In the past year thanks to my Platinum American Express I have earned almost 5 thousand euros
The purpose of our site is to tell the story of how a credit card, if leveraged properly, can [...]
The purpose of our site is to tell the like a credit card, if harnessed properly, can provide a number of advantages and benefits that can be translated into savings, privileges and thus an economic gain Than the investment of the annual fee.
In this article:
There is currently no better credit card in the Italian market of American Express Platinum. Of all the cards available to the public, it is the most expensive, having a monthly fee of 60€, but it is by far the one that returns-even in times of pandemic-the most benefits to holders.
With this article, I want to take stock of the past 12 months of use and draw conclusions about how much I have spent and how much I have gained through daily use.
Costs
Let's start right away with the downside, which is the monthly fee: €60 per month. So 720 € per year.
The cash discounts obtained
We have written a lot of articles who explained how American Express has tried to pamper its users with discounts, promotions, and other small attentions. But let's come to the wallet, the one that matters most to all of us. In April 2020, I contacted the customer service department dedicated to Platinum holders and, after a quick chat, I had been offered a monthly fee refund for 6 months against only three transactions of any value. So annual cost halved to 360.
Then during 2020 there were two promotions on the use of the paper in certain certain categories of large-scale retail and the like. Two offerings that resulted in. a total transfer of 450 of expenses at, for example, Carrefour and PAM. At the beginning of 2021, a similar promotion, worth €250, To be used by mid-July.
This promo is active for all Platinum holders, so if you apply now for the card you can get it too to immediately save the equivalent of 1/3 of the annual fee.
On balance, with just these few activities I have more than eliminated the cost of the annual fee and I am already in profit by 340€.
In addition to these non-standard activities, there were also traditional offers, that is, those that appear in the dedicated section of the app or on the website.
Just to name a few, in recent months I have taken advantage of a promo for shopping done at Fidenza Outlet Village that saved me 40€, one from Tannico that generated a 20€ cashback. I then exploited a 100€ discount for a reservation through the Amex Travel website and took advantage of the discounts provided by Operation Shop Small For another €25.
I then used the 150€ voucher (also on the travel portal) and, I must admit, some promotions I did not take advantage of because they did not always coincide with my needs. On balance, however, with these discounts alone, I am at a positive balance between expenditures (the fee) and income (the discounts obtained) of almost 800€.
The points obtained
Here at TFC we are serial accumulators of punti, personally I am very little attracted to cashback model promotions, but I am much more interested in all the ways to maximize the collecting Membership Rewards points to be turned into free trips and stays around the world.
In June I used a lot of points for Book three tickets to go to Australia, tickets that I unfortunately had to cancel and were refunded. I had booked them by taking advantage of the promotion that doubled the value of MR and so when I received the refund in money, I got double what I had paid in points, With a positive balance of €3,500.
In these months I have accumulated about half a million points Taking full advantage of promotions introduce a friend and accumulating a total of 370k MR points.
In addition to these, there is a promotion I received in March 2021 that allows me to accumulate 15k points/month against 300€ of spending on my card. Having all the bills and the like are charges that would have ended up on the statement anyway, so that grants me another 90k points over the 6-month validity period.
Today I find myself with a balance of nearly 700k points: I could "waste" them by turning them into a statement discount of €2,800, or book 4 tickets to flying business class in the Maldives next Christmas or even on a super vacation to Dubai flying first class with Emirates saving no less than 10,000 euros in tickets. But my dream is to book a ticket to go around the world with my whole family.
Many of these expenses I then maximized by taking advantage of the cPayback point collection oupon, which allows me to use them always in the world of travel.
The benefits obtained
Here perhaps the pandemic was a major influence, but I was still able to take advantage of travel-related benefits quite a bit. Last summer I've been on vacation in Riga And in these months, when it was possible, I did some short vacation in staycation mode in Italy.
I then stayed at numerous Hilton and Marriott group hotels, and between room upgrades, free breakfasts, and other benefits I can quantify in about 400€ the savings obtained.
In conclusion
The purpose of this article is to explain how a "normal" person can achieve a great deal from the American Express Platinum even without spending tens of thousands a month. On balance, I can say. In the past 12 months, my budget is positive by almost €5,000 in addition to the "treasure trove" of Membership points that do not expire and which I can use when the world is back to the way it was.
At this time for all new customers applying for a Platinum card there is a welcome bonus of 25 thousand MR points. If, on the other hand, you want to try a softer approach to the world of reward travel, I recommend you consider theMediolanum's Selfy offer.
