a friend of mine says she got an AMEX platinum card but isn't paying anywhere near the advertised yearly fee of $395. Is it possible to negotiate with them to minimize that? or is my friend just talking crazy?

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yearly fee for a credit card????

what do i know? i thought all amex cards had a yearly fee...unless its one of the ones where you can carry a balance.

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amex Clear

amex blue

are free, no yearly fee.


sometimes I will get an offer in the mail to get the first year free. . .for the gold or platinum amex. ..

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

Pick your poison!
[www124.americanexpress.com]

I use the Starwood AMEX; we stayed at a Sheraton in Nashville for 3000 points (=$3000 spent) on Sat night. Card cost $30-$35 per year.

well i have a regular AMEX. I'm sure the yearly fee is similar to that. However, since the wife and i might be planning some more overseas trips, some of the advantages of the platinum card caught my eye. However, i was hoping for some way around the exorbitant annual fee.

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. . .if you are travelling abroad. ..remember that amex charges 2% on top of the currency coverter fee.. . .

which isn't too bad. ..other mastercard/visa charge up to 3% on top of the regular converter fee. ..

a few banks used to charge nothing aside from the converter fee. . . MBNA was one but they have joined the other cards. . .

as far as I know the only one left is USAA which still charges nothing. . .

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!

The fees are there for a reason. You can get a platinum card for free (or practically free) from AmEx if you choose not to get the services that make a platinum card "platinum".

However, since the wife and i might be planning some more overseas trips, some of the advantages of the platinum card caught my eye. However, i was hoping for some way around the exorbitant annual fee.

When traveling overseas, I wouldn't consider $300 / year "exorbitant" for complimentary first and business class companion tickets, Airport club access, 24 hour personal concierge, and car rental assistance.

I personally carry the Business Gold card ($90 / year). If I ever start to travel again, I will definitely upgrade to the Platinum.

- Shadow

ok shadow. point taken. that was my thinking as well. the "complimentary first and business class companion tickets" are what caught my eye. IMO, well worth $400 a year. I was just stunned when my friend mentioned that she DIDN'T pay that. Perhaps she has a business AMEX or something.

Now my next question is, a companion ticket is just what i think it is right?

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bazookaman Wrote:
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> I was just stunned when my
> friend mentioned that she DIDN'T pay that. Perhaps
> she has a business AMEX or something.

You can pick up a Platinum AmEx card for free with a Costco membership. It's really platinum in name only as you don't get the services that the $395 (Personal) and $300 (Business) Platinum cards cost.

> Now my next question is, a companion ticket is
> just what i think it is right?

I don't have that card, so I can't comment. However, on every other service I've used with them (Best Value Guarantee and Extended Warranty), one call was all it took to get my requests resolved. In fact, over the last year I think I gotten over $500 put back on my card due to these two programs alone (well worth the $90 annual price of admission).

I checked on their site and found these T&Cs which describes all the programs with the $300/year card.

- Shadow

My Platinum Amex/Costco card is free.

I did look at costco. but like shadow said, you don't get all the perks of the regular platinum card.

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