News Summary

• AmEx's Platinum Card is getting shinier and pricier.
• The annual fee on the Platinum Card was $550 just five years ago.
• AmEx says the value of the perks on the new Platinum Card total roughly $3,500.
• The card now faces an increasingly competitive market, where the major card companies each have their own high fee, high rewards credit card products with similar perks.
• "If nothing else, going to lounges and using the $600 hotel credit will essentially justify the cost each year, and the other items are a bonus," said Ryan Smith, news managing editor of UpgradedPoints.