American Express Card Benefits You May Not Know You Have – NerdWallet

Your American Express card may offer generous benefits such as rewards and bonuses, depending on which one you hold. But beyond these typical incentives that might come with your card, there are additional and often lesser-known perks that can save you money and that grant exclusive access to sought-after retailers and services.

Here are some potentially helpful American Express card benefits you may not know you have. Not all the cards offer these perks; some may provide only a few of the benefits listed below, but here’s what you need to know.

1. Free shipping

Nowadays, free delivery is a coveted perk. Eligible American Express credit card holders can access just that through the complimentary benefit ShopRunner. Cardholders who enroll for ShopRunner benefits get free two-day delivery on qualifying purchases at more than 100 stores, as well as free shipping on returns. Terms apply.

Popular ShopRunner retailers include Bloomingdale’s, Neiman Marcus and Under Armour, as well as the official online stores of the NBA, NFL and MLB. Enrollment is free and available to holders of American Express consumer and small business cards, such as the popular Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express and The Platinum Card® from American Express. Terms apply.

2. Foodie benefits

Depending on which American Express card you have, you may have exclusive access to the restaurant reservation tool Resy through the issuer’s app or dining credits to restaurant and grocery delivery services like Uber Eats, Grubhub, Seamless and Boxed.

• Resy: Through Resy, holders of premium AmEx cards, like The Platinum Card® from American Express or the Centurion® Card from American Express, have access to exclusive restaurant reservations and events. These are made available to eligible American Express customers before they are to other Resy users. With Resy, eligible cardholders can book new reservations and manage existing ones at thousands of restaurants available on the platform and on the American Express Global Dining Collection — available through Concierge. Customers also have access to the reservation platforms Bookatable and SevenRooms. You’ll have to create a Resy account and add your eligible American Express card to begin using the service. Terms apply.

• Food delivery: Additionally, select American Express cards, like the American Express® Gold Card, offer credit to popular food delivery services. In addition to the 4 points per $1 you’ll earn for restaurants takeout and delivery purchases, you can also get up to $10 in dinning credits monthly (up to $120 per year) when you pay with your card at Grubhub, the Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and participating Shake Shack locations. Enrollment is required. Terms apply (see rates and fees).

3. American Express Pay It Plan It

The issuer offers its version of the recently popular buy now, pay later. With the Pay It Plan It® feature, account holders can pay off small purchases under $100 immediately with Pay It® or use Plan It® to pay off large purchases of $100 or more in smaller monthly installments — with a fixed monthly fee instead of interest.

Note that this feature is only available for American Express consumer cards and not business credit cards.

4. AmEx Pay Over Time

The Platinum Card® from American Express, the American Express® Gold Card, and the American Express® Green Card all offer this Pay Over Time feature, which allows you to finance eligible purchases over an extended term, with interest. This makes it possible for cardholders to pay off the minimum amount due on their cards, and then pay the rest of their balance over time, with interest.

If you have any of the three cards mentioned above, you’ll automatically be enrolled in the program. All purchases of $100 or more are automatically transferred into your Pay Over Time balance each month.

Before adding this feature, these cards functioned less like traditional credit cards and did not allow cardholders to carry a balance from month to month. Terms apply.

5. AmEx Send & Split

The AmEx Send & Split option, which is only available on personal American Express credit cards, offers holders a hassle-free way of sending and dividing bills. The AmEx “Send” feature allows you to send money to other Venmo and PayPal customers without the usual 3% fee. Meanwhile, the “Split it” feature will enable you to divide up bills with other Venmo and PayPal users directly through the American Express app.

Plus, the issuer’s new “Add Card to PayPal” feature makes it easy to use your American Express card with the payment service. This new feature allows you to add your card to your PayPal account directly through the AmEx app, making it more convenient to use your card online. To add your card this way, tap “Add Card to PayPal” under the Account tab in the app.

Enrollment required. Terms apply.

6. Cell phone coverage

Following a growing trend among other issuers, premium American Express cards offer cell phone protection. Eligible cardholders who pay for their wireless bills with their cards will be reimbursed for up to $800 in cell phone repair and replacement costs (with a limit of two claims per year). Terms apply.

7. Retail benefits

In addition to cell phone coverage, the issuer offers additional retail benefits for consumer and business credit card holders. The benefits include an extended warranty, which lengthens a merchant’s warranty by up to one year, and purchase protection, which can protect your damaged or stolen items for up to 90 days. The issuer also offers return protection, which can provide refunds of up to $300 per item for purchases unable to be returned. Terms apply.

8. Travel-related benefits

If you have an American Express travel credit card, you’re able to earn significant travel rewards and incentives. But there are specific and often less-known travel-related benefits offered by American Express non-travel personal and business cards. These include:

• Lounge Access: Holders of premium American Express and Delta credit cards have access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection, including more than 1,200 airport lounges across more than 130 countries. Cardholders can access Centurion Lounges, International American Express Lounges, and Delta Sky Club. Through the Priority Pass network, other lounges are also accessible. Enrollment required.

• Baggage insurance plan: This will cover lost, damaged, or stolen checked and carry-on baggage for fares paid with your eligible card. The amount covered will depend on the card you have.

• Car loss and damage insurance: When you use your card to pay for a car rental, this plan offers secondary coverage if your rental is stolen or damaged. Coverage will depend on the American Express card that you hold.

