Updated December 22, 2020
The American Express Platinum Canada comes with worldwide airport lounge access, a $200 annual travel credit, platinum hotel memberships, travel medical insurance, a sleek metal card and a welcome bonus of 25,000 MR points, which we value at $500-$750 on top of it all.
However, with the launch of the no-fee American Express Choice Card in mid-December 2020, we believe by most Canadians are better off getting that card while its introductory 10,000 points welcome bonus offer lasts.
#1 American Express Platinum Basics & Benefits
Welcome Bonus Points | 25,000 When you charge $2,000 to the card in the first 3 months |
Points Earned Per $1 Spent On Dining | 3 |
Points Earned Per $1 Spent On Travel | 2 |
Points Earned Per $1 Spent On All Other Card Purchases | 1 |
Companion Tickets | ✔ |
Fine Hotels & Resorts Exclusive Benefits | ✔ |
Hotel Elite Statuses | ✔ |
Amex Platinum Concierge | ✔ |
American Express Invites | ✔ |
Comprehensive Travel Insurance | ✔ |
Annual Fee | $699 |
The card also comes with additional American Express benefits that come with all of their cards. These include Front Of The Line, which offers cardholders advanced access/tickets to concerts, sporting events and shows across Canada.
#2 Four More Special American Express Platinum Benefits
Amex Platinum Special Benefit #1: Worldwide Airport Lounge Access (Priority Pass)
On top of the 25,000 Membership Rewards points that come with your Amex Platinum Card (when you spend $2,000 in the first 3 months), you also receive a Priority Pass Prestige membership, which holds a value of $429 USD per year. Your Priority Pass membership gets you into more than 1,200 airport lounges around the world without paying a dime. All of the lounges have free food (some offer full meals, while others have an array of snacks), drinks (many, though not all, offer alcoholic drinks as well), and many include additional amenities like nap rooms, showers, libraries, printing, and games rooms.
Related: The American Express Gold Rewards Card
My Priority Pass is definitely the American Express Platinum benefit that I use the most, and it’s completely changed the way that I travel. I seriously can’t imagine flying without stopping in the American Express Platinum lounge first now.
Where can you use your Canadian Platinum lounge benefit in Canada? How about the 24-hour SkyTeam Lounge in Vancouver (YVR)?

Or the National Bank Lounge in Montreal (YUL)?

Toronto (YYZ) has a whopping seven Priority Pass lounges—plus the American Express Lounge at Pearson—and you’ll be able to access all of them for free.
You’re stepping up your travel game already.
Amex Platinum Special Benefit #2: $200 Annual Travel Credit
This is exactly what it sounds like: $200 for you to use on travel, every single year. In the past 3 years alone, I’ve used my $200 travel credit on a flight to Asia, a flight to South America, and a flight to Europe.
The Amex Platinum Card comes with a $200 annual travel credit you can use anywhere in the world!
Pro Tip: Use your $200 annual travel credit on the first hotel or flight booking you make with your Platinum Card. You don’t want to forget to use it!
Amex Platinum Special Benefit #3: Hotel Elite Statuses
Your Amex Platinum also upgrades your statuses with a handful of hotel chains. This means you get special benefits: exclusive discounts, early check-in and late check-out, complimentary breakfasts and more.
These are the sort of status upgrades you can expect with your Amex Platinum Card:
- Hilton Honors Gold Status
- Shangri-La Golden Circle Jade Membership
- Radisson Rewards™ Gold Status
- Marriott Bonvoy™ Gold Elite Status
Amex Platinum Special Benefit #4: American Express Front Of The Line
Front of the Line gives American Express Cardmembers exclusive access to ticket pre-sales and reserved seating at concerts, musicals, sporting events and much more.
The best thing about Front of the Line is in the name itself: you get access to tickets at the biggest shows (think Justin Bieber and Beyoncé) before everyone else. These shows are known for selling out in seconds, but with Front of the Line, you’ll always get your ticket. Past performances that Front of the Line has had pre-sale access to include Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez, Wicked, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Billy Elliot, West Side Story, Imagine Dragons, The Lion King and many more.
Front of the Line always offers great seats close to the action at these events. They also send periodic emails to let you know when artists are coming to town so you never miss a show.
#3 How To Turn 25,000 Points Into 32,500 Points
The 25,000 welcome bonus points that come with the American Express Platinum are great, but if you know what you’re doing, you can actually turn them into 32,500 pretty simply.
