American Express suggests a major upgrade to a platinum card designed to seduce rapidly growing segments at the customer’s advantage

Amex ranks the Platinum Card as the most expensive in its class at $695 a year (Chase Sapphire costs $550). But as Grosfield points out, the millennials and Gen Z crowds think they are well above the annual price. Evidence: The group covering the age spectrum of the mid-20s to mid-40s increased 75% of Amex’s new accounts obtained with two premium cards in 2019, two premium cards, platinum and gold, from 60% in 2019. In the last quarter alone, Millennials and Gen Z accounted for a total of 35% of US consumer spending. The rapidly rising figure signed at $695 helped increase net card fee revenue by 18% last year. Amex said these youthful troops have proven to be extremely loyal. The company does not disclose smoking cessation rates by category, but has approved its all-in retention figure to be 98%.

The strategy dates back to 2021 and when he got a job three years later, Squeri thought the best path to growth for the financial services giant was to attract a much younger generation of shoppers than the wealthy boomers who traditionally formed his company and formed the industry’s target. Squeri boasted excellent credit records by narrowing the platinum sweet spot to the high-income group, targeting millennials now 29-44, as well as today’s Z’ers in their 20s.

Before that update, the advantages of Platinum are focused on travel, primarily offering deals such as hotel stays, airfares, and airport lounge access. Once the Covid lockdown was lifted, Squeri and his team thought that Millennials and Z-Elite Generals were eager to have a fresh adventure. So, Amex has significantly expanded its offerings to cover the range of athletic treat-seeking lifestyles by adding perks to entertainment, wellness and luxury shopping. Amex also recognizes that the cohort didn’t pay like their parents, from lawyers to investment bankers, software engineers and rising executives. These were digital natives who often didn’t even have cash and charged virtually everything on their cards. They earn more points for more merchandise than any other generation and are obsessed with it. Plus, with a few clicks, they enjoyed an app that lets them sit at the hottest new restaurant that has always been “reserved” and arrange for red clay court tennis lessons while on a business trip to Paris.

The wider menu of perks proved to be a big time lure for the younger set

Carrots that captivated the younger generation: a new set of perks covering all the territory of their leisure life. They added a $240 annual digital entertainment perk award to subscriptions with providers such as: Wall Street Journal, New York TimesDisney+, ESPN+, and Hulu. Amex tapped Millennial and Gen Z Yen for Uber by awarding $200 a year for rides on the service. When it comes to shopping, Platinum Bridge is luxurious from the daily Staples, offering $100 credits on Sachs Fifth Avenue and Walmart+ memberships, as well as discounts on fuel and home pickup. Travel services are becoming increasingly popular one-on-one, with Amex crews of 7,000 individual travel consultants able to plan holiday itineraries in Croatia or book you at a rock concert in Wembley.

Amex also hit the ace with a major foray into restaurant reservations. That first move came in 2018 when Squeri entered CEO with the acquisition of Resy. The app guarantees platinum holder reservations at Super Poplar eateries. Today, Resi partnered with 20,000 restaurants in 30 countries and last year bought another big player, TOCK, another big player with 7,000 culinary partners, including wineries from NAPA to Loire Valley. “We are the only credit card operator with our own restaurant reservation platform,” says Amex’s Grosfield.. “Unlock access to the world’s most popular tables.”