Tag Archives for american express.
Currently American Express Platinum and Centurion cardholders can bring two guests into a Centurion lounge.
Starting in 2023, only Centurion cardmembers as well as Platinum cardmembers who spend $75,000 per year or more on their card will continue to receive free guest access. Platinum cardmembers who do not spend that much on their card will have to pay $50 per guest.
American Express will no longer publish Departures or Centurion magazines in print. They are in-sourcing both publications which will be available online only. Meredith Corporation, which had been publishing for American Express, has “laid off most of the staff and halted publication of the seven-times-a-year print titles.” According to American Express, We regularly evolve our premium card offerings and have made the decision to transition the Departures and Centurion US magazine benefits to a new digital-first editorial platform. The magazines used to be produced in-house by American Express Publishing, which was sold to Time in 2013 and then Meredith in 2018. The final print issue of Departures is May/June and the final Centurion Magazine is Spring/Summer. These print publications lasted longer than many, since they were reaching a highly targeted affluent cardmember audience. However they’re…
When Marriott acquired Starwood and merged the loyalty programs, as much changed with their credit cards as with the loyalty program itself.
Chase’s Marriott cards used to earn 1 point per dollar. Starwood’s Amex cards earned 1 Starwood point per dollar. Marriott themselves declared 1 SPG point worth 3 Marriott points. In other words, the Amex cards were 3 times as rewarding for spending.
The Platinum Card® from American Express now offers a $30 per month spending credit with Paypal, effective today and running through June 30, 2021. That’s up to $180 in value over six months.
No registration or enrollment is required. Add your Platinum Card® from American Express to your PayPal wallet and use it paying with PayPal. Your spending, up to $30 each month, will be credited back to you.
Today the $450 annual fee Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant offers 2 points per dollar (plus 3x at restaurants and airlines and 6 points at Marriotts); Platinum status after $75,000 spent each year; a $300 Marriott credit; Priority Pass Select; and an annual free night up to 50,000 points. They’re evaluating annual fees for this card up to $650 or even $750, but here’s what they’d offer.
They’re surveying a new, lower fee product too.
Donald Trump’s Presidential campaign is asking for donations by offering a Platinum card to denote membership in an exclusive tier in exchange. It isn’t just a ‘Platinum card’ but features an image of a person (Trump / a Centurion) in the center and the card’s border is very similar to the American Express Platinum Card as well.
A couple of weeks ago I called on Centurion lounges to open or at least for American Express to speak to its plans for re-opening. They’ve now done so. American Express tells me that on October 5 they will re-open their Philadelphia and Seattle lounges “with more locations to follow.” They’ve also detailed plans for 5 new and expanded lounges.
The argument that food and beverage is key to the Centurion lounge experience, but is hindered by Covid precautions, is a cop out. Far from being another reason to keep lounges closed, fewer passengers makes it easier to deliver individual portions. Airlines and independent lounges are re-opening. American Express needs to speak to a timeline for bringing Centurion lounges back on line.
Log into your American Express account and scroll down, there’s a new ‘Amex Offer’ that appears to be widely available that many cardmembers can opt into by adding it to the card account of their choosing: $50 back when you spend $200 or more with Marriott by September 21.
During the American Express second quarter earnings call, CEO Stephen Squeri offered a number of insights into their credit card business and travel benefits.
The company is seeing lower rewards expenses because the highest cost rewards are usually travel rewards, and that’s not how people are spending their points. There’s also less usage of travel-related benefits. I was surprise though that Delta, Marriott, and Hilton cards have been outperforming other American Express cards.
Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel -- a topic he has covered since 2002.
Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »
