The Platinum Card® from American Express is a top-tier premium travel rewards card with a $695 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.
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 $240 in “digital entertainment” statement credits annually, spread out in monthly $20 increments (enrollment is required, terms apply). You can use these credits for the following subscriptions:
- Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ — or a Disney+ Bundle (which includes up to all three services)
- Peacock
- The New York Times
- The Wall Street Journal
American Express periodically changes the services this statement credit covers, so pay close attention to the list of covered subscriptions. In the past, we saw services such as Sirius XM radio.
How to use the Amex Platinum digital entertainment credit
Before using this perk, 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 “Benefits” tab at the top of the screen.
Once in the benefits section, you’ll be presented with all of the card’s benefits. Scroll until you see “$240 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.
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 digital entertainment credit
Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+
Touted as “The Disney+ Bundle,” you can get all your movie, TV shows and sports-watching needs covered with Hulu, Disney+ and ESPN+. You can also unbundle these offerings, and the digital entertainment credit will also reimburse each monthly service individually.
There are varying levels of services with each plan, but here are some of the current monthly prices we’ve found:
- Disney Bundle Duo Basic: $10.99 per month — access to Disney+ and Hulu (both with ads)
- Disney Bundle Duo Premium: $19.99 per month — Disney+ and Hulu (both with no ads)
- Disney Bundle Trio Basic: $16.99 per month — Disney+, Hulu and HBO MAX (all with ads)
- Disney Bundle Trio Premium: $29.99/month — Disney+, Hulu, and HBO MAX (all with no ads)
- Disney Bundle Trio Basic: $16.99 per month — Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ (all with ads)
- Disney Bundle Trio Premium: $26.99/month — Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN+ (all with no ads)
- Legacy Disney Bundle: $21.99 per month — Disney+ (no ads), Hulu (with ads) and ESPN+ (with ads). 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.
- Hulu with ads: $9.99 per month
- Hulu without ads: $18.99 per month
- Hulu with ads, plus Live TV, Disney+, and ESPN+ (all with ads): $82.99 per month
- Hulu without ads, plus Live TV, Disney+ (without ads), and ESPN+ (with ads): $95.99 per month
- Hulu with ads plus Live TV, Disney+ (No Ads) and ESPN+ (with ads): $87.99
- Disney+ Basic (with ads): $9.99 per month
- Disney+ Premium (without ads): $15.99/monthly or $159.99 annually
- ESPN+: $11.99/month
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: The Disney Bundle Trio Premium may offer the best value for your money. It will maximize your up to $20 monthly digital entertainment credit, so it’s a great plan covering all your bases.
Peacock
Peacock offers two paid products:
- Premium: $7.99 per month
- Premium Plus: $13.99 per month
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.
Related: Best credit cards for streaming service subscriptions
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:
- Digital subscription: $25 every four weeks
- Paper copy: Starting at $10 per week (Sunday edition)
- NYT Cooking: $1.50 per week
- New York Times Games: $1.50 per week
In order to trigger the Amex Platinum credit, you must visit and 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 $4 every four weeks plan, and 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:
- The Wall Street Journal Digital: $9.75 a week
- The Wall Street Journal+ Digital Bundle (WSJ, Barron’s, MarketWatch, and Investor’s Business Daily Digital): $13.75 a week
- Weekend print plus The Wall Street Journal Digital: $11.25 a week
- Monday to Friday and weekend print plus The Wall Street Journal Digital: $16.25 a week
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 $20 monthly credit.
Related: Is the Amex Platinum worth the annual fee?
FAQs on Amex Platinum digital entertainment credit
Is the Amex Platinum digital entertainment credit a good deal?
The digital entertainment credit can be of good value as many people purchase their membership; however, it’s usually an annual membership for maximum savings. The Amex Platinum statement credit works against a strategy like this. To get the biggest value from this benefit, you’ll need to pay for your subscriptions monthly, which can raise the effective price of your annual subscriptions.
For example, paying a lump sum for an annual subscription to various assets of The New York Times can save you 33% over monthly payments. In other words, you shouldn’t necessarily value the digital entertainment credit at $240 annually.
Which digital entertainment companies participate?
The credit is triggered with the following companies: Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+, Peacock, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. This is subject to change at any time.
What is the best use of the Amex Platinum digital entertainment credit?
If you already have any of these subscriptions, this credit is a good deal for you. If not, the credit may be enough to convince you to try a new subscription. However, don’t calculate this credit into your annual savings unless it’s money you would have spent anyway.
When will I receive my Amex Platinum digital entertainment 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 takes under a few business days to appear on their statements.
Bottom line
American Express offers up to $240 in digital entertainment statement credit as part of the Amex Platinum’s suite of benefits. 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: Amex Platinum
Related: Here’s how much value you can get from the Amex Platinum card in your 1st year
For rates and fees of the Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
