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Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X. Earn 4 points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1 point per dollar), 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com, and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases
Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel, and 1X points on other eligible purchases.
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SUMMARY
In the world of travel credit cards, the American Express® Gold Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express are two of the best. For rewards on everyday spending and dining, the Gold card is ideal, as it offers excellent rewards at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets. On the other hand, for frequent travelers who thrive on luxury benefits, The Platinum card is the standout option, with its plethora of high-end perks.
But which card is the right choice for you? Let our experts help you decide.
Note: Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
HIGHLIGHTS
American Express® Gold Card:
The Amex Gold Card comes with hundreds of dollars in dining statement credits and up to $120 in Uber Cash annually (to receive the Uber Cash benefit you must have downloaded the latest version of the Uber App and your eligible American Express Gold Card must be a method of payment on your Uber account. This benefit may only be used in the United States).
The main reward categories of the Amex Gold Card are 4X Membership Rewards points at restaurants (plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.) on up to $50,000 per year, then 1X and at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year, then 1X).
The Platinum Card® from American Express:
The Amex Platinum Card comes with over $1,500 worth of statement credits available each year, airport lounge access, hotel elite status, and more.
The main reward categories of the Amex Platinum Card are 5X Membership Rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 per calendar year), and 5X points on prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel.
The Platinum Card® from American Express vs. American Express® Gold Card: An overview
Why you might want to get the Amex Gold Card
For starters, the annual fee for the American Express® Gold Card is over $300 less expensive than the annual fee for The Platinum Card® from American Express. Outside of that, this card would likely be the better fit if most of your spending is on dining and shopping at U.S. supermarkets, as those are its highest-earning categories. It also has up to $120 worth of Uber Cash yearly and over $200 worth of dining-related statement credits yearly, effectively covering the $325 annual fee.
Note: To receive the Uber Cash benefit you must have downloaded the latest version of the Uber App and your eligible American Express Gold Card must be a method of payment on your Uber account. This benefit may only be used in the United States.
Bottom line: The American Express Gold Card is best for earning rewards on everyday spending and for people who enjoy dining out.
Although the Amex Platinum has an objectively high annual fee, it comes with a multitude of benefits that can easily make up for it— if you can use them. Benefits like airport lounge access, hotel elite status with Marriott and Hilton, and over $1,500 worth of available statement credits could be very valuable to the luxury traveler.
Bottom line: The American Express Platinum Card is best for frequent travelers who can dedicate themselves to maximizing luxury benefits and specific statement credits.
You probably don’t want to apply for both cards concurrently as it reduces your chance of earning the welcome bonus with each. That doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s a bad idea to have both— we’d just recommend staggering your applications to maximize your chances of earning the welcome offers.
If you’re a dedicated enough traveler, the two could make a harmonious pairing in your wallet. The Gold can do most of the work of earning the points, as its categories are more useful for daily spending, and the Platinum can give you access to all of the luxury travel benefits your heart desires.
If you have one of these cards and want another card to maximize your rewards, but paying over a thousand dollars per year in annual fees doesn’t sound appealing, you might be better off looking for a mid-tier rewards card or cash-back card from another card provider.
Amex Gold vs. Amex Platinum: Welcome offer
Winner: Amex Platinum, sort of?
The Amex Platinum wins by a small margin when it comes to the welcome bonus. However, the two are pretty evenly matched if you look at the spending requirement to earn the bonus in relation to the amount of points earned.
Gold: The Amex Gold offers 60,000 Membership Rewards Points when you spend $6,000 in the first 6 months. This offer can be worth roughly $1,200, depending on how you choose to redeem your points. Plus, for a limited time, new cardholders can earn 20% back in statement credits on eligible purchases made at restaurants within the first 6 months of card ownership (up to $100 total). Offer ends 11/6/24.
Platinum: The Amex Platinum offers 80,000 Membership Rewards Points when you spend $8,000 in the first 6 months. This offer can be worth roughly $1,600, depending on how you choose to redeem your points.
Both cards provide some pretty impressive ways to earn points. The Gold card offers more chances to earn points on everyday spending while the Platinum card’s 5X Membership Rewards on travel makes it better for those who travel frequently. We prefer the Gold in this category.
Earning Amex Gold rewards:
4X points on restaurants (on up to $50,000 per year, then 1X)
4X points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 each year, then 1x points)
3X points on flights you book via the Amex travel site or directly with an airline
1X points on other eligible purchases
Earning Amex Platinum rewards:
5X points on flights you book through Amex Travel or directly with airlines (on up to $500,000 annually, then 1x points)
5X points on qualifying hotel stays booked via Amex Travel
1X points on other eligible purchases
Amex Gold vs. Amex Platinum: Travel perks
Winner: Amex Platinum
American Express is known for travel perks, but in a side-by-side comparison, the benefits of the Platinum card handily win this category.
Let’s take a look at some of the travel perks that come with these cards:
Airport lounge access
Amex Platinum cardholders can access the exclusive Centurion Lounge network, Delta Sky Clubs, Priority Pass Select lounges (enrollment required), and more.
Amex Gold members don’t get any airport lounge access benefits.
Hotel benefits
Platinum members can access a $200 annual statement credit for qualifying hotel bookings, elite status with Marriott and Hilton hotels, and benefits on eligible bookings with The Hotel Collection or the Fine Hotels + Resorts Collection.
