American Express Platinum/Black Card

[gcuecruise]

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.

 

 

But you have to charge $250K per year? That sounds like a ton of money to me.

[jsmeeker]

But you have to charge $250K per year? That sounds like a ton of money to me.

 

I don't think you have to charge 250k to it. I never came close to that. Not even a $100k. Not even 50k. Not even 25k. I got an invite several times.

 

But that was a few years ago.

[Missus Makkem]

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.

 

Well they must be employed by the agent that employs RCI staff as that is not what they told us 10 mins ago as it is not applicable to UK residents.

Different answer every time me thinks.

[Elizanessie]

Well they must be employed by the agent that employs RCI staff as that is not what they told us 10 mins ago as it is not applicable to UK residents.

Different answer every time me thinks.

 

You have to speak to someone in the Platinum travel dept...not the Amex travel dept. I spoke to lady called Jan and she confirmed that yes RCCL are part of the Program.

[Nickles]

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

 

 

Oh, the charge card ... gotcha. Would be nice if they extended that to the regular AMEX Platinum credit card customers.

[jsmeeker]

Oh, the charge card ... gotcha. Would be nice if they extended that to the regular AMEX Platinum credit card customers.

 

Yeah.. The "classic" Amex charge cards are treated a lot differently than all the various partner/affiliate credit cards.

 

remember, the classic charge cards have a annual fee that can be quite high. $55 for the green. Earlier, it was reported Platinum is $450. I wouldn't expect to see them giving out he same benefts to people who have Platinum colored cards that aren't paying very large annual fees.

[Tamerella]

Here is some info I saw on it:

 

Platinum Cruise Privileges Program

We are pleased to announce the addition of two new Preferred Cruise Suppliers to the Platinum Cruise Privileges Program: Royal Caribbean International and Oceania Cruises. The addition of these new cruise lines brings the number of Cruise Privileges partners to a total of 14 and further enhances the value that CTN provides to our Platinum and Centurion Card members.

Royal Caribbean International has 22 ships and specializes in providing innovative travel experiences to 280 ports in 81 countries. Royal Caribbean’s benefits will be applicable on new bookings as of October 15, 2011, for sailing November 1, 2011 to December 31, 2013 and include the following:

• Two Category Upgrade or up to $300 shipboard credit per stateroom (depending on ship and category booked);

• Dinner for two in a specialty restaurant; and

• Bottle of premium champagne.

[Babyberger]

For those of us who don't travel for business (or pleasure) often, and only cruise once a year, I don't see the benefit. We have a few AmEx cards, both personal and business and are pre-approved for a Platinum but have never accepted due to the annual fee. So of course when I saw this thread I started doing the math and for us personally it does not make sense. We use the BoA RCI visa for all our personal spending and pay it off every month, no annually fee, and double points on everything RCI, we even got triple points last year for on-board spending. We also use a TA that gives us an OBC.

 

Am I missing another benefit that would make this worth it for me?

[Elizanessie]

Am I missing another benefit that would make this worth it for me?

 

For me personally the free travel insurance is a big plus with the Platinum charge card..infact I had to do a claim on it recently when I had to cancel a cruise which final payment had been made on...no worries ..it was sorted out very quickly. :D

[Elizanessie]

Here is some info I saw on it:

 

Platinum Cruise Privileges Program

We are pleased to announce the addition of two new Preferred Cruise Suppliers to the Platinum Cruise Privileges Program: Royal Caribbean International and Oceania Cruises. The addition of these new cruise lines brings the number of Cruise Privileges partners to a total of 14 and further enhances the value that CTN provides to our Platinum and Centurion Card members.

Royal Caribbean International has 22 ships and specializes in providing innovative travel experiences to 280 ports in 81 countries. Royal Caribbean’s benefits will be applicable on new bookings as of October 15, 2011, for sailing November 1, 2011 to December 31, 2013 and include the following:

• Two Category Upgrade or up to $300 shipboard credit per stateroom (depending on ship and category booked);

• Dinner for two in a specialty restaurant; and

• Bottle of premium champagne.

 

 

Thank you for posting this info :D

[nelblu]

I'll stick to my free Fidelity Amex card that provides me 2% cash back on all purchases. Right now thru end of year earn 5% on purchases at book, toy, electronic, sporting goods & department stores.:D:D

[jsmeeker]

For those of us who don't travel for business (or pleasure) often, and only cruise once a year, I don't see the benefit. We have a few AmEx cards, both personal and business and are pre-approved for a Platinum but have never accepted due to the annual fee. So of course when I saw this thread I started doing the math and for us personally it does not make sense. We use the BoA RCI visa for all our personal spending and pay it off every month, no annually fee, and double points on everything RCI, we even got triple points last year for on-board spending. We also use a TA that gives us an OBC.

