During the Covid-19 pandemic, virtually all travel has halted and much of the world is staying at home. Many travelers with premium travel reward credit cards have been questioning whether their high annual fees are worth the cost while their travel card benefits cannot be utilized. Some customers have canceled or downgraded their cards to ones with lower or no annual fees. American Express has added limited-time benefits on certain credit cards to retain customers and reward them in new ways during this unprecedented time.
New travel card benefits in response to the pandemic include monthly credits for streaming and wireless services, increased rewards for spending at grocery stores and restaurants, and credits for small business essentials. Here’s a rundown of the new limited time American Express travel card benefits that have been added in response to the Coronavirus pandemic to help customers lower their expenses, earn more rewards on their spending, and encourage continued loyalty.
New American Express Travel Card Benefits are offered on:
AmEx Platinum Card
The AmEx Platinum credit card comes with a hefty annual fee of $550, which is largely offset by its premium travel benefits such as lounge access and travel incidental credits. Since most of us can’t use those benefits right now, Amex added some additional benefits for Platinum cardholders that are more rewarding during this pandemic.
While we’re staying home streaming movies, music and audible books more than ever, AmEx added a benefit to help customers save money. AmEx added a monthly statement credit for May through December 2020 of up to $20 for select U.S. streaming services. This is the list of included streaming services, which covers quite a bit:
- Amazon Music Unlimited
- Apple Music
- Apple TV+
- AT&T Now
- Audible
- CBS All Access
- Disney+
- ESPN+
- Fubo TV
- HBO Now
- Hulu
- iHeartRadio
- Kindle Unlimited
- Luminary
- MLB.TV
- NBA League Pass
- Netflix
- NHL.TV
- Pandora
- Prime Video
- Showtime
- Sling TV
- SiriusXM Streaming and Satellite
- Spotify
- Stitcher
- YouTube Music Premium
- YouTube Premium
- YouTube TV
Platinum cardholders will also receive a monthly statement credit of up to $20 for wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers from May through December 2020. We have certainly been spending more time on the phone, staying connected to family and friends while we cannot physically be near each other. Video chats have been helping us stay close to our loved ones we cannot see right now, so this benefit is especially valuable.
When you add $20/month for each, that’s $320 ($40/month x 8 months) of benefits that are particularly valuable while we are spending more time at home. We will certainly make use of these benefits with our Netflix and Disney+ streaming services as well as our phone bill through the end of this year. We hope AmEx will extend these benefits into 2021 if travel has not recovered yet, but we’ll have to wait and see about that.
AmEx Business Platinum Card
The AmEx Business Platinum card comes with a very high annual fee of $595, so thankfully AmEx has added several benefits to offset this fee during this crisis. The Business Platinum card is offering a $20 monthly statement credit from May through December 2020 for wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers (value of $160). AmEx is also offering up to $20 in monthly statement credits on U.S. purchases for shipping (value of $160). Many small businesses will be able to make use of these credits.
The Dell Technologies Benefit has been doubled, increasing from $200 to $400 in statement credits annually. Cardholders will receive an additional $100 statement credit from May 1 through June 30, 2020 and an additional $100 statement credit from July 1 through December 31, 2020. So if your small business needs any new office supplies, make sure to take advantage of these credits before they expire. We used our credit for a new printer. You must enroll for this benefit, which can be done online or by calling the number on the back of your card.
AmEx also will reward Business Platinum customers with a $200 Membership appreciation credit after renewing their card. Cardmembers can also get free access to Shop Small marketing templates and resources as well as zero fees through December 2020 for a service called Resy for restaurants.
So adding up the $160 for wireless, $160 for shipping, extra $200 for Dell, and $200 renewal credit, that’s an additional $720 in added benefits through the end of this year. This certainly makes it easier to decide whether to keep this card for those who can utilize these new benefits. We have the AmEx Business Platinum and will definitely be taking advantage of these additional perks.
AmEx Green Card
The American Express Green Card has a lower annual fee of $150, so does not offer as many new benefits. The AmEx Green Card is offering $10 in monthly statement credits for wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers through December 31, 2020 (value of $80). This helps offset over half of the annual fee with a credit that practically everyone can utilize.
