American Express profit jumps as customers stick with the $895 Platinum Card

NEW YORK (AP) — American Express saw its profits rise sharply in the third quarter as the credit card giant was able to transition the vast majority of its cardmembers over to the new higher-fee Platinum Card while its well-to-do customers continued to spend aggressively on their cards.The New York-based company reported Friday a profit of $3.71 billion, up 28% from a year ago, or $5.42 a share. Excluding a one-time gain from AmEx's sale of its stake in Global Business Travel Group, the company earned a quarterly profit of $4.68 per share. That figure beat Wall Street estimates.AmEx's revenue and profits rose from a combination of customers both charging more on their cards and spending more to have an AmEx card. Last year AmEx updated its Platinum Card, adding several new perks for cardmembers while raising the annual fee from $695 to $895. The reviews on the update were generally positive at the time. However, the biggest question for Wall Street was whether AmEx cardmembers, even wi