AMEX Platinum Reserve: Exploring the latest dining, staycation and spa voucher pack

One of the best unpublished perks of the AMEX Platinum Charge card is the ability to add on the AMEX Platinum Reserve at no additional cost. This card normally comes with a S$535 annual fee which, as I’ve argued in this article, probably isn’t worth paying.

But free? Free is good.

AMEX Platinum Reserve cardholders receive a set of staycation, dining and spa vouchers upon approval and for each year of renewal.

This year’s pack arrived in the mail recently, and it’s time to take a closer look at what’s included. 

The “money” vouchers

There are six vouchers in the pack that I call the “money vouchers”, because they’re pretty much freebies. These are the things I take into account when evaluating how much value I get from my AMEX Platinum Charge’s annual fee.

• Frasers Hospitality
  • 2 nights complimentary stay at selected Frasers Hospitality properties worldwide
• Tower Club
  • S$100 F&B voucher
• Grand Cru
  • 1x free bottle of wine (x2)
• Napoleon Food & Wine Bar
  • 1x free bottle of wine
• Wan Hao Chinese Restaurant
  • S$50 off min. S$100 spend

The 2 nights Frasers Hospitality voucher is an awesome perk to have, seeing as how you can use it at 45 different properties worldwide including Fraser Suites Sydney, Fraser Suites Le Claridge Champs Elysees Paris, Capri by Fraser Frankfurt, Fraser Residence Nankai Osaka, and Modena by Fraser Bangkok. 

There’s plenty of VTL countries on the list, so it’s basically a way of saving on 2 nights worth of accommodation when you’re on the road. 

The S$100 Tower Club voucher is technically more like S$91, because anyone accessing Tower Club through American Express pays a 10% non-member surcharge. Still, you can use it for a great evening at Straits Bar on Wednesday and Friday nights, when oysters go for S$2.50 each and Laurent Perrier champagne is 1-for-1 (S$26 for two flutes).

The wine vouchers don’t require any minimum spend, so you can just pop by and pick them up as and when you’re free. Don’t expect Dom Perignon of course; these are strictly table wines. Grand Cru gave me a Famille Perrin Luberon 2020 (3.6 stars on Vivino), as well as a Nocturno Karku Merlot 2020 (3.1 stars). 

The S$50 off S$100 voucher at Wan Hao Restaurant may not seem very useful on the surface because AMEX Love Dining already offers 50% off the bill. However, keep in mind that:

• Love Dining privileges don’t apply to the dim sum menu, while the S$50 voucher does
• Love Dining offers 50% off only for parties of two, but the S$50 voucher has no such restriction

So it’s basically a discount on a nice dim sum lunch for about 3-4 pax, depending on how hungry you are. 

Spa vouchers

AMEX Platinum Reserve cardholders receive four discounted spa treatment vouchers:

• Adeva Spa
  • 60-min Lux Gold Body Massage at S$98 nett
• Spa Rael
  • 60-min HANN Tremella Hydrate Treatment at S$98 nett
• The Ultimate
  • 60-min Hyaluronic Firming Face Spa at S$68 nett
• The Spa by The Ultimate
  • 60-min Aroma Touch Face Spa at S$48 nett

I regard these as pretty much useless, since a simple foot massage is good enough for me (hint to the wife). But I suppose there might be those who value this sort of thing, in which case more power to you. 

As you might expect, these vouchers come with a catch- there will be some selling after the treatment to try and get you to buy a package. How hard the sell is depends on your therapist, and those who have difficulty saying no should take caution. 

Dining vouchers

AMEX Platinum Reserve cardholders receive seven dining vouchers: 

• Lobby Lounge @ Marriott Tang Plaza
  • 35% off English Afternoon High Tea for 2-5 pax
  • Complimentary 500g cake with min. S$100 spend or 1kg cake with min. S$200 spend
  • Complimentary bottle of wine with min. S$200 spend (birthday month and following month)
• Lawry’s The Prime Rib Singapore
  • 40% off main courses with order of 4 to 20 main courses (Mon-Sat, 11.30 a.m to 4 p.m)
• Fairmont Singapore, Swissotel The Stamford, Swissotel Merchant Court
  • Complimentary cake or bottle of house wine at participating restaurants (x2)
• Asian Market Cafe or Ellenborough Market Cafe
  • 50% off food bill for 8-10 adults 

The slightly more attractive vouchers are the ones for free wine at any of the Love Dining restaurants at Fairmont or the two Swissotels. By right, you need to be dining in to redeem the wine- although you can takeaway the unopened bottle. 

In the past they weren’t strict about this. People could waltz up, buy a tiramisu for takeaway, and walk away with the wine. However, they’ve since tightened the enforcement, and you’ll now have to dine in to use the voucher. There’s no minimum spend though, so you could just buy a coffee and be done. 

If you don’t feel paiseh about doing that, it’s basically two more free bottles of wine. 

Staycation vouchers

AMEX Platinum Reserve cardholders receive 15 vouchers for discounted staycation rates or upgrades. 

• Dorsett Singapore
  • 1-night stay in Balcony Room at S$150 nett
  • 1-night stay in Loft Room at S$190 nett
• Hotel Fort Canning
  • 1-night stay in Deluxe Room for S$190 nett
• M Social Singapore
  • 1-night stay in Alcove Cosy Room at S$150 nett
  • 1-night stay in Loft Gallery Room at S$190 nett
• Rendezvous Hotel Singapore
  • 1-night in Deluxe Room for S$150 nett
• The Outpost Hotel Sentosa
  • 1-night stay in Deluxe Room at S$190 nett
• Fairmont Singapore
  • Weekend rate of S$270++ for Deluxe Room
• Swissotel Merchant Court
  • Weekend rate of S$230++ for Premier Room
• Swissotel The Stamford
  • Weekend rate of S$250++ for Premier Room
• Fairmont Singapore, Swissotel The Stamford, or Swissotel Merchant Court
  • Room upgrade voucher for weekend stay (x5)

All of these vouchers are for room-only rates, and there’s nothing much that catches my eye except perhaps The Outpost Hotel, which I enjoyed very much during my stay in 2019 (it’s been closed to staycations ever since COVID started though). Hotel Fort Canning is decent too, but I certainly wouldn’t put it in my top 10 Singapore hotels list. 

I find it odd that the upgrade vouchers and special rates for Fairmont and the two Swissotels are only valid for weekend stays (Fri, Sat and Sun nights)- I think this is a hangover from pre-COVID days where these hotels were completely full during weekdays with business travellers, and were trying to encourage weekend staycationers. Now we’re in completely the opposite situation, but the terms don’t reflect that reality. 

Conclusion

The AMEX Platinum Reserve may not be worth applying for as a stand-alone card, but it’s a no-brainer add on for anyone who already has an AMEX Platinum Charge. In fact, you’re not maximising the value of your annual fee if you miss out on this. 

Let’s hope American Express gives this card the revamp it needs, so it can grow out of its awkward middle child syndrome.