American Express is continuing to slim down the value proposition of their cards. First, we learned of the removal of restaurants, or shall I say “non-lounge airport experiences,” from the Priority Pass on the Amex cards that provide this benefit. This is due to go into effect on August 1.
More Amex Benefits “Devalued”
To add to the benefits reductions, this week we have learned about two new adjustments. First, the airline incidental credit is going to have stricter rules. Going forward Amex will prevent cardholders from using it to purchase airline gift cards. This is on top of the rule that limits cardholders to choosing one qualifying airline for the credit. These limitations make the Amex credit less beneficial compared to a flexible travel credit like the one offered by the Chase Sapphire Reserve. Secondly, it’s also been reported that Amex has started to enforce the rule in their terms and conditions which makes any gift card purchases ineligible for earning points. While gift cards have not counted towards the minimum spend for some time, it was generally not an issue once the spend minimum had been reached.
Is Amex Foreshadowing More Benefits Removals?
I wonder if this is the beginning of a trend of Amex tightening up on benefits and more strictly enforcing their terms and conditions. On the company’s July 19 earnings call the CFO discussed the increase in costs that Amex has incurred from their credit cards programs. Generally, when a CFO highlights expenses increasing faster than revenues, it means cost cutting is on the horizon. To see these stories a few days later makes me concerned that we may see future reductions in benefits. I had thought about adding the Amex Platinum to my wallet, but this stream of devaluations has me reconsidering.
Do you have an Amex card that has been affected by these recent changes? If so, do you feel the benefits that remain make it worth keeping? Let us know in the comments!
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@Ross — Yeah, It’s the foreshadowing of AMEX’s financial collapse.
LOL-I don’t see that being imminent but I wonder if Amex will continue to cut costs by removing more benefits to cardholders.
This makes my decision not to get the $550 Amex Plat a great one and that’s with me having 5 premium cards.
That was the one I had my eye on too but now I am second guessing the value of it.
Gene – no way will AMEX collapse since they obviously have a plan! As AMEX loses its real customers the plan is to adopt the Wells Fargo customer management system and just make up new accounts out of thin air! I wanna be on the AMEX RAT and get rich off referral bonuses for imaginary customers.
@ AlohaDaveKennedy — LOL
Bonvoy Business AX – will not renew as points dropped from 3 Bonvoy equivalent when Starwood to Bonvoy, now 2 – a huge 33% devaluation.
A 33% devaluation is pretty massive and I’d agree it’s hard to renew when you see something like that.
This is a case of YMMV. For me and my family, we cruise about once a year, and the Platinum Amex offers a $300 onboard credit for each cruise (for suites). Plus the Saks benefit is $100/year, so these items save us $400 right off the bat. Even if we don’t maximize our Uber and airline credits, we’ll easily use $150 between the two, so the card pays for itself for us (with the lounge access and Hilton/Marriott gold statuses being icing on the cake).
I definitely agree that this is a YMMV case. It sounds like holding this card is well worthwhile for you Joshua! The cruise credits are pretty sweet if you take advantage of them like your family does. Thanks for sharing!
Amex is just making sure their benefits are used the way they are supposed to, and not being manipulated by many of us benefit hackers. Yes I have bought gift cards in the past to make sure I didnt lose my annual benefit – but I knew I was “cheating”. Frankly I am glad to lose these hacks in exchange for improved benefits – like Amex Gold 4x points for International Restaurants that was just added. They should make market (shopping) purchases at 4x international also.