How? At least once per year, American Express offers a 30% transfer bonus when you transfer your points to a program like British Airways Avios or Aeroplan. Just by transferring your points strategically, 25,000 Membership Rewards points all of a sudden become 32,500 Avios points.
You just gained another 15,000 points—worth at least $300 if you use them at a value of 2 cents per point or above—just for being in the loop.
Here are 3 realistic scenarios of the value you can achieve with the Amex Platinum:
Very Easy | Very Easy | Moderate Difficulty | |
Redemption Type | Cash (against statement balance) | Flights | Flights with creativity |
Redemption Value Per Point | 1 cent | 2 cents | 3 cents |
Total Value Of 65,000 Points | $650 | $1,300 | $1,950 |
Less: Annual Fee | ($699) | ($699) | ($699) |
Plus: $200 Annual Travel Credit | $200 | $200 | $200 |
Profit From Points | -$50 | $600 | $1,250 |
Additional Benefits | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Most of you will find yourselves in columns 2 or 3 in the $801-$1,451 profit range, since you can just read our other blog posts like how to get cheap flights to Asia and how to get cheap flights to Europe to find tons of flights that get you 2-3 cents per point of value.
But if you’re ambitious and want to push your points even further, it’s completely possible to surpass what’s listed above with a value of 3 cents per point or more. Just send us an email and we’ll help you sift through your options to ensure you get a great bang for your buck.
#4 How To Use Your Points
Case Study #1: Visiting Asia
Suppose you want to take a trip to Hong Kong to visit family or friends. The Amex Platinum is your perfect companion, since one of the easiest, best ways to use your 65,000 Avios points is on direct flights to Hong Kong with Cathay Pacific.
Since Cathay Pacific is a premium airline, these flights normally cost at least $1,000 from Vancouver, and even more from Toronto. You won’t be paying anywhere close to that.
Roundtrip flights from Vancouver to Hong Kong cost just 60,000 Avios points + $90 in taxes and fees. Roundtrip flights from Toronto to Hong Kong cost 70,000 Avios points + $100, though you can pay a little bit more in cash (~$50) and drop the points down to 65,000 if you want.

Of course, Hong Kong isn’t your only option. Tokyo is a bit closer than Hong Kong, so flights between Vancouver and Tokyo are just 50,000 points.
Are you getting excited yet?
Case Study #2: Going Round-The-World
Let’s suppose you want to go around the world using your Platinum card.
No problem.
If you’re in Vancouver, you can fly from Vancouver to Hong Kong to Dubai to London to Vancouver (or the opposite direction) for 74,700 points + $742 in taxes and fees.
Toronto works just the same.
Flying from Toronto to Hong Kong to Dubai to London to Toronto (or the opposite direction) costs just 74,500 points + $761 in taxes and fees.
Did you ever imagine you could fly around the world for $750?
That’s the power of the Amex Platinum.
Route | Points Needed | Taxes & Fees |
Roundtrip: Toronto to Hong Kong | 70,000 | $100 |
Roundtrip: Vancouver to Hong Kong | 60,000 | $90 |
Round-the-world: Toronto to Hong Kong to Dubai to London to Toronto | 74,500 | $761 |
Round-the-world: Vancouver to Hong Kong to Dubai to London to Vancouver | 74,700 | $742 |
These round-the-world trips offer a value of well over 4 cents per point, meaning the $699 fee you paid just saved you several thousand dollars on flights.
#5 Is The Amex Platinum Canada Worth The $699 Annual Fee?
Absolutely.
Here’s the magic in the $699 annual fee: it’s impossible not to make money by having this card, even after paying the fee.
Huh? Sounds confusing, right?
Here’s how it works.
If you use your 25,000 points in the worst way possible, they’re worth $450 to you. Why? Because American Express allows you to apply your points against your statement balance at a value of one cent per point, which means 25,000 points = $250. Add in your $200 travel credit for 2019 and you’re at $450.
And that’s not even considering the other benefits you get from the card. The travel/emergency/baggage insurance and additional purchase insurance (for theft/damage of your items), the worldwide airport lounge access, the premium hotel memberships, and everything else you see here everything else you see here are all just cherries on top.
So even if you use your points in the worst way you could—by applying them to your statement balance as a cash equivalent—you still come out way, way ahead.
But if you use them in the ways we’ve suggested in sections #3 and #4 above, you can reasonably expect to save $800 or more after accounting for the annual fee.
