Updated April 13, 2026. For the business version, see our Business Platinum Card review.
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The Facts

• Annual Fee: $895 for primary cardholder; $195 per Platinum Card additional user; free Companion Platinum Card additional users.

• Signup Bonus: (1) "as high as" 175,000 points ($1,750 in airfare, gift cards, etc., or 175K miles of Avianca, Air Canada, ANA, Singapore, British, Cathay Pacific, Delta, Flying Blue, etc.) after you spend $12,000 within 6 months of new account opening. The signup bonus is not available to applicants who have or have had this card. Historical best bonus: (1) as high as 175,000 points in 2025 and 2026; (2) via certain referrals 150,000 points + 10x dining, up to $25K in purchases, within the first 6 months, in 2022; (3) 125,000 points + 15x dining & small businesses, up to $25K in combined purchases, within the first 6 months, in 2021; (4) 125,000 points + 10x dining, up to $25K in purchases, within the first 6 months, in 2022; (5) 150,000 points in 2022; (6) 100,000 points + 10x points on groceries & gas, up to $15K in combined purchases, within the first 6 months, in 2021; (7) 75,000 points + $300 for dining + 10x groceries & gas within the first 6 months in 2021 via Resy; (8) 100,000 points for a few times in the past years; (9) 60,000 points + $300 for dining in 2020 via Resy; (10) 75,000 points for a few times in the past years.

• Application landing page

• Rewards: 5x airfare (directly with airlines or through Amex Travel), 5x prepaid hotels and travel packages booked through Amex Travel, 2x other travel booked through Amex Travel, and 1x everywhere else.

• Best Use of Membership Rewards (MR) points: Normally, Amex Membership Rewards points can be redeemed at up to 1 cent per point (cpp) for the following categories: statement credit (0.6 cpp), gift cards (0.7~1 cpp), flights (1 cpp), other travel (0.7 cpp), shopping with partners at checkout (0.7 cpp), merchandise through Amex shopping portal (0.5 cpp), etc. However, Amex Platinum, along with certain other Amex products, is eligible for the transfer feature that allows points to be transferred to miles/points of frequent traveler programs. Please see our featured review on the major programs that have the transfer feature - Marriott vs. MR. vs. UR vs. TY vs. C1 vs. CR.

• Annual/semi-annual/quarterly/monthly Credits: (1) Annual $200 airline incidental credit each calendar year. You have to select an airline before getting reimbursed and are allowed to change the airline once every calendar year. Incidentals include check bag fees, change ticket fees, onboard meals, airport lounge day passes, and so on. There used to be reported success of getting reimbursed for airline gift cards up to $100 each; however, Amex started to enforce incidental categories in 2019. (2) Up to $600 hotel credit each calendar year (up to $300 semi-annually) for prepaid Fine Hotels & Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings. (3) Up to $400 Resy dining credits (up to $100 each quarter). (4) Up to $300 select digital entertainment credits each calendar year (up to $25 each month) for Youtube, Paramount+, Peacock, Disney+, Disney Bundle, Hulu, ESPN+, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal. (5) Complimentary Walmart+ membership, which offers free shipping, free grocery delivery, early Black Friday access, member prices at Sam's Club gas stations, complimentary Paramount+ membership (regularly at $4.99 per month), etc. You will receive the full credits each month ($12.95) when you pay for Walmart+ membership with the card. (6) Up to $300 Lululemon credits (up to $75 each quarter). (7) Annual $209 CLEAR credit, which covers an annual CLEAR plus membership, enabling you to clear security faster at select U.S. airports and stadiums. (8) Up to $200 Uber Cash each calendar year ($15 each month which expires by the first day of next month, and $35 for December). You must add the Platinum Card as one of the payment methods in your Uber app or Uber Eats app and select the Uber Cash before the ride or order you want to apply the credit for. In addition, you also receive complimentary Uber VIP status, which connects you to the drivers with top ratings in select cities. (9) Annual $120 Uber One credit, which covers an annual Uber One membership. (10) Up to $300 Equinox credit each calendar year, for All-Access, Destination, E by Equinox, or Equinox+ membership. (11) Annual $200 Oura Ring credits each calendar year. (12) Up to $100 Saks Fifth Avenue credit each calendar year. You will receive a $50 credit in the first half of the year and another $50 credit in the second half, which means the maximum credit you may get in one transaction is $50. Gift card purchases are ineligible for credits. [Removed as of July 2026].

