AMEX Platinum Charge Benefits - Q&A

[SeaWolf]

I got that flyer as well, but mine came with a letter that said:

The ticket release for Platinum events will be commmunicated via email only bi-annually, with the first going on sale in February 2022. To enrol for American Express email marketing communications, visit americanexpress.com.au/email and check 'yes' for email under communication preferences.

 

[Daver6]

Received a flyer for the Platinum Events Program in the mail today with some brief summaries of upcoming events -

• Saturday Night Pasta (NSW, max 2 tickets, 18+) - Learn to make pasta, then enjoy a multi-course dinner with wines. Hosted by Elizabeth Hewson of Saturday Night Pasta (who seems to run these as non-Amex events also) and Trisha Greentree of Fratelli Paradiso and 10 William St
• Bella Bianca (QLD, max 4 tickets, 18+) - Dine at Bianca on James St and hear from Tyron Simon and the team over a multi-course dinner
• Experience Tonka with Adam D'Sylva (VIC, max 4 tickets, 18+) - Hear insights from Adam (exec chef) and enjoy a multi-course dinner showcasing some of his most loved dishes
• The 2022 Archibald Prize (NSW, no max tickets mentioned, 12+) - Exclusive Amex event 'away from the crowds' with canapés and premium wines.
• Penfolds Grange Dinner Series (NSW/QLD/VIC/WA) - Expert narration with a stellar selection of wines inc four vintages of Grange, matched with dishes in some of the country's best restaurants
• Carols in the Domain (NSW, unknown ticket limit) - pre-show VIP party with refreshments, then premium reserve seating. Whoever prepared the flyer forgot to include fine print for this event, instead including fine print for the Minions 2 pre-release screening below
• Minions 2 pre-release screening (unknown location, max 6 tickets) - this wasn't listed in the flyer but is mentioned in the fine print.

Some of these events sound quite interesting to me, but other than the short description the flyer contains no information about dates or pricing. The letter says to visit americanexpress.com.au/platinumevents for more information, but that page just says '2022 Experiences Coming Soon' .... wouldn't you sort out the website before the snail mail

That's pretty underwhelming if you're in WA.

 

[sudoer]

That's pretty underwhelming if you're in WA.

Not nearly as bad as SA/NT/TAS!

 

[sudoer]

I got that flyer as well, but mine came with a letter that said:

That's listed in my letter also, but surely they can make the event date(s) and prices available ahead of ticket release?

 

[Supersonic Swinger]

I actually would have never gotten that Reserve card if it wasn’t for the TC. Which is a poisoned gift anyway as you have to risk a booking with one of the worst travel agencies around (Amex Travel online).

Hi - do you have examples of why they are such a bad travel agency? Thinking of applying for an Amex with TC

 

[Berlin]

Hi - do you have examples of why they are such a bad travel agency? Thinking of applying for an Amex with TC

Just talked to a friend of mine the other day who was also moaning about them. Essentially really bad service in terms of knowledge and training fo the agents on the phone and once you've made a "convenient" booking online with them, any changes going forward you get relegated to the "online team" (rather than the normal Amex travel crew) and the can be very elusive, eg. endless hold times on the phone.

I had countless experiences when tiny itinerary changes causes a huge fuzz and endless hours on the phone while it could have been sorted online or much faster if booked directly through Qantas. Same goes for refunds I hear from some people who waited waaaay longer than the usual 8 weeks if you chase it directly with Qantas.

The one "benefit" you get is a super annoying call from the Philippines each time something changes and even if it's just a departure change by 5 minutes or something like that. In my experience, these calls always come at the worst possible times (and sometimes weeks after the change has been made online), often in the late evening or middle of the night even, and they are entirely useless and if you ask any further questions, they cannot tell you. They also start asking you all sorts of security questions and once I just thought "Let's ask back to see whether they're really calling from Amex" and the lady on the other line was so irritated by that so she put down the phone.

Just imagine that kind of service if you're stuck overseas and need assistance with your flights- good luck! There's probably endless other anecdotes out there but I have now come to the conclusion that one should only use the TC to book hotels or very simple point to point itineraries, everything is just too big of a risk and the stress not worth the $450. Even a simple SYD-CHC-SYD once turned into a nightmare experience for me solely due to the incompetence of American Express travel so even this strategy can fail I'm afraid

 

[sudoer]

Hi - do you have examples of why they are such a bad travel agency? Thinking of applying for an Amex with TC

Amex Travel hold times have been quite poor lately. Last week I waited over an hour to chase a QF Ultimate travel credit reinstatement before the line dropped. I called the Plat Concierge line, explained what had happened and asked whether if they could push me to the front of the queue, which they were happy to do.

