Does anyone have any insider info on whether American Express will replace the loss in Australian Financial Review subscription benefit on the Amex Platinum card?

Hello,
I received an email from AMEX today 30/04/21 that AFR will be removed from the Amex Platinum Business Card. Does anyone have any inside information if the annual fee will drop or what extra benefits they might add to the card to keep the value? On their marketing they have been promoting that the AFR membership was around $600. Would appreciate to hear your thoughts, predictions and insights.

Pretty sure that was planned from the beginning. Checked the T&Cs and it says

The complimentary digital subscription to the Australian Financial Review will be available to Primary and Additional Platinum Card Members until 30 June 2021. Card Members can enrol in the benefit until 23 June 2021.

As for insider info, doubt anyone would share. Anything we say would be pure speculation anyway.

However, it does get me thinking what could make the card more attractive especially after covid and all. First I think we can take some notes from the US market where they have uber credits for rides and delivery and I think that’s a practical and easy to understand perk that wouldn’t cost that much at all. Adding stuff like a streaming service credit wouldn’t hurt either, make it more “young and hip”. Just throwing ideas around at this point!

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Hey djtech,
Appreciate the reply! I agree with everything you’re saying about Uber etc! I have actually provided feedback to Amex and said that they have to consider how people use some of the services these days. Definitely many use Uber and Uber Eats, also many use AirBnB instead of hotels and a lot of online shopping including eBay and Amazon. I recommended that they add some more value to platinum card members by giving bonus points multipliers or credits etc for shopping at the above mentioned but also Supermarkets, petrol stations etc People’s spending and lifestyle has changed a lot in the last couple of years and for Amex to stay relevant I believe they need to review their offerings in Australia with a fresh approach! Or, just lower the annual fee like they did to the Business Explorer that went from $395 to $149 per year.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!

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I received an email from AmEx early June said that The Australian subscription benefit will be launching for Platinum Card members in July 2021, I think this will be the replacement for AFR.

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IMO I much prefer AFR but if you weren’t too into their content, The Australian appeals to a wider AMEX audience.