Discontinued: American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card

Our review of the American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card

When you’re looking for a great value, feature-packed rewards card, it’s hard to go past what’s on offer at American Express. With a wide range of rewards card offerings, American Express seems to have something for everyone. Whether it’s a no annual fee rewards card or an all-singing, all-dancing prestige option, Am-Ex pretty much has it covered.

Sitting somewhere in the middle of the field, the American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card not only offers an incredible introductory offer and a great selection of features and perks, it also has a decent rewards programme. Ready for the best bit? At $149 per year, this card packs a punch while packing in the value.

What we love...

With so many things to love about this card, it’s hard to know where to begin. So, to make things easier, let’s jump into its enticing introductory offer. This offer happens to be two-sided, made up of a bonus rewards points offer and a purchase rate offer.

First up, the bonus points offer. All you need to do to be eligible for this one is apply online and spend $750 on your card within three months of approval, and you will be credited with 20,000 Membership Rewards bonus points to spend as you please. Just like that!

To make that spend even easier, the card’s purchase rate offer gives you 2.99% p.a. on purchases for six months. So, if you want to make a large purchase – or even lots of little ones – you could save a decent amount in interest during that intro period.

However, it is worth pointing out that clearing your balance each statement period will obviously save you the most in interest. Doing this also allows you to take advantage of one of the card’s other handy features, which gives you up to 55 days interest free on purchases. Check the terms and conditions to find out more about how this works.

Last on this love-in list is the annual fee. While $149 per year is a significant amount of money, it’s worth thinking about what you are getting in return for that fee. If you use your card extensively and earn heaps in rewards, and if you make use of all the handy features and perks on offer, you may find you get way more out of your card than you are putting in.

What’s not so great...

The key to choosing the right credit card is to find the one that provides everything you need, for the lowest possible cost. After that, it’s simply a matter of dealing with the card correctly to get the most out of it – and to avoid paying out any unnecessary costs.

When it comes to rewards cards, there is plenty of important factors to be aware of – the most important of which, is making sure you get back more than you put in. With the American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card, the rewards programme and points-earning potential is great – as long as it works for you.

It’s also worth pointing out the card’s interest rate as a factor to note. With a standard variable purchase rate of 19.95% p.a., this is not a card that you want to carry a balance on. If you carry a balance month to month, you may find you pay out more in interest than you get back in rewards and features.

Why should you choose this card?

We’ve talked about some of the things we love about this card, as well as some of the things to watch out for. If you’re still undecided as to whether the American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card is right for you, here is the rest of the need-to-know on the card.

Rewards

As this is a rewards card, it makes sense to look more closely at the rewards programme. Here’s the points-earning breakdown:

• Earn 3 Membership Rewards points per $1 spent at major supermarkets
• Earn 2 Membership Rewards points per $1 spent at major petrol stations
• Earn 1 Membership Rewards point per $1 spent on all other purchases
• Major supermarkets include Countdown, Countdown Online, Farro Fresh, FreshChoice, New World, Nosh, PAK'nSAVE and SuperValue, while major petrol retailers include BP, Caltex, GAS (Gasoline Alley Services), Gull, Mobil, Shell and Z. To eligible for those additional points at these retailers, the transactions have to be made in New Zealand.

If you want to earn points even faster, you can get your family in on the action. Simply apply for a supplementary card for family members at no additional cost, and watch those points start stacking up.

When it comes to redeeming the points you earn, there are a few options open to you. You could choose to redeem your points on the Membership Rewards programme for gift cards, entertainment or retail goods, or you could turn your Membership Rewards points into credit on your American Express card.

Love travel? You could transfer points to Air New Zealand Airpoints Dollars or to any of American Express’s five other airline partner rewards programmes. Alternatively, you could visit any Harvey World Travel store, or redeem points for any flight on webjet.co.nz.

Platinum Perks

As it’s a platinum card, you’d expect the American Express Platinum Edge Credit Card to offer a few platinum perks. Luckily, this card doesn’t disappoint. As a cardholder, you can enjoy one complimentary direct domestic return flight every year, which includes one piece of 23kg baggage. You can book from as little as two weeks before you fly, up to 10 months in advance.

As for complimentary insurance cover, this card offers plenty of value. You can benefit from complimentary Domestic and International Travel Insurance Cover when you pay for travel on your card. This provides:

• Overseas Medical Emergency Expenses and Repatriation Cover up to $2,500,000,
• Travel Cancellation Cover up to $10,000,
• Baggage Cover up to $10,000,
• Personal Liability Cover up to $1,000,000,
• Travel Inconvenience Cover offering cover for flight delay, missed connections and luggage delay.

Service

Having been awarded a 5-Star CANSTAR rating for Outstanding Value in the 2017 Credit Card Ratings (in the Flight Rewards $12,000 Annual Spend and $24,000 Annual Spend categories), this card seems to be a winner.

But it’s not just about features and rewards with this card, it also goes above and beyond on service. As a cardholder, you'll receive Platinum Priority Service from the American Express dedicated team, on hand to help with whatever you need, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

You can use your card around the world, at tens of thousands of locations, and you can access your account via smartphone, tablet or computer, no matter where you happen to be. You’ll also have access to handy online organisational tools, with peace of mind from the card’s Online Fraud Protection Guarantee.

Overall Rating

A truly rewarding rewards card, value-packed with platinum perks and features, plus 20,000 Membership Rewards bonus points and 2.99% p.a. on purchases for six months.