#6 Amex Platinum Travel Insurance
The Platinum Card also comes with an impressive American Express travel insurance policy. Here’s what the policy includes:
Benefit | Description | Coverage Limit |
Travel Accident Insurance | You, your spouse and your children are covered in the case of accidental death or dismemberment while traveling | $500,000 |
Car Rental Theft and Damage Insurance | Damage or theft of your rental car | $85,000 |
Flight Delay Insurance | Hotel, motel, restaurant expenses and other sundry items when your flight is delayed | $500 |
Baggage Delay Insurance | Reasonable and necessary emergency purchases when your baggage is delayed | $500 |
Lost or Stolen Baggage Insurance | Loss or damage to your luggage or personal effects while in transit. | $500 |
Hotel/Motel Burglary Insurance | Loss of most personal items if your hotel/ motel is burglarized. | $500 |
Travel Emergency Assistance | Medical & legal referrals by phone 24/7 | N/A |
Every American Express card also comes with two other insurance benefits:
- Buyer’s Assurance Protection Plan doubles the manufacturer’s warranty on your purchases and will repair/replace faulty or damaged items up to $10,000.
- Purchase Protection Plan insures your purchases against accidental physical damage and theft for the 90 days after purchase, up to $1,000.
Fraud protection, global emergency card replacement and 24/7 express customer service are included with every American Express card, too.
#7 The American Express Business Platinum Card
This entire review has been about the Amex Platinum Card, though there’s also an American Express Business Platinum Card for Canadians, too. There are a few key differences between the two cards:
- 50,000 welcome bonus points for the Business Platinum Card (25,000 more than the Platinum Card)
- $499 annual fee for the Business Platinum Card ($200 less)
- No $200 annual travel credit for the Business Platinum Card
#8 Three Less Expensive Cards To Consider
Even though we’ve clearly shown how you can save thousands of dollars with the Platinum Card, the $699 annual fee still rubs some people the wrong way.
So here are a few less expensive, high-value cards you can consider instead:
#1 The Amex Choice Card
The Amex Choice Card is our current top pick for the best credit card in Canada, and for good reason. It comes with 10,000 welcome bonus MR Select points, earns you an additional point on every dollar spent on the card, and—most importantly—carries no annual fee.
The Choice Card was just released in mid-December 2020, so we recommend getting yours before this introductory offer disappears.
#2 The Amex Cobalt Card
There are many reasons why we recommend the Amex Cobalt Card over any other credit card in Canada right now.
One is that it offers the highest rewards on everyday spending of any card in Canada (with just a $10 monthly fee!). Another is that you can get up to 10% cashback on your spending when you use the Cobalt Card at coffee shops, restaurants, bars and grocery stores coffee anywhere in Canada. The current offer of 30,000 welcome bonus points isn’t likely to last long, so we recommend getting this card sooner rather than later.
#3 The Marriott Bonvoy™ Amex Card
Released in March 2019, the Marriott Bonvoy™ American Express Card is a great choice for a Canadian travel credit card right now. It comes with an incredible 50,000 welcome bonus points at an annual fee of just $120. You also receive a free hotel night every year after the first year with the card, which you’re able to use at some of the swankiest hotels in the world. While this current offer lasts, we can’t recommend the Marriott Bonvoy™ Amex Card highly enough.
#9 How To Apply For The American Express Platinum Card
Applying is as simple as clicking the button below, taking 3 minutes to fill in the application form, and waiting a few days for your card to arrive!
It’s important to take action now, though—the welcome points bonus used to be 75,000 on this card, but Amex has reduced it several times over the past few years. Grab yours while this sweet offer is still available.
Is The Amex Platinum Canada The Best Travel Credit Card In Canada?
The Amex Platinum is certainly one of the best travel credit cards in Canada in 2020. While the Marriott Bonvoy Card has recently grabbed a lot of attention for its 50,000 points welcome bonus with just a $120 annual fee, the Platinum Card offers great value-for-money, too.
#10 FAQs
What Is The New American Express Platinum Metal Card Like?
Honestly—it’s pretty cool!
If you didn’t already know, the American Express Platinum is now made of metal. It has a significant heft to it, weighing in at 19 grams (for reference, a typical plastic American Express credit card weighs 5 grams). It’s sure to impress your friends when you “accidentally” drop it on the table as you pay.
All new Platinum cardholders now receive the metal card, so that’s a nice bonus on top of all the other benefits we’ve talked about above. Existing cardholders can also request to have their old plastic card exchanged for a metal card at any time.