• Airport Lounge Access: (1) Unlimited access to the following airport lounges: Delta Sky Club (free for you and $50 for each guest; unlimited access has been replaced with 10 free visits per calendar year), Centurion Lounge (free for you and $50 for each guest), Escape Lounges (free for you and two guests), Plaza Premium lounges (free for you and one guest), Lufthansa lounges (free for you and guest fee might apply), and International American Express Lounges (free for you and at least one guest). Please see our featured review to learn more about airport lounge access. (2) Priority Pass Select membership that gives you plus two guests unlimited complimentary access to over 1,800 airport lounges around the world (airport restaurants are no longer covered).

• Hotel Privileges: (1) Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR): a collection of over 1,800 luxury hotels and resorts worldwide. You receive one-category upgrade upon check-in based on availability, daily breakfasts for two (continental breakfasts are guaranteed while many hotels offer buffets), guaranteed 4 PM checkout, plus one property specific amenity such as $100 resort/spa/dining credit, one lunch/dinner for two, or 50-minute massage for two, per stay. In addition, FHR constantly runs promotions such as "4th Night Free" or "3rd Night Free" at many properties. You have to book through FHR by phone or online and pay with your Amex card. Most of time FHR rates are the same as the hotel's best available rates (note that non-refundable rates may be lower). We consider FHR the best luxury hotel program provided by a credit card due to its wide coverage and valuable amenities. Note that hotels booked through FHR is not prepaid and not eligible to receive 5x MR points. (2) The Hotel Collection (THC), a collection of over 1,000 upscale hotels and resorts worldwide, offering $100 credit and room upgrade upon availability when booking a two-night-minimum stay. (2) Complimentary Hilton Gold status, which is considered the best mid-tier hotel elite status, normally achieved with 20 stays, 40 nights, or 75,000 base points in a calendar year. (3) Complimentary Marriott Gold status, which after the program integration in August 2018 is not as good as Hilton Gold any more - you will receive 25% bonus points plus upgrades upon availability. (4) Complimentary Leaders Club Sterling status from the Leading Hotels of the World, which offers free breakfasts for two, upgrade priority at check-in, five pre-arrival upgrades per year, SIXT Platinum status match, etc.

• Other Benefits: (1) International Airfare Program: you receive discount on international premium economy, business, or first class tickets on over 20 airline partners, when booking through Platinum Travel Service. The cardholder needs to be traveling and you can buy up to 8 tickets per itinerary; $39 service fee will be charged per ticket. Amex drastically revamped this program in 2017, making it actually useful, as the old program requires refundable fare. (2) Complimentary car rental elite status (Hertz President's Circle, Avis Preferred Plus, and National Executive). (3) Waived foreign transaction fees, with an embedded EMV chip. (4) Up to $120 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees every four years. (5) Amex Offers - you receive savings in form of statement credit or earn bonus MR points on select merchants when using your Amex card; you need to manually add an offer to your Amex card to be eligible for savings or bonus, and unlike other savings/bonus programs, you don't need to shop through a certain portal. (6) ShopRunner membership for free 2-day shipping with select merchants. (7) Complimentary 24/7 Platinum Concierge Program. (8) Cruise Privileges Program (up to $400 cruise credit). (9) Platinum Destinations Vacations (up to bonus 25,000 points). (10) Platinum Villas (up to $500 amenities). (11) Premium Private Jet Services Program (20-40% discount and $500-$2,000 credit). (12) Entertainment Access (a.k.a. Membership Experiences) including American Express Presale, American Express Preferred Seating, and Premium Access (Dining Access), and By Invitation Only. (13) Global Dining Collection which offers access to exclusive culinary events, and customized experiences at select restaurants around the world. (14) Global Dining Access by Resy for exclusive perks at participating restaurants. (15) Earn one InCircle point for every dollar spent at Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Last Call, Horchow, and CUSP, with your enrolled Platinum Card. (16) SoulCycle benefits including complimentary classes, SuperCycle status, "first class free" passes, etc.

