A couple of days ago, I wrote about the Amex Lounge coming to Mumbai Airport by the end of the year. That is not the only change that is coming to the American Express card universe this year.
One of the most talked about cards for American Express is the Amex Platinum Charge Card. This piece of premium plastic was one of the first premium cards to be issued in India, coming without any pre-set spending limits. Back in the day, the initiation fee of INR 50,000 used to be covered by Longines watches for the cardholders, along with round-trip business class tickets. These were the offers ongoing in 2006 circa when the card was launched in India.
Now, many moons later, Amex is going for a refresh on the card. A lot seems to be changing. Here are some of the exciting changes coming to the card in India. A fuller list is expected to be out by October 30, 2018.
Metal Card now on offer
American Express launched the metallic version of the Amex Platinum Charge Card in the USA in March 2017. Over the past year or so, they have been working on taking this around the world. Australia and Singapore are some of the markets that got the card during this year, and now it is our turn.
In India, the American Express Platinum Charge Card will be automatically sent to all members when the membership year is going to be renewed for them. Which means if you will pay your membership fees in December 2018, expect the shiny new metal card to come to you in December 2018. Here is how it looks. This is the USA version of course.
Alternatively, you can expect to order a replacement card after October 17, 2018.
American Express Lounge at Mumbai Terminal 2
While I already wrote about this as a separate post, you should expect to be welcomed into a new lounge as an Amex Cardholder in the new Mumbai Lounge that American Express is planning to open up in Mumbai within this year. They promise you a-la-carte dining and a sumptuous buffet, so it is anyone’s guess about will TFS/MIAL be managing it for them or not.
3X Points on Overseas Spends
This is an excellent move from American Express to stay competitive in the international spend. Their users are some of the most intelligent ones mostly, so perhaps they were adding their international spends to other cards which got them more points. American Express is now tripling the points on overseas spends. This should mean 7.5 Membership Rewards/INR 100 spent on member spends abroad = 4 Miles in most programs.
Membership Fees goes up
With all of these benefits and others that are also promised to be announced by October 30, 2018, American Express is also raising the fee for the Card. That means the card fee will go up from INR 50,000 + Taxes per annum to INR 60,000 + Taxes per annum in the next renewal cycle which comes to you from October 30, 2018. If you are, in the meanwhile still considering signing up for the Amex Plat Card, perhaps it is an idea to get one now. It is at the moment, coming with either 40,000 INR worth of Taj Vouchers or 100,000 Membership Rewards points for the first year. This link takes you directly to the American Express Platinum Card proposition in India.
And while Amex does not disclose the fee for the Black card, it seems they will also revise as a special offer the initiation fee for the American Express Centurion Card from INR 2 Lakhs to INR 4 Lakhs (ex GST) in India, and there are some wonderful welcome offers for those who sign up in that period.
What do you think of the new changes coming to the American Express Platinum Charge Card program?
The Add on card holders can also use the lounge with out a few ?
Hi all, I have Hdfc Diners Black and now taken Amex Plat Charge Card…I will be getting the same in 2 to 3 days…They are offering Taj stay Vouchers worth 40k or 1,00,000 Bonus points..I am lil confused which one would be better to take?
Secondly I am also getting Citi Prestige Card and have opted for ITC voucher worth 10k..I know about Citi as they have a very good service..But dont know abt Amex in India..
Hi,
I applied for a card a month ago, and its been hanging on ever since then. Every time I call to ask them for a status update it’s a simple “ill call you back” which never really happens. May be I’m just too small for them. But my overall experience has been dismal and I’m left disappointed. No reply from any of the sales people, horrible communication between two sales teams and I’ve decided to part ways for the American Express Family. Probably the worst customer service I have encountered in a long time.
I think Ajay was correct when he cancelled his Platinum and moved on to other cards which give a better return on expenditure and value our opinion.
Thanks for sharing a great article with us , keep doing,posting these type of article, thanks a lot again
It would be a good idea to compare the value and benefits between the new Plat card and a Citi Prestige card. Also, has someone done a table of sorts with the top 5 cards like a HDFC diners Black vs prestige vs Axis (the 30K annual fee one).
I have all Diners Black, Prestige and Plat. It all depends on your spend spread. I’ve been using Citi for all international spends, Diners for 10X categories and Amex for everything else.
Citi and Diners came very close in terms of rewards, thanks for 10X and Citi’s generous conversion rate on going up from their PM card. Amex Plat saved me over twice the amount of rewards of Citi and Diners put together. I’m a conservative spender, so take it with grain of salt. I spend more on experiences than things.
@AmexGuy Can you throw some light on how Amex PM saved you twice that of Citi and Diners? What experiences? When I called them, I couldn’t even get a clear answer to what Invitation Only events would I be able to go as a cardholder?