The American Express Gold and Platinum cards offer some similar perks — but differ in several important ways. Show
Last updated Jan. 2, 2023 | By Kat Tretina  FinanceBuzz is reader-supported. We may receive compensation from the products and services mentioned in this story, but the opinions are the author's own. Compensation may impact where offers appear. We have not included all available products or offers. Learn more about how we make money and our editorial policies. If you’re looking for a premium rewards card, the American Express® Gold Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express cards are top choices from Amex. Both options are different from typical credit cards as these Amex cards allow you to carry a balance for certain charges, but not all. And both come with some luxurious benefits that enhance your cardmember experience. In this Amex Gold vs. Platinum comparison, you’ll learn about each card’s rewards, benefits, and fees so you can make an informed decision. In this article
Amex Gold vs. PlatinumAmerican Express Gold Card The Platinum Card from American Express Annual fee$250 (Terms apply)$695 (Terms apply)Welcome bonusEarn 60,000 Membership Rewards points after you make $4,000 in purchases within the first 6 months of card membershipEarn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $6,000 in the first 6 monthsEarning rate4X Membership Rewards points at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 per year, after that 1X) and at restaurants, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S., 3X on flights booked directly with airlines or on Amextravel.com, and 1X on all other eligible purchases5X points per dollar spent on eligible airfare (on up to $500,000 per calendar year, after that 1X) and eligible hotel purchases, and 1X points per dollar on all other eligible purchasesWe may be compensated when you click on links from one or more of our advertising partners. Opinions and recommendations are ours alone. Terms apply to offers below. See our Advertiser Disclosure for more details. The American Express® Gold Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express are 2 heavy hitters in the world of points and miles, with many award travel enthusiasts carrying one, or both, of the cards in their wallets. But if you’re someone who prefers to carry one card, you might be wondering which Membership Rewards card is a better fit for you? In this post, we will provide a benefits comparison of both cards to help you determine which is best for you, along with answering how you can go about upgrading your Amex card and who should consider upgrading. Table of contents
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Amex Gold Card vs. Amex Platinum CardMake no mistake, the Amex Gold card and Amex Platinum card are both fantastic, but very different, travel rewards cards. Here is a breakdown of the top benefits of each card. Amex Gold Card BenefitsHot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus of up to 90,000 points with the Amex Gold card! (The current public offer is 60,000 points.) The Amex Gold card has strong earnings at supermarkets and restaurants with a variety of ways to earn/redeem rewards and plenty of travel benefits — all without a premium annual fee! Our favorite benefits include:
The Amex Gold card aims to help keep you covered by offering travel insurance benefits like baggage insurance coverage, trip delay insurance, and rental car insurance, along with purchase protection and extended warranty protection. Bottom Line: Spend a lot of money on dining and at supermarkets? The Amex Gold card will help you rack up Amex Membership Rewards points faster than any other card. Amex Platinum Card BenefitsHot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome offer of up to 150,000 points with the Amex Platinum card! (The current public offer is 80,000 points.) The premium Amex Platinum card is packed with $500+ in statement credits, considerable 5x points travel earnings, and access to thousands of airport lounges worldwide. Here are our favorite earnings and benefits that the card features:
The Amex Platinum card also takes the level of protection you receive to another level by offering travel insurance benefits like rental car insurance, trip delay protection, and trip cancellation protection, plus purchase benefits like return protection, purchase protection, and extended warranty protection. Bottom Line: The Amex Platinum card offers some of the very best travel and lifestyle benefits of any rewards card on the market. Benefits ComparisonHere is a head-to-head comparison of the Amex Gold card and Amex Platinum card to help you determine which card is a better fit for you. BenefitAmex Gold CardAmex Platinum CardAirfare purchases3x5xDining purchases 4x1xSupermarket purchases4x1x$120 annual dining creditX–Rental car insuranceSecondary: $50,000Secondary: $75,000Foreign transaction fees$0$0Baggage insurance$1,250 per person$3,000 per personTrip delay insurance$300 per trip$500 per tripPurchase protection$10,000 item/$50,000 year$10,000 item/$50,000 yearExtended warranty protectionXXAmerican Express Hotel CollectionXXAmerican Express Fine Hotels & Resorts–X$200 airline fee credit–X$200 annual Uber credit–X$100 annual Saks Fifth Avenue credit–XAirport lounge access–XHotel elite status–XRental car elite status–XAmex International Airline Program–XTSA PreCheck/Global Entry credit–XAs you can see, the strength of the Amex Gold card is that it has a much lower annual fee than the Amex Platinum card and is significantly better at earning points if you’re someone who regularly spends money on dining and groceries. On the other