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AMEX Plat credit no longer for Canada


Emdee

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Hi Miriam, sorry to hear about the loss of the $300SBC unless booking via AMX for Canadian AMX-P cardholders.

 

Tho, even without this cruise benefit $300 SBC, believe my wife or I would have the card as part of our essential credit cards. If u recall, key benefits that come close to paying the $450 annual fee-- you get $200 a year in airline rebates, $100 free Global Entry registration (which is AMAZING and makes getting through [customs] so much quicker and easier), lounge access to American, Delta, and US Airways airport lounges, We alternate who gets the AMX-Platinum card every two years in order to get the 50,000 MR signup bonus (we value this at $500--more than pays for the annual fee). Tho, mid summer instead of renewing my wife's AMX-P at $450, we may

not renew, I would then apply for the Mercedes Benz AMX-P (same benefits as general AMX-P) but you get a 50,000 Membership Reward bonus on sign up. MB amx annual fee is $475 tho. Nice AMX card, esp if you are going to buy or lease a MB. Link:

 

https://www.mbfs.com/mbfsr/en/misc/creditCard.do

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Hi Wes,

Unfortunately we dont get either the airline rebates or the global entry registration in Canada. We recently did get our Global Entry cum nexus on our own and are looking forward to using it next month.

So far the card has stood us in good stead. We like the use of the lounges and last month in Brazil we were able to use the Centurion lounge in both Sao Paolo and Rio. This was particularly good as we couldnt check in until 3 hours before but we had an entire day to kill. Currently each of us have our own AMEX Plat - we will have to reconsider this. We also have another premium card so thats a tidy amount in card costs. This was mostly recovered by our cruising but without that I dont know if its worth it. We will definitely drop one card of the two!

 

We are an all Volvo family and have been so for over 25 years so no Mercs in our future.

 

Happy travels!

Miriam

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I was very shocked to find that the $300 AMEX Plat credit is not available to Canadians unless you book through AMEX.

 

May as well cancel or non renew this card , now.

 

The same thing has occurred in Australia. Regent is still listed but the revised small print lists the need to book through Amex Travel. Having had experience of Amex Platinum Travel there is no way I'd ever again book through them because of the lack of quality service let alone their overall higher prices.

 

Further, there have been other significant changes to Amex Platinum that could affect some cruisers. I don't know about the US or Canada but Amex Platinum Card had very good travel insurance packages, through ACE Insurance, in the UK and Australia. I would urge anyone who relies on Amex travel insurance to check the new terms carefully because the cover has been substantially downgraded in recent days. The major changes in the UK and Australia concern the definitions of pre-existing medical conditions. There are also changes in relation to payment for travel on the card, using flyer points and the deductible.

 

It is disappointing after my long association with Amex but it is time to move on.

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Our AMEX Travel protection is very poor. Trip must be $1500 in value so almost non existent except for some flights.

 

We will be cancelling one card for sure if not both! Only good thing is the Fairmont Presidents club but this last year we didnt stay in any of the Fairmont hotels as they didnt have them in the cities we visited.

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I'll need to call them and ask if I'm going to get the credit for the trip I just paid for. What a rip!

 

I just looked at the Terms & Conditions, which today say:

 

7. Regent Seven Seas Cruises Privileges are available on cruises of 5 days or more, excluding charters, based on double occupancy. Limit of 3 staterooms per Platinum Card member per sailing. Other restrictions may apply....Bookings must be made through Personalized Travel Service and charged to your Platinum Card.

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.

 

Tho, even without this cruise benefit $300 SBC, believe my wife or I would have the card as part of our essential credit cards. If u recall, key benefits that come close to paying the $450 annual fee-- you get $200 a year in airline rebates, $100 free Global Entry registration (which is AMAZING and makes getting through [customs] so much quicker and easier), lounge access to American, Delta, and US Airways airport lounges, We alternate who gets the AMX-Platinum card every two years in order to get the 50,000 MR signup bonus (we value this at $500--more than pays for the annual fee). Tho, mid summer instead of renewing my wife's AMX-P at $450, we may

not renew, I would then apply for the Mercedes Benz AMX-P (same benefits as general AMX-P) but you get a 50,000 Membership Reward bonus on sign up. MB amx annual fee is $475 tho. Nice AMX card, esp if you are going to buy or lease a MB. Link:

 

https://www.mbfs.com/mbfsr/en/misc/creditCard.do

 

Sorry, Wes.. . . but, IMO, the lounges that are left on AMX Platinum are the bottom of the barrel. You cannot compare the American Airlines lounge to international airline lounges. Actually, you cannot compare U.S. airlines with international airlines where they have plenty of flights attendants, good service and decent food.

 

As you no doubt know, 50,000 points doesn't get you much. To get anything decent you need around 150,000. You only renew Global Entry once every five years at a cost of $50/each. And, do you really get a $200 rebate when you use Regent Air? So, IMO, unless you are in the market for a Mercedes every year, it is not worth the cost without the OBC's. Fortunately, Wendy did her research and there is no change. That is indeed good news:)

 

P.S. Just reread your post. I suppose if you keep renewing and cancelling every two years -- switching off between you and your wife, it can work for you. But. . . . . don't even know what to say other than. . . . it isn't worth it for us because cancelling credit cards and applying for new ones has an effect on your credit rating. It seems like a lot of work for $500.

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I will take 50,000 points for any rewards program that I can both get with ease, and transfer to most airlines I use. It's a whole lot easier to get them than spending $50K. As Wendy has said, however, the whole question/comment from the OP is irrelevant if indeed Amex Plat card users in Canada still get their perks. This year, I have used my $200 credit for the Global Entry application fee, and for baggage fees and onboard purchases for food and beverages once when I was on a short domestic flight from FLL in economy. It's a nice little perk, not a big one. The rest of my travel for at least the past couple of years has been free with award points from various airlines. I would never be willing or able to travel in biz class without points, other than the few times I use Regent Air (at a cost).