How Can I Sign Up With An American Express Platinum Referral?
To get the best available welcome points bonus, which is currently 25,000 points, sign up here. After you’ve signed up, you can refer your own friends to the Platinum Card for a referral bonus of 15,000 points.
What Is The American Express Canada Exchange Rate?
All foreign purchases are made at the American Express foreign currency exchange rate, which tracks the bank rate very closely with small fluctuations above and below that rate. A 2.5% commission is charged on top of that on all foreign purchases regardless of the currency.
How Does American Express Travel Work In Canada?
American Express Travel is Amex’s online travel portal for buying flights, booking hotels and rental cars, and getting support from some of the best travel concierges in the business.
The $200 annual travel credit that comes with your Amex Platinum can be used either directly through the American Express Travel platform or as a statement credit after you’ve made a travel-related purchase with your card.
What Is The Amex Concierge?
The Amex Platinum Concierge is definitely an under-rated benefit of the Platinum Card. It’s totally free for as long as you have the card, and is there to offer you 24/7 assistance with a whole host of things.
Need a table for four at a fully-booked place in Paris or New York? No problem. Looking for the perfect gift for a friend visiting from out of town? Easy.
I mainly use the Platinum Concierge to help me build travel itineraries when I’m visiting a new city, and they’ve done a remarkable job. After a minute or two on the phone getting to know my preferences (Do I like fancy restaurants or low-key joints? Do I prefer museum hopping or getting lost walking around a neighbourhood? etc.), they send back a document of 30+ pages outlining restaurants and bars to check out, cultural attractions, events taking place when I’m there, and a lot more. It takes them 24-48 hours to compile it all, which is extremely quick.
You can request help using email as well, though I find just calling them up is faster (you never have to wait on hold) and easier.
How Good Is The Amex Platinum, Anyway?
If you’re like most Canadians, you’ll love your Amex Platinum Card. It’s numerous perks and benefits make it a great choice for frequent travelers, and if you spend your points wisely, you’ll more than make up for its annual fee.
What’s the first thing you should do when you receive your American Express Platinum Card?
Call the number on the back of your Platinum Card and ask Amex to set you up with these things right away:
- Your hotel elite statuses: Hilton Honors Gold Status, Shangri-La Golden Circle Jade Membership, Radisson Rewards Gold Status, and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status. Even if you never plan to stay in one of those hotels, it’s good to get these statuses set up, just in case. They’re included with your card, after all.
- Priority Pass. Make sure Priority Pass is set up so you get lounge access right away, and if it’s not, get Amex to set it up for you.
- Ask if they know when the next Avios or Aeroplan transfer bonus will be. Generally, they won’t disclose this information (and often the customer service reps don’t know it), but it’s worth asking anyway. (If you do find out, look to these posts on redeeming points for flights to/from Asia and redeeming points for flights to/from Europe for suggestions on how to use those extra points.)
In Summary
We believe anyone considering getting a Platinum Card should apply for the Choice Card instead. The Choice Card doesn’t offer the lounge access and Amex Concierge of the Platinum Card, but it does come with a 10,000 points welcome bonus, which are worth up to $200 depending on how you use them.
And when you compare the annual fee on the Choice Card ($0 per year) to the annual fee on the Platinum Card ($699 per year), you truly can’t go wrong with the Choice Card. Apply with confidence today.
I have the American express cobalt card. Is it possible for me to combine the points from cobalt card to the platinum card? as both cards are also part of the American Express reward program
Hi Ronald, unfortunately the Cobalt Card uses a slightly different type of points within the Membership Rewards program, so they cannot be combined. You can read more about the Cobalt Card in our review here.
I actually got the platinum card late last year because i knew i was going to be doing quite a bit of travelling and capital purchases for my company. I spent 5k early this year mostly to secure the welcome MR points and was given a initial limit of 25k. But then Covid hit and all my travel plans and major purchases are on the back burner till later this year. Then AMEX started clawing back the credit limit from 25k to 14k. I figured well it due to covid and i’m not able to spend what i wanted to on it. Then it went from 14k to 10k… Im thinking what the hell !!! Now its been dropped to 4k !?!?! Its ridiculous since my credit rating is still high and reasonable TDR.. So i haven’t bothered to call to see what hoops i’d need to jump to raise it but im not looking forawrd to it.. Oh yeah.. I have the Amex gold which they also dropped to 4k. Thankfull they havent screwed around with my Amex Biz Edge and Amex Preferred Blue yet. So those who think about applying in this time be aware you may get a redonk low credit limit.
