American Express has apparently run out of metal cards for their Personal platinum product. When new changes went into effect on March 30th, one of the changes was that the card would now be made out of metal. It was possible to request a new metal card and it was showing as deliverable the following business day.
Few readers did receive their new card on the 31st (shipped by FedEx) but American Express have changed most of these requests to US Mail instead. In addition it’s no longer possible to request a new metal card. Note that this only applies to people that requested a new metal card under damage/replacement (a specific option was also added for metal cards), if you requested a replacement card due to it being lost or stolen then you should receive a metal card. Reddit user nealcaffreyy was offered 3,000 points due to the inconvenience when they called in to complain. Other users were either offered no points or a random offer of points.
It seems like poor planning on American Express’ behalf due to the fact that the Chase Sapphire Reserve ran into the same issue and American Express had an existing cardholder base and specifically gave them the option to request a metal card. It also seems like poor customer service to say that something will be next day shipped and then change it to regular US Mail.
At the end of the day, it’s a metal card and card aesthetics should mean very little to readers. American Express obviously upgraded to metal cards for a reason and I’m somewhat perplexed they haven’t been able to meet the demand. There is also an imgur album of the new card that can be found here.
They just decided to send me one. Never asked. Thought it was a joke. Keeping my unexpired plastic card in case an old fashioned carbon machine is used.
Got a tracking number for one of my cards today, but it hasn’t shipped yet.
I don’t mind the wait, Amex has helped me with so much in the past. Shit happens!
Spoke with Amex today and asked for a metal card. CSR said that the SHOULD be able to have it to me by 4/11, as they had a backlog of cards to ship at the moment
Use the American Express Plantinum Uber credits for UberFeet…piggyback rides
https://thepointsguy.com/2017/04/uber-feet-piggyback-rides/
That’s a terrible April Fools joke.
In my case only the centurion agents will ever see the card. It’s pretty much a sock drawer card. No Need for it it to be metal
It is also good for airfare but that is almost always done online.
Exactly! I’m going to show it off this summer when we need to slice some onions for a barbecue or something.
Haha nice! You could keep requesting lost replacements and then juggle them as a death defying stunt for entertainment!
LOL, yeah. Or for real travel ninjas, keep a quiver of metal cards in your wallet to use as shuriken (throwing stars) whenever you walk the streets at night.
Traveling ninja!
My shipping was delayed but not downgraded. The original shipment was cancelled (Friday delivery), but they reshipped with UPS next day (Monday delivery).
It’s kind of funny that people are up in arms about others ordering replacement cards as if that wasn’t an intended use case. Amex’s FAQ page specifically says you can contact them and ask for one. Then again, it is also dumb to be upset about the delays without a non-aesthetic need.
I couldn’t care less about a metal card. In fact, I had Chase replace my Sapphire Reserve metal card with a plastic one, simply because the metal card interfered with my work ID such that I couldn’t get into my building without taking the card out of my wallet. Who needs it? I really don’t understand this obsession with metal cards.
I had the same issue. The Ritz card interfered, but not the CSR. Also, it should be noted that the metal Amex cards don’t have contactless payment capabilities (at least this is what the rep told me).
Ordered my metal Friday for next day Saturday delivery. Nothing came. Hopefully I actually get the metal one by Monday.
Wow why is it that so many churners have this card?? Maybe from the 100k leak? I have it from long time ago but I travel for work A LOT and use the centurion lounge all the time. That is pretty much the only reason I use this card for.
People churn through the variations of the Plat for the sign-up bonuses and the first year double/triple dip on travel credit. Plus, if you are rotating them, you can be on “first year high” for 5+ years 🙂
Gotcha, pretty smart!