• Global Assist: You’ll get 24/7 emergency assistance — including, in some cases, emergency medical transportation — when you’re 100 miles or more from home.

• Trip delay, trip cancellation and interruption insurance: With the trip delay benefits, you’ll be reimbursed (for expenses related to meals, lodging, toiletries, medication, and more) when your trip is delayed for more than six hours or 12 hours, depending on whether you have a premium American Express card or not. And if your trip is canceled or interrupted — due to illness, injury, or inclement weather, for example — you’ll also be eligible for coverage under the trip cancellation and interruption insurance. You must have used your eligible American Express card to book your fare to qualify for these benefits.

• Clear credit: The Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Green Card offer up to to $189 in annual statement credits for Clear, which uses biometrics to allow passengers to avoid security lines at airports and stadiums. You’ll have to pay for a Clear membership with your card to get the credit.

• Global Entry/TSA Precheck credit: Eligible premium card holders will receive either a statement credit every four years Global Entry or a statement credit every 4.5 years for TSA Precheck when they use their card to apply for the services. Global Entry costs $100, while TSA Precheck generally costs $78.

• Uber credit: The Platinum Card® from American Express and Centurion® Card from American Express offer $15 in Uber Cash for U.S. Uber Eats orders or Uber rides in the U.S, (you’ll receive $20 in the month of December), which can potentially add up to $200 in Uber cash per year. You must add your card as a payment method to your Uber account to earn this Uber Cash benefit.

• Cruise Privilege Program: If you have a personal or business Platinum or Centurion® card, you can get up to $300 in shipboard credit per stateroom when you use your card to book cruises of at least five nights through American Express travel. You’ll also receive additional perks such as exclusive in-cruise amenities and one additional Membership Rewards point per dollar that you spend.

• Terms apply.

9. Hotel benefits

Eligible cardholders may have access to credit and exclusive hotel perks through the following American Express portals.

• The Platinum Card® from American Express, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and Centurion Card from American Express all have access to the Fine Hotels and Resorts portal. Regardless of status, cardholders can have access to more than 1,200 hotels worldwide in addition to receiving benefits such as room upgrades, early check in, complimentary Wi-Fi and breakfast for two, when they book through AmexTravel.com.

• The Hotel collection is available to holders of the above American Express cards, in addition to the American Express® Gold Card and the American Express® Business Gold Card. You’ll get benefits at more than 600 hotels, including room upgrades, $100 experience credit and more, when you use your eligible card to book stays of two nights or more.

• Terms apply.

10. Credits for popular spending

The Platinum Card® from American Express offers statement credits for the following popular services and retailers.

• Walmart membership: As of October 2021, eligible cardholders who use their card to purchase a Walmart+ membership will receive a statement credit to cover the cost of the membership — which is valued at $12.95 a month. A Walmart+ membership offers unlimited shipping from Walmart, free delivery from eligible stores and more.

• Equinox: You’ll get up to $300 per year when you use your card to pay for an Equinox or Equinox+ membership. Enrollment is required. Additionally, those with an Equinox+ membership could receive a $300 statement credit (up to 15 times per calendar year) when you use your card to purchase a SoulCycle at-home bike. While this is a nice chunk of change, it will only cover a small portion of the bike’s $2,500 price. Plus, those who plan to make multiple SoulCycle at-home bike purchases, like gym owners, for example, would find the most use out of this credit.

• Digital entertainment: Eligible cardholders who enroll can get up to $20 in statement credits monthly (up to $240 per calendar year) when they use their cards to pay for any of the following services: Peacock, Audible, SiriusXM, Disney+, The Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu and The New York Times.

• Saks Fifth Avenue: You can earn up to $100 in statement credits annually ($50 from January through June and $50 from July through December) for purchases made online or in person at the retailer. Enrollment is required.

• Dell: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express provides a $200 statement credit annually (up to $100 between January and June and up to $100 between July and December) for purchases made directly with Dell.

• Terms apply.

11. Access to AmEx Offers

By enrolling in AmEx offers through your online account or the American Express mobile app, you can access rewards in the form of travel offers, merchant discounts, statement credits, and more. You’ll earn rewards to your account after you’ve added an offer from a merchant to your eligible American Express card and make a qualifying purchase using your card. Terms apply.

12. AmEx Experiences

Through this offer, American Express cardmembers have exclusive access to various entertainment experiences, including festivals, concerts, plays, sports and fashion events. Terms apply.

13. Concierge Service

Holders of premium American Express cards will have access to the complimentary concierge service, which offers 24-hour access to assistants who can provide card-related help such as making dinner reservations, purchasing tickets, answering questions about travel and more. To get connected with an assistant, you can call the number on the back of your card and say or select “concierge.”

14. AmEx Auto Purchasing Program

This program provides access to over 10,000 car dealerships that accept American Express cards. Through ​​amexnetwork.truecar.com, cardholders can enter specifics about their preferred vehicle such as make, model and location. Participating dealers will accept your card for at least $2,000 and up to the car’s full purchase price. They will also provide a Guaranteed Savings Certificate for your described vehicle and any vehicles in stock that match your preferences. Terms apply.

To view rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page. To view rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, see this page. To view rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, see this page. To view rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page. To view rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, see this page.

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