I’m enjoying a fabulous European vacation including a cruise aboard Celebrity Equinox right now.  While I’m away I hope you’ll enjoy reading some of your favorite content based on visits to the blog.  Today, in honor of the joy of travel, I write about the benefits of the American Express Platinum Card, and why I truly don’t leave home without it.

In my third installment on the most popular search terms that bring readers to this blog, I’d like to discuss the American Express Platinum Card. Particularly, I’d like to write about why this card can still be a good deal for the frequent traveler, even though American Express recently dropped the domestic 2 for 1 companion travel benefit.

First things first, the Amex Platinum Card is going to cost you $450 dollars per year. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s talk about why this card is worth the money. For me, the number one benefit of this card is airline lounge access on the day of travel. This benefit offers the cardholder and up to two guests access to the lounges of American Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines when you present your Platinum card, a government issued I.D. and a boarding pass for travel on the airline’s lounge you are trying to enter. In other words, if you want to enter an American Admirals Club, you need an American Airlines boarding pass for travel that day. If you’ve read the blog before, you know that I highly recommend that frequent travelers join the lounge program of the airline they fly most. For me, that’s American and Delta. If I were to join the lounge of both airlines, I would be out over $700 dollars in annual fees. With the Amex Platinum card, I have access to both lounges for the price of the card’s annual fee. That’s a good deal for me.

Another benefit of the card is the Fine Hotels and Resorts (FHR) program. FHR offers exclusive benefits including room upgrades, free breakfasts, and individual amenities that are unique to each hotel. To receive FHR benefits, you must book your hotel through Platinum Travel Service (PTS), a full-service travel agency available to Amex Platinum cardholders. I have used this benefit a few times with decent results. PTS can provide the full range of services you would expect from a travel agent, however I admittedly use my own local agent when I am booking a trip that I feel requires the use of agent services. Therefore, I cannot comment on the usefulness of PTS as your regular travel agent.

While Amex has discontinued the domestic 2 for 1 travel program, the international program remains in place. When booking a qualifying first or business class ticket, you are eligible for a complimentary ticket in the same class of service for a companion. There are no limits on the number of times you can utilize this benefit as there were in the now discontinued domestic 2 for 1 program. Other benefits I’ve found useful are elite level privileges in several car rental company programs including Hertz and Avis. Additionally, Amex Platinum cardholders are eligible for Gold membership in the Starwood Preferred Guest program.

There are a number of other benefits, including those that are fairly standard across most American Express Cards. I’ve only scratched the surface with this post. You can review full details about the Platinum Card by clicking here.

I have had nothing but overwhelmingly positive experiences with American Express dating back to my very first card in 1989 while in college. However, I have to write briefly about some of the news items surrounding American Express. There have been widespread reports of American Express reducing the charging ability of customers that appear to be “good customers” based upon charging habits or charging items in areas that American Express has modeled to be higher risk. Just this week, a thread appeared on FlyerTalk indicating that American Express was imposing spending limits on many cardholders with “no pre-set limit” cards like the Platinum Card. I can’t comment beyond what I’ve written as I have not experienced any of these problems, and have my fingers crossed that I won’t. For what it’s worth, I am blessed with employment that is about as stable as one can find in this country and an above average income. Furthermore, I rarely carry balances on my other credit cards, and have a history of on-time payments with a credit score close to 800. That said, it appears from some of the press reports and internet postings that cardholders with similar circumstances have had their charging ability curtailed. You’ll have to do your own research and formulate your own opinions. I’ve found a terrific source of information on the subject of credit at creditmattersblog.com. Check it out. In the meantime, keep reading. I hope this information is helpful.

Landed in London safe and sound this morning, after an average AA flight.  Not bad, not great, but good enough.  I’ll post a full review of my AA Business Class flight soon, including my thoughts on AA’s Next Generation Business Class seat.  I slept on the crossing, so that’s a good thing, but I can’t help but think that the seat could’ve been slightly better.  Full details coming soon.

For now, MrsMJonTravel and I are enjoying the British Airways Galleries lounge in T5 at LHR.  I’m sure there are better lounges somewhere, but for someone who almost always flies domestic US carriers, BA looks like a lounge hero!

One thing for certain, 3 week trip or not, I don’t think I can check luggage anymore.  Fear of the unknown (as in if our bags were rerouted appropriately) is killing me.  Stay tuned for more.  We will eventually get to Rome, and start our vacation!

AA 1257 DCA ORD, today. Push back right on time. I knew storms were just outside the beltway, but things were looking good. “Flight attendants prepare for takeoff.” Delta MD80 blasts off beside of us. I spot the windsock and notice there’s a pretty stiff tailwind. This doesn’t bode well for an AA MD82/3 off of a 6,800 ft runway. We taxi to the side… Captain announces we are waiting for the storm to come through…. and we wait, and we wait some more.

Finally, taxi to the other end of the airfield after the storm blows through and take the active…. throttles up…. takeoff aborted. Back to the gate for an “indicator light.” Maintenance adjusts in minutes…. wait a little more…. finally, we take off. None of this would matter, were it not for our 5PM connection to Rome and the vacation we’ve been planning since April 2009.

Block into the ORD gate at 4:37pm…. still a hope…. (in my mind at least). Agent announces our names and to meet them at the counter. No dice…we are too late. Could’ve made the flight, but it doesn’t matter. Been rebooked ORD-LHR-FCO…. still in Biz all the way, even the BA leg from LHR to FCO. Could’ve been worse, but still….  We COULD have made that flight.

