We’ve reported on multiple sources/rumors indicating that the annual on American Express Platinum will soon increase from $550 to $695, and there’s now a leaked PDF link showing the change along with July 1st as the change date, as rumored. (ht r/amex)
There are numerous new benefits rumored to be coming as well, as outlined in our original post. If you apply today, you’ll lock in the existing $550 annual fee rate, and you should still get all the upcoming additional benefits as well.
Some have speculated AmEx may increase the signup bonus tomorrow along with the other changes. This makes it a difficult decision of whether to signup now or hold off.
Apply for American Express Platinum
There’s currently a terrific signup offer to get 100,000 points with $5,000 spend, plus 10x on gas and supermarkets on up to $15,000 spend. Others are even getting 125,000 points + the same gas/grocery bonus.
I feel like these bonuses are quite generous, and if you can get the 100k/125k + max out the gas/grocery categories it’s probably worth grabbing it now. Even if you won’t use the categories much, I’m not so convinced it’ll go up above 100k/125k, but that makes it harder to decide. Let us know your own thoughts in the comments below.
It could also make sense to signup for a card such as the Schwab American Express Platinum since it typically has a consistent 60,000 points signup bonus and may not be likely to see a change. Schwab Amex Platinum is also rumored to be changing the cashout rate soon from 1.25 to 1.1, making it an interesting option to get now before the change.
Well, I guess now I finally have a reason to get SiriusXM. Woot
Morgan Stanley just updated their CashPlus page to reflect the latest annual fee!
“Get a $695 Annual Engagement Bonus
Eligible Platinum CashPlus clients can get a $695 Annual Engagement Bonus if they have The Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley. Certain Morgan Stanley Debit Cardholders may also qualify7. Terms Apply.”
And the terms for their taxation are also updated to a vague language. The $1,000 spend language has now disappeared.
See page 7 of the PDF here: https://www.morganstanley.com/wealth-disclosures/cashplusaccountdisclosurestatement.pdf
Now the language is “may be required” — which most likely means you won’t get a 1099, but if laws change it is a prep language for doing so.
I wish they had a reduced AF card with a la carte benefits or some other option – most of the benefits are garbage/useless to me. I just want a $300-400 fee with Travel credit, lounge access, etc. Even if I wanted all the other benefits its too much stuff to keep up with. I’m guessing they are expecting a lot of “breakage” with people paying the $695 and not using most of the benefits.
Digital benefit covers only Peacock, The New York Times, Audible, or SiriusXM.
They waited 35 mins after midnight Pacific – now all of the AFs are updated to reflect $695.
Seems like there was a (very) short window to get the new signup offer for the old annual fee.
Indeed… they were waiting for the clock to go past midnight before making the change. I guess they have forgotten Hawaii…
It’s midnight in California and I see the new Platinum page with the new “benefits”, but the annual fee is still listed as $550 interestingly enough, even when I click through to the Rates & Fees fine print. I can also pull up the 100k offer using a referral now, which wasn’t possible when I applied 2 days ago and referrals were only showing 60k.
This 100k offer is slightly different, $6k spend in 6 months and 10x on restaurants and “Shop Small” up to $25k.
Just checked Incognito, and just a regular search brings up a 125k offer, still showing a $550 AF…
$695 everywhere now, even Resy once you click through. Old AF lasted about 30 minutes
Seeing 100k welcome bonus points on Schwab Plat with $550 fees:
https://imgur.com/XEVlfTD
Terms finally loading – 179 CLEAR credit confirmed:
https://www.americanexpress.com/us/credit-cards/card-application/apply/partner/print/personal-card/microsite/dir-onl/msb/morgan-stanley-platinum-card/ep-msb-ms-14
100,000 Membership Rewards Points
To be eligible to earn the 100,000 Membership Rewards points, you must be enrolled in the Membership Rewards program at the time of eligible purchase. 100,000 Membership Rewards points will be credited to your account after you charge a total of $6,000 (the “Threshold Amount”) or more of eligible purchases on your Platinum Card from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley from American Express within the first 6 months of Platinum Card from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley Membership.
Spend also increased by 1k, but not too bad for a 100k bonus.
CLEAR is limited to one benefit per account:
“Purchases by both the Basic Card Member and any Additional Card Members on the Card Account are eligible for statement credits. However, the total amount of statement credits for eligible purchases will not exceed $179 on the Card Account per calendar year.”
The CLEAR credit is also available on the Biz Plat, and also is shown in the New Benefits page after logging in:
“$179 CLEAR Credit
You can earn up to $179 in statement credits per calendar year when you use your Business Platinum Card to pay for your annual CLEAR membership. Enrollment in CLEAR is required. CLEAR memberships automatically renew each year unless canceled and CLEAR will charge the applicable membership fee to the Card CLEAR has on file. American Express has no control over the application and/or approval process for CLEAR, and does not have access to any information provided to CLEAR by the Card Member or by CLEAR to the Card Member. American Express has no liability regarding the CLEAR program. If a Card Member’s application is not approved by CLEAR, CLEAR will refund the charges. If the statement credit benefit has been applied before CLEAR refunds the charges, that statement credit will be reversed. Purchases by both the Basic Card Member and any Additional Card Members on the Card Account are eligible for statement credits. However, the total amount of statement credits for eligible purchases will not exceed $179 on the Card Account per calendar year. For additional information on the CLEAR program, including information regarding membership, eligibility, and for a list of participating locations, as well as the full terms and conditions of the program, please go to http://www.clearme.com. The CLEAR program is subject to change, and American Express has no control over those changes. Please allow up to 2-4 weeks after a qualifying CLEAR transaction is charged to your Card Account for the statement credit to be posted to the Account. American Express relies on accurate transaction data to identify eligible CLEAR purchases. If you do not see a credit for a qualifying purchase on your eligible Card after 4 weeks, please call the number on the back of your Card. Card Members remain responsible for timely payment of all CLEAR charges. To be eligible for this benefit, your Card account must not be cancelled or past due at the time of statement credit fulfillment. If a charge for an eligible purchase is included in a Pay Over Time feature balance on your Card Account, the statement credit associated with that charge may not be applied to that Pay Over Time feature balance. Instead, the statement credit may be applied to your Pay In Full balance. For additional information, call the number on the back of your Card.”
Equinox landing page is live, platinum.equinox.com
Looks like it’s parceled out at $25 a month
Benefits are live. If you have multiple Platinum cards already you are making off like a bandit with the travel credit.
William Charles