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- Although the credit card and rewards space has become a bit crowded, American Express remains a popular and prestigious company, offering compelling and competitive products.
- The Platinum Card® from American Express is the best product offered, since its generous yearly benefits almost fully offset the annual fee. Plus, it has useful perks, and solid rewards on flights.
- For example, I got more than $2,000 of value from the card my first year.
- If the Platinum Card's annual fee is a deal-breaker, your best choice is the American Express® Gold Card.
American Express offers credit and charge card products for just about every lifestyle need. Although American Express is famous for its travel connections and premium experiential offerings, it also offers credit and charge card products with other advantages. Whether you're looking for cash back, frequent flyer miles, travel insurance, purchase protections, extra points on groceries, access to airport lounges, or more.
If you're looking for the best Amex card for you, here are the ones you should consider.
Keep in mind that, unless it's otherwise noted in the card description, we're focusing on benefits, perks, and rewards that make these cards great options, not things like interest rates and late fees, which can far outweigh the value of any rewards.
When you're working to earn credit-card rewards, it's important to practice financial discipline, like paying your balances off in full each month, making payments on time, and not spending more than you can afford to pay back — or spending more than you would otherwise. Basically, with a few rare exceptions, you should treat your credit card like a debit card.
Here are our top picks for the best Amex cards:
- Best Amex overall: Platinum Card from American Express
- Best Amex for dining rewards: American Express® Gold Card
- Best Amex for families: Amex EveryDay® Preferred Credit Card from American Express
- Best no-fee Amex: Amex EveryDay® Credit Card from American Express
- Best cash-back Amex: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
- Best Amex with a 0% intro APR: Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
Updated on 5/7/2019 by David Slotnick: Added the latest information about card offerings and APRs, including the AmEx Gold and Blue Cash Preferred.
Read on in the slides below to see which Amex card is right for you.
SEE ALSO: The best credit card rewards, bonuses, and perks
The best Amex overall
Why you'll love it: The Platinum Card offers incredibly valuable benefits, perks, and rewards, and is a must-have for any frequent traveler.
Welcome offer: 60,000 points (after spending $5,000 in the first three months)
At $550, the Platinum Card has one of the highest annual fees of any mainstream card. However, as long as you're willing to float it up front, you can get way more value back from the card — for instance, I got more than $2,000 in value from it during my first year.
The Platinum Card earns American Express Membership Rewards. These points can be redeemed for travel, merchandise, or more. However, the best option is to transfer them to a frequent flyer partner.
The card offers 5x points per dollar spent on flights booked directly with the airline, as well as flights and pre-paid hotels booked through Amex Travel. It earns 1x point on everything else. It also offers up to $200 in Uber credits each cardmember year, as well as up to $200 in airline credits each calendar year — if you open the card mid-year, it's possible to earn that twice in your first cardmember year.
The card comes with a number of perks, including access to more than 1,200 airport lounges within the Priority Pass network, as well as Delta Sky Clubs and proprietary American Express Centurion Lounges. It also offers complimentary Gold elite status with Marriott and Hilton hotels, as well as up to $100 per year in shopping credits at Saks Fifth Avenue, access to special events, and other perks at hotels.
The annual fee may turn a lot of people off from this card, but if you can get past that, the return it offers is tough to beat.
Pros: Valuable perks, useful benefits, possible to get outsized value
Cons: High annual fee — even though you can make it back, and more, you'll still have to float that at first
Click here to learn more about the Platinum Card from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.
The best AmEx for dining rewards
Why you'll love it: The Amex Gold Card has a lower annual fee than the Platinum Card, but it offers stellar rewards on dining and groceries and solid benefits.
Welcome offer: 35,000 Membership Rewards points when you spend $2,000 in the first three months.
Last October, American Express launched a massive reboot of its Premier Rewards Gold card, or "PRG," rebranding it as the American Express Gold Card, releasing a new metal design, and totally overhauling the rewards and benefits on the card.
Right now, this is arguably the best card available for dining, unless you're only interested in cash back, rather than potentially more valuable rewards points, and unless you find yourself abroad at restaurants often.
The new Gold Card earns 4x points at US restaurants and on up to $25,000 per year at US supermarkets (and 1x point after that), 3x points on flights booked directly with the airline, and 1x point on everything else. Based on the fact that you can easily redeem Membership Rewards points for more than 1¢ of value each, that makes this the highest-earning card for everything food-related.
Like the old PRG, the Gold Card offers a $100 airline fee credit each calendar year, and adds up to $120 of dining credits — split into $10 each month — at Grubhub, Seamless, The Cheesecake Factory, Ruth's Steak House, or participating Shake Shack locations.
New card members — those who haven't previously had the Premier Rewards Gold — can earn a welcome bonus of 35,000 points when they spend $2,000 in the first three months.
While it's difficult to assign an exact value to Membership Rewards points, The Points Guy subjectively estimates each point as worth 2¢. That makes the welcome bonus worth $700. Even without factoring in the annual credit benefits, that's more than enough to make up for the card's $250 annual fee.
Check out our full review for more details.
Keep in mind that it's possible to be targeted for a higher welcome bonus.
Pros: Stellar rewards on dining and groceries, useful benefits, lower annual fee than the Platinum Card.
Cons: Relatively high annual fee compared to some other cards.
Click here to learn more about the Amex Gold Card from Insider Picks' partner: The Points Guy.
The best Amex for families
Why you'll love it: The EveryDay Preferred earns bonus points at US grocery stores and gas stations, making it a strong product for families and others who spend a lot in these categories.
Welcome offer: 15,000 points (after spending $1,000 in the first three months)
The EveryDay Preferred is a strong option for anyone looking for a Membership Rewards card, but who's not interested in a premium card like the Platinum or PRG. It also has a strong points-earning scheme and a lower annual fee of $95.
The card earns 3x points per dollar spent at US supermarkets (up to $6,000 each year — 1x point per dollar after that), 2x points at US gas stations, and 1x point on everything else. You can also get 2x points on reservations made through Amex Travel.
Best of all, if you make 30 or more purchases in a billing period, you'll earn a 50% bonus. That means that those little $3 and $4 charges for things like coffee or a snack can help you get a ton of points quickly.
The card also offers a 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers for the first 12 months, before switching to a variable 15.24–26.24% APR. If you have a big purchase coming up and want some time to pay it off, but don't want to pay interest fees, this is a great option.
Pros: Low annual fee, strong rewards structure, earns valuable points, 50% bonus when you make at least 30 transactions in a billing period
Cons: Relatively low welcome offer
Click here to learn more about the Amex EveryDay Preferred.
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