American Express Platinum insurance proves its worth

The American Express Platinum charge card has taken a lot of stick this year.  And frankly, most of it was justified.

There was a lot of grumbling, to put it mildly, when Amex cut the insurance benefits on its Platinum charge card in January.  What was comprehensive, no-worries cover became a bit of a game, with flights and hotel required to have been paid on an Amex card in order to qualify for some benefits.  They then hiked the fee to £450 from £300, with no improvement in benefits apart from one year of Cathay Pacific Gold status.

Let’s give them some credit though.  When we were in Barbados recently, our son vomited badly for a day and so we had him seen by the resident hotel doctor.  We did not get this pre-approved by Axa (Amex’s insurance partner), which is a pre-condition for repayment. 

I had deleted all my e-ticket receipts by the time I submitted the claim, and the claim itself was a scruffy receipt torn from a standard receipt book, available in any stationers, with B$450 written on it (c £150) and rubber stamped with the doctor’s name.  Not exactly great proof – all that I sent Amex was that receipt.

And, today, I got an e-mail saying they were paying me in full.  The same thing happened four years ago, when I got a bug at the Four Seasons Florence and saw the hotel doctor, without any Amex pre-approval.  Credit where it’s due – both times they paid my claims promptly even though I technically had not submitted all the required paperwork or proof of travel. 

Hopefully my 15 years of card membership and modest claims record (those two claims are all I have made in probably 100 trips in that time, not that they know how often I travel) counted for something.

Want to earn more points from credit cards? – December 2021 update

If you are looking to apply for a new credit or charge card, here are our November 2021 recommendations based on the current sign-up bonus. 

You can see our full directory of all UK cards which earn airline or hotel points here. Here are the top current deals:

British Airways American Express

5,000 Avios for signing up, no annual fee and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending ….. Read our full review

British Airways American Express Premium Plus

25,000 Avios and the UK’s most valuable credit card perk – the 2-4-1 companion voucher Read our full review

American Express Preferred Rewards Gold

Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & two airport lounge passes Read our full review

The Platinum Card from American Express

30,000 points and an unbeatable set of travel benefits – for a fee Read our full review

Earning miles and points from small business cards

If you are a sole trader or run a small company, you may also want to check out these offers.

American Express Business Gold

20,000 points sign-up bonus and free for a year Read our full review

American Express Business Platinum

40,000 points sign-up bonus and a long list of travel benefits Read our full review

British Airways Accelerating Business American Express

30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review

Capital On Tap Business Rewards Visa

The most generous Avios Visa or Mastercard for a limited company Read our full review

For a non-American Express option, we also recommend the Barclaycard Select Cashback card for sole traders and small businesses. It is FREE and you receive 1% cashback on your spending:

Barclaycard Select Cashback Credit Card

1% cashback and no annual fee Read our full review