AmEx raises platinum card fee to $895
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Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
The flagship card for American Express will now cost customers $895 a year, up from the current fee of $695.
Why it matters: It's the latest example of companies betting on and catering to the resilience of wealthy consumers.
What they're saying: American Express executives tell Axios that the higher fee aligns with the affluent customers the card has always targeted.
- They said their competitive advantage has always been their focus on more premium clients.
- "We track the segment of customers who are not only more resilient, more premium, but show extreme brand loyalty," saysAnthony Cirri, head of the U.S. consumer card business.
By the numbers: The annual fee is coupled with $3,500 worth of rewards cardholders can tap into.
- That's more than double the rewards available in the card's current iteration.
- Perks include a $600 travel credit, a $400 credit at Resy (a mobile platform used to make restaurant reservations), a $300 Lululemon credit and a $200 Oura credit.
- None of the previous available perks are going away.
Zoom out: AmEx has long tapped into high-income consumers, but other card providers have been working to catch up.
- The fee for the Chase Sapphire Reserve card increased to $795 a year from $550.
It's not just credit card companies catering to higher-income groups.
- Airlines are increasingly open about targeting their top spending consumers, with Delta increasing perks for its top spending travelers and JetBlue openly working to target higher earners.
Between the lines: The strategy makes sense when you consider that the top 10% of earners make up nearly half of all consumer spending, according to Moody's.
The bottom line: The bifurcated economy is showing up in how companies are catering to consumers.
