r/AmexAus

Amex just refreshed the Platinum offer: 200k points for a $5,000 spend. But with the recent lounge cuts and the FX fee hike, the "value proposition" feels different this year. If you’re on the fence, does the $400 Global Dining Credit and the $450 Travel Credit still make this a "break-even" card for you, or is the $1,450 annual fee becoming too hard to justify? Has anyone successfully negotiated a "retention bonus" recently to offset the new fee structure?

I’m planning to book flight tickets through the Amex AU Travel website. I looked at some Reddit posts, and most people seem to have had poor experiences. ProductReview also has a 1.5-star rating. Has anyone here had any good or bad experiences with it? I have an Amex Platinum card.

Hey all, just thought I'd share my experience with downgrading off the platinum charge card. Like many I've been disappointed with the downgrade in benefits (plus my personal circumstances have changed and now no longer travel as much and thus the benefits I will use do not outweigh the annual fee) so decided to downgrade, but very much love the charge card for the flexibility.

You can step down to the Green or Gold Charge Card

-The green card costs $80, and an extra $80 to earn membership rewards, which are earned at 1.5 points per dollar. Additional cards cost $45.

-The gold card costs $130, and an extra $80 to earn membership rewards, which I believe are also earned at 1.5 points per dollar (I didn't explicitly ask this though so may be wrong here). Additional cards cost $65.

It looks like the biggest difference is travel insurance between the two cards (the gold card includes travel medical insurance, the green includes only travel inconvenience). Note that if you downgrade off Platinum to either of these cards, you will no longer be able to transfer to Qantas points.

The two cards are only available when downgrading off the platinum and thus are not advertised publicly on the amex website, but you can view the benefits of the cards by logging into AMEX online -> Benefits & Help -> Explore Membership Benefits -> then select the green/gold (non-credit card options) -> Yes -> Membership Rewards.

Overall the process of downgrading was really smooth (you have to do it over the phone) - the staff were lovely and happy to chat about options etc. I can keep using my platinum while the change processes, and I keep all my account information/login and points etc. They said Apple Pay should automatically swap over too.