American Express’s CEO unveils a big upgrade to its $895 Platinum Card—and explains how he’s targeting Gen Z and Millennials
Together, those younger generations account for 35% of all U.S. consumer spending for Amex, up from 19% in 2019.
On this afternoon in early September, the American Express CEO is giving Fortune an exclusive preview of the new and enhanced benefits in store for its Platinum cardholders in the highly anticipated, forthcoming update, the first in four years, that they’ll unveil the morning of September 18. Seated in his glass framed office overlooking the Hudson River in Lower Manhattan, sporting a rose-hued jacket, tan jeans and loafers sans socks, the homespun Queens native—who seldom gives interviews and by the way, doesn’t drink coffee as he’s unimpressed by the aroma—is buzzing with such fervor over the coming goodies that you might think he’s on a super-caffeine high from the Diet Coke he’s sipping out of a traditional 8 ounce glass contour bottles that he insists “which is part of what makes it taste a lot better. It’s great marketing by Coke.”
Marketing it something Squeri knows quite a bit about—and will be relying on to sell the new card, whose annual fee will rise from the current $695 to $895. That’s ahead of the $795 charge for Platinum’s closest rival, the Chase Sapphire Reserve entry that got its own uplift in late June. But Squeri insists that the improved Platinum will provide the richest benefits of any widely-used card today. It’s also worth noting that the uplift represents the biggest investment Amex has ever in a card refresh. “If you use the credits, you’ll they’ll get over $3,500 a year in value on both the consumer and business cards,” he says. “At the $695 fee, that value was $1500 a year on the consumer card. People are going to do the math. They’re going to say, wait a minute, you want me to pay $200 extra for over $1,000 in additional value?” And if people really feast on the new benefits, they could get even more from the new menu, Squeri avows.
Squeri emphasizes that Amex is doubling-down on the pioneering foray it first made during the pandemic: Moving heavily into streaming, wellness, shopping, restaurants and other “lifestyle” areas beyond the historic concentration in travel. (The press release issued this morning details the entire roster.) Cardmembers get a $100 a month credit, or $400 a year, at elite restaurants booked on the Amex-owned Resy site, $120 towards an Uber One membership that provides free delivery on eligible eatery and grocery orders, $300 ($75 a quarter) towards yoga and running gear or other apparel at Lululemon, and $200 for an Oura ring that tracks a wide range of health metrics. The digital entertainment benefit that adds Paramount+ and YouTube Premium to the previous list that includes the likes of Disney+, Hulu and the New York Times gets lifted from $20 to $25 a month. And cardholders keep all the sundry existing benefits ranging from credits for Walmart+ and Equinox memberships (both $300 a year) to purchases at Saks ($100).
On the travel side, it’s mainly enhancements to today’s perks. For hotels, Amex is tripling the annual credit for stays booked through American Express Travel from $200 to $600 at the mainly five-star hotels at its Fine Hotels & Resorts and slightly less fancy Hotel Collection offerings, a list that includes such choices as the Amman properties around the world and the newly-refurbished Waldorf Astoria in Manhattan. Cardmembers get early check-in and 4:00 checkout privileges, as well as $100 towards such extras as food and beverage or spa services as varied as facials and saunas. Squeri stresses the sumptuous value cardmembers can reap from exploiting Amex’s hotel rewards. “We offer 3100 hotels that offer those things,” he says. “We have the largest array of any card company, and it keeps growing. You get early check-in and late checkout that gives you extra hours at the hotel. You can get the $100 in incidentals per stay, and you can get it any time you go to one of our hotels. You also get a free breakfast each day, we’ve all had hotel breakfasts for two people and we all know they’re not cheap!”
Dining is now the biggest spending category for AMEX, and younger folks are the driver
Squeri highlighted an historic surge in spending at restaurants that strongly shaped the new suite of rewards. “In the travel and entertainment segment that includes airfare, restaurants and dining, the latter used to be number three,” he says. But it was the fastest growing T&E area in Q1 and Q2 of this year. That trend inspired Amex to introduce the $400 a year award for reservations through Resy. The card colossus acquired the site in 2019, a year after Squeri became CEO. Today, Resy takes over 100 million reservations a year; all-comers are welcome, but only Amex cardholders get special treatment.
A big bonus for Amex customers: scoring tables at top, hard-to-get-into restaurants. The Resy network encompasses many Michelin star and sundry award winning locales including Le Bernadin in New York, Alinea in Chicago, and Canlis in Seattle. Some of those places often hold “inventory” in reserve for cardholders, or put them at the top of waiting lists over non-Amex folks who booked earlier. Why do these coveted addresses offer Amex those deals? “It’s simple, because the Amex cardholder will order the more expensive bottle of wine or order the steak or it’s going to be a corporate cardholder on an entertainment budget,” says Squeri. Adds Resy CEO Pablo Rivero, “Card members with the Resy credit spend 25% more at U.S. Resy restaurants once the benefit launched [Resy benefits were introduced in 2024 on several other Amex cards]. The restaurants want to fill up with the people who spend the most.”
Increasingly, that cohort encompasses the Gen Z’ers (up to age 27) and Millennials (28 to 44), a demo that Squeri’s been a first mover in courting. “Those two groups use their cards at restaurants 60% more on average than boomers or Gen X’ers combined,” notes Rivero. Together, those younger generations account for 35% of all U.S. consumer spending for Amex, up from 19% in 2019. And the Gen Z and Millennials crowd tilt heavily to acquiring fee-based cards like Gold and Platinum.
Squeri’s broken fresh ground by both offering super-rich bennies overall, and tailoring the offerings to the customers of the future, those affluent, free-spending, adventure seeking folks from their mid-20s to mid-40s. For Steve Squeri, that’s the formula for winning customers who’ll stay onboard for decades to come.
