AMEX Platinum for Goldman Sachs: American Express Platinum Card for Goldman Sachs Clients

Overview

Benefits Analysis

• Goldman Sachs-related benefit: You can cash out Membership Rewards points at 1 cent/point by transferring the value into an investment account. =
• $200 airline credit: You can get up to $200 per calendar year in reimbursement for airline incidental fees, effectively bringing the annual fee down to $250. You can use it once in your first calendar year and again at the beginning of the second year, which means you can get reimbursed twice while holding the card for just one year. This credit can be easily triggered by purchasing airline gift cards. See: AMEX Airline Credit Analysis
• $200 in annual Uber Credit + Uber VIP status: Add your Platinum card to your Uber account, and your Uber account will become VIP, which may give you access to better vehicle options and similar perks. At the same time, your Uber account receives $15 in credit in each of the first 11 months of the year, and $35 in December. The credit expires at the end of each month.
• Annual Saks credit: This $100 annual Saks reimbursement benefit can now be enrolled through the link below. Specifically, you can get $50 back from January through June and another $50 back from July through December. According to the terms, this reimbursement excludes Saks Fifth gift cards as well as online and in-store purchases at the Outlet. How this is actually enforced still depends on real-world DP. Still, getting an extra $100 out of nowhere is always nice. Purchases made by authorized users can also trigger this reimbursement (combined cap of $50 across primary and authorized users). This benefit is available only on personal Platinum cards, such as the standard Platinum, Mercedes-Benz Platinum, and other Platinum variants. The reimbursement is tracked separately for each version. Saks $100 Benefit Enroll link
• A large collection of premium perks (official benefits page)
  • [New] Hilton Gold status, which includes free breakfast
  • Marriott Gold status, with complimentary room upgrades and premium internet
  • Premium airport lounge access (Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs, Airspace Lounges, Priority Pass)
  • Reimbursement for Global Entry and TSA Pre fees
  • Fine Hotel benefits for hotel stays (details)
  • Free public Wi-Fi via Boingo membership
  • Free magazines, InCircle membership, and elite status with Avis, Hertz, National Car Rental, and more
  • After adding an authorized user (with an additional annual fee), the authorized user can also enroll in the benefits above as well, though phone enrollment may be required

AMEX card benefits

• AMEX Offer: Spend 20 on Amazon, get 20 back; get $5 off $15 at Walmart; spend 75 on phone service, get 10 back. Generous AMEX frequently sends cardholders good offers that let you earn cash back while spending. See: AMEX OFFER Guide and Best AMEX Offers Summary
• Free ShopRunner membership: Enjoy free two-day shipping at many online stores. For details, see the official link
• Extended warranty: Items purchased in full with an AMEX card receive an additional one year of manufacturer warranty coverage automatically
• Free reports: Some users can check their credit score for free, and you can get one free credit report per year

A Few Things to Do After Getting the Card

Although this card comes with a huge number of benefits, it differs from most cards in that many perks only take effect after you enroll yourself. So we are listing them here separately as a reminder:

• Use the $200 airline incidental fee credit each calendar year: AMEX Airline Credit Analysis
• Enroll in complimentary Hilton Gold status: enrollment link
• Get complimentary SPG Gold status: enrollment link
• Get complimentary Boingo premium membership: enrollment link
• You can get National Car Rental Club Executive status; click here to enroll or upgrade.
• Other benefits that require enrollment can all be found on the official benefits page, so we won’t list them one by one here

Drawbacks

• This is a charge card, so you need to pay the statement balance in full after it closes; otherwise the interest can be extremely high
• The $550 annual fee looks very high, and if you cannot make good use of the various credits, it may not be worth it. Adding a second authorized user also requires an additional annual fee

Points System Overview

• Points Value: The average value is 1.5c/p, so 100 MR = $1.5 (Points Value & Analysis)
• Direct Redemption: Redeem travel through amextravel.com at 1c/p (without a premium card); redeem eligible flights through amextravel.com at 1.54c/p (with Business Platinum); redeem for cash in an investment account at 1.1c/p (with Schwab Platinum).
• Points Transfers: Transfer 1:1 to ANA miles (good for round-trip US-China flights and round-the-world tickets); transfer 1:1 to British Airways miles (good for China-Japan routes and short-haul domestic US redemptions); transfer 1:1 to Air Canada miles (good for US-China business class awards and infant tickets); transfer 1:1 to Delta (good for business class, and can also redeem any Delta flight at 1c/p).
• Points Features: All MR points earned by one person are pooled into a single account and can be used directly. As long as you still have at least one MR-earning card open, all MR points will remain valid; be sure to use them up before closing all of your cards. Nearly all MR-earning cards allow you to transfer MR points to airline miles or hotel points. MR points can be transferred to airline or hotel accounts in an authorized user's name.
• My Take: The most common use of MR is transferring to airline miles, mainly ANA, Air Canada, Delta, and British Airways. Delta can help cover SkyTeam options; ANA and AC can selectively cover Star Alliance options; BA can be used for some oneworld awards. Among these, ANA is especially valuable for US-China economy, business, and first class awards. AC and Delta are also good for covering domestic US flights, while BA is best for nonstop domestic US flights. Hotel transfers are a weak spot for MR, and none are really worth transferring to. As for booking hotels or flights directly through AMEX Travel, you usually only get 1 cent per point in value, so I generally do not recommend it. Cash back and gift cards also max out at only 1 cent per point. Therefore, the final valuation is 1.7c, mainly considering the broad airline partner coverage, mostly instant transfer times (ANA takes 2-3 days; others are instant), and the value of these airline miles. The weaknesses are that MR is not very useful for hotel redemptions, and direct airfare bookings do not provide strong value either.
• Detailed Analysis: Membership Rewards Guide >>

My Take

This card is available only to Goldman Sachs clients who receive an invitation, which shuts out most applicants. That said, the welcome bonus is not especially compelling, so there’s not much downside to skipping it. Overall, we do not particularly recommend applying for this card.

For me personally, the main reason this card exists is that it gives you another chance to earn a Platinum welcome bonus. Although each AMEX card’s welcome bonus can only be earned once per lifetime, the welcome bonuses on different Platinum versions do not affect one another, so you can get them all. You can also hold multiple different versions of the Platinum card at the same time.

One reminder for anyone thinking about applying: do not spend too much too quickly right after getting the card. This is a Charge card, and in AMEX’s risk model it is especially easy to trigger a Financial Review. If you fail that review, AMEX may shut down all of your AMEX cards. For details, see: Analysis of Why AMEX Credit Cards Get Shut Down.

Application

To apply for this card, you must first have a Goldman Sachs account or be a GS employee. Otherwise, you will not even see the application link...

• AMEX official application status check link
• For the same AMEX credit card, the public welcome bonus is generally available only once (once-per-lifetime restriction)
• You can call the reconsideration line (800-528-4800, 877-399-3083, 866-314-0237) to speed up credit card approval or request a review of a denied application.
• AMEX limits you to 4 credit cards and 10 charge cards total.
• You can apply for a total of two AMEX credit cards every 90 days, excluding charge cards.
• After you submit your application, a pop-up may appear telling you that you are not eligible for the welcome bonus. In that case, it is usually best not to continue with the application (detailed analysis)
• More about applying for AMEX credit cards

Application Link

• AMEX Platinum Goldman Sachs