Some premium cards now require an ‘extreme couponing’ mindset

Editor’s note: This is a recurring post, regularly updated with new information and offers.

An up to $50 Saks Fifth Avenue statement credit every six months (January-June and July-December; up to $100 each calendar year). An up to $20 monthly statement credit toward digital entertainment (up to $240 per calendar year). An up to $300 annual Equinox statement credit each calendar year.

Also, up to $15 in monthly Uber Cash towards U.S. purchases (but remember the extra up to $20 bonus in December; up to $200 per calendar year).* An up to $200 statement credit each calendar year toward airline incidental fees — but not airfare. An up to $200 statement credit each calendar year for a stay booked via the Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts program. Enrollment is required for select benefits; terms apply.

And all of that is just the beginning.

No, that’s not a rundown of options from a luxury coupon book. Those are some of the benefits available for those with the $695-per-year The Platinum Card® from American Express (see rates and fees).

Although my brain is hard-wired almost to love finding and tracking deals and travel perks, even I feel like it’s bordering on mental fatigue to keep up with all of the different small-to-medium-sized credits offered by a growing list of cards.

While once upon a time premium cards offered a shorter list of mostly substantial perks, now they have gone down a road where the list of perks is longer, the annual fee is higher and to come out ahead, you almost need to have the mindset of a luxury-focused extreme couponer.

*You must have downloaded the latest version of the Uber App, and your eligible American Express Platinum Card must be a method of payment in your Uber account. You must pay for your Uber ride with an Amex card to use your Uber Cash.

The list of perks gets longer — and more confusing

An issuer adding more card perks and benefits is generally a good thing. However, when you reach a stage where a spreadsheet is needed to keep up with all the different benefits and whether you have used them each month, that could be a sign things have gone too far.

The Amex Platinum by itself now has at least eight different built-in statement credits that are divvied out in time frames that range from monthly to semiannually, annually and every four years.

And that doesn’t even begin to touch the different category bonuses and the benefits and protections for putting different types of charges on the card, or the variety of ways you can use the welcome bonus and ongoing points earned by the card.

The statement credits alone are more than enough to offset the current $695 annual fee. But they are only valuable if you use them — will you go through a $15 monthly Uber Cash credit, a $20 monthly statement credit toward (limited) eligible digital entertainment services and that up to $50 Saks credit every six months?

The Chase Sapphire Reserve® has fewer periodic statement credits and categories. Still, if you want to make the most of it, you’ll need to move your Peloton monthly subscription over to that card.

Then there’s the $300 annual travel credit, which is, thankfully, pretty easy to use.

But wait — there’s more. Those with cobranded American Express Hilton, Marriott and Delta cards get credits at U.S. restaurants and at select properties, depending on the card. That’s even more benefits that require monthly tracking and, at times, meticulous planning.

Simpler could be better

Personally, I come out way ahead when card issuers implement all these different credits and perks. But I know I’m not a normal card user in that regard.

Less obsessed people I know, such as my husband, parents and most friends, are not about to start switching up which card they use for this, that and the other simply to chase a few dollars of an available statement credit here and there.

It might be “easy,” but it still takes up brain space and that can be in short supply in an already stressful reality.

While not every single card perk can be of the $300-annual-travel-credit variety, there is something to learn from the simplicity of that credit on the Sapphire Reserve. You can use it as quickly or as slowly as you want in that year, and you can use it for a wide number of charges that fall under “travel.”

The Amex Platinum’s up to $240 annual digital entertainment statement credit each calendar year is a good example of the opposite side of the simplicity fence.

This credit is doled out in monthly installments of up to $20. It isn’t good on any old type of digital entertainment, only on charges from select brands: Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ — or a Disney Bundle — Peacock, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal.

It could be a much more user-friendly benefit if it were valid at a wider grouping of providers — such as toward any streaming service, for example.

Alternatively, even if the list of providers is kept short or if the credit is simply available to use on a yearly basis instead of in monthly chunks, it could be easier to leverage since most subscriptions are cheaper when paid annually instead of monthly or quarterly.

The American Express® Gold Card offers up to $20 in monthly benefits that can be used toward dining each calendar year, but one of the up to $10 credits is for Uber Cash in the U.S., while the other up to $10 is only valid at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com and Five Guys.

You’ll receive up to $120 annually in dining credits and up to $120 in Uber Cash per year (You must have downloaded the latest version of the Uber App, and your eligible American Express Gold Card must be a method of payment in your Uber account. You must pay for your Uber ride with an Amex card to use your Uber Cash.). Enrollment is required for select benefits, and terms apply.

Uber pickup area at Midway Airport — SCOTT OLSON/GETTY IMAGES

Additionally, cardmembers receive up to $7 in monthly credits at Dunkin’ (up to $84 each calendar year) and up to $100 per calendar year in Resy credits. The Resy credits are easier than you realize to use, as any restaurant enrolled in Resy is eligible and doesn’t require a reservation. The credits for Resy are doled biannually in up to $50 increments.

All of these benefits come for a lower annual fee than the Amex Platinum at $325 per year (see rates and fees).

I like the occasional free piece of cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory as much as the next person, but the card wants to train its users to select it for most dining charges by default. It would be significantly easier if it offered a monthly dining credit that was valid at all dining locations. Enrollment is required for select benefits, and terms apply.

How to come out ahead

I get more value in points, perks and credits from every single card in my wallet than I pay in annual fees. If I didn’t, I would dump that card in a hurry. But I’m willing to put some mental energy into maximizing most — though not all — of the perks my specific cards offer.

You need to be very honest with yourself about what you’re willing and able to do to squeeze value out of your premium cards. Sure, the high-end Amex Platinum offers an assortment of credits, but which ones will you really use?

I’m unlikely to use the up to $300 Equinox credit each calendar year and haven’t yet figured out how I want to use the up to $240 digital entertainment credit per calendar year.

You may have no interest in an up to $50 Saks credit every six months or perhaps won’t utilize the monthly up to $15 in Uber Cash (with an extra up to $20 in December). That’s OK — you can skip some perks and still be in the black with that card, but do the real-world math for your situation from the beginning and at least before every account anniversary when you will owe that annual fee again.

But after you’ve done the math on what you will and won’t actually benefit from, it can be useful to have a tool that reminds you of the different perks. This is especially true if you have more than one or two cards in your wallet.

Maybe it’s a Google or Excel Sheet you set up that lists all your card credits that you check on monthly, or a sticky note on your computer or labels on the physical cards in your wallet.

Whatever you need to do to remember to use your up to $15 monthly Uber Cash (in the U.S.) with your Amex Platinum Card (with an extra up to $20 in December) or to use your Amex Gold to pay for a meal monthly at Five Guys or the Cheesecake Factory, having a tracking system of some sort is the only way to really keep up with it all.

Pick the credits you care about the most, and at least have a list that you refer to monthly if you want to ensure that you aren’t leaving valuable statement credits on the table.

Bottom line

It’s great that rewards credit cards have evolved with new lifestyle and everyday benefits that help them stay relevant in a world where travel isn’t always at the top of everyone’s to-do list. However, the approach to this evolution has left us in a situation where you have to take on a couponer’s mindset to get the true value out of the cards that charge $500 or more in annual fees.

Many new benefits require a nickel-and-dime approach to use up those $10 and $20 statement credits that are often only applicable at a niche list of retailers. You shouldn’t need to use a monthly tracking spreadsheet to get a fair amount of value from a high-end premium card. There are plenty of ways to make high-end cards relevant to daily life without overly complicating the situation.

For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Gold card, click here.