• While various credits (e.g. $200 airline incidental, $300 digital entertainment) apply to the card account as a whole, additional Platinum Card users also receive most of the benefits (airport lounge access, Priority Pass Select, FHR, Hilton/Marriott/LHW status, Global Entry, etc.) However, additional Companion Platinum Card users don't receive these benefits.

• Protection: Amex Platinum offers the highest level of consumer and travel protection among Amex cards.

• Other Facts: this card is made out of metal, weighing around 18 grams.

• Special Versions: There are several special versions of Platinum Card and all require a relationship with the financial institution. They all have the same $695 annual fee and most of the time offer the same signup bonus. (1) The Charles Schwab version has an option to deposit MR points into your Schwab account at 1.25 cents each, and an annual fee reducer (a $100 credit when your Schwab holdings are at least $250K, or a $200 credit when your Schwab holdings are least $1M). (2) The Morgan Stanley version offers one free additional card, an option to deposit MR points into your Morgan Stanley at 1 cent per point, and a $500 anniversary bonus after $100K spending. (3) The Goldman Sachs version has a special feature - earn 40,000 bonus points if you spend $100K each year.

• History: The card has been the benchmark for high-end cards for decades. Its airport lounge program used to be hands down the best offered by a credit card, covering American, Delta, and Continental, but over the years due to the changes in the industry it slowly devaluated. Due to its merger with United, Continental left this program as well as MR program in September 2011. In order to compensate the loss, Amex overhauled the product by adding US Airways and Priority Pass Select to the lounge program and by introducing $200 annual airline credit. Due to the merger between American and US Airways, both airlines left the program in March 2014. In May 2015, Delta stopped allowing free guest access. In anticipation of this change, Amex added Airspace and Centurion lounges but there are fewer lounges in these two programs (10 as of October 2015). Hilton Gold had been offered as a pilot benefit and eventually became official in October 2015, which added quite some value. In October 2016, to respond to Citi Prestige and Chase Sapphire Reserve, Amex further enhanced this card by increasing points earned on airfare from 2x to 5x. In March 2017, Amex increased the annual fee to $550, while adding the $200 Uber credits, 5x on prepaid hotels and travel packages booked through amextravel.com, free additional Gold Cards, free two guests for the Priority Pass Select membership, and finally a metal card design. In July 2018, Amex added the annual $100 Saks credit feature to the card. In January 2019, Amex ended relationship with Mercedes and the special version Amex Platinum Card for Mercedes have been discontinued and product changed to the regular Amex Platinum. In October 2019, Amex discontinued accepting new applications for the Ameriprise version of Amex Platinum and in 2020 the existing cardholders received product change to the regular Amex Platinum. In July 2021, Amex increased the annual fee to $695 and added $200 prepaid hotel credit, $300 Equinox credit, $240 digital entertainment credit, and $179 CLEAR credit. In February 2023, Amex removed the allowance for two free guests at Centurion Lounges, and each guest will be charged based on age ($50 for age 18+, $30 for age 2-17, and free under age 2). In August 2023, additional Platinum Card user fees increased from $175 for the first three additional Platinum Cards to $195 per additional Platinum Card. In September 2025, Amex increased the annual from $695 to $895 and added a suite of new credits ($600 for hotels increased from $200, $300 for digital entertainment increased from $240, $400 for Resy, $300 for Lululemon, $200 for Oura Ring, $120 for Uber One) as well as Sterling status for LHW.

