Amex is quietly trimming a long-running perk from the *amex platinum* – but honestly, it might not be much of a loss.
As of July 1, 2026, the annual Saks statement credit of up to $100 (up to $50 semi-annually) is being removed from the Platinum Card.
“New and existing U.S. Consumer Platinum Card Members can continue to get up to $50 in statement credits for purchases at Saks Fifth Avenue or saks.com on their Platinum Card through June 30, 2026,” an American Express spokesperson confirmed to Thrifty Traveler.
To help soften the blow, Amex says it will be rolling out several “new and exclusive” Amex Offers for Platinum Cardholders at top retailers and brands on July 1. We'll have to wait and see what exactly the bank has in store – but as much as we love Amex Offers, it's hard to think of them as a true replacement for a defined (guaranteed) benefit like this.
This Saks credit has been around since 2018, when Amex first added it as part of a broader overhaul of the Platinum Card. That shift marked a turning point: The Platinum Card was no longer just a premium travel card – it became a full-on lifestyle card loaded with credits for everything from streaming to dining to shopping.
But there’s always been one big catch with the Saks credit: Actually using it.
Saks Fifth Avenue isn’t exactly known for budget-friendly shopping. With sky-high prices on designer brands, using that $50 credit twice a year without spending significantly more has always taken some effort. If you’ve ever spent 30 minutes scrolling through pages of overpriced socks, kitchen gadgets, or random accessories to justify using the credit, you know exactly what we’re talking about.
Sure, there were occasional sweet spots – a decent deal here or there, especially during sales – but for many cardholders, it felt more like a chore than a true benefit. And if a credit feels like work, how valuable is it really?
And this news is hardly a surprise: Saks has been struggling financially for a while now, and things came to a head earlier this year when the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Since then, store closures have piled up, leaving just a handful of physical locations still open. While Platinum cardholders can still use the credit online, that hasn’t exactly been a smooth experience either.
In recent months, many Saks online orders have been fulfilled by third-party vendors – and that’s led to delays, cancellations, and plenty of frustration. There have been widespread reports of orders taking weeks (or longer) to ship, with some never arriving at all.
I ran into this myself late last year – after placing an order to use up my credit before it expired, the delivery date came and went with no update. It took a call to customer service just to get things moving – and I’ve heard from plenty of others who weren’t so lucky, with orders eventually getting canceled outright.
Put it all together, and it starts to look less like a valuable perk and more like a headache.
So yes … on paper, losing a $100 annual credit is never fun. But in practice, this might actually save many cardholders time, frustration, and the temptation to spend more money just to “use” a benefit.
More importantly, the Platinum Card is still packed with value. Amex likes to tout more than $3,500 in annual value from the card’s benefits – and while that number depends heavily on how you use them, there’s no denying that many of the card’s other perks are far easier to maximize. Between airline fee credits, Uber Cash, hotel perks, lounge access, and a growing list of lifestyle credits, there’s still plenty here to justify the card’s high annual fee.
In fact, when Amex refreshed the Platinum Card last year, many (us included) expected the Saks credit to be one of the first things to go. Instead, Amex doubled down on the lifestyle angle – adding new credits for brands like Lululemon and dining through Resy, while beefing up other credits for things like digital entertainment and Fine Hotels + Resorts®.
The annual fee jumped to an eye-popping annual_fees per year (see rates & fees), but for many, the overall value of the card actually improved.
Against that backdrop, losing the Saks credit now doesn’t sting nearly as much as it might have before.
Bottom Line
As of July 1, 2026, new and existing American Express Platinum Cardholders no longer get access to the up to $100 annual Saks Fifth Avenue credit. If you've got a Platinum Card in your wallet, make plans to use this credit prior to June 30 – and given Saks' recent financial struggles … you might want to get to it sooner rather than later.
While it no doubt stinks to lose a benefit like this, most cardholders probably won’t miss it all that much.
