Is the S$1,712 Annual Fee of the American Express Platinum Charge Card Justifiable?
The American Express Platinum Charge Card has non waivable S$1,712 annual fee. There is a suite of benefits and vouchers to be used in each membership year. The card is a lifestyle card and has poor points earning rate.
This article explores the benefits and vouchers associated with the American Express Platinum Charge card and determines if they are worth the S$1,712 annual fee. Valuation of the benefits and vouchers would be based on:
- Fair Value (i.e. face value of the vouchers)
- Conservative Value (i.e. amount that I am willing to pay to consume these benefits)
1. Hotel Stay Benefit
There are 19 participating hotels to choose from for the anniversary hotel stay each year. Participating properties include selected Mandarin Oriental, Banyan Tree and St Regis hotels. There are 2 Singapore based hotels:
- The St Regis Singapore (Executive Deluxe Room)
- Mandarin Oriental Singapore (Deluxe Room Ocean View Room)
Stay would come with breakfast for two, which would be a perfect getaway for couples. Celebrate your special moments or simply take a break from work and/or school.
Both hotels would cost around S$400 online. For a conservative estimate, I have halved the value to S$200 which is around the amount that one might be willing to pay for a night’s stay.
The S$400 lodging credit can be used on hotels listed on the American Express platform. This also includes hotels in The Fine Hotels and Resorts and The Hotel Collection. More on them below.
The 3 Swissotel branded hotels vouchers can be used on weekends (Fri, Sat and Sun). Room rates are S$270++ at Fairmont, S$250++ at Swissotel The Stamford and S$230++ at Swissotel Merchant Court. The stays do not come with breakfast and a reference to online rates suggest that it may be cheaper to book them directly online. As such, I have allocated zero value to these vouchers.
The 5 complimentary room weekend upgrade vouchers can be used at any of the 3 Swissotel properties. Vouchers can only be redeemed once per night. For an optimal upgrade, the vouchers can be used to upgrade to an executive level with lounge access benefits. The vouchers can also be used for an upgraded suite experience. Each upgrade voucher can be fair valued at S$50 value but have been excluded under my conservative estimation.
The suite of benefits vary by region, collection and brand. In general, benefits under the Fine Hotels and Resorts Benefits include:
- Noon check-in when available
- Room upgrade upon arrival when available
- Daily Breakfast for two people
- Guaranteed 4pm late checkout
- In-Room Wi-Fi
- Unique amenity valued at US$100
The unique amenity can range from a general property credit or a specific credit for Spa treatment or Food and Beverage. One of the greatest value of the Fine Hotels and Resorts Benefits is the additional complimentary third or fourth night feature for some hotels. Stack this with the S$400 Lodging Credit for a greater value. There are 6 Singapore hotels with additional complimentary night feature.
Fair valued this benefit at US$200 (S$270) by assuming 2 stays per year. However, the conservative value is assigned a zero value as there are other hotel booking applications available which may also offer such benefits.
Similar to the Fine Hotels and Resort Benefits, The Hotel Collection Benefits will require a minimum 2 nights before providing benefits of a US$100 Hotel credit and Room upgrade upon arrival where available.
Singapore Hotels under the Hotel Collection Benefit include:
- Grand Hyatt Singapore
- Pan Pacific Singapore
- Sofitel So Singapore
- Andaz Singapore
- W Singapore Sentosa Cove
Fair valued this benefit at US$200 (S$270) assuming 2 stays per year while also excluded this in my conservative estimate for the same reasons as the Fine Hotel and Resorts Benefit.
Gain elite status with complimentary upgrades from the following Hotel chains with no minimum stay requirements.
- Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status (Previously Starwood Preferred Guest Gold Elite Status)
- Hilton Honors Gold Status
- Radisson Rewards Gold Status
In general, all 3 statuses provide for early check in, late check out, space available room upgrades and bonus points with the hotel membership. The gem in my opinion is the Hilton Honors Gold Membership which provides daily breakfast for 2 throughout your stay with the chain.
