Amex Platinum Card for Morgan Stanley Review: A Feature-Packed Travel Card With Unique Extras

The Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley is a version of the card issuer's popular Platinum Card. It's available if you have a Morgan Stanley brokerage account, and offers the same card features plus a few new ones. Eligible clients can get an annual fee credit if they meet certain requirements (see rates and fees). Read our full Amex Platinum Card for Morgan Stanley review to find out more.

This credit card is a good fit for: Morgan Stanley investing clients who want high-end perks and savings on luxury travel. Platinum CashPlus clients can also get a sizeable annual engagement credit.

Top perks

The Amex Platinum Card for Morgan Stanley includes one of the deepest benches of perks we've seen from any card.

125,000 bonus points

The welcome offer for this American Express card is 125,000 Reward Points for spending $6,000 on purchases in the first 6 months. That's one of the biggest bonus offers currently available.

SEE MORE BIG BONUSES: Best Sign-Up Bonus Credit Cards

Up to 5 points per $1

The Amex Platinum Card for Morgan Stanley earns:

• 5 points per $1 on airline tickets purchased directly with airlines or with American Express Travel, on up to $500,000 in spending per calendar year
• 5 points per $1 on prepaid hotel purchases made with American Express Travel
• 1 point per $1 on other purchases

Airport lounge access

Airport lounge access is a strong point with every version of The Platinum Card® from American Express, and this one is no exception. It includes access to multiple types of lounges, including Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass lounges (enrollment required), Delta Sky Clubs, and several others. Terms apply.

Of all the travel credit cards we've reviewed, we haven't found any with access to so many lounge programs. And the American Express Centurion Lounges are some of the most luxurious.

SEE MORE: Best Credit Cards With Airport Lounge Access

Complimentary first additional Platinum Card

An exclusive benefit for Morgan Stanley card members is the option to add one additional Platinum Card to your account for no additional fee. That means you can add an authorized user to your account and they get their own Platinum Card, free of charge.

With the standard version of The Platinum Card® from American Express, it costs $175 total for up to three additional Platinum Cards (see rates and fees). If you plan to add one person to your account, such as your spouse, the Morgan Stanley version of this card saves you money.

Get a $695 annual engagement bonus

A big selling point of the Amex Platinum Card for Morgan Stanley card is that it offers a $695 annual engagement bonus, which is equal to the annual fee. Terms apply.

To qualify, you must have a Platinum CashPlus account with Morgan Stanley. This is a brokerage account designed for cash management. As of May 2022, it charges a monthly fee of $55, unless you meet the following monthly account fee avoidance criteria:

• $5,000 in total monthly deposits (or Social Security deposit of any amount)
• $25,000 average daily cash balance

You need to tie up quite a bit of cash to meet the criteria. But if you don't mind doing that, it's a great way to get a free Platinum Card.

American Express Membership Rewards program

This card earns Membership Rewards points, which are some of the most flexible rewards. American Express has over 20 airline and hotel partners where you can transfer points, including Delta Air Lines, Emirates, and Singapore Airlines, to name just a few.

When you transfer your points, you can make an award booking with that travel provider. It's often possible to get a value of $0.03 per point or more this way. American Express also lets you redeem points at a fixed rate for purchases made through American Express Travel.

LEARN MORE: A Complete Guide to American Express Membership Rewards Points

Invest your rewards

You can use points earned on this card for deposits by Morgan Stanley into your qualifying brokerage account. Rewards are worth $0.01 per point when you redeem them like this. Transferring points to travel partners is usually a better deal, but it's still nice to have this option.

Over $1,400 in annual spending credits

It'd be hard to find a card with more spending credits than this one (trust us -- we've looked). Here are the annual spending credits you get as a Platinum card member:

• $200 Uber credit: Get $15 in monthly Uber Cash for rides and eats orders in the United States, plus a $20 bonus ($35 total) in December. You also receive complimentary Uber VIP status courtesy of this card.
• $200 hotel credit: Get $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels+Resorts® and The Hotel Collection bookings for at least a two-night mimimum with American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card.
• $200 airline fee credit: Select one qualifying airline, then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year for incidental fees charged by that airline to your Platinum Card.
• $300 with Equinox: Get a statement credit of up to $300 each year when you pay for select monthly Equinox membership fees or Equinox+ with your Platinum Card. Enrollment required.
• $189 CLEAR® credit: Get up to $189 back per year for a CLEAR® membership when you pay with your Platinum Card.
• Up to $100 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit: Get a membership fee credit of up to $100 every four years for Global Entry, or $85 every 4.5 years for TSA PreCheck.
• $240 digital entertainment credit: Get up to $20 back each month when you pay for eligible purchases at one or more of Disney+, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal with your Platinum Card. Enrollment required.
• $155 Walmart+ credit: Get a monthly credit of $12.95 plus applicable taxes to cover the cost of a Walmart+ membership.
• $100 Saks Fifth Avenue credit: Get a statement credit of up to $50 from January through June, and up to $50 from July through December for purchases made at Saks Fifth Avenue or saks.com with your Platinum Card.
• Terms apply.

