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Just months after unveiling a major refresh of its iconic premium card, American Express is back for more. On Thursday, the card issuer added two new retail and wellness credits to the long list of perks now available on The Platinum Card® from American Express.
Starting Oct. 7, Amex Platinum card members can get a monthly statement credit that covers the cost of a Walmart+ membership by using their card to pay for the membership. The standard monthly price of Walmart+ is $12.95 plus applicable taxes, so annually, this adds up to over $155 in potential value.
Walmart+ members receive unlimited free shipping with no minimum on items shipped by Walmart, as well as fuel discounts, free delivery from Walmart stores (where available) and other benefits that can be especially lucrative if you shop at Walmart often.
In addition, Amex Platinum card members can now also get an additional $300 statement credit on purchases of the SoulCycle At-Home Bike through Equinox+. The bike itself retails for $2,500, and accessing Equinox+ costs $39.99 per month, which you need to have in order to purchase a bike and access the at-home content.
Amex Platinum card members can use the new $300 statement credit each time they purchase a bike — up to 15 times per calendar year. According to the terms of the benefit, card members must charge the full price of the bike in one transaction in order to receive the credit, and the bike can only be shipped in the contiguous US.
As part of the Platinum Card’s refresh in July, American Express added an annual credit of up to $300 for Equinox gym memberships, broken down into credits of up to $25 per month. This new SoulCycle credit is in addition to the monthly Equinox credit.
The addition of these two new benefits marks another step in Amex’s strategy of marketing the Platinum Card as a lifestyle product rather than exclusively as a premium travel card. When the pandemic first took hold in 2020 and global travel came to a screeching halt, the elite travel perks of the Amex Platinum card quickly became impractical, as its airport lounge access and travel credits were virtually impossible to use.
In an effort to make the card more valuable for grounded card members, Amex added a number of temporary benefits to the Platinum Card during the pandemic that focused on lifestyle needs rather than travel. It then made permanent changes to the card earlier this year — split between travel perks and those in the lifestyle realm — to diversify its benefits.
The Amex Platinum has an annual fee of $695 (see rates and fees), but you can offset much of that cost if you can make use of the card’s benefits. Plus, as travel (hopefully) picks back up in 2022, the card’s VIP travel perks should be more useful in the coming year.
If you’re interested in these two new Amex Platinum perks or any of its existing benefits, right now new card members can earn 80,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 on purchases in the first six months after opening the account.
Learn more about The Platinum Card from American Express.
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