I don’t renew American Express Platinum Card® every year because of airport lounge access or hotel elite status. Instead, the benefit that goes the furthest toward justifying the card’s $895 annual fee (see rates and fees) is the card’s hotel statement credit. Cardmembers receive up to $600 in hotel statement credits per calendar year (allotted…

Many travel credit cards feature excellent welcome bonuses for new cardholders. However, you generally need to spend a particular amount on your new card within a specific time period to earn the bonus — and this required spending may exceed what you would typically spend on credit cards. As such, we frequently get the question:…