Saks buyers, begin your engines! It is time to use your American Express Platinum Card® credit.
Earlier this week, Saks International, the mum or dad firm of Saks Fifth Avenue, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Whereas this doesn’t suggest shops can be closing instantly, or that associated perks will routinely disappear, it’s a good time to try your retailer merchandise credit in case restructuring impacts your capacity to make use of them.
For a lot of Amex Platinum Card holders, the $100 in Saks Fifth Avenue assertion credit awarded each calendar 12 months — as much as $50 from January to June and the opposite as much as $50 within the second half of the 12 months — is a big a part of the worth of the cardboard’s present $895 annual price (see rates and fees). Enrollment is required.
Associated: 6 items to buy with your Amex Platinum credit
This use-it-or-lose-it credit score resets twice yearly, which implies enrolled cardholders presently have as much as $50 to make use of on the retailer.
Pondering of heading to Saks or saksfifthavenue.com to make use of your credit score? This is what you should know.
What’s occurring with Saks?
There have been rumors about Saks’ decline and impending chapter for a number of years. This week, Saks International, which is the mum or dad firm that owns not solely Saks Fifth Avenue, but additionally Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, filed for chapter safety, after, in accordance with The New York Times, “crumbling below billions of {dollars} in debt, a fraying relationship with distributors and lagging gross sales.”
Saks International says, in accordance with the Occasions, that it intends to “emerge from chapter later this 12 months, and it expects to honor all buyer applications, make funds to distributors and proceed to pay workers.”
And whereas Chapter 11 proceedings normally give an organization time to restructure its funds, and do not imply closure is quickly or imminent, they might be the beginning of worth reductions, in addition to reductions in partnerships.
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What you must do now when you’re an Amex Platinum cardholder
Whereas we at TPG haven’t got a crystal ball to say what’s going to occur subsequent, there are some canaries within the purchasing coal mine we’re maintaining a tally of.
Saks International has $3.4 billion in debt, largely, monetary analysts say, from its acquisition of Neiman Marcus on the finish of 2024, which is a big hurdle to beat. And final 12 months, in 2025, Saks Fifth Avenue closed seven of its Off Fifth shops, together with a well-liked location in New York Metropolis’s Higher East Facet.
Saks says on its web site that “our shops will proceed to supply promotions and occasions as a part of the luxurious purchasing expertise our prospects count on.”
In an announcement to TPG, a consultant for American Specific mentioned, “Eligible American Specific Card Members can enroll and proceed to make use of their Saks Fifth Avenue profit at the moment.”
Nevertheless, when you’re sitting on a credit score and need to have the most important out there collection of gadgets, the time to make use of it’s now.
Even final week, earlier than the announcement, I attempted to make use of my credit score at Saks’ web site, solely to repeatedly discover that the gadgets I used to be involved in, and had beforehand been capable of buy on the location, had been bought out. On the time, I believed this meant the gadgets hadn’t been restocked after the vacations, however as I learn extra concerning the monetary disaster at Saks, it appears extra probably that merchandise is not being restocked, a sentiment I’ve discovered echoed throughout the web.
After all, you possibly can additionally simply sit tight. A contributing TPG bank card editor advised me he is holding off on looking for one thing to purchase, explaining: “I am a long-term Platinum cardmember, and I am not going to hurry to purchase one thing from Saks. I am taking the gamble that Amex might supply a goodwill (as much as) $50 assertion credit score to me if Saks actually goes down. Provided that I paid my annual price in November below the idea that each one advantages could be honored, I might request that Amex give me this credit score as a goodwill gesture — and $50 in ‘money’ is price extra to me than a nonessential Saks product.”
Backside line
It is nonetheless early days within the Saks International Chapter 11 monetary restructuring. Nevertheless, you probably have an Amex Platinum Saks Fifth Avenue credit score to make use of, or every other Saks credit for that matter, now’s the time to behave you probably have your eye on merchandise within the retailer or on-line.
In the event you’re in search of some purchasing inspiration, take into account Ray-Ban, Hill House Home and Le Labo — all of that are bought at Saks and are common amongst TPG staffers.
And when purchasing at Saks, do not forget to double-dip by beginning your buy at a shopping portal, which may give you bonus factors or miles for each greenback spent.
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For charges and charges of the Amex Platinum, click on here.