Amex Platinum Card, New Streaming and Wireless Credits Explained

American Express has introduced new limited-time offers for cardholders. The new offerings are a way for customers to get extra value out of premium cards while not being able to use their travel perks and benefits. One of those cards is the Amex Platinum Card. With this card, you can now get a $20 monthly for paying streaming services wireless telephone services. You get $20 for each category monthly, until the end of the year. So that is a total of $320 in credits if maximized. Now let’s look at the details of each category, and what purchases qualify for these credits.

Up to $160 on Wireless Telephone Services

From May 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 you can earn up to $20 in statement credits each month when you use your American Express Platinum Card to pay for monthly wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers. The following purchases are excluded: purchases of hardware or repair services; purchases from authorized retailers, resellers or third-party sellers; purchases of bundled services offered by wireless companies for TV, Internet and VoIP; and purchases of VoIP services. For additional details, http://visitamericanexpress.com/rewards-info.

U.S. Wireless Telephone Service Providers

To earn additional rewards, the purchase must be for monthly wireless telephone service charges and made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the United States. Examples of merchants that accept the Card and where you can earn additional rewards for Wireless services include:

AT&T
Sprint
T-Mobile
Verizon

The following types of purchases are NOT included for additional Wireless rewards:

Purchases from authorized retailers, resellers or third party sellers
Purchases for hardware (e.g phones and accessories) or repair services
Bundled services offered by Wireless companies for TV, Internet and VoIP
VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) services

Examples of merchants where you will NOT earn additional rewards include:

Authorized retailers or resellers (e.g. Spring Communications, Wireless Zone)
Bundled packages (e.g. AT&T U-verse, Verizon Fios)
Superstores (e.g. Wal-Mart, and Target)
Electronics stores (e.g. Best Buy, Staples)

Up to $160 on Streaming Services

From May 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020 you can earn up to $20 in statement credits each month when you use your American Express Platinum Card to pay for U.S. streaming subscriptions from select providers. The current list of select providers is available at americanexpress.com/rewardsinfo, and is subject to change at any time. If your subscription is bundled with another product or service or billed by a third party (such as a digital platform, a cable, telecommunications, or internet provider, or a car manufacturer), your purchase may not be eligible.

Select U.S. Streaming Subscriptions

To earn additional rewards on streaming subscription purchases, the purchase must be made from a provider that is included on our list of Select U.S. Streaming Subscriptions:

Amazon credits
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

Other Details

Purchases made by both the Basic Card Member and any Additional Card Members are eligible for the offer. However, the total amount of statement credits for each Card Account will not exceed $20 per month for select U.S. streaming subscriptions and $20 per month for wireless telephone services purchased directly from U.S. service providers, for a total of up to $40 per month.
Please allow 2-4 weeks after the eligible purchases are charged to your Card Account for statement credit(s) to be posted to the Account.
American Express relies on the merchant to process transactions within the same calendar month that you made the purchase in order to apply the corresponding monthly statement credit in the month that it was intended. For example, if you make an eligible purchase on the last day of the month, but the merchant doesn’t process that transaction until the next day, the transaction date will reflect the next day’s date and the statement credit would be applied in the following month.
To be eligible for this offer, your Card Account must not be canceled or past due at the time of statement credit fulfillment.
Statement credits may be reversed if the eligible purchase is returned.
American Express relies on accurate transaction data to identify eligible purchases. If American Express does not receive information that identifies your transaction as eligible for the offer, you will not receive the statement credit. For example, your transaction will not be eligible if it is not made directly with the merchant.
In most cases, you may not receive the statement credit if your transaction is made with an electronic wallet or through a third party or if the merchant uses a mobile or wireless card reader to process it.
If a charge for an eligible purchase is included in a Pay Over Time balance on your Card Account, the statement credit associated with that charge may not be applied to that Pay Over Time balance. Instead, the statement credit may be applied to your Pay In Full balance.

Guru’s Wrap-up

I think both credits add tons of value to the Amex Platinum card. You can get $20 monthly for paying streaming services, and $20 for wireless services. If maximized that is an extra $320. However, again American Express is not making these credits easy to use by giving them monthly in small amounts.

Let me know what you think. Will this credit convince you to keep your Platinum card?