American Express refreshed their Platinum card benefits. I don’t love the idea of all the credits in exchange for a higher fee, but I gotta be honest it’s a lot of value relative to the cost. I’m actually more confident in keeping the card going forward than I was before because I’ll get several times the value of the increased price.

I don’t consider the card’s new ‘mirror’ design option to be part of that value proposition. I refuse to ‘value’ it. But I admit I want it.

Dozens of cards are metal now, even no fee cards. And who are you trying to impress? The minimum wage clerk at the drivethrough sees these all day. And yet card design does make us feel good about the product, want to pay with it, and even talk about it (selling it to friends). Increasingly people use Apple Pay or Android Pay where they don’t even take out the physical card.

That didn’t stop me from immediately ordering a mirror design card for myself and for my wife, who is an authorized user on my Platinum card account. Here’s video of the new mirror design:

So here’s how to do it – today – and be one of the first with card in hand.

1. When you log into AmericanExpress.com, choose “Account Services” from the main menu and then select “Card Management” – that will give you the option to “Replace A Card”. If you have authorized users on the account, you’ll select which card you want to replace.

   

2. Then you’ll select the reason for card replacement. That tells Amex whether they need to change your card number, and also will let you choose the design of the replacement card that you want.

   

3. You then pick from available designs. I was never personally a fan of the floral or abstract designs.

   

4. Then you confirm the order – it’ll show when the card should arrive as well.

   

Then they confirm that your card replacement order – in this case, for the new mirror design, is in process.

You will receive an email confirmation, and can go back and check the status of your replacement card order in your account as well.

I don’t think you should decide to get a Platinum Card because of the mirror card design. Get it for the lounge access, hotel status, 5x on airfare and credits that vastly exceed the card’s cost if the math works out well for you (as it does for me).

However, once you’ve got a Platinum American Express, there’s nothing wrong with ‘wanting’ the mirror version.