Fair valued this benefit at S$300 with the assumption of 10 nights hotel stays annually for 2 persons and daily breakfasts for 2 would cost S$30. Have excluded this benefit in my conservative estimate.
2. Flight Benefit
The Air Travel Credit can be used to book flights via the Platinum concierge. It can also be used in conjunction with the International Airline Programme which provides discounts for Premium Economy, Business and First class tickets.
Have included the S$400 value in both fair value and conservative estimate.
The Platinum card provides access to the following lounges which have a global collective footprint in 130 countries.
- The Centurion Lounge
- International American Express Lounges
- Priority Pass (Enrolment is required)
- Delta SkyClub
- Plaza Premium The Airport Lounge
Lounges provide a good place to rest before and between flights. Having meals at the Airport lounges also provide cost savings especially in some European countries where meals may be expensive. The value will vary from individuals depending on their frequency of travel.
| Cost per Meal | Number of Trips Annually | Number of People per Trip | Total Savings |
| S$20 | x8 | x1 | S$160 |
| S$20 | x8 | x2 | S$320 |
| S$20 | x8 | x3 | S$480 |
Annual cost savings for quarterly travels of an individual may amount to S$160. If you travel with a partner, that cost savings would double and for a family of 3, that would translate to a savings of S$480 annually. Savings will further increase with greater frequency of travel.
Fair valued this benefit at S$320 on the assumption that me and my travel partner would travel on a quarterly basis (2 short trips and 2 long trips), which may be very feasible in a pre-COVID world. Have excluded this benefit in my conservative estimate as lounge benefits are not unique to the Platinum Charge card and may also be accessed by other annual fee free credit cards.
This programme provides immense value for business and first class frequent flyers travelling with Singapore Airlines, American Airlines, Japan Airlines, British Airways, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Emirates. American Express has estimated average savings of US$150, US$300 and US$600 for Premium Economy, Business and First Class tickets booked through the International Airline Programme.
Fair valued this benefit at S$600 based on the purchase of 2 business class tickets every year. This benefit is excluded from my conservative estimate as not everyone would like to splurge on premium travels.
3. Dining Benefit
There is a set of dining vouchers for selected restaurants in the Tower Club, Violet Oon, Marriott Tangs and JAAN by Kirk Westaway. The vouchers are fair valued at their respective voucher amount. However, the vouchers for JAAN by Kirk Westaway have been excluded from my conservative estimate as the cost of the set meal starts from S$138 per person which would be S$276 for two persons. The high cost may deter some from using them. Vouchers cannot be combined.
Given that a bottle of wine in a restaurant typically cost an average of S$50, the complimentary bottle of wine voucher is fair valued at S$50 each. However, the wine vouchers are not included in my conservative value as any dining discounts may not applicable with the use of the wine vouchers.
The 50% and 25% dining vouchers are fair valued at their respective savings. The 50% discount voucher may provide savings of S$400 assuming S$50 savings each for 8 people. The 25% discount voucher may provide savings of S$50 assuming S$10 savings each for 5 people. Both vouchers are not included in my conservative value as dining discounts could also be accessed via dining platforms such as Eatigo.
One of the best perks of American Express is their Love Dining programme. Lower annual fee cards such as the American Express Platinum Card (S$321) and American Express Platinum Reserve Card (S$535) would also have access to the Love Dining benefit.
The Love Dining Programme partners with both Hotels and Restaurants in providing discount to American Express cardholders. The amount of discount is based on the number of guest. A group of 2 would yield the maximum value.
- 2 persons – 50%
- 3 persons – 35%
- 4 persons – 25%
- 5 to 20 persons – 20%
- 1 person – 15%
Love Dining Hotels
Love Dining Restaurants
Fair valued this benefit at S$200 assuming S$50 savings per dining at one of the partner restaurants, on a quarterly basis. Excluded this value in my conservative estimate as some partner restaurants are also on board dining application like Eatigo which may offer 50% dining discounts.
4. Spa Benefit
In addition to the F&B vouchers, there are also vouchers for Spa treatment.
