AMEX PLATINUM SOCIAL MEDIA UPGRADE
Soon after the Sapphire Reserve debuted, AmEx announced an upgrade to its points program for Platinum Card customers, allowing five points per dollar to be earned on airfare instead of one point. consumer card business, and unlike its major competition, AmEx makes most of its money not on charging interest but on the fees it charges merchants to accept its cards. Roughly 30 percent of AmEx’s 2016 revenue came from its U.S. “It was a product that could go head-to-head with American Express’ Platinum Card, and there was some noticeable impact among AmEx’s best customers when it was introduced,” said Sanjay Sakhrani, an analyst with Keefe, Bruyette & Woods.ĪmEx executives clearly took the threat seriously.
The card also attracted lots of interest from millennials, who aren’t usually a target for high-fee, ultra-premium cards. Even with its $450 annual fee, interest in the card was so hot that Chase ran out of the metal to make the cards within days of launch. The most direct threat to AmEx’s hold on the high-end consumer has come from JPMorgan Chase ( JPM), which launched the Sapphire Reserve Card last year. Citi did take a significant chunk of American Express’ business last year by taking over the Costco ( COST) credit card. Citigroup ( C) took the first shot in 2014, redesigning the Citi Prestige Card with help from recently poached AmEx executives - but Prestige never caught as much consumer attention as the Platinum Card. The banks got customers with excellent credit who typically spend tens of thousands of dollars a year on their cards.īut the market AmEx once dominated has become increasingly competitive. The cards were designed for frequent travelers and well-to-do customers willing to pay substantial annual fees to get access to airport lounges, special events or dedicated customer service. She also noted that it was the first increase in the annual fee on the Platinum Card in 10 years.Īmerican Express effectively created the market for high-end credit cards more than 30 years ago when it introduced the Gold and Platinum Cards. “When we looked at who we should partner with, Uber made a lot of sense,” Whiteside said. Whiteside sees the Uber credit as a perk that will appeal to millennials in particular. “It’s a suite of new and enhanced benefits that translates into a new Platinum Card for a new generation of customer,” said Janey Whiteside, who heads the Platinum Card division at American Express.
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