AMEX Platinum Charge Benefits - Q&A

[0x012fd0aa]

Did you question it / show them the Amex website? Was it busy?

Not really busy. Centurion area have more guests somehow but I don't know it has voucher for guests until checked amex website.
May be try again next time got dinner in the city since they say I can entry multiple times.

 

[sudoer]

Not really busy. Centurion area have more guests somehow but I don't know it has voucher for guests until checked amex website.
May be try again next time got dinner in the city since they say I can entry multiple times.

Did they swipe your card on entry, check the card name against your ID, anything like that?

 

[0x012fd0aa]

Did they swipe your card on entry, check the card name against your ID, anything like that?

The receptionist just had a peek at the card and let us in. No ID.

 

[RealtimeY]

The T&C's do say

Drink tokens are not available for guests of Card Members, only Card Members.

I went on Saturday night around 8pm and my supp and I both got a voucher. The person checking me in believed it was one voucher per card per day.

They had an NFC reader to check both our cards, so Apple Pay was fine. No ID checks.

Looked like quite a long line for non-Plat/Centurion holders, and standing room only up there, but if you stayed around a while you could grab a table. I suspect it may die down a bit on weeknights and the next few weekends, until the end of Vivid?

 

[Obzerva]

Used the Amex Platinum card to get in to the Lufthansa lounges without an issue yesterday at Frankfurt.
Simply had to show my card + LH boarding pass.
If you’re connecting to a Schengen European flight, and you have time up your sleeve, I’d pick the Panorama lounge near Gate A26 over the Lufthansa business lounge.
I tried the LH Business lounge near A13 and the experience was underwhelming, poor food selection etc, Panorama was a better service experience.

 

[sudoer]

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

Website is finally up: Platinum Events | Discover More | American Express Australia

 

[Daver6]

Website is finally up: Platinum Events | Discover More | American Express Australia

Underwhelming is an understatement.

 

[glasszon]

Underwhelming is an understatement.

Were there ever good Platinum events? I can't recall an event that's actually good in VIC.

 

[0x012fd0aa]

May be a bit off-topic:
Got a supplement card today and it is in the US plat card style. No "platinum" on the front, and a smaller "platinum" on the back below the card number.

 

[sudoer]

May be a bit off-topic:
Got a supplement card today and it is in the US plat card style. No "platinum" on the front, and a smaller "platinum" on the back below the card number.

Interesting - my 2 x Plat supps and A/C are the same metal style as my main card.

 

[sudoer]

Finally made it to the Vivid lounge tonight. Despite the ridiculous crowds on the street, the lounge wasn't too busy with only 6-8 people in the general queue and 120-150 in the venue, which felt about 40% capacity. We managed to get a spot along the handrail facing the Opera House within a few minutes.



The drink voucher was only for cardholders so my guest had to pull out her supp. They seemed straightforward:



$20 is a fair limit I thought, and figured we could pay the remainder for a couple of coughtails ($24) or a glass of champagne ($28)... but apparently not.

The vouchers could only be put towards a drink under $20, which was an odd threshold because those were all beer, wine and spirits around the $12-15 mark - in fact I don't think there was a single option above $16 but below $20.

Maybe I'm reading into it too much, but it struck me as odd that Amex was giving drink vouchers to Platinum & Centurion cardholders but limiting their use to the cheap menu items? Isn't all the marketing for these cards about living a high-flying lifestyle?

The Centurion card holder in front of me in the queue (with an old Marco Polo Diamond card attached to his backpack - maybe an AFF member??) got an escort to the Centurion part of the lounge, another bar one floor up which seemed to have maybe 15-20 guests.

It was a good reprieve from the crowds (below) and had some good views, I'd probably go again next year if it comes back.

 

[daft009]

Any in the lounge with young kids?

Hoping to go tonight with a 5yo and 7mo..
Want to avoid the crowds

Gave my supp card to an employee and I'm pretty sure he used the drinks voucher towards a coughtail, will ask him.. He went on Friday night

EDIT: havent been to vivid since 2016. just parked somewhere in the rocks and strolled down back then. hoping to do the same

Edit2: yeah he used the $20 voucher towards 2 coughtails so $48-$20

 

[sudoer]

Any in the lounge with young kids?

Yep there was a family next to us in the lounge with two young primary school aged kids. I didn't see any prams but getting up to the lounge had both travelator and elevator access so should be fine.

EDIT: havent been to vivid since 2016. just parked somewhere in the rocks and strolled down back then. hoping to do the same

The police had closed most roads in/out of the Rocks, at least on the eastern side of the Bridge, and put in temporary clear ways for some street parking around Wynyard. Street parking was nearly impossible, I got very lucky to find some near King & York St.

The traffic was almost at NYE level and I don't think that'll be any better tonight, appreciate this may be difficult with a 7mo but my suggestion would be to drive to a train station or ferry wharf and catch public transport to Circular Quay.

Also just a note to say the CBD light rail isn't running as George St & Circular Quay are pedestrian access only (the footpaths aren't wide enough to fit the number of people!)

Edit2: yeah he used the $20 voucher towards 2 coughtails so $48-$20

So I wasn't going crazy. Thought it was completely illogical that they wouldn't allow the voucher to be used on a higher priced drink with the customer paying the diff.

 

[daft009]

Thanks, yeah parking seems hard and want to avoid public transport.

Might give it a miss this year

 

[fantastikforce]

Not exactly a benefit but I've noticed this morning that the personal Platinum Charge Card looks different now on the Amex app.

Same design I believe as those in the US which no longer has the word Platinum at the front of the card.

 

[Michael.B]

Not exactly a benefit but I've noticed this morning that the personal Platinum Charge Card looks different now on the Amex app.

Same design I believe as those in the US which no longer has the word Platinum at the front of the card.

I thought it looked different this morning!

 

[Jousams]

So a bit of an unpublished benefit that I wondered if people here had heard about. I had to charter some private jets and I was struggling to get any of the online charter companies to take me seriously… called Amex converge and they were able to get me quotes ~30% cheaper than I could get anywhere else. The quotes I was provided all included “cardmember discount” but the value of the discount wasn’t disclosed.

Does anyone have any experience using Amex for charters and what the discount is?

 

[dylarr]

I've noticed a couple of offers trickling through to my A/C card for the first time in a couple of months. Anyone else noticed this too?

 

[fantastikforce]

I've noticed a couple of offers trickling through to my A/C card for the first time in a couple of months. Anyone else noticed this too?

Yeah I've noticed too. Though I only have 3 offers on it at the moment.

 

[jpp42]

Finally made it to the Vivid lounge tonight. Despite the ridiculous crowds on the street, the lounge wasn't too busy with only 6-8 people in the general queue and 120-150 in the venue, which felt about 40% capacity. We managed to get a spot along the handrail facing the Opera House within a few minutes.

Late report, but I went to the Vivid lounge on Wed 15 June, around 9pm, and it was open to the public - they were not checking anyone's Amex cards, which made it feel quite a bit less exclusive! The capacity was probably about similar to what you said above. We didn't stay for a drink but just enjoyed the view for a bit.