24th July 2020

American Express Platinum (India)

At ₹60,000 a year, this card is certainly not cheap. In fact, it is the most expensive publicly available credit card in India. We have put our big heads together in this article to understand why this card so expensive, and whether it is worth the eye watering annual fee.

Before we continue, I would like to add a disclaimer that we are not sponsored by American Express, or any of it’s competitors, and the views specified below are strictly our own, and the value we place to each benefit is based on our own understanding.

Stating this card is a credit card is slightly misleading since it is a charge card. A charge card has no pre-set spending limit. This is not however a free for all. American Express has internally set a limit to spending based on the user’s spending habits, and may increase the limits based on the user’s relationship with the bank, spending habits, payment history etc. You will also need to pay off the entire amount stated in the monthly statement. Our guiding principle is always to pay off the entire statement amount irrespective of whether it’s a credit or a charge card.

The Platinum card has a host of benefits on offer, and AMEX hopes that it is able to convince prospective users that the card provides more value than it charges in terms of annual fee. We have tried to break down each benefit, and have tried to place a monetary value to each benefit. At the end of this article we will tally up the value to see if that card is actually worth it, or if India is not yet ready for this card.

WELCOME BONUS

AMEX currently offers 100,000 bonus Membership rewards points or ₹45,000 worth hotel vouchers at a select range of Taj group of hotels. We believe the Membership points are more valuable and gives you a wider range of redemption opportunities.

To understand the monetary value of a membership point, we will now look at how much a Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer mile is worth, and work backwards to understand the value of the bonus points.

As on today, a Bengaluru - Singapore round trip economy plane ticket costs ₹33,924. The same ticket can be bought using 37,000 KrisFlyer miles. Similarly the trip costs ₹156,900 in business class or 168,000 points. In both cases 1 KrisFlyer mile = ₹0.92.

Now for the bonus points

• 100,000 bonus points = 50,000 KrisFlyer miles (2:1 transfer ratio)

• 50,000 KrisFlyer miles = ₹46,696 (can be improved buying off peak tickets, sales etc)

We see that a huge chunk of the first year’s annual fee is offset using the bonus points alone. However, this won’t be the case for the second year onward.

Hotel Benefits

We believe the real power of the Platinum card is with AMEX’s tie ups with the large hotel chains and the ability to provide elite statuses in each of these chains without fulfilling the required nights. Ability to get a one class upgrade (many bloggers report booking the room with the minimum fee and getting upgraded to a suite), free breakfast, complimentary wine, and through AMEX’s chain of Fine Hotels and Resorts and Hotel Collection, the ability to get cash back to be spent in the hotel during the stay.

An unfortunate omission is membership towards the ACCOR group of hotels (Ibis, Novotel etc.) a perk which is offered overseas.

Taj inner circle

The OG luxury hotel chain in India before the arrival of chains from abroad. Taj has been able to maintain the level of sophistication and luxury but at the same time is able to not be too far out of reach from the common man.

The Taj InnerCircle Silver status is offered as a benefit with this card which doesn’t offer much apart from 10% off at the chain’s properties and late check out subject to availability. Normally a spend of ₹100,000 in a year is required to attain silver status.

To value this benefit, we would need to consider the odds that a user was actually willing to work towards getting a Silver membership anyway. With that in mind, we apply a 25% valuation to the total spend required to achieve the membership. There’s a additional perk built in which can bring up the membership to Gold status which we’ll get to in a while.

We value this benefit at 25% of ₹100,000 = ₹25,000

HILTON HONORS

A reputed chain worldwide with multiple properties whichever country you choose. DoubleTree properties also provide a more affordable option even for lengthy stays. Hilton Honors members rates are typically lower than normal. The Elite Gold status offered as a benefit here offers Late Check out, complimentary breakfast, 5th night free towards rewards booking and a higher points earn rate.

You would normally require to accrue 40 nights in a year to jump to Gold status, and for the sake of valuation we consider an average rate of ₹3,900 at a 25% valuation.

We value this benefit at 25% of (40 nights * ₹3,900) = ₹39,000

Marriott Bonvoy

Another robust worldwide chain giving you access to multiple luxury brands like Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Sheraton and at the same time allowing you to start small with brands like Courtyard, Four points etc. The AMEX Platinum offers Gold Elite as the default membership tier which works similar to the Hilton Honors membership. Members get late check out, reservation guarantee and one class upgrade limited to availability.

25 nights are required normally to graduate to Gold Elite status and for the sake of valuation we consider an average rate of ₹4,000 at a 25% valuation.

We value this benefit at 25% of (25 nights * ₹4,000) = ₹25,000

RADISSON REWARDS

Yet another chain which offers properties around the world, though limited in the palette of brands on offer. Gold Status offered has the same standard benefits of early check in, late check out, one class complimentary upgrade. Free breakfast however, is reserved only on the Platinum tier.

