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Is the American Express Platinum card worth it?

Is the American Express Platinum card really worth it? Is it much better than Preferred Rewards Gold Card? I've joined American Express 7 months ago & have been more-the-less happy. Although I don't have 100,000 points like I do on my VISA (yet), I see good rewards in the catalog & like their perks. I was upset when flying recently to find out that Preferred Gold wasn't good enough for the First Class lounges. So, knowing me, I couldn't stop myself from upgrading my card to Platinum. It just sounds so much better; 24/7 Concierge, 4X Points for Shopping @ certain stores (whereas Gold was only 2-3 X points) and basically all perks they can offer. I want to ask someone who has an AMEX Platinum Card - how can you weigh it's worth? It sounds great, but for $450 annually vs. $150 for Gold (plus first year would have been free for Gold). Am I totally out of my mind? Furthermore, I also ordered a card for my wife, not realizing they charge $175 on top of the $450 for up to 3 extra Platinum cards. I called their customer service & explained that this wasn't clearly explained online where I upgraded. They're willing to bump her back to Preferred Gold. Should I: 1) Keep Platinum for both of us. 2) Keep Platinum for myself & Preferred Gold for her (meaning, she can enjoy the Platinum benefits from my card as well or we actually each need one). 3) Downgrade them both back to Preferred Gold Premium? Is there any way around the Platinum $450 fee? At least for one year to see how it is?? For now, I'll start checking out what's different. But I can't seem to find a very precise & clear list explaining what each do & don't have. Thanks for your help in advance. Forgot to mention: This is for personal use, not business. I'm leaning towards Platinum for myself & considering downgrading my wife to Preferred Gold. Still not sure.

Public Comments

1. I have the amex platinum biz card and i don't care for it much at all. specifically, i am not happy with point accrual. sorry that i can't recommend a better option. just my opinion.
2. Frankly, I don't think it is worth it. In fact, I am not sure the gold card is really any better than the green. American Express has so many different cards that it can become confusing. The points are pretty good, but there are other cards with a smaller or no fee which will do just as well or better for you. The only thing American Express has going for them is the prestige. I would not pay $450 for a charge card. All you are really doing is stroking your ego. There are less expensive ways in which to stroke your ego than paying $450 for a platinum card.