 

I continue to pay for Plat because I usually do more than one cruise a year, which more than pays for the Amex fee. To each his own purposes. Paying for cruises on any card will build your miles, and this credit is just a bonus. I'm taking my my adult daughters and spouses on a cruise later this month, and for 3 cabins, almost $1K is a lot of money in credits we won't be spending with dollars! Not that we would if we didn't have it, but having "free" spa dollars is to us very special, and adds immensely to the whole experience. Oh, and the other bonus is that tallship and her mom will be on our cruise! We sailed once together on a TA several years ago, and I look forward to a reconnect with them!

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JHP,

In Canada we dont get the $200 credit for Global Access etc. So those perks are not applicable.

 

TC2 I agree the Vancouver Plaza Lounge is not up to snuff. In Toronto both the Plaza lounges are decent and have reasonable food. Though I wont eat in the lounges now after I saw a staff member dip his finger into the food and pull out a piece of chicken. I asked to see the person in charge and guess what ... he was in charge.

 

I booked two cruises this week one with a Canadian TA and one with a US TA.

Both told me the same thing - As of 2012 booking must be made through an AMEX Agent and not through anyone else. My DH called AMEX and he was told nothing had changed but then the same agent told my TA that he made a mistake and new rules apply as of 2012.

 

Wendy was OK as her original booking was before 2012 and she already had a tracking number. However, I would like to hear from Canadians who make bookings going forward. I understand the US card is unchanged as of now.

 

The 50,000 or 30,000 which I got is a one time benefit only. So I shall cancel my AMEX Plat. DH will keep his for now.

I am not sorry I got one as it has been a useful card to have - I like that they just debit your account and it has never been rejected anywhere in the world unlike VISA.

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Please don't forget that Amex Plat provides its members with a complimentary membership to Priority Pass that will allow access to over 600 clubs globally.

 

Host Dan

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Well it appears that perhaps I got my perk under the wire, time will tell. Miriam is definitely not getting hers apparently. Although I see no evidence that I had a tracking number before January of this year, perhaps it was in the system already, just not on paper.

 

The Plaza Premium lounge in Vancouver is no good? Phooey--I love the one in Toronto! So I guess we'll use the Maple Leaf Lounge (AC's biz lounge) for our flight back in May? Oh well.

 

Dan, the international lounge perks would be great if and when you could use them, but they are few and far between. And with one or two trips a year, for us it's not worth it just for the lounge--I can buy access to the Maple Leaf Lounge in Toronto, or even to the Plaza Premium one.

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Hi Dan, having the priority pass as part of AMX-P is another very nice Plat card bennie. The real benefit of now having priority pass is international lounge access, and access to international carrier lounges in the US. The Amex benefit to US cardholders really did not provide much international lounge access in the past, since US carriers have a very limited number of lounges. So this is a real improvement to the card for international travelers (at the same time that the Platinum card no longer adds foreign currency transaction fees to international spend). International lounges you can use as with your Priority pass.

 

https://www.prioritypass.com/Members/Lounges/Downloads/PDF/PPLoungeDirectory.pdf

 

Thus, besides the $200 airline fees reimbursement (we got $200 from Delta in 2011) now have got $100 of our $200 on AA in 2012. Global

entry fee $100 is reimbursed as well. Also, you get Starwood Gold (late checkout, welcome gift (e.g free wifi in room) status by being an AMX-P card member

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Just want to say that I think the Plaza Lounge in Vancouver is fine. It's small and cozy but the people working there were warm and friendly. Lufthansa was using the lounge for a while but are now using the Air Canada Lounge (in Vancouver) which is a beautiful lounge. In a previous post it somehow came across that I didn't care for the Plaza Lounge.

 

When you travel Business Class all the time (mostly through Regent), getting into a lounge isn't really an issue. We try to avoid U.S. airports for many reasons -- the lounges being one of them.

 

Whether or not the AMX platinum card is worth it or not is a personal decision. If you do not travel alot you certainly cannot take advantage of the benefits. Right now it is wonderful as we are booking cruises with it and accumulating loads of points and receiving OBCs. If that changes in the United States, we'll probably cancel. There are other credit cards out there with some great benefits and no annual fee.

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Hi TC2, I actually didnt care for the Plaza in Vancouver compared to the AC Lounge and compared to the Plaza in Toronto. Since we had a choice of lounges we prefered the AC lounge.

 

Looking at other possibilities - Mastercard World Elite is great for cruise OBCs but that benefit is not applicable to us in Canada. C'est la vie.

 

Host Dan my DD has been after us to get the priority pass since its free with AMEX Plat but we havent bothered so far.

 

Wes I have to agree about the Starwood preferred - it did get us a nice upgrade to a falls view room at Iguazu falls.

 

Getting multiple cruise OBCs was the best - but oh well its gone and life has to go on!!

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I do love the points I get--I move them over to AC, usually waiting for a bonus promo. I'll miss that if and when I cancel.

 

So, what's the consensus about Vancouver? Which is better Maple Leaf (AC), or Plaza Premium?

 

What I prefer about the Plaza Premium lounge in Toronto, over the Maple Leaf, is that it's smaller, and has a better selection of food. I believe there are also showers, but not sure since I've never had to use them.

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Had a long discussion with AMEX Plat.

 

Changes apply to Paul Gauguin and Sea Dream.

No changes to other lines - so thankfully the Regent/Silversea/Crystal discount still good.

 

The problem is you only get half a story. Finally found someone today who pulled each contract and gave me the scoop.

 

Of course I am out of luck on both cruises which I booked - but whatever!

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