Hi there, do you know if there’s a difference on travel medical coverage between the American and Canadian AMEX Platinum cards?
Some articles for the USA version don’t mention great medical insurance, but it looks like the medical coverage is available on the Canadian version.
Hi James, yes, there is definitely a difference between the travel & medical coverage on the two cards. We’re only concerned with the Canadian Amex Platinum Card here.
Hi,
I have a platinum card and my husband a gold supplementary. My 1 year anniversary is due in March. If my husband relinquishes his gold and applies for a platinum with me as a supplementary gold card holder:
Will be get the 60,000 bonus?
Could I transfer my points across.?
Many thanks. Your blog is invaluable.
Hi Sandi, excellent question. Yes, your husband will earn the 60,000 points bonus when he’s approved for the Platinum Card – just make sure he uses your referral link! But no, you won’t be able to transfer your points to his account. Also keep in mind that if you cancel all of your cards, you will lose the points on your account, so make sure you have another card before doing that. In this case, you may want to apply for your own Gold card before canceling your Platinum to ensure you keep your points. Here’s our post on the Amex Gold.
I’ve just ordered this card and very excited to have it for the first year at least… I will most likely cancel it after the first year, but I am trying to figure out how long past the 1 year anniversary I can cancel to have the $699 annual fee refunded. I found a post (US based) where someone said you have to cancel within 30 days of the anniversary to have the fee refunded in full… not sure if that is true in Canada?
Asking specifically because my card anniversary will be around Feb 1, 2021, but I am hoping to have lounge access for a trip in February and then cancel the card after that trip (will probably be the only one for the year).
Thank you!
Hi Janine – I can’t actively suggest doing this, because American Express doesn’t have any obligation to refund you the annual fee if you’ve already reached the 1-year mark. However, they generally will refund you the annual fee if you call them to cancel within 60 days of your card anniversary. Take this with a grain of salt, but that’s been many other Canadians’ experience.
Enjoy your trip!
Hi Jordan,
No worries. Thank you for answering my questions.
After careful consideration of your blog post, I had applied for the Platinum card and got approved. I got it in the mail a few days ago.
One last final question for you:
What are your top things to do right away for your card/with your card?
Great question, Mark. Call the number on the back of your Platinum Card and ask Amex to set you up with these things right away:
Those three things will get you on the right track.
Hello,
When you first get your card in the mail and you spend the $3,000 in minimum spend to get the welcome points bonus do you also get the points related to the total of $3,000 points as well on top of the welcome bonus points?
Hi Mark, sorry we missed your comments earlier, somehow they slipped through the cracks.
No, the points do not decrease in value every year. Airlines do change their redemption requirements from time to time, but sometimes they become better and sometimes they become worse, so to say the points decrease in value each year wouldn’t make sense.
You’ll earn 3x on food and drinks at “restaurants, quick service restaurants, coffee shops and drinking establishments in Canada,” all of which American Express defines quite liberally. To put it simply, you can expect to earn 3x the points just about everywhere you eat and drink in Canada with your Platinum Card.
Yes, you do receive points for the $3,000 minimum spend, so you’d actually have 53,000 MR points by the time you hit that $3,000 minimum spend, or 59,000 if you spent your first $3,000 entirely on food and drinks.
I hope this helps, Mark. Let us know if you have any further questions about how to make the Platinum Card work for you.
Jordan
Hi Jordan thanks for that breakdown.
I do have another question regarding the bonus points you receive. If I do not use them the first year, is it true that the value of them decreases every year? In terms of the amount of points that would be used to cover flights?
Also, is there a certain list of restaurants that we can use the platinum card at to get the 3x the points?
I am trying to figure out how on Aeroplan you find flights on non air canada flights
Hi Graydon, great question. When you search on Aeroplan, the results that come up will be with a range of airlines. The exception to this is if you’re searching for domestic flights, in which case the results will only be from Air Canada, and flights to the USA, which will have some flights with United Airlines but mostly with Air Canada as well. Click on a few of the search results and you should see other airlines like Swiss Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Lufthansa if you’re going to Europe, or EVA Air, Singapore Airlines and ANA (based in Japan) if you’re going to Asia.
Let me know if you’re still having trouble and I’ll do what I can to help you out.
Jordan
What does your usage look like with this card? Like, what purchases do you put on there? How much traveling do you really do? And how many points do you usually accumulate at the end of the year?