hand, the main appeal of the Amex Platinum card is that it is absolutely loaded up with fantastic benefits like access to 6 different airport lounge networks, hotel elite status, a variety of annual credits, and many more perks that frequent travelers are sure to love. Further, Amex Platinum military members can get their annual fee waived. Bottom Line: Are the added benefits of the Amex Platinum card worth the additional $300 in annual fees? Well, that is for you to decide, and if you need extra help doing so, we’ve got you covered in our ultimate guide to the Amex Platinum vs. Amex Gold. How To Upgrade Your Amex Gold CardRequesting an upgrade with your Amex Gold card is a very straightforward process, and you have 2 options for doing so. The first is by calling the customer service number on the back of your Amex Gold card and telling the representative that you’d like to upgrade to the Amex Platinum card. Your second option is to use the chat feature on the American Express website, though be advised that they might still ask you to call the customer service line to finalize the upgrade. Who Should Upgrade Their Card?We’ve outlined the benefits of each card and explained how to go about asking for an upgrade, but should you actually do it? Here are a few tips to help you make that decision. 1. You’ve Had the Amex Gold Card for More Than 1 YearDue to the Credit CARD Act of 2009, credit issuers are not able to increase the annual fee of a cardmember if their account is less than 1 year old. So if you haven’t had your Amex Gold card open for at least a year, you will not be eligible to upgrade it to the Amex Platinum card. 2. You’ve Previously Earned a Welcome Bonus for the Amex Platinum CardTraditionally, when you upgrade to a new card, you are not eligible for the public welcome bonus that the card currently offers. So if you’ve never received a welcome bonus for the Amex Platinum card before, you’d be much better off just applying for the card outright as the welcome bonus offer is often worth more than $1,300 in travel based on our valuations. If you’ve already received a welcome bonus on the Amex Platinum card, though, then you would not be forfeiting any points should you decide to upgrade your Amex Gold card. 3. You’ve Been Extended an Upgrade OfferOccasionally, American Express will send cardmembers an offer to upgrade their card and receive a bonus for doing so. We’ve seen offers as high as 60,000 Membership Rewards points (valued at $1,320) to upgrade from the Amex Gold card to the Amex Platinum card. So if you’ve received such an offer, that would be a great reason to upgrade. Hot Tip: You’re still eligible for upgrade offers even if you have already received a welcome bonus for the Amex Platinum card. However, if you accept an upgrade offer and you’ve never had a welcome bonus for the Amex Platinum card, you’ll no longer be eligible to receive one should you decide to apply for the card outright. 4. The Amex Platinum Card is a Better Fit for YouIf you’ve weighed the benefits of each card and decided that the Amex Platinum card is a better fit for you, then it might make more sense to ask for an upgrade. But just make sure you don’t leave any Membership Rewards points on the table if you do so. 5. You Don’t Want To Add a Hard Pull to Your CreditWhen you ask for an upgrade on an Amex card, American Express does not perform a hard pull, meaning you will not receive a new inquiry on your credit report, and it will not impact your 5/24 status for those who are trying to stay eligible for certain Chase cards. Final ThoughtsUltimately, while the process of upgrading your Amex Gold card to the Amex Platinum card is an easy one, the decision on whether or not it makes sense to do so is a lot more situational. On one hand, upgrading might offer you a nice bonus without adding an inquiry to your credit score. On the other, you might be forgoing the large boost of Membership Rewards points you could have received from the welcome bonus by applying for the card outright. Either way, you should do whatever makes the most sense for you. You might even decide that is worth holding both the Amex Gold card and Amex Platinum card so that you can take advantage of the point-earning and luxury travel benefits of both cards! Can I have two different Amex cards?Currently, you can have up to five American Express consumer credit cards at one time. It is important to note that American Express offers multiple types of cards — business cards and consumer cards — and that the rule only applies to consumer cards where you are the primary cardholder.
Should I get Amex Gold or Platinum first?Amex Platinum and Amex Gold both come with a nice initial bonus offer, plus yearly opportunities to earn additional credits and various other valuable perks. Amex Platinum ultimately offers more value, though. For example, its benefits include airport lounge access, while the Amex Gold Card's perks do not.
Can you merge 2 Amex accounts?Unfortunately, you can't combine Membership Rewards between two people's accounts. Instead, let's focus on the goal of combining Membership Rewards. The goal is to be able to transfer them to an airline or hotel account that doesn't belong to the primary cardmember.
Can you get multiple Amex bonuses?American Express restricts each card's welcome bonus so that it can only be earned by one per person, per lifetime. In other words, if you apply for and earn the welcome bonus on the American Express® Gold Card, that's it. You can't earn that bonus again.
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Can i have both amex gold and platinum
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