Gold card members can enjoy a $100 experience credit when booking a two-night stay with the Hotel Collection through American Express Travel.
Platinum members have up to $200 in airline incidental fee statement credits each calendar year.
Gold members don’t get any airline credits.
Travel insurance benefits
Both Amex Gold and Amex Platinum members get access to travel insurance benefits, but for Amex Platinum members, that also includes trip cancellation/interruption insurance.
Note: Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.
Amex Gold vs. Amex Platinum: Lifestyle credits
Winner: Amex Platinum
Because you can earn enough statement credits with the Platinum card to more than cover the annual fee, this category goes to Platinum.
Amex Gold credits:
Dining credits: Up to $120 annually in dining credits — limited to $10 monthly — on dining purchases at, specific qualifying establishments, including Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, and Five Guys. Enrollment required.
Uber Cash: Up to $120 annually in Uber Cash ($10 per month). Your Gold card must be added to the Uber app to qualify for this benefit. This benefit is only usable in the United States.
Resy Credit: Up to $100 in statement credits per year (up to $50 semi-annually) when you pay with your Gold card at U.S. Resy restaurants.
Dunkin’ Credit: Up to $7 per month in statement credits to use at Dunkin’ locations when you enroll and pay with your Gold card.
Digital entertainment credit: Up to $240 credit annually — limited to $20 monthly — on qualifying digital entertainment purchases
Equinox: Up to $300 statement credit annually on Equinox membership fees
Saks Fifth Avenue: Up to $100 credit annually on Saks Fifth Avenue purchases — limited to $50 in each half of the calendar year. Enrollment required.
Walmart+: Up to $155 credit annually for monthly Walmart+ membership fees
Uber Cash: Up to $200 annually in Uber Cash ($15 per month and $20 extra in December after you add your card as a method of payment to your Uber account)
Amex Gold vs. Amex Platinum: Fees
Winner: Amex Gold
The Amex Gold card wins this category because of its much lower annual fee.
The Platinum Card has an annual fee of $695 while the Gold card has an annual fee of $325. And if you want to add any authorized users to your account, you’ll have to pay $195 for each on the Platinum card, while you can add up to 5 authorized users on the Gold card for free (then $35 each).
Neither card has any foreign transaction fees, so they can be used internationally without incurring additional charges. Note, however, that Amex has a lower international acceptance rate than Mastercard or Visa, so there’s a chance a merchant won’t accept your card when traveling overseas.
When it comes to getting a card membership, both of these cards generally require great or excellent credit. Neither the Gold or Platinum cards are easier to get, as they’re both considered fairly high-end credit cards.
Bottom line: Which do you get?
If you’re still debating whether to get the American Express Platinum or the American Express Gold Card, consider this: how much are you willing to spend, what do you tend to spend money on, and what benefits can you actually utilize?
If you spend a lot on dining and groceries, the Gold card seems right up your alley. If you spend a lot on travel and would benefit from luxury benefits like airport lounge access and hotel elite status, the Platinum card is where it’s at. Either way, make sure you can squeeze enough value out of the card to make the annual fee worth it.
Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X. Earn 4 points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1 point per dollar), 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com, and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases
Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel, and 1X points on other eligible purchases.
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If you’ve come to realize that you don’t want either of these cards, check out these other options:
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this page.
FAQs: Amex Gold vs. Amex Platinum
Is American Express Platinum better than Gold?
The Amex Platinum Card may be a better choice for travelers, while the Amex Gold card could be better for dining enthusiasts and earning points on everyday spending.
Should I upgrade from Amex Gold to Platinum?
If you think that you would benefit from the better travel rewards, you might want to upgrade to the Amex Platinum card. Otherwise, stick with the Amex Gold Card for earning rewards on everyday spending.
Is Amex Gold easier to get than Platinum?
These are not mid-tier credit cards, and they both require a fairly high credit score for card membership. The Amex Gold Card is not especially easier to get approved for than the Platinum Card. To get an idea of if you may qualify, you can try getting pre-approved for an Amex card.
What are the best Amex Gold Card benefits?
The best benefits of the Gold Card are 4X Membership Rewards points on dining and groceries. These rewards help you turn everyday out-of-pocket spending into valuable perks for travel or other redemption options.
What are the best Amex Platinum Card benefits?
While the ability to earn 5X points on travel purchases is nice, the best benefits of the Platinum Card are the ample statement credits. You can earn around $1,500 — more than double the annual fee — each year in statement credits.
What is the most prestigious American Express card?
It’s probably the Centurion card. You can’t even apply for this card without an invitation, and Amex doesn’t publish the requirements for card membership.
Hayley Harrison is an active personal finance contributor for LA Times Compare. She is passionate about helping consumers make informed financial decisions and achieve their financial goals by simplifying complex topics relating to insurance and personal finance.
Hayley brings first-hand knowledge of the finance industry thanks to her previous experience as a branch manager for a mid-sized regional bank and as a licensed accident and health insurance agent.
* Opinions expressed here are those of the LA Times Compare Cards Team and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser or entities included within this content. See our editorial policy for more details.
All products or services are presented in this content without warranty. The information, including card details such as rates and fees, is accurate at the time of publish. Please visit each bank's website directly for the most current information.
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