American Express Platinum Card
American Express, American Express, $895 annual fee. Earns Amex Membership Rewards, valued at 2.00¢ a point.
Rates checked against the issuer 2026-08. Foreign transaction fee: none.
The short version
Is the annual fee worth it?
It earns about $625 a year on the illustrative household's spending, which is −$270 once the fee is paid. The best card with no fee, American Express Blue Business Plus, nets $1,058 on the same spending — so this card is $1,328 a year behind. On earning alone it does not catch up at any level of spending this looks at — its credits and perks have to make up the difference, or the fee is not paying for itself.
Price its credits, perks and sign-up bonus your way — tick what you would use and say what it is worth to you.
Priced on an illustrative household spending $2,205 a month on a card — the assumption, in full. Credits and perks are not priced: they are worth their face value only if you would have spent that money anyway.
What it earns, category by category
| Earns on | Rate | ConditionsWhat the issuer attaches to this rate: a spending cap, a category you have to switch on, or a booking you have to make through its travel portal. |
|---|---|---|
| Flights | 5x | Up to $500,000 per year, then the base rate. Booked with the airline or Amex Travel |
| Hotels | 5x | Only through the issuer's travel portal. Prepaid hotels through Amex Travel |
| Everything else | 1x |
Where it ranks
Against every card in the catalogue, scored in dollars per $100 with no rotating categories switched on:
- #1 of 117 for flights — $10.00 per $100
Where a year's rewards come from
| Spending on | Earns a yearWhat this card earns on each kind of spending over a year, for the illustrative household on the method page. Before the annual fee. |
|---|---|
| Groceries | $120 |
| Flights | $120 |
| Everything Else | $120 |
| Restaurants & Bars | $72 |
| Gas Stations | $36 |
| Online Shopping | $36 |
Priced on an illustrative household spending $2,205 a month on a card — the assumption, in full. Credits and perks are not priced: they are worth their face value only if you would have spent that money anyway.
Protections and travel benefits
From the issuer's own benefit summary as of 2026-09. These are read from summaries rather than the full guide to benefits, which has the exclusions — check it before relying on one.
- Rental car — secondary cover · how it works on this card
- Purchase protection — up to $10,000 per claim, 90 days · how it works on this card
- Extended warranty · how it works on this card
- Trip delay — up to $500 per claim · how it works on this card
- Trip cancellation — up to $10,000 per claim · how it works on this card
- Baggage — up to $3,000 per claim · how it works on this card
- Priority Pass lounges · how it works on this card
- Centurion lounges · how it works on this card
- Global Entry / TSA PreCheck · how it works on this card
- Airline fee credit · how it works on this card
- Concierge · how it works on this card
What the issuer lists besides rewards
- Annual airline incidental fee credit with a selected airline
- Hotel credit on Fine Hotels & Resorts and Hotel Collection stays
- Monthly Uber Cash and digital entertainment credits
- Centurion Lounge, Priority Pass and Delta Sky Club access
- Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit, and a CLEAR Plus credit
- Trip cancellation and interruption cover up to $10,000 per trip
- Trip delay after 6 hours up to $500, and baggage insurance up to $3,000
- Secondary rental car coverage
- Purchase protection up to $10,000 per claim for 90 days after you buy
- Extended warranty adds a year to manufacturer warranties of five years or less
- Platinum Card Concierge
Similar cards
- American Express Business Platinum Card — annual fee $895 a year
- Chase Sapphire Reserve — annual fee $795 a year
- Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business — annual fee $795 a year
- Citi Strata Elite — annual fee $595 a year
- Every travel card, ranked
- When an annual fee pays for itself
- The best two- and three-card combinations
Point values: published industry valuations, read 2026-09. How every number here is worked out.