Credit cards · Card review
Amex Platinum review
The $799 question answered honestly: consumed fully, the credits and Centurion lounges justify the fee for frequent flyers — but the earn is ordinary, the welcome demands $10,000 of spend in 3 months, and at 65+ the travel medical is excluded just like the $0 cards. Prestige isn’t coverage.
Best for: Frequent flyers who will actually use $400 of credits and the lounge network — and are under 65
Pros
- Global Lounge Collection incl. Centurion lounges — the only unlimited access in Canada
- $200 travel + $200 dining annual credits bring the effective fee near $399
- Up to 130,000-point welcome — the largest in the market
- No income requirement; charge-card structure
Cons
- 65+ travel medical EXCLUDED — the $799 buys no exception to the Amex pattern
- Welcome needs $10,000 in 3 months (and $45,000 in 12 for the full amount)
- 2× dining/travel, 1× else — ordinary earn for the tier
- Dining credit requires enrolment and eligible restaurants
The fee, deconstructed
Nobody pays $799 for earn rates. The fee buys a bundle: $200 of Amex Travel credit + $200 of dining credit (enrolment and eligible-restaurant conditions), the Global Lounge Collection with Centurion access no other Canadian card offers, hotel status, and the market’s largest welcome (90,000 points with $10,000 in 3 months, plus 40,000 at $45,000 cumulative). Use the credits fully and the effective fee is ~$399; use them partially and the card quietly becomes expensive.
The honest test is calendar-shaped: did you fly enough last year that unlimited lounges plus the credits beat 4–6 free passes on a $150 card?
What $799 doesn’t buy
Coverage past 64. The certificate defines an insured person as “age 64 or under on the departure date” — identical to Cobalt and Gold — so the most expensive personal card in Canada carries zero travel medical at 65+. Trip cancellation ($2,500/person) and the rest of the bundle follow the same eligibility. For the demographic most likely to afford this card, that’s the paragraph that matters; the alternatives that do cover 65–75 are on the retiree page.
Who it actually fits
A frequent flyer under 65 with the spend to clear the welcome gates — for whom year one is genuinely lucrative (130,000 points plus credits against the fee) — and the travel cadence to keep consuming the bundle thereafter. The charge-card structure (pay in full; ~30% on carried balances) suits exactly that profile. Sporadic travellers fund a lifestyle they’re not living; the math never argues otherwise.
Frequently asked questions
What does the Amex Platinum cost?
Annual fee: $799 — Additional Platinum $250; first two additional Golds $0. Purchase rate Charge card — 21.99% on carried Flexible Payment balances; cash advances n/a. Foreign transactions: Not published on the card page — confirm in the cardmember agreement (typically 2.5%). All figures verified at American Express’s own pages on June 12, 2026 — compare the field on our main card table.
What are the Amex Platinum’s earn rates — with the caps?
2× dining & food delivery · 2× travel · 1× else. $200 annual travel credit + $200 annual dining credit (enrolment + eligible restaurants). Global Lounge Collection incl. Centurion lounges. Caps are where card marketing goes to die — our worked household math prices every major card through its caps.
Does the Amex Platinum include travel medical insurance?
15 days if 64 or under ($5M) · 65+: EXCLUDED entirely — even at $799/yr. Card medical attaches to holding the card in good standing (the trip doesn’t need to be charged to it), but trip cancellation/interruption benefits do require paying with the card. The full certificate-verified age-cliff table is on our retiree cards page.
Who can get the Amex Platinum?
No income requirement — charge card, no preset limit. Current welcome offer: Up to 130,000 pts: 90,000 with $10,000 in 3 months + 40,000 with $45,000 in 12 months — ongoing. Offers change without notice — confirm on the issuer’s page before applying.
The bottom line
As a year-one play for a heavy spender, Platinum is the richest offer in Canada; as a long-term holding it’s a disciplined-consumption test most people fail. And at 65 its headline protections vanish entirely — the fine print no concierge will read to you.
Educational review, not credit advice or an offer of credit. Facts verified at American Express’s own pages (insurance from certificates where stated) on June 12, 2026; offers, rates and terms change without notice — confirm on the issuer’s page before applying. Quebec residents may see different offers and rates.