When I eventually got through to Amex Travel they acknowledged a significant backlog of QF credits waiting to be reloaded back to cards which is a manual process. For context I had two identical bookings made with TCs from two QF Ultimate cards - the cash refund hit both cards six weeks after Qantas cancelled the flight. It then took Amex two weeks to reinstate one of the TCs, the other is still outstanding after almost three weeks.

Something else to note is their terrible calling centre opening hours - 7am-6pm Monday to Friday. The Live Chat function has also been disabled for months (if not years) now.

 

[Supersonic Swinger]

Very useful, thank you @Berlin and @sudoer . I know the travel credits are meant to push business the way of Amex Travel but didn't realise they were such a dog's breakfast. I'm thinking of applying for the Qantas Ultimate and looks like I would be safest using the TC for simple return domestic travel...

 

[0x012fd0aa]

Based on my experiences chatting with them using the app, they are happy to help with anything with accounts like charges, credits and such, but nothing more. Suggested me to call other teams (despite direct numbers were given) many times.
Personally I don't like to call so much...

 

[thatsthatmattressman]

Just reviewing the Platinum T's and C's (and the Explorer Card T's and C's) .. I thought one of these cards offered price protection in the form of you buying something and if you find a cheaper price elsewhere in X amount of time they will refund you the difference. Am I dreaming about this?

 

[0x012fd0aa]

Just reviewing the Platinum T's and C's (and the Explorer Card T's and C's) .. I thought one of these cards offered price protection in the form of you buying something and if you find a cheaper price elsewhere in X amount of time they will refund you the difference. Am I dreaming about this?

It is no longer offered years ago. Purchase Protection is for lost, stolen or damaged items. Yet you can go for Refund Protection up to $500?

 

[thatsthatmattressman]

It is no longer offered years ago. Purchase Protection is for lost, stolen or damaged items. Yet you can go for Refund Protection up to $500?

Cheers .. yes it must have been 'way back when' eh.

 

[albyd]

Shame it's gone - I remember I used it once. Was very handy in avoiding what was potentially an expensive purchase mistake when we bought something from a website which didn't seem so suitable when it got delivered and there was a strict no returns/reunfds policy.

 

[foggy]

anyone else have their 'The Australian' subscription not work now?

 

[Pele]

anyone else have their 'The Australian' subscription not work now?

They are doing you a favour mate.

 

[foggy]

They are doing you a favour mate.

I don't usually it so I don't know how long I haven't had access to it, but there is an article about rare earths that I want to read. If only we still had AFR, its on AFR too.

 

[ketsuzei]

anyone else have their 'The Australian' subscription not work now?

Mine seems to be sending me all sorts of poorly written rightish babble... so "working" as normal, I suppose.

 

[cbourl]

They are doing you a favour mate.

Yep The Aussie is a right wing rag I think of Murdoch ie global media ownership :-((( Preferred the AFR

 

[daft009]

I don't usually it so I don't know how long I haven't had access to it, but there is an article about rare earths that I want to read. If only we still had AFR, its on AFR too.

Yep The Aussie is a right wing rag I think of Murdoch ie global media ownership :-((( Preferred the AFR

click this: 12ft | for AFR

 

[dylarr]

Since writing that Chubb has included some covid cover I believe - you can read about it here:

https://www.americanexpress.com/content/dam/amex/au/insurance/pdf/Covid19_Cover_Statement_Insurance_with_Your_Card_Chubb.pdf

I just opened a new Platinum Charge account and called Chubb to ask some questions about the coverage. The agent I spoke to was incredibly helpful and advised a couple of things:

- A new policy comes into effect on 15 March for the Platinum Insurance and includes Covid coverage in the policy itself as opposed to it being a supplement. She e-mailed the new terms and conditions to me that will take effect then - I've attached it to this post.
- She said they don't really provide proof of coverage or a certificate or anything for travel purposes - but suggested using the policy wording around activation, covid coverage etc as proof. I'm not sure how this would hold up if you arrived at a country like Singapore with that though. I'd be still inclined to get my own policy and certificate in that kind of instance.