The Math
With the 2025 revamp and a hefty annual fee of $895, Amex Platinum boasts over 10 categories of various credits totaling ~$3,000 each year; however, we don't think they can be treated at face value. For example, Amex started enforcing airline incidental category thus limiting its flexibility; $600 hotel credit ($300 semi-annually) can only be used for prepaid bookings on FHR or THC; most other categories are actually quarterly or monthly and will be valuable for the cardmembers that are using them anyway but pretty much useless for others. You need to decide their value yourself. For example, we value them a little over $1,000 so the card more than pays for itself. With that, we can enjoy all the premium travel perks (e.g., airport lounge access, hotel privileges) for free while racking up nice rewards points. If you frequent the participating airport lounges, Hilton portfolio hotels, and/or luxury hotels, this card offers unparalleled value.

Amex Platinum is a powerhouse for airfare purchases after the 2016 enhancement, and even with gift card redemption option it is not too shabby to have 5% return. The 2017 enhancement for 5x on prepaid hotels and travel packages might work for some consumers with some limitation - hotels need to be prepaid and you won't receive frequent guest points / stays and elite benefits. Thus, we won't count this feature in our analysis. To achieve even better rewards, you need to use the miles/points transfer feature and know how to leverage Amex transfer partners' programs, which can be very rewarding and challenging at the same time. For example, if you happen to value MR points at 1.5 cents a piece with the miles/points transfer feature as we do, the return for airfare becomes more impressive at 7.5% travel rewards. However, for general spending, we recommend looking somewhere else. For example, Amex EveryDay Preferred ($95 annual fee), which returns 1.5x (=2.25% travel rewards) MR points for general spending when you have at least 30 transactions per month and also 4.5x for groceries and 3x for gas, can be a great card to pair with Amex Platinum.

Amex Platinum vs. Chase Sapphire Reserve ($795): (1) the difference in annual fees is only $100, and both offers various annual credits ($2,300 on Sapphire Reserve vs. $3,000 on Amex Platinum). We won't take all the credits at face value, and you need to do your math to figure out the effective annual fees. We think Amex Platinum has a slight edge over Sapphire Reserve. (2) Sapphire Reserve has better bonus categories (8x Chase Travel, 4x airfare & hotels booked direct, 3x dining) than Platinum's (5x airfare, 5x prepaid hotels & travel packages via Amex Travel, 2x other Amex Travel). While our current valuation of Chase UR and Amex MR points are the same at 1.5 cents per point, they have some different transfer partners: Chase has United, Southwest, Hyatt, etc., while Amex has ANA, Air Canada, Cathay Pacific, Delta, Hawaiian, etc. (3) Generally the travel perks provided by both cards are similar, with some differences in airport lounge access (Sapphire Lounges on Sapphire Reserve vs. Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs, Escape Lounges, Plaza Premium lounges, Lufthansa lounges, and International American Express Lounges on Amex Platinum), hotel privileges (The Edit by Chase Travel, Visa Infiniti/Signature Luxury Hotel Collection, Relais & Chateaux, Ennismore on Sapphire Reserve vs. Fine Hotels & Resorts, The Hotel Collection, Hilton Gold, Marriott God, LHW Sterling on Amex Platinum), rental car benefits (primary rental car insurance on Sapphire Reserve vs. Hertz #1 Gold, Avis Preferred, and National Executive status on Amex Platinum). (4) Sapphire Reserve has better travel/consumer protection in general. (5) Overall, when we crunched the numbers for the Top 10 List, Sapphire Reserve is a better card, but your numbers may vary.

To see how the personal Amex Platinum Card competes with other cards with similar annual fees, please check out our featured review Comparing High-end Cards covering Amex Platinum Card, Amex Delta Reserve, Amex Hilton Aspire, Amex Marriott Brilliant, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase United MP Club, Citi Prestige, Citi AA Executive, U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve, CNB Crystal, and MasterCard Black Card.​

The Conclusion
Amex Platinum Card used to be the go-to card for domestic lounge access, but it has been mostly only good if you frequent Delta or Alaska and/or depart from a city with a Centurion lounge; however, Amex has been adding features to compensate the loss over the years. The 2016 enhancement turned this card into a powerhouse for airfare bonus, and with its already very impressive perks (#1), protection, and signup bonus, it finally made our Top 10 List. The 2021 and 2025 revamps further increased the annual fee while adding new categories of annual credits, which could be a win or loss depending on your situation.