Thanks!
Hi Mark, everyone’s usage will be different, but here’s a pretty typical scenario.
SPENDING & EARNING
Dining: $400 per month x 3 points per dollar = 1,200 MR points per month earned on dining
Travel: $300 per month x 2 points per dollar = 600 MR points per month earned on travel
Everything Else: $300 per month x 1 point per dollar = 300 MR points per month earned on everything else
Total: $1,000 in monthly spending = 2,100 MR points per month
These are pretty easy numbers to hit, and at this rate, you’ll have 25,200 MR points by the end of the year, which is enough for a roundtrip flight anywhere in North America. If you spend twice as much on your card, you can fly just about anywhere in the world. If you spend 3x as much ($3,000 per month), you’ll have enough points for a round-the-world trip every year (see our round-the-world example in Case Study #2 above).
I hope this helps your decision, Mark.
Jordan
Hi Jordan thanks for that breakdown.
I do have another question regarding the bonus points you receive. If I do not use them the first year, is it true that the value of them decreases every year? In terms of the amount of points that would be used to cover flights?
Also, is there a certain list of restaurants that we can use the platinum card at to get the 3x the points?
Hello! I really like the detailed review for each credit card including how benefits are outlined. I have read and finally gave in to getting the The Marriott Bonvoy™ Amex Card after reading your reviews about this card. Now, I’ve been contemplating to get the American Express Platinum; however, I can’t seem to see the travel/airfare benefit for someone who’s traveling from Winnipeg, MB. Most of the city listed in your post are originating from either Vancouver or Toronto. Could you set an example of mileage usage to Europe/Asia/South America if the origin is from Winnipeg, MB? Looking forward to hear back from you!
Hi Genievive,
First off, great decision getting the Marriott Bonvoy™ Amex Card, you’re going to really love it.
As for the Platinum Card, you can definitely get the benefits of it from Winnipeg, or any other Canadian city. As we mention in this post, the key is to amass points through your American Express card, and then transfer those to either Avios or Aeroplan. I just took a couple of minutes to pull some one-way flights to Europe/Asia/South America as you asked, all of them for September 10, 2019. The screenshots are taken directly from the Aeroplan app. As you can see, the key is flying out of Winnipeg with United Airlines instead of Air Canada, since Air Canada charges hefty fuel surcharges on Aeroplan redemptions, while United does not. All three flights cost just $82.46 total in taxes and fees! You can easily find these exact flights yourself using the Aeroplan app or website.
Europe (Zurich, Switzerland): 30,000 Aeroplan Miles plus $82.46 in taxes

Asia (Tokyo, Japan): 37,500 Aeroplan Miles plus $82.46 in taxes

South America (São Paulo, Brazil): 30,000 Aeroplan Miles plus $82.46 in taxes

Hi,
Thanks for detailed review. I’ve had this card in the past and loved it. Cancelled it because I wasn’t going to be travelling much for a few years but am reconsidering now. Do you know if:
1) the will give the bonus points a second time if I have already had the card in the past?
2) it’s worth keeping it longer than a year (I.e.: is it still worth paying the hefty yearly fee when you don’t get the bonus points ?
Hi Astrid,
Great questions. Here are the answers:
1) The official ruling from American Express is that you are only supposed to receive the welcome bonus points on a particular card (eg. the Amex Platinum) once in your lifetime. In practice, though, we very frequently hear of people receiving the welcome bonus points multiple times. It seems like American Express stops the people abusing the system (those who cancel and re-apply for cards every 6 or 12 months), but given that several years have passed in your situation, you might be fine. Please let us know what happens once you’ve received your card!
2) Whether the Platinum Card is financially worth the $699 annual fee year after year heavily depends on your travel habits:
A) The first year is the Platinum Card is a no-brainer: the welcome bonus points you receive with the card are an incredible value, and even if you don’t use them in your first 12 months, you can always transfer them out to an airline partner like Aeroplan or Avios.
B) Whether the second year and subsequent years make sense for you depend on how much you travel. If you fly a lot, the value of the benefits like the travel and medical insurance and free Priority Pass lounge access will be worth a lot to you, but if not, they’re worth much less. I recommend making that decision around the 9- or 10-month mark, since you’ll have a better idea at that point of how much traveling you plan to do over the subsequent 12 months. I’ve had my Platinum Card for 4 years now and have never once considered giving it up, but at the end of the day, the choice will come down to your lifestyle.