The glitzy Platinum Card from American Express carries a high price tag, but its top-tier travel perks offer significant value.

The Platinum Card from American Express is a metal charge card that earns American Express Membership rewards points. Cardholders earn points for each eligible dollar spent, with accelerated rates on dining, food delivery and travel purchases.

There are several benefits to The Platinum Card from American Express. As a cardmember, you:

• Can enhance your travel experiences with complimentary, personalized service from Platinum Concierge — available 24/7.

• Benefit from a full suite of Platinum-level travel perks, such as worldwide airport lounge access, the Global Dining Collection and more.

• Gain access to priority security lanes, complimentary valet service at Terminal 1 and discounted parking rates when departing from Toronto Pearson International Airport. 

• Be covered by trip cancellation and lost bag protection, car rental theft/damage insurance, accidental death and dismemberment coverage, and more. 

The primary drawback of The Platinum Card from American Express is its high annual fee ($799), which is hard to recoup unless you plan to travel frequently and utilize all the card’s perks. What’s more, some of those perks, like priority security screening, are only apply to cardholders who fly out of Toronto Pearson International Airport. If you live in another province or don’t typically use Pearson, those benefits won’t be of much use.

Also, there is no medical coverage for cardmembers over the age of 65, which may be a deal-breaker for some travellers.

The Platinum Card from American Express offers its highest earn rates on dining, food delivery and travel purchases, so cardholders will earn the most Membership Rewards points if those are among some of their most frequent expenditures.

Some of The Platinum Card from American Express’s most exciting benefits are elevated travel perks, which makes it most valuable for travellers who take to the skies several times a year.

With a steep annual fee of $799, the people who get the full monetary value out of their Platinum Card from American Express will typically be those who make enough purchases to cash in on the welcome bonus and take frequent advantage of its premium travel perks, like complimentary airport lounge access and elevated hotel services.

At a minimum, you’ll want to recoup your cardholder costs. According to NerdWallet analysis, one American Express Membership Rewards point can be worth as much as 2 cents. You’d need to earn at least 39,950 points to recoup the card’s annual fee of $799. To earn the 39,950 points needed to offset the card’s annual fee, you’d need to spend at least $19,975 — and that’s money spent in this card’s highest earning category of 2 points per $1.

• High in customer satisfaction: American Express ranks third (and above industry average) in customer satisfaction with credit card issuers, according to J.D. Power’s 2022 Canada Credit Card Satisfaction Study, a survey of 6,478 cardholders in Canada. 

• Low Trustpilot rating: 1.6 out of a possible 5 stars, based on over 3,600 reviews, at the time of this writing.

• Low Better Business Bureau rating: 1.09 out of a possible 5 stars, according to more than 300 customer reviews on the Better Business Bureau website, at the time of this writing. American Express is not accredited by the BBB itself.

You must be a Canadian resident and at least the age of majority for your province or territory to be eligible for The Platinum Card from American Express. You also must meet credit score and income requirements.

American Express doesn’t publicly disclose annual income requirements for its Platinum Card. You must provide your annual income during the application process, which may be a factor during card approval.

Canadian credit card issuers rarely disclose required credit scores, which makes it hard to know your chances of approval when comparing credit cards. What we do know is that higher scores have better chances of approval — that’s true no matter what type of credit you’re applying for.Want to learn more? Our guide can help you figure out what credit score is typically needed for a credit card.

• Welcome offer: Earn up to 100,000 Membership Rewards® points – that’s up to $1,000 towards a weekend away.

• How to earn the welcome offer: New Platinum® Cardmembers, earn 70,000 Welcome Bonus points after you charge $10,000 in net purchases to your Card in your first 3 months of Cardmembership. Plus, earn 30,000 points when you make a purchase between 14 and 17 months of Cardmembership.

How to earn ongoing rewards: Earn 2x the points on eligible dining and food delivery purchases in Canada, 2x the points on eligible travel purchases and 1x the points on everything else.

The welcome offer for The Platinum Card from American Express includes up to 100,000 Membership Rewards points. The total value of the offer will depend on how you redeem the 100,000 points.

Amex suggests the welcome offer is worth up to $1,000, which is the minimum value when redeemed through statement credits. You need to spend at least $10,000 within the first three months of card membership, then make one eligible purchase of any amount between the 14th and 17th month of card membership to get the full 100,000 points.

The Platinum Card from American Express offers plenty of value beyond its welcome offer.

Cardmembers receive a $200 annual travel credit through American Express Travel Online or Platinum Card Travel Service. They can also receive a $100 statement credit every four years for NEXUS application or renewal fees charged to the card.

With Fine Hotels + Resorts, Platinum cardmembers can receive benefits such as guaranteed 4 p.m. late check-out, complimentary daily breakfast for two and other benefits at more than 1,300 properties. Amex says these benefits have an average total value of $750.

Cardholders also receive complimentary access to the more than 1,300 airport lounges that make up the American Express Global Lounge Collection. It’s hard to put a dollar amount on that kind of comfort.

The insurance included, particularly the out of province/country emergency health coverage, can be invaluable if you ever need to use it.

The value of an American Express Membership Rewards point varies on the redemption method you choose, but you can expect to get around 0.7-2 cents per point.

• Up to 2 cents per point for flights, fine hotels and resorts booked via the American Express Fixed Points Travel Program. 

• 1 cent per point for statement credits. 

• About 0.8 cents per point for gift cards. 

• About 0.7 cents per point for shopping with merchant partners.

1. Click the Apply Now button on The Platinum Card from American Express page on the American Express CA website.

2. Review the card’s terms and conditions. Select Agree and Begin to continue.

3. Enter your personal details, including your full name, date of birth, phone number, email address and residential address.

4. Enter your financial details, including your annual personal income, household income and employment details. 

6. Review the information you’ve supplied and submit your application. 

The Platinum Card from American Express may not be for you if:

• You don’t want to pay an annual fee of $799.

• You don’t travel enough to make use of the card’s perks.

• You don’t often spend money on dining or food delivery.

If The Platinum Card from American Express isn’t a good fit for you, there are plenty of cards out there to choose from, including less exclusive rewards credit cards and cash back credit cards that charge a lower annual fee.