Complimentary elite status with Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton

As a Platinum card member, you get Marriott Bonvoy™ Gold Elite Status and Hilton Honors Gold Status. These elite statuses include several perks that can save you money and improve your stays with each hotel chain. Enrollment required.

SEE MORE: Best Hotel Credit Cards

Travel and purchase protections

American Express cards are known for offering great protections on eligible purchases. Here are the travel and purchase protections this card offers:

• Car rental loss and damage insurance*
• Trip delay insurance**
• Trip cancellation and interruption insurance**
• Baggage insurance**
• Return protection***
• Purchase protection****
• Extended warranty coverage****

READ MORE: Best Travel Rewards Credit Cards

Platinum Concierge

If you need help with anything from concert tickets to restaurant reservations, you can call the number on the back of your card for Platinum Concierge assistance. Terms apply.

LEARN MORE: Best Credit Card Concierge Service

No foreign transaction fee

Purchases you make abroad won't carry an additional charge, as this card doesn't have a foreign transaction fee (see rates and fees).

What could be improved

For all the features this American Express card offers, it also has a few notable drawbacks.

$695 annual fee

The Amex Platinum Card for Morgan Stanley is significantly more expensive than most credit cards, with a $695 annual fee (see rates and fees). However, it's at least possible to get a $695 annual engagement bonus if you have a Morgan Stanley Platinum CashPlus account. In that case, the card becomes an incredible deal.

If you don't have that type of account, carefully consider how much value you'll get from this card. All its spending credits and other perks can certainly make up for the annual fee, but only if you use them. If not, check out credit card reviews to find a more suitable card option.

Restrictive benefits

A common criticism of The Platinum Card® from American Express is that the benefits aren't easy to use. Some have even compared it to a coupon book, with all the different spending credits.

For example, a $240 digital entertainment credit every year looks great on the surface. But let's be honest -- it loses a bit of luster when you see that it's a $20 monthly credit for a limited number of services. Terms apply. Look at the details of each benefit to see if it's actually a money-saver for you, or if it's just window dressing.

Limited bonus categories

For such a high-end card, the Platinum Card doesn't exactly offer high-end rewards. Its bonus categories (flights booked directly with airlines and through American Express Travel, and prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel) are limited, and terms apply. There are plenty of rewards cards that cost much less and offer far better bonus categories.

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A FICO® Score of 670 or higher is recommended to apply for the Amex Platinum Card for Morgan Stanley. As one of the top cards on the market, it's targeted at consumers who have scores in the good credit or excellent credit ranges.

GET EXCELLENT CREDIT: How to Increase Your Credit Score

Eligibility for the Amex Platinum Card for Morgan Stanley

To get the Amex Platinum Card for Morgan Stanley, you must have an eligible Morgan Stanley brokerage account. An eligible account is a brokerage account that fits one of these conditions:

• Held in your name
• Held by a trust where you are both the grantor and trustee
• Held as a beneficial owner of a personal holding company, a non-operating limited liability company, a non-operating limited partnership, or a similar legal entity

You have a Morgan Stanley brokerage account, you travel often, and you want a card packed with premium benefits.

If you have a Platinum CashPlus account with Morgan Stanley, you should definitely get this American Express card. The annual engagement bonus is equal to the cost of the annual fee (see rates and fees). That's an incredible deal you won't find anywhere else.

KEEP READING: Best Rewards Credit Cards

Our credit card methodology

At The Motley Fool Ascent, we rate credit cards on a five-star scale (1 = poor, 5 = best). Our rating criteria includes rewards rates, welcome bonuses, fees, and perks like travel credits and 0% intro APR offers to evaluate our ratings.

We combine these factors with an evaluation of brand reputation and customer satisfaction to ensure you're getting the best card recommendations. Learn more about how The Ascent rates credit cards.