American Express Platinum Card for Schwab Review | The Motley Fool (2023)

Top perks

The American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab has quite a few features, from big bonus offers to ample spending credits.

100,000 welcome offer bonus points

As a new cardholder, you earn a welcome bonus of 100,000 points for spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months. That many points is more than what many top credit cards offer, so you get quite a bit of upfront value from this card.

Check out more bonuses: Best Sign-Up Bonus Credit Cards

Earn up to 5 points per $1

The American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab earns:

• 5 points per $1 on airline tickets you purchase directly with airlines or through American Express Travel, up to a bonus cap of $500,000 in spending per calendar year
• 5 points per $1 on prepaid hotel purchases you book through American Express Travel
• 1 point per $1 on other purchases

Airport lounge access

A highlight with every version of The Platinum Card® from American Express is the airport lounge access. It gets you into more lounges than any travel credit card we've seen, and that includes the card issuer's high-end Centurion Lounges. You also get access to Priority Pass lounges (enrollment into this program is required), Delta Sky Clubs, and several additional types of lounges. Terms apply.

See more: Best Credit Cards With Airport Lounge Access

Up to $200 annual statement credit

An exclusive benefit with the American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab is an annual statement credit offer. The amount you receive depends on your qualifying holdings with the broker:

• Receive a $100 statement credit if your qualifying Schwab holdings are equal to or greater than $250,000.
• Receive a $200 statement credit if your qualifying Schwab holdings are equal to or greater than $1,000,000.
• Holdings are measured following card account approval and annually thereafter.
• Terms apply

It's not exactly a large credit, considering the amount of cash that's required to get it. But if you have significant holdings with Schwab, you can at least get something extra back.

American Express Membership Rewards program

The American Express Membership Rewards program is one of our favorite credit card rewards programs. That's primarily because of all its transfer partners. American Express has over 20 airline and hotel partners where you can transfer your Membership Rewards points. After that, you can make an awards booking with the partner. Terms apply.

Transfers are normally the best way to use your points, because you can get $0.03 per point or more like this. However, you also have the option of redeeming points at a fixed rate for American Express Travel bookings.

Learn more: A Complete Guide to American Express Membership Rewards Points

Invest your rewards

This card allows you to redeem points directly into any eligible Schwab accounts you have. Rewards have a value of $0.011 per point when redeemed this way. You can use those deposits to purchase investments through Schwab.

Over $1,000 in annual spending credits

You get quite a few different spending credits from this American Express card. Assuming you can use some or all of these annual spending credits, they easily make the card worth getting:

• $200 hotel credit: Receive $200 back in annual statement credits on your prepaid Fine Hotels+ Resorts® and The Hotel Collection bookings with a minimum two-night stay with American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card.
• $200 airline fee credit: Select one qualifying airline and you'll get up to $200 in statement credits every calendar year for any incidental fees charged by that airline to your Platinum Card.
• $300 with Equinox: Receive a statement credit of up to $300 each year when paying for select monthly Equinox membership fees or Equinox+ with your Platinum Card. Enrollment required.
• $189 CLEAR® credit: Receive a statement credit of up to $189 per year for a CLEAR® membership when you pay with your Platinum Card.
• Up to $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit: Receive a credit of up to $100 every four years to cover the cost of a Global Entry membership or $85 every 4.5 years to cover the cost of TSA PreCheck.
• $240 digital entertainment credit: Receive a monthly credit of up to $20 when you pay for eligible purchases at one or more of Peacock, The New York Times, Audible, or SiriusXM® with your Platinum Card. Enrollment required.
• $155 Walmart+ credit: Cover the cost of Walmart+ with a monthly membership fee credit of $12.95 plus applicable taxes.
• $100 Saks Fifth Avenue credit: Receive up to $50 in statement credits from January through June and up to $50 more from July through December for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue or saks.com made with your Platinum Card.

See more: Best Airline Credit Cards

Complimentary elite status with Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton

To improve your stays with two popular hotel chains, this card includes complimentary Marriott Bonvoy™ Gold Elite Status and Hilton Honors Gold Status.

Travel and purchase protections

There are usually plenty of complimentary protections available with American Express cards, and that's the case with this card. It offers the following on eligible purchases:

• Car rental loss and damage insurance
• Trip delay insurance
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance
• Return protection
• Purchase protection
• Extended warranty coverage
• Terms apply

Platinum Concierge

Your Platinum Concierge can assist you with almost anything you could dream up, from reserving event tickets to finding the right gift for a loved one. Just call the number on the back of your card to use this service. Terms apply.

LEARN MORE: Best Credit Card Concierge Service

No foreign transaction fee

Since this American Express card is designed for frequent travelers, it doesn't charge a foreign transaction fee.

What could be improved

While this card has quite a few things going for it, there are also a couple notable cons.

$695 annual fee

The annual fee for the American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab is about as expensive as it gets, outside of some ultra-exclusive credit cards. It costs $695 per year to have this card.

An annual fee isn't a problem if the card has enough features to make up for it. This American Express card clearly does, since you can get thousands of dollars in value from its benefits. Terms apply. But if those benefits aren't a good fit for you, then it's not worth paying such a costly annual fee.

Restrictive benefits

One of the more frustrating parts about the American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab is all the fine print on its benefits. It has perks that are great if you can use them, but a lot of consumers won't be able to.

That's especially true with its spending credits, such as the $300 in annual Equinox credits. Terms apply. Although that much money sounds nice, Equinox is an expensive gym, and $300 per year doesn't make much of a dent in the monthly fee for any of its plans. It's also only available in certain areas, so some card members won't have access to any of its gyms.

It's a good idea to read some other credit card reviews before you commit, as you may find one with benefits that work better for you.

Limited bonus categories

The rewards rate on this card fails to impress. You'll earn bonus points on flights booked with airlines and through American Express Travel, as well as prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel. That's only two types of purchases, and both of them are narrow spending categories. Other rewards cards offer much more, such as bonuses on all air travel, hotel spending, or even travel as a whole.

See more: Best Credit Cards

A FICO® Score of at least 670 is recommended before you apply for the American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab. Since this is one of the best rewards cards in the American Express lineup, the card issuer typically only approves applicants with good credit or excellent credit.

Improve your credit: How to Increase Your Credit Score

Eligibility for the American Express Platinum Card for Schwab

To get the American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab, you must have one of the following eligible Charles Schwab accounts:

• A Schwab One® or Schwab General Brokerage Account held in your name or in the name of a revocable living trust where you are the grantor and trustee
• A Schwab Traditional, Roth, or Rollover IRA that is not managed by an independent investment advisor pursuant to a direct contractual relationship between you and such independent advisor

You have a Charles Schwab brokerage account and the card's perks are a good fit for your lifestyle. The American Express Platinum Card® for Schwab is nearly unmatched in the number of features it offers. If you're a big spender who travels frequently, this card could be exactly what you need.

Keep reading: Best Rewards Cards