The American Platinum credit card offers many benefits including 50,000 bonus miles when you spend $2,500 in the first 3 months.
We rate cards based on value, cost, and perks.
Our ratings for this card are:
Annual fee waived the first year
There is an annual fee of $99 which is waived the first year. The Executive card with a higher annual fee that is not waived does not give so many more bonus miles. The Platinum card with 50,000 bonus miles is the best card if your main objective is to get a lot of bonus miles at minimal cost. We value American miles at $0.01 each, so a 50,000 mile bonus is worth $500. This card has the highest first year net value (value of bonus miles minus the annual fee). Even if you did not make use of any of the other benefits, this card is worth having for a year. You need to cancel before the 1 year anniversary in order to avoid paying the $99 annual fee.
Lounge access & companion certificate
This card does not give you any lounge access. If you want lounge access, then pay the higher annual fee on the Executive card. This card also doesn't give you any companion certificates. With this card, you can pay $99 (plus taxes) for a companion certificate on a domestic economy flight.
2x miles earned on American purchases
If you spend a lot on American flights, the 2x miles earned per dollar is a nice perk. That's like earning 2% back on American flights. The Executive card earns 4x per dollar on American, so get the higher level card if you want to earn more miles. The Mileup card also earns 2x miles per dollar on American, so switch to that card after the first year if you want to avoid an annual fee.
Priority boarding & other savings
This card gives you priority boarding and 25% in-flight purchase discounts like the higher level Business card. But there are different levels of priority boarding. The Executive card with a higher annual fee has the highest priority in the boarding sequence. This card you a 10% savings on awards travel.
