One of the benefits of the American Express Platinum Card has always seemed a little out of place. This is a card associated with airport lounges, luxury hotel perks and premium travel experiences. Yet, sitting alongside all of those benefits is a monthly credit for Walmart+.
When American Express first added Walmart+ to The Platinum Card® from American Express, the pairing seemed strange enough that I wrote about it at the time. Walmart was not exactly the first brand that came to mind when thinking about a premium card with a high annual fee.
I figured it was simply another item added to the card’s growing coupon book of benefits. Several years later, Walmart+ still looks like one of the strangest benefits on the AMEX Platinum. But now, I’m beginning to think it may be one of the benefits that makes the most sense.
The AMEX Platinum Is More of a Lifestyle Card Than Ever
The AMEX Platinum still has the travel benefits that made it appealing in the first place. There’s airport lounge access, hotel benefits, airline fee credits and bonus points for certain travel purchases, including 5X points on airfare.
However, the card has increasingly expanded into lifestyle credits. Depending on which benefits you use, the Platinum Card can now provide statement credits for purchases with brands including lululemon, ŌURA, Resy, Uber and participating digital entertainment services.
That collection of benefits paints a fairly specific picture of the customer AMEX appears to be chasing: someone who travels, eats at popular restaurants, buys premium athletic clothing, tracks wellness data and pays for a collection of entertainment subscriptions.
And then, right in the middle of all of those polished lifestyle brands, there’s still Walmart+.
Eligible consumer Platinum Card members can receive up to $12.95 per month, plus applicable taxes, back after paying for a monthly Walmart+ membership with the card. That adds up to as much as $155 per year toward the subscription.
On the surface, it still doesn’t seem to fit. But that may be because we’re looking at Walmart the way it used to be viewed, rather than the customers it is successfully attracting now.
Walmart Isn’t Just Chasing Bargain Shoppers
It would be easy to assume that someone carrying an AMEX Platinum Card isn’t the type of person who regularly shops at Walmart. After all, this is a card with an $895 annual fee and benefits designed around upscale travel and lifestyle spending.
But Walmart has been expanding beyond its image as the place where people shop only for the lowest possible price. Delivery, online ordering and a broad selection of name-brand merchandise have made Walmart more convenient for households that may not have considered it part of their regular shopping routine before.
That doesn’t mean AMEX has released data showing that Platinum Card members are suddenly filling their carts at Walmart. As far as I know, it hasn’t.
What we do know is that Walmart itself recently said its U.S. market-share gains in both groceries and general merchandise were led by upper-income households. In other words, the type of customer Walmart is successfully attracting now may overlap far more with the AMEX Platinum audience than it did when the Walmart+ credit first appeared.
That makes the AMEX partnership look less like an awkward experiment and more like a deliberate attempt to get higher-spending customers used to choosing Walmart for everyday purchases.
We Found Value Before We Even Started Shopping There Regularly
When I first looked at the Walmart+ benefit, the first thing that made it useful for us wasn’t groceries or home delivery. It was streaming.
I previously wrote about how our Walmart+ membership included Paramount+, which allowed us to replace a subscription we otherwise would have paid for separately. That alone gave the AMEX Platinum credit actual value in our household.
That alone gave the AMEX Platinum credit actual value in our household. The benefit has since become more flexible: Walmart+ members can now choose between Paramount+ Essential or Peacock Premium with ads at no additional cost, with the option to change their selected streaming benefit after 90 days.
It may not sound as premium as some of the Platinum Card’s other lifestyle credits. But it is exactly the kind of practical benefit people may already pay for on their own.
Practical Value Beats Aspirational Value
I understand why AMEX adds benefits with companies such as lululemon, ŌURA and Resy. Those brands help support the Platinum Card’s upscale image.
However, those credits are only valuable if you already want what those companies sell. A credit toward a fitness ring doesn’t do much for someone who has no interest in buying one. A credit at a specific clothing brand may cause someone to buy something just because there is money available to spend.
Walmart+ is different. Even people who travel frequently, stay at nice hotels and carry expensive credit cards still buy groceries, household supplies and toiletries. They still need things delivered when they are busy. They still watch streaming content. They may also appreciate free shipping or fuel discounts.
None of those things are glamorous. But they are real.
In fact, the more niche the Platinum Card’s other lifestyle credits become, the more Walmart+ stands out as a benefit that might actually replace spending someone would have made anyway.
Final Thought
From a branding standpoint, Walmart+ may always look unusual on the AMEX Platinum. It is never going to feel as luxurious as access to the Centurion Lounge or a Fine Hotels + Resorts booking.
But perhaps that is the wrong way to evaluate it.
The question is not whether Walmart belongs beside AMEX’s luxury branding. The question is whether Platinum Card members can get real value from a Walmart+ membership. Between delivery, shipping, fuel savings and a choice of included streaming services, the answer may be yes for far more cardholders than AMEX’s more aspirational credits.
And if Walmart really is attracting more higher-income customers, the partnership may no longer be quite as strange as it initially seemed.Want to comment on this post? Great! Read this first to help ensure it gets approved.
Want to sponsor a post, write something for Your Mileage May Vary, or put ads on our site? Click here for more info.
Like this post? Please share it! We have plenty more just like it and would love it if you decided to hang around and sign up to get emailed notifications of when we post.
Whether you’ve read our articles before or this is the first time you’re stopping by, we’re really glad you’re here and hope you come back to visit again!
This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