Fair valued this benefit at S$330 as per the vouchers value. Excluded the vouchers from my conservative value as not everyone would like to top up for the Spa treatments.
Benefits Summary of the American Express Platinum Charge Card
To sum up, the Fair Value computation worth S$4,690 far outweighs the S$1,712 in annual fee of the Platinum Charge card. The conservative estimate of S$1,250 is within striking distance of the S$1,712 annual fee. Let’s look at what else we can recognise below to close the gap.
5. American Express Platinum Reserve Card
One Annual Fee Policy
American Express Platinum Charge cardholders would only need to pay the highest annual fee from among all the American Express cards that they hold. This means that an American Express Platinum Charge cardholder can also hold a Platinum Reserve card at no additional cost while getting access to its welcome vouchers and card benefits. The additional welcome vouchers can provide additional value justification for the Platinum Charge card’s S$1,712 annual fee.
American Express Platinum Reserve Card Key Vouchers
6. Welcome and Renewal Offers of the American Express Platinum Charge Card
For new sign ups of the American Express Platinum Charge card, the current welcome gift is a 48 inch Omnidesk Pro 2020 that is worth S$840. There is also a welcome offer of an additional 75,000 Membership Rewards points for S$20,000 spend in the first 6 months of Card membership. This is on top of the base earn rate of 25,000 points. Assuming 1.8 cents per mile value, the 75,000 Membership Rewards point can be valued at around S$843.
For current American Express Platinum Charge cardholders, the renewal gift is typically 20,000 Membership Rewards point and can be valued at around S$225 assuming 1.8 cents per mile value. This would put our conservative estimate over the S$1,712 annual fee value.
7. Other Benefits Recognition of American Platinum Charge Card
We can definitely get more value if we were to increase the frequency of the benefits utilisation. This may include having more:
- Dinings at Love Dining Hotels and Restaurants
- Meals at the Airport Lounges
- Business class fares booked under the International Airline Programme
- Staycations with complimentary room upgrades and breakfast
- Utilisation of fitness centre at Tower Club where the paid membership subscription is S$155 monthly (S$1,860 annual)
- Parking at Great World City on weekend (Fri, Sat and Sun)
- Recognition of American Express Offers which may be accessible to both Main and Supplementary cardholders. These offers may also be stacked with prevailing offers in store. Example of past offers include:
Final Conclusion
It is worth mentioning that the conservative value is computed after brutal haircut and exclusion of certain benefits. Even with the brutal haircut, the conservative value exceeds the S$1,712 annual fee of the American Express Platinum Charge card.
Get additional Value through Referral
American Express Platinum Charge Card Sign Up
American Express is running a welcome gift for The American Express Platinum Charge card sign up. New members get to receive a 48″ Omnidesk Pro 2020 (worth S$840) upon Annual Fee payment. Get additional 75,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend S$20,000 in the first 6 months of Card Membership. This is on top of the base earn rate of 25,000 points.
Right now, get additional 40,000 Membership Rewards points upon spend of S$5,000 in the first 3 months of Card Membership when you sign up via this referral link. Click here to sign up now.
American Express Platinum Reserve Card Sign Up (Review coming soon!)
There is another new sign up promotion for the Platinum Reserve card. New members get to receive 50,000 Membership Rewards points upon spending S$5,000 within the first 6 months of card approval. Platinum Reserve card members also enjoy a complimentary 3D2N stay on every card membership year at participating Frasers Hospitality properties worldwide.
Right now, get additional 12,000 Membership Rewards points when you sign up via this referral link. Click here to sign up now.
American Express Singapore Airlines Krisflyer Ascend Card Sign Up (Review coming soon!)
Another card to consider is the Krisflyer Ascend Card. New members get to receive a complimentary 1 night stay at Sofitel Singapore Sentosa Resort & Spa, Luxury room with a minimum spend of S$5,000 in the first 3 months, and an additional 10,000 Krisflyer miles.
Right now, get additional S$120 cash back when you spend S$2,000 in the first 3 months of Card Membership after signing up via this referral link. Click here to sign up now.