with my gold

:eek::eek: No wonder I dont have one........:eek::eek:

[Syran]

Is this for any platinum, or just a specific one? Have a skymiles platinum. Does the entire cruise have to be booked with it?

[hawkfish]

Is this for any platinum, or just a specific one? Have a skymiles platinum. Does the entire cruise have to be booked with it?

 

I'd be curious as well. I'm guessing you have to book through their travel agency. But if not, I just finished paying for our January cruise with my Amex, and these would be some awesome perks to pick up.

[jsmeeker]

The black card is by invitation only. If you are selected you must have stellar credit,charge at least $250,000 a year pay the initial $5000 initiation fee and the $2500 yearly fee. I think I'll pass in the black card and stick with my gold

 

But the Platinum card is a lot easier to get. And the fee is a lot lower. Not CHEAP, but the $300 on board credit helps off set it. Maybe entirely? I dunno w hat the fee is, but it's gotta be around $300-$500 I would think.

[NBCNewsGuy]

Black Is by invatation only - however, Platinum is not - however, I would imagine you would have to have somewhat decent credit to get it.

 

On previous cruises that I have booked through Expedia, they were able to just add the perks to my reservation without going through American Express Platinum Travel.

 

The cruise program is only for truly American Express Cards... If you are not paying the 450 dollar annunal fee then you most likely do not have the right card.

 

I am waiting for someone from American Express to get back to me on all the rules - I will post them when I get them.

 

Here is an example of how I justify the 450 dollar annual fee -

 

I am booked on the Celebrity Sillhoutte on Jan 5th. I booked into a C3 catergory for around 3100 - because I had an Amex Plat Card I got an automatic upgrade to a C1 aft balcony at time of booking. The price diffrence was around 1,000 dollars.

 

I also got the other perks, such as dinner in one of the specialty restaurants, onboard credit and a bottle of wine.

 

This was all booked with Expedia using my card. - So in one cruise, it paid off the cost - and these are just the benefits on the cruise program. They offer so many other perks as well.

 

I take about 6 cruises a year - so for me it is worth it

 

here is a link to see what perks on cruises.

 

https://www295.americanexpress.com/cards/platinum/benefit.do?benefitTemplate=template_c&benefitId=3

 

Ryan

[jsmeeker]

If you have a standard Amex Green card, getting an invite to gold or platinum has mostly to do with the amount of money you charge to the card. Charge enough and be in good standing, they will offer you gold or platinum. Not sure if you can go from nothing straight to Gold or Platinum, but really, it's not really out of reach. You don't even need to make a ton of money or have a lot of net worth.

[hawkfish]

I've always justified to annual fee with the travel insurance, buyer's protection services plus the admission to the airline lounges. But this perk would make the fee a no-brained.

 

Did you just make the reservation for 1/5/12?

[NYCrews]

I have the platinum card and have been debating about renewing due to the fee. But I take a few cruises a year, usually with Royal Caribbean, so this new benefit might make a big difference. I usually book with a travel agent, so I'll be very curious to see if I can still book with her or how this whole thing works. Can this be combined with a Diamond Plus balcony discount? An onboard booking? etc. Looking forward to details...

[Dr. Pam]

This is fantastic news! I DID pay for our upcoming cruise on the Oasis with my Platinum Amex. And I agree with poster who stated that you can combine the Amex privileges with a travel agency. This past summer I was on the Celebrity Equinox in the Med. I made my booking with my fav online agency and they contacted Amex and I enjoyed the extra perks.

I will definitely be talking to my agency tomorrow about extending those excellant perks!

Here's to CRUISECRITIC......always a great source of info!

[Mademypoint]

I had the platinum and kept it until this year because without my husband there is very little travel I do and the main reason I had it was the airport lounge and the partnership with Continental. That partnership is no longer in effect so without a single useful perk it was not worth it. It's worth noting that Continental went with their own version of that card for a bit less money and I suspect if it's successful they won't go back to partnering with amex, but if it's not they might.

 

I got the gold membership rewards card and those points came in handy for my most recent cruise as amex will let you "'pay with points".

 

Amex also got rid of the traveler's cheques and money exchange program which was another perk I liked. Being able to order currency before leaving to Europe was great but they don't do that anymore.

[Cshgrand]

Well I nearly fell off my chair with excitement when I googled this and found out it's the same for us here in the uk!

I have a virgin Atlantic Amex black issued by morgan stanley at the mo but will be making a call to Amex today to apply for platinum as these benefits are FAR superior.

[Elizanessie]

I have just called Amex UK Platinum desk and they said the booking has to be made through American Express Travel.

 

It is available for UK Cruisers and yes you get the perks when booking a RCCL cruise.

[PLEIKU68]

OK, I get it that the perks are great but no one has advised if the perks are cominable with the balcony discount that D+ receive. Can anyone answer this ? :):)

[Phillies14]

But the Platinum card is a lot easier to get. And the fee is a lot lower. Not CHEAP, but the $300 on board credit helps off set it. Maybe entirely? I dunno w hat the fee is, but it's gotta be around $300-$500 I would think.

The fee for the Amex Platinum card if you qualify is 450.00 per year.:)

[LovesCruising]

OK, I get it that the perks are great but no one has advised if the perks are cominable with the balcony discount that D+ receive. Can anyone answer this ? :):)

 

I dont' think combining these perks is a problem. The balconydiscount that D+ receive comes from Royal Caribbeans C & A program - the Amex perks come from American Express.

[silentbob007]

Is this for any platinum, or just a specific one? Have a skymiles platinum. Does the entire cruise have to be booked with it?

 

I think it has to be a Centurion Platinum. In other words, not a Platinum associated with any other brand besides AMEX.

[Nickles]

The fee for the Amex Platinum card if you qualify is 450.00 per year.:)

 

Not true. I have an AMEX Costco Platinum Card and it doesn't have an annual fee. Plus you get a rebate at the end of the year that you can use towards any purchase at Costco. I've had this card for over 5 years.

[jsmeeker]

Not true. I have an AMEX Costco Platinum Card and it doesn't have an annual fee. Plus you get a rebate at the end of the year that you can use towards any purchase at Costco. I've had this card for over 5 years.

 

It's not the same card as the real Amex Platinum charge card. You get a totally seperate set of benefits.