Traveling soon? This Amex Platinum card glitch could cause trouble
A technical issue leads to the sudden disappearance of Hilton Honours Gold status for some American Express Platinum cardholders.
The American Express Platinum Card is often seen as the crown jewel of travel rewards cards. With a hefty $695 annual fee, it’s packed with benefits that can easily offset the cost with complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status.
But recently, something unusual happened as some cardholders noticed that the Hilton benefit had suddenly disappeared.
American Express offers several versions of its Platinum Card: the standard version, the Morgan Stanley Platinum Card, and the Charles Schwab Platinum Card.
Now, a glitch appears to have specifically affected holders of the Schwab version, causing the Hilton Honours Gold status benefit to vanish from the benefits page—and worse, downgrading users’ Hilton Honours accounts from Gold to basic Member status without notice.
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What you need to know about the glitch
The glitch came to light when users began spotting the missing benefit while reviewing their card perks online. Despite Marriott Bonvoy Gold status still appearing as expected, the Hilton perk was simply gone. Hilton confirmed the downgrade, leaving many confused and frustrated, especially those with upcoming Hilton hotel stays.
Mark Ostermann from Travel on Point clarified that the situation only affected Charles Schwab Platinum cardholders.
Travel Update reported, ‘There was a tech glitch which was causing the Hilton Honours Gold Status feature to disappear from the benefits section.’
The report also noted that impacted accounts had been automatically unenrolled from Hilton Gold status and explained if another request was submitted to re-enrol the account for Hilton Honors Gold status. Before the request was submitted, the Hilton Honors account number and the email address on file were confirmed.
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For now, American Express has not issued an official statement on the glitch. Platinum cardholders, especially the ones who are on the Charles Schwab version, are strongly encouraged to log in and check whether their Hilton Gold status is still active.
