Look out, American Express: There's a new Platinum Card in town … or one coming soon, at least.
The popular investing app Robinhood just announced its first entry into the ever-crowded premium travel card space with the introduction of the Robinhood Platinum Card. In the announcement, the fintech took a not-so-subtle swipe at Amex: “The actual Platinum Card is here.”
Robinhood's Platinum card promises 99.9% pure platinum plating and a whole slew of use-them-or-lose-them credits – the kind popularized by none other than American Express – designed to offset the card's $695 annual fee. On the earning side, the card offers 5% cash back on dining (on up to $50,000 in spending annually), as well as 5% cash back on flights and 10% hotels and cars booked through the Robinhood Banking app. All other purchases earn 1% cash back.
No word yet on what kind of sign-up bonus (if any) the card will include … or when it'll actually be available to applicants. Today's announcement just says “coming soon,” with the option to enter your email address to be notified when it's available.
If – and that's the world's biggest if – you can make full use of the card's laundry list of statement credits, there's more than $3,000 in annual “value” at stake. Here's a look at what you get in return for that $695 annual fee:
- $500 hotel credit: Up to $250 in statement credits every six months for luxury hotel bookings through the Robinhood travel portal (with limited use toward standard hotels).
- $300 travel credit: Up to $300 annually (up to $150 every six months) for travel purchases like flights, hotels, and rideshare.
- Priority Pass Select membership: Complimentary lounge membership with unlimited visits for the primary cardholder.
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® credit: Up to $120 every four years for application fees.
- $250 autonomous rides credit: Up to $20 per month in statement credits for autonomous rides (with an extra $10 in December).
- $250 dining credit: Up to $20 per month in statement credits at participating restaurants (with an extra $10 in December).
- $250 DoorDash credit + DashPass: Up to three $10 off discounts each January and up to two $10 off discounts in every other calendar month. You can apply only one discount per delivery order, with a minimum subtotal of $50, excluding fees and taxes.
- $200 health wearables credit: Up to $200 annually for qualifying health wearable purchases.
- Function Health membership: Complimentary annual membership including advanced lab testing and personalized health insights.
- Amazon One Medical membership: Complimentary annual membership with virtual care and in-person appointment access.
- Oura membership: One year of complimentary Oura Membership with the purchase of an Oura Ring.
- Robinhood Gold membership: Complimentary Robinhood Gold membership with premium investing tools.
So, yeah … there's a lot of potential value to be had there, but you'll have to work for it. Outside of the annual $300 travel credit, all of these benefits require spending money with very specific merchants or booking through Robinhood's travel portal.
Worst of all, everything is split up into monthly or semi-annual allotments, all but ensuring you won't get full value. Keeping track of it all will require an attention to detail that I'm not sure even our credit tracking tool can handle.
A few other noteworthy details of the card include the ability to add authorized users at no additional cost, allowing you to share perks and rewards with family, easily track spending, and set limits for each card. It's unclear exactly what perks and rewards can be shared with authorized users, but the terms state, “certain benefits may be available for a fee.” This would almost certainly apply to key perks like lounge access.
And while this might not matter to most, the Platinum Card will be a Visa Infinite product. That means it will likely come with some level of travel protection – think trip delay coverage, lost luggage reimbursement, and rental car insurance – similar to the Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card and the Chase Sapphire Reserve®, two other popular Visa Infinite cards currently on the market.
Is It Any Good?
My instant reaction? Meh.
It's kind of funny how closely Robinhood is trying to emulate American Express here. Two years ago, they launched the Robinhood Gold Card, and now they're following it up with a premium Platinum Card. Couldn't they have thrown the marketing department a few extra bucks to come up with something more original?
But the copycat mentality goes well beyond the name. American Express pioneered the “coupon book” model with its Platinum and Gold cards (years ago) that has since spread to nearly every bank in the industry. It's proven to be wildly successful for Amex, but maybe less so for other banks that rushed into it without slowly conditioning their customer base.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, as they say … and there are certainly worse playbooks to copy from.
In my opinion, the single biggest issue is that it isn't different or better than anything else on the market. It's not the cheapest, it's not the most rewarding, it doesn't have the best lounge access, and the credits are arguably harder to use than all of its competitors.
Not to mention, it earns cash back instead of transferable points. I get it: Cash is king. You can buy anything (including travel) with cash. But that totally overlooks the fact that transferable points often provide immense, outsized value – especially when it comes to booking premium cabin flights and luxury hotels. Catering to wealthy travelers with a nearly $700-a-year card that doesn't earn points seems like a strategic misfire.
Final verdict? If you're already using Robinhood and have been waiting for the perfect premium travel card to arrive, maybe this is it. For those already invested in points and miles, this will be an easy one to skip.
Bottom Line
Robinhood just announced a new $695-a-year Platinum Card, offering perks like lounge access, high cash-back rates on dining and travel, and a long list of statement credits.
But much like other “coupon book” cards, most of the value comes from a patchwork of credits and specific spending requirements, meaning many cardholders likely won’t capture the full advertised value. For travelers who already carry a premium travel card, this new option probably won’t move the needle.
Featured image courtesy of Robinhood