Thanks for listening. I just felt like venting.

American Airlines has announced a sweet deal if you frequently fly between New York LaGuardia and Chicago/Boston.  Register at aa.com/offers and enter code NYTPL.  Must complete travel by August 31, 2010.

Monday will begin the 7-day countdown to MrsMJonTravel and I departing on the vacation of a lifetime.  We will board an American Airlines flight to Rome.  I booked our Business Class tickets with AAdvantage miles months ago, and the trip just seemed to far away then.  Now I can hardly believe it’s here!

Starting with a 5 day stint in Rome and Naples, our vacation will really begin on July 5th, when we (along with 4 of our closest friends) board Celebrity Equinox for an 11-night Mediterranean cruise including stops in Santorini, Mykonos, Istanbul, Ephesus, Athens, and Capri before returning to Rome on July 16th.  We have a couple of days post cruise to wind down, and we’ll do so with a train trip to Venice for one evening there before returning to Rome, and flying home on July 18th.

Mrs MJonTravel has been working hard planning a great vacation for us.  And yes, even I pitched in a tiny bit.  She’s much better at reading books and thinking ahead than I am.  And I can’t say enough good things about our travel agent, Michelle Bemis, at McCabe Travel in McLean, Virginia.  McCabe is a Virtuoso agency, and I highly recommend them and Michelle if you are in the market for a good travel agent.  Michelle was instrumental in arranging a private tour for us in Ephesus as well as helping me secure train travel from Rome to Venice, and of course, the cruise.

So yes, I’m jazzed!  But don’t worry, you won’t miss me much when I’m gone.  I’m going to have some great ‘Best of MJ on Travel’ content posting throughout our vacation, and I have every intention of blogging throughout the trip….so look for my posts, and you can always follow me on Twitter too.

American Airlines has introduced Your Choice, a package of “goodies” that is meant to enhance the travel experience for some travelers.  This is something akin to United’s “Premier Travel” privileges that they began selling a while back.

Basically, American will sell you what they call a Boarding and Flexibility package that includes Group 1 boarding, standby for an earlier flight, and a $75 dollar discount on the typical $150 dollar change fee.  Pricing will vary based on length of flight, but according to American will start at prices as low as $9 dollars (per person) according to American’s press release.  Additionally, American plans to introduce the ability to purchase Group 1 boarding on its own later this summer at an introductory price of $10 dollars per person.

I’ve never had a problem with airlines charging extra for what can legitimately be considered a “plus up” to the travel experience.  I put more than one checked bag, edible food, and cocktails in that category.  I don’t even have an issue with selling early boarding as long as it doesn’t impact elite status members AND American has a mechanism in place to prevent the whole plane from being “Group 1.”

All in all, this really doesn’t impact me as I’m already elite on American.  I suppose it might be a way to make a few bucks.  I know I’d pay 10 bucks to board early any day of the week if I knew the flight was full and I wanted to carry on luggage.  But one has to wonder, what else is left to charge for?

I’ve returned to the DC sauna (Lord, it’s hot here today), after a successful week in Atlanta.  My week started like all travel weeks should with an upgrade to First Class.  Then I checked in at the W Atlanta Midtown, and enjoyed a great 4-night stay.  And then my week ended like all weeks should….you guessed it, with an upgrade to First Class.  And with all that, somewhere between Atlanta and Washington, I renewed my Delta Medallion status for 2011 by crossing the 25,000 mile threshold for Silver Medallion status.  That’s lowly status, but trust me, it’s helped and I appreciate it.

There wasn’t a whopping lot of news in travel to talk about this week.  About the most exciting thing I saw was this:

Shot by none other than Dan Webb.  Thankfully, all involved walked away unscathed.

On June 28th, Mrs MJonTravel and I will board an American Airlines flight to Rome.  As far as I know, I will have no business trips between now and then, so evenings will be dedicated to finalizing trip plans, and getting jazzed about the idea of being on vacation for THREE WEEKS!  We spend a few days in Rome, and then board Celebrity Equinox for an 11-night Mediterranean holiday.  To say I can’t wait for that would be a mild understatement.

I’ll be blogging all the way through, so stay tuned for exciting details about the trip, and my first opportunity to review American’s much maligned Business Class seat on an international flight.

Interested in knocking a few bucks off the price of a 30 day pass from GoGo?  Rock on and enter the promo code TRYTHIRTYDAY when you get to the payment info page after signing in next time you’re on a GoGo equipped flight between now and July 10th.

Earn triple bonus miles and triple Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) on Delta Shuttle flights from June 14 through August 31.  Register at delta.com/shuttlepromo.

My 4-night stay this week has been nothing short of exceptional.  From check in to check out (OK, I’m sitting in the Living Room, and don’t check out until tomorrow), everything has been top notch.  I’ve posted great reviews of the hotel before, so I’m not posting a full review this week.  The hotel has really been on its game this week.  I brought guests here on 2 nights to enjoy the lobby bar scene, and they loved it too.  Looking forward to coming back next month.  And as always, if business or pleasure bring you to Atlanta, I highly recommend the W Atlanta Midtown.

Hello from the W Atlanta Midtown.  Flew down this morning aboard Delta Air Lines, and spent the day in the office.  Checked into the hotel around 6:30PM.  Great check in, and great stay so far.  The lady working the front desk was awesome.  I met a friend in the bar after checking in, and the same person who checked me in happened to walk by.   She remembered my name and asked if everything was OK with my room.  The room is great, and I was very impressed that she took the time to ask.  It’s going to be a good week.  Love this hotel!