 

Am I missing another benefit that would make this worth it for me?

 

If you dont travel much to begin with, then the Platinum benefits (not just the cruies ones, but ALL of them) may be tough to realize.

 

But if you DO travel a lot, and tend to stay in higher end hotels AND you like to cruise, then the cruise benefits for RCI could push things over the edge and make it worth it.

[Babyberger]

For me personally the free travel insurance is a big plus with the Platinum charge card..infact I had to do a claim on it recently when I had to cancel a cruise which final payment had been made on...no worries ..it was sorted out very quickly. :D

 

Okay this helps, I guess I didn't realize there was free travel insurance. Considering I paid $473 for our travel insurance policy for our upcoming Allure sailing, that would have paid for the annual fee right there. Okay, I need to keep doing the math ;)

 

Also, how is the OBC calculated? I noticed it depends on ship and sailing.

[Elizanessie]

Okay this helps, I guess I didn't realize there was free travel insurance. Considering I paid $473 for our travel insurance policy for our upcoming Allure sailing, that would have paid for the annual fee right there. Okay, I need to keep doing the math ;)

 

Also, how is the OBC calculated? I noticed it depends on ship and sailing.

 

Sorry don't know how the OBC is calculated but with regards to the travel insurance ...the main card holder can nominate a supplementary platinum card holder on the same account and I think up to 4 gold cards also (this was the case when our family started with the card 20 odd years ago) on the same account.

 

So for example..My mum and I are Platinum and my brother and sister in law both have the supplementary gold cards and their children are covered also by the insurance also when they travel together.

 

I don't know though if it is the same in the US but I think so.

[SusieV]

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

 

Don't forget to come join our roll call!

 

Apparently the cruise perks don't apply to Canadian Amex Platinum cards. Very frustrating.

[CannonFodder]

Okay this helps, I guess I didn't realize there was free travel insurance. Considering I paid $473 for our travel insurance policy for our upcoming Allure sailing, that would have paid for the annual fee right there. Okay, I need to keep doing the math ;)

 

Also, how is the OBC calculated? I noticed it depends on ship and sailing.

 

Better double check with regard to "free" travel insurance for US cardholders with the Amex Platinum card. I just checked, and I see Car Rental Insurance, Travel Accident Insurance (Accidental Death/Dismemberment), and Baggage Insurance, but no comprehensive plan. They have Travel Delay insurance available, but it is charged per trip. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong. Also, I don't know what the benefits are for residents of other countries, and those may be different.

 

This is not to say that the benefits aren't worth it. Far from it. If you travel a lot, the airport access benefits alone can justify the annual fee. However, the travel insurance benefits don't justify the annual fee IMHO, at least not for US cardholders.

[CruisinGerman]

Dear friends:

 

We have the black (Centurion) card issued by Amex Spain. The membership fee is 2,000 euros per year. If you cruise and travel very often, then it is worth it. Otherwise, it is not. Apart from the new purported benefit from RCCL (I have not seen the announcement yet), you get 500 dollar onboard credit and a bottle of Dom Perignon each time you take a Silversea Cruise, as well as similar benefits on other cruise lines. You get elite status at several hotel chains. The travel insurance used to be fantastic -- last year the benefits started to erode.

 

Two years ago we landed in New York for business meetings and our luggage did not make it. Through the included travel insurance, we were able to purchase Armani suits, toiletries and other items to be able to attend our business meetings and it was all paid for in full by the Amex travel insurance. The travel insurance used to apply even if you didn't purchase the trip on the card -- now you must purchase the trip on the card.

 

Other services advertised with this card are totally marketing b-s. For example, they tell you that with this card you can get a department store to open for you in any major city at 3 in the morning, or you can get a personal appointment with J.K. Rowling and have her sign your Harry Potter book. We couldn't even get them to successfully obtain Shakira concert tickets for us in Madrid -- yet we went to the local department store and bought them there with no problem.

 

Their restaurant reservation service in major cities such as New York, Paris, London is excellent. They can basically get you into any hard-to-reserve restaurant. In other cities, it does not work very well. They have an excellent service in the U.S. to get you theatre tickets on Broadway and the like. Try calling Amex Spain because you want theatre tickets for your upcoming trip to New York and the service is an absolute nightmare.

 

Once you get over the wow factor of having this card, you realize that in this day and age, it is probably not a good idea to have attention directed at you in public places such as large stores. So we actually use a gold or platinum card (tied to the same account) for spending in public places. You get several supplementary cards that you can issue to any number of family members or business associates at no additional charge.

 

The metal titanium card goes off sometimes in the metal detectors and it is awkward to have to show the airport personnel your wallet and the black card.

