American Express - Platinum American Express Review

I have had the AMEX Platinum card for approximately 10 years.  Interest seems competitive but not relevant to me since we pay off monthly.  We use the card for many purchases ranging from groceries to an automobile (as a down payment) and it comprises about 75% of our monthly credit transactions.  We pay as much as we can with the card including auto/home insurance, teletphone, etc.

The fraud aspect of the card is outstanding.  Once we were in a city 90 miles away attempting to buy a dryer for my Son and AMEX denied the transaction.  I called the 800 customer service number and found out it was a fraud alert as it was unusual to buy a large appliance so far from home.  This has happened to us on a couple of occasions and show their diligence in tracking purchases.  

I especially like their on-line access. It is an easy way to tell exactly how we are doing that month with expenses.  Also, they have a year end summary this is invaluable for understanding your spending.  In addition, you can characterize your transaction into categories to make this reporting even more valuable.

One drawback is the card is not accepted everywhere.  Thus we have to have a mastercard or visa to fill in the gaps.  This is very irritating but a fact of life since they charge vendors higher use fees that others.