Increased Rewards on Supermarket Spending
AmEx has increased rewards for spending at U.S. supermarkets while Americans are staying home. If your family is like ours, you have been spending considerably more money at supermarkets since you’re eating at home all the time. AmEx has increased the number of points and miles earned on grocery spending through July 2020 for certain co-branded travel credit cards. Here are the cards that have increased rewards for grocery spending for a limited time. Hopefully travel will start to pick up again by August when this perk ends so cardmembers can resume earning rewards on travel purchases.
Delta SkyMiles Reserve, Platinum, Gold, and Blue Card
Cardmembers will earn 4 miles per dollar for U.S. supermarket purchases through July 2020. Since air travel has been hit very hard and many consumers will not be flying anytime soon, this perk makes is easier to earn rewards on these Delta co-branded credit cards.
Marriott BonVoy and Marriott BonVoy Brilliant Card
Cardmembers will earn 6 Marriott Bonvoy points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets on up to $7.500 in eligible purchases through July 2020. While non-essential travel has screeched to a halt, this perk will encourage consumers with these Marriott co-branded cards to keep them in their wallets. Consumers could earn enough points for a beach stay at Westin Hapuna Beach in Hawaii, where we stayed on Marriott points with our kids.
Earn Marriott points toward a family vacation at Westin Hapuna Beach Resort in Hawaii
Hilton Surpass and Hilton Aspire Card
Cardmembers will earn 12 Hilton points per dollar spent at U.S. supermarkets through July 2020. This will help cardmembers earn points toward a future aspirational trip to a luxury Hilton resort, like the Conrad Bora Bora Bora Nui where we stayed on points as a family.
Conrad Bora Bora Nui is one of the best places to stay with Hilton points
Statement Credits for Restaurant Spending
A few of the co-branded AmEx cards have expanded their statement credits which normally have to be spent at resorts to include U.S. restaurants this summer, which is excellent news for those who are unable to use their credits on travel anytime soon.
Marriott BonVoy Brilliant Card
Eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery, will qualify for the $300 Marriott BonVoy statement credit from June through August 2020. This perk makes it incredibly easy to use this statement credit this summer even if you won’t be visiting any Marriott properties.
Hilton Aspire Card
Eligible purchases at U.S. restaurants, including takeout and delivery, will qualify for the $250 Hilton resort credit from June through August 2020. We are really excited about this benefit since we’ve had to cancel the majority of our travels due to the pandemic and won’t be staying at any Hilton properties in the near future.
Additionally, bonus points earned through eligible purchases between May 1 and December 31, 2020 will count toward elite tier qualification and Lifetime Diamond Status. Diamond Status with Hilton is extremely valuable thanks to free breakfast and room upgrades, so this is another great benefit.
Relief for Financial Hardship Caused by Covid-19
AmEx has also introduced relief for financial hardship caused by Covid-19 for cardmembers holding both consumer and business credit cards. American Express has been waiving late fees, return check fees, and even interest payments for customers who have been negatively impacted by the Coronavirus. This assistance is not automatic and is only available to customers who request it and are approved. The caveat is that once you request the relief, your account is frozen as well as your points until your account is paid off. So only request this relief if you legitimately need it and will not need to make any charges to your AmEx in the meantime. Learn more about their relief program here.
Cardmembers can call the number on the back of their card to request relief or can apply through the AmEx App or online chat. We’ve always appreciated the excellent customer service from AmEx. This is just another example of how they go above and beyond to take care of their customers in times of need.
Final Thoughts on the New American Express Benefits
We have quite a collection of American Express travel credit cards with high annual fees offset by valuable benefits. Lounge access for our family of 4 (and more when traveling with extended family or friends who can enter as our guests) is our most valuable benefit that we normally utilize all year round. Prior to the pandemic, the travel perks for these cards far outweighed the costs since we travel so frequently. While we aren’t using our AmEx travel benefits, we are eager to take advantage of these time-limited benefits to stretch more value out of our cards and offset the annual fees.
The $40/month we are saving on streaming and wireless with our AmEx Platinum takes the sting out of not being able to enjoy the AmEx Global Lounge collection for the time being. The extra $200 in Dell credits with our AmEx Platinum Business Card is coming in handy for some new home office equipment we needed. So when doing a cost benefit analysis of our AmEx credit cards, it still makes sense to keep them open when factoring in these Covid-induced benefits.
Do these new Covid-19 AmEx card benefits make the difference for you? We’d love to hear your thoughts about these changes. Are you among those who have cancelled their premium travel credits cards to cut down on costs? Or are you riding out this wave and hoping to maximize your travel benefits once this storm has passed? Please let us know in the comments.