 

At the beginning the card was definitely worth it. The travel insurance applied even if the trip was not paid for on the card, and you could get the cruise benefits even if you didn't pay for the cruise on the card (which allowed you to find the best deal and then get the benefits on top of that deal). Nowadays, the travel insurance only applies to purchases on the card, and the official policy (I say official because I do know that it can be bent) is that you have to book the cruise through Amex travel or at least pay for it with the card at another agency (they are trying to make it exclusive with Amex travel but are having a hard time doing so).

 

In some countries the card costs more, and in others the card costs less. So you really have to evaluate whether it is worth it for you to have this type of card. It is marketed to frequent travelers and businesspeople, so if you only cruise or travel once a year, then this type of card is probably not for you.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[CFIGuy]

Anyone know the specifics of when the category upgrade applies versus the on board credit? And if the specialty dinner for 2 & sparkling wing is included in all bookings?

 

The reason I ask is because I almost booked a Princess Cruise through Platinum Travel Services a few years ago. They offered a 2 category upgrade and specialty dinner for 2 only. Booked instead through an online agency, and they upgraded to the highest category in that group - same price. Plus they discounted the fare, and gave a small on board credit. So, Platinum Travel Services was not the best deal. I believe on Princess, the $300 credit is only for booking full suites (Junior Suites excluded).

[skeezix]

Had all levels of Amex gold , platinum, blue, optima, and the invite for black. Honestly Amex has lost our interest due to them being unable to support our use, more than once we have tried to use the card within 300 miles of our home only to be embarassed at Nordstrom, or at a gas station being unable to fill up our motorhome while in our own state. After the 3rd time of having to speak to their fraud department while spending a couple hundred we called and cancelled all of our cards with them. No amount of onboard credit is worth having to ask "permission " to spend money. By the way we have and always have had excellent credit so that is not the issue. They just don't want to have to cover fraudulent charges so embarrassing their card holders is okay by them. Just our reason for not giving them our money.

[RLM77]

I took a look at the summary Platinum Card benefits as enumerated on the Amex web site. The only mention I saw of travel insurance was for accidental death and dismemberment. Hardly the comprehensive travel policy we typically buy -- one that includes trip cancellation/interruption plus offshore medical coverage plus medical evacuation.

 

 

Does anyone know if the insurance benefits are only offered if you book through American Express travel? In other words, no insurance if you book through another TA but pay with the Platinum Card?

 

 

Also, can anyone speak to the OBC's offered on Celebrity for 7 night cruise in a balcony cabin? The RCI benefit might be similar. In any case, it gives folks a benchmark.

 

 

Thanks for any help you can provide.

[CruisinGerman]

Lynda is absolutely right about the fraud alerts.

 

If we are in our home country (Spain), practically any charge goes through, no questions ask, even for extremely high amounts.

 

Once we went to South America and tried to spend about 40 dollars in a restaurant and the charge was referred for possible fraud. You have to call them, identify yourself and then they turn your card back on.

 

It is quite embarrassing and other issuers handle this matter much better.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[Richiebaseball]

The Cruise Privileges Program (CPP) is not available to co-branded American Express cards like the Delta AMEX or Starwood AMEX.

And you do not have to book through American Express. You can book with your regular travel agent and they would need to call the CPP department to obtain a tracking number which they would then provide to Royal Caribbean.

I believe the onboard credit amount for Celebrity for a 7 night cruise is $50 for an inside/outside, $100 for a balcony, and $300 for a full suite.

And the benefit is typically not combinable with other promotions and benefits like shareholder credit, Crown & Anchor balcony discounts, etc.

 

This is another "perk" arrow in the Royal Caribbean quiver however you can still only shoot one arrow at a time.

[north29]

I believe the onboard credit amount for Celebrity for a 7 night cruise is $50 for an inside/outside, $100 for a balcony, and $300 for a full suite.

And the benefit is typically not combinable with other promotions and benefits like shareholder credit, Crown & Anchor balcony discounts, etc.

 

This is another "perk" arrow in the Royal Caribbean quiver however you can still only shoot one arrow at a time.

 

Heck, I get the OBC with my RCI stock so buy 100 shares for about $2900, I wonder if the AMEX perks are really combinable with other D level offers. I would love the travel insurance, but it does not look like it covers necessary cancelations. For me, I will keep my RC BA visa card, and look for other ways to save on trips through TA offers which are combinable.

[hawkfish]

Interestingly enough, the US Amex site does not yet have RCCL listed as an option when searching for cruises under the Cruise Privileges Program. Just Celebrity.

[kuddles14]

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...

We get points with our AE Gold Card. I wonder if they might do something with the gold card privildges maybe on a little lesser scale. It would be nice to be able to use my reward points for a cruise or OBC with RCCL. I will have to keep my eyes and ears open on this one.