The American Express Platinum Card® is a top-tier premium travel rewards card with a $895 annual fee (see rates and fees).
At first glance, the annual fee can be intimidating, but the good news is that the plethora of lifestyle-oriented benefits helps cardholders justify keeping the Amex Platinum in their wallets since these perks offset the hefty annual fee.
American Express Platinum Card — Find out your offer: You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new card in your first six months of membership. Welcome offers vary, and you may not be eligible for an offer.
Let’s explore a useful benefit of the Amex Platinum: The monthly statement credit toward eligible digital entertainment subscriptions.
What is the Amex Platinum digital entertainment credit?
The Amex Platinum offers up to $300 in digital entertainment statement credits annually, spread out in monthly up to $25 increments. (Enrollment is required)
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You can use these credits for the following subscriptions:
- Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ — or a Disney+ Bundle (which includes up to all three services)
- Paramount+
- Peacock
- The New York Times
- The Wall Street Journal
- YouTube Premium
- YouTube TV
If you already have any of these subscriptions, this credit is a good deal. If not, the credit may be enough to convince you to try a new subscription.
American Express periodically changes the services this statement credit covers, so pay close attention to the list of covered subscriptions.
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Activating the digital entertainment credit on the Amex Platinum
You must enroll your card before making a qualifying purchase. You won’t receive any statement credits if you fail to do this.
Head to your Amex Platinum home page and click the “Rewards & Benefits” tab at the top of the screen.
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Once in the benefits section, you’ll be presented with all of the card’s benefits. Scroll until you see “$300 Digital Entertainment Credit.” Then click either the “Get Started” or “Learn More” button.
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Simply scroll past the details of the benefit, indicate that you understand the terms and conditions and then click “Enroll Now.”
Any purchase with an eligible merchant afterward will now earn a statement credit. The reimbursement takes six to eight weeks after a monthly recurring service is charged to the Amex Platinum.
However, for many TPG staffers, the credit usually appears on their statements within a few business days.
Let’s look at the costs of each digital entertainment subscription. Remember that you must enroll directly with the provider for your Amex credit to trigger. You can’t sign up via a mobile app or a third party.
Related: How to use your American Express Uber credits for rides and meals
Cost of plans covered by the Amex Platinum’s digital entertainment credit
Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+
There are varying levels of services with each plan, but here are some of the current monthly prices we’ve found:
Services includedPrice per monthDisney+ (with ads)$9.99 (increasing to $11.99 on Oct. 21)Hulu (with ads)$9.99 (increasing to $11.99 on Oct. 21)Disney+ and Hulu (both with ads)$10.99 (increasing to $12.99 on Oct. 21)ESPN Select (with ads)$11.99 (increasing to $12.99 on Oct. 21)Disney+ (no ads) $15.99 (increasing to $18.99 on Oct. 21)Disney+, Hulu and HBO Max (all with ads)$16.99 (increasing to $19.99 on Oct. 21)Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Select (all with ads)$16.99 (increasing to $19.99 on Oct. 21)Hulu (no ads)$18.99Disney+ and Hulu (both with no ads)$19.99Legacy Disney Bundle: Disney+ (no ads), Hulu (with ads) and ESPN Select (with ads)$21.99 (increasing to $24.99 on Oct. 21)
This plan is no longer available to purchase or switch to on Disney+; existing subscribers can keep their plan as long as they do not cancel or change it.
Disney+ (no ads), Hulu (no ads), ESPN Select (with ads)$26.99 (increasing to $29.99 on Oct. 21)Disney+, Hulu and HBO Max (no ads) $29.99 (increasing to $32.99 on Oct. 21)Disney+, Hulu and ESPN Unlimited (with ads)$29.99Hulu with ads, plus Live TV, Disney+, and ESPN+ (all with ads)$82.99 (increasing to $89.99 on Oct. 21)Hulu without ads, plus Live TV, Disney+ (without ads), and ESPN+ (with ads)$95.99 (increasing to $99.99 on Oct. 21)
As you can see, you can tailor the right plan to fit your needs. No matter which plan you choose, you must purchase the monthly subscriptions directly through the provider’s websites after enrolling for the benefit with Amex.
Pro tip: You’ll get the best bang for your buck with the bundles that include Disney+, Hulu and either ESPN Select or HBO Max. The price is close to the $25 monthly statement credit, though these rates are increasing on Oct. 21.
Paramount+
Apart from the usual promotional offers, here are the two paid subscriptions:
ServicePrice per monthParamount+ Essential (with ads)$7.99Paramount+ Premium (no ads)$12.99
Pro tip: The Platinum Card includes up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes in monthly statement credits toward one Walmart+ membership. (Enrollment is required).
Walmart+ members get a Paramount+ Essential streaming service subscription. (Separate enrollment is required for Paramount+) So, it only makes sense to use this credit to update to a Premium package.
Peacock
Peacock offers three paid products:
ServicePrice per monthSelect (with ads, no live TV or Peacock originals)$7.99Premium (with ads, includes live TV and Peacock originals)$10.99Premium Plus (no ads, includes live TV and Peacock originals)$16.99
You will not be reimbursed for subscriptions bundled with cable services or other bundles, and you can’t use them toward gift cards of any sort.
Pro tip: The ad-free Premium Plus subscription offers the best value, as you can also download content for offline viewing.
The New York Times
Ignoring limited-time or introductory offers, here’s what you can expect to pay for a subscription with The New York Times:
SubscriptionPrice per week New York Times Games$1.50NYT Cooking$1.50Paper copyStarting at $10 per week (Sunday edition)Digital subscription$25 (every four weeks)
To trigger the Amex Platinum credit, you must sign up by visiting The New York Times’ website. Other purchases, such as ad services, gift cards and the New York Times company store, are excluded.
TPG credit card writer Danyal Ahmed has a digital subscription to the NYT and secured a plan for $4 every four weeks. He stacks this with a Disney+ subscription to maximize his entertainment credit.
Pro tip: Subscribe when there’s a limited-time offer to get the most value.
The Wall Street Journal
Here’s what you can expect to pay for a subscription to The Wall Street Journal:
SubscriptionPrice per weekThe Wall Street Journal Digital$9.75Weekend print plus The Wall Street Journal Digital$11.25The Wall Street Journal+ Digital Bundle (WSJ, Barron’s, MarketWatch, and Investor’s Business Daily Digital)$13.75Monday to Friday and weekend print plus The Wall Street Journal Digital$16.25
Pro tip: The Wall Street Journal regularly offers special pricing for its services (digital and print). Those promotional periods are ideal times to sign up to stack the Amex Platinum digital credit with other subscriptions and maximize the $25 monthly credit.
YouTube benefits
The digital entertainment credit offers a statement credit for YouTube Premium and YouTube TV. Here’s how they compare:
ServicePrice per monthYouTube Premium individual $13.99YouTube Premium family plan$22.99YouTube TV base plan$82.99
If you’re looking to get the entire cost covered, YouTube TV is on the pricey side.
Pro tip: Sign up for YouTube Premium. If you want to share with your partner, log in to YouTube on their device.
Bottom line
American Express offers up to $300 in digital entertainment statement credit as part of the Amex Platinum’s suite of benefits.
This credit can be of good value as many people purchase their memberships for these services. However, to get the biggest value from this benefit, you’ll need to pay for your subscriptions monthly.
Just remember to enroll your card first before paying for any participating services. Otherwise, the credits won’t be applied.
To learn more, read our full review of the Amex Platinum.
Apply here: American Express Platinum Card
For rates and fees of the American Express Platinum Card, click here.
