Costco and american express

I’ve heard that if you get membership to costco here in Taiwan, then you can also apply for ( and even get ) an American Express credit card. Anyone heard of this ?

Anyone here have experience with American Express Platinum here in Taiwan? Is it worth the NTD 35,000 annual fee?

The Platinum fee is lower in the US, 550 USD I think, and it’s not worth it imo. What are the benefits in Taiwan? They better be amazing at 35k.

What I have seen so far… 50,000 points/miles sign up bonus, Priority Pass, Dragon Pass, Centurion lounge etc unlimited access, free airport transfers and a couple of one-for-one dining discounts though mostly at your Hyatt and Hilton type hotels… not sure what other benefits

I don’t have one, but if you fly around Asia a lot it would probably be worth it.

Bonus miles at 5x is a pretty good deal, but access to the air-conditioned airport lounge in un/under/non air-conditioned airports throughout Asia would probably seal the deal for me. I don’t fly enough to justify the fee. Airports with soaring ceilings are admittedly attractive to walk around in, but they’re way too warm for (my) comfort.

I’d say no then. The bonus in the US is 60k points after a min spend. Priority pass is crap imo. Is there a Centurion lounge in Taiwan? I know there’s one in HKG. This and the points was why I tried it and I’ve been less than impressed. I’ve been to every one of them in the US with the exception of Seattle. They are always always full, sometimes to the point of not admitting people. They are usually quite dirty because it’s impossible to keep up. The airport transfer is somewhat interesting but I’d be curious about the reality of that.

AFAIK, HK is the only centurion lounge in Asia

The airport transfers are useful, but you’d probably have to take at least 30 trips to the airport to barely cover the annual fee :joy:

1 Like

You can get similar or better points deals on other cards with lower or no fees.

If they had a good city lounge that would be interesting. I think Singapore does this but it’s only for Singapore card holders.

Really? Thats interesting… I do have a Singapore amex but never heard of this benefit before.

I was digging around for a space to use there once and my memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think they have a deal with one of the better clubs.

Great I shall check that out next time I’m in Singapore :+1:

Expensive but nice benefits. Tower Club access with some restrictions.

Looks much better than the Taiwanese one though annual fee is a little higher. Also I think most of the dining and shopping discounts are localized to the country you sign up in?

Yes absolutely…

I’m in Taiwan about 80% of the time, so looks like the Taiwan card might make more sense then.

Had a gold Amex charge card for many years , but it just got accepted at fewer and fewer places . Gave it up after a jolly in Europe and was faced with a bill of 5000 gbp… payable in full bang :scream: so many credit card deals here in taiwan with so many reward systems . Agree that the Airport lounges are crap with card deals in Asia at least . Better to get a gold airline card if you travel a lot … grrr mine has just expired and I was short in miles to retain it :cry:

1 Like