Amex is sending holiday gifts to targeted customers

Over the past few years, Amex has made a habit of surprising and delighting select The Platinum Card from American Expresscardholders with holiday gifts. In the past, these have included BLADE gift cards, Tiffany & Co. gift cards, Amazon Echos and more. Its unclear how Amex chooses which customers to send gifts to, but this promotion is highly targeted every year.

Amex has begun sending out gifts for the 2019 holiday season, and for the first time in my three years as a Platinum cardholder I was selected to receive one! I received an envelope from Amex with the headline With appreciation from American Express, so make sure to pay close attention to your mail before you throw it away.

Inside was a $175 gift code for Hook & Albert, a modern luxury travel brand selling high quality leather products.

This was a very nice gift, though as I suspected, $175 didnt stretch all that far at Hook & Albert. The leather backpack, one of the cheaper items in the catalog, cost $315 and a surprisingly large number of products were out of stock. I was still able to get a new leather bifold wallet, a small packing cube, and a medium leather organization pouch that looks to be the perfect size to carry my kindle on the road so it doesnt get scratched up.

The total for these three items came to $170 (out of the $175 credit Amex gifted me), though I did have to pay the $7.95 shipping out of pocket.

We polled the TPG Lounge Facebook group and asked what others targeted for this offer received. It included:

  • $250 gift card for Tiffany & Co.
  • $150 gift card for Frame luxury denim
  • $250 gift card for Ippolita jewelry

Bottom line

My wallet is starting to show some wear and tear, but I wasnt exactly in the market for any new travel accessories. This completely unexpected $175 gift certificate from Amex fits very well with the idea of Platinum being a lifestyle brand, and more than just a piece of metal in your wallet. At the very least, it makes me feel a bit better about continuing to pay $550 each year (see rates and fees) to keep my Platinum card open.

For rates and fees of the Platinum Card, please click here.

Have you received a holiday gift from Amex? Let us know in the comments

Featured photo by Wyatt Smith/The Points Guy