30 nights are required normally to graduate to Gold status and for the sake of valuation we consider an average rate of ₹4,000 at a 25% valuation.

We value this benefit at 25% of (30 nights * ₹4,000) = ₹30,000

Shangri-la Golden Circle

The Shangri-la hotel chain does not have the breadth of properties as the others mentioned above. Multiple properties in mainland China, a few strewn around across tourist hotspots around the world more or less cover it. Australia has only two properties with a third one coming up in Melbourne at the end of 2020. It is to be noted that they do not have any properties in the USA.

20 nights are required normally to graduate to Gold Elite status and for the sake of valuation we consider an average rate of ₹10,000 at a 25% valuation.

We value this benefit at 25% of (20 nights * ₹10,000) = ₹50,000.

However, we value the Jade membership at the Shangri-la Golden Circle higher due to it’s partnerships with the Taj InnerCircle. Now, even though the AMEX Platinum only offers Taj InnerCircle Silver status, through the Shangri-la Golden Circle Jade tier, one can activate Gold Status on InnerCircle. With benefits like 15% off on redemptions, early check in, and room upgrades, the Gold status finally starts to pull its weight.

An additions spend of ₹300,000 on top of the Silver status are required normally to graduate to Gold status. At a 25% valuation, the value of this additional benefit should be tacked on to the value of the Shangri-la Golden Circle benefit.

We value this benefit at 25% of ₹300,000 = ₹75,000

A more substantial benefit which the Golden Circle Jade membership offers is the status match to Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer Silver status. The Silver status offers 25% bonus miles on miles flown with Singapore Airlines, complimentary seat selection and priority reservation waitlist. Though the benefits list isn’t substantial, there exists an easy way to upgrade to Gold Status for the first year. All you have to do, is to take 3 more flights on Singapore airlines within four months of status match. This can be different sectors as well. Therefore, a Bangalore - Bali flight which has a stopover at Singapore also works to fulfill the criteria.

The KrisFlyer Gold status offers benefits like Priority Security and Immigration, Priority Boarding, Lounge Access, and extra baggage allowance. Once the year is up, standard Krisflyer criteria are required to maintain Gold status.

To estimate a value for the Krisflyer Silver Status we will need to evaluate the Krisflyer Airmiles.

An economy Bangalore - Singapore round trip ticket costs ₹33,924. Business and First class tickets have a higher points earn ratio, but we will look at the most common case here. For the flight above, miles earned are 1479 which equates to ₹22.94 per mile. Silver status on Krisflyer requires 25,000 miles which by the current valuation of miles equates to a whopping ₹573,428. Assuming a 12.5% probability of flying anywhere in one year with specifically Singapore airlines, we will again need to add on this value to the Shangri-la Golden Circle benefit’s valuation.

We value this benefit at 12.5% of ₹573,428 = ₹71,678

AIRPORT Lounge Access

We value the host of airport lounge access privileges on this card quite highly. Whether it is at arrival, departure, layover, or during flight delays airport lounges give you access to a place to refresh and rejuvenate. Airport Lounges also provide access to fresh showers, free food and beverages, coffee and a place to work with free premium wifi. They also have access to a printer if you are person who needs to get something printed…… at an airport.

The AMEX platinum card provides you complimentary access to priority pass lounges and also American Express and Centurion lounges and Plaza Premium lounges. Delta and Lufthansa lounges are also included for good measure if you do fly with these airlines a lot.

The priority pass membership for 10 complimentary visits retails at USD 299 which works out to a valuation at 25% of around ₹5,826. The American Express and Centurion lounges are more exclusive and though we really struggle to put a monetary value of these, we narrowed down to USD 50 per visit which is the charge for an additional guest. Assuming 10 visits in a year, and at a 25% valuation we value this benefit at ₹8,907. The other lounges can be valued differently if required which we have ignored.

Other benefits

We feel like we have only scratched the surface when it comes to benefits provided by the AMEX Platinum card. A host of other benefits are listed below which eventually will also add to the total value of the card, but are too specific to certain users’ needs. We have listed them listed below

• Etihad Upgrade from Business to First class

• Fine Hotels and Resorts / Hotel Collection

• 25% off on Taj Group of hotels

• 50% off on Oberoi group of hotels

• 10-20% off on Air India Business Class Tickets

• 5-15% off on Singapore Airlines tickets

• Travel insurance

• Car Rental Insurance

• Purchase protection

• Extended warranty

To be or not TO be?

it’s a foregone conclusion then. There is a healthy return on investment of ₹317,107 in the first year, and ₹270,411 from the next year onwards.

The benefits far out weigh the annual fee, and if you are a frequent traveler, the AMEX Platinum Charge card makes perfect sense.