It's a tough decision! Here's a more in-depth comparison to help you decide.
Amex Gold Card: Relax with a cheaper annual fee
If you're looking to have that one card in your wallet that you grab for anything, a true jack-of-all-trades, then the Amex Gold Card is what you want. With an annual fee less than half of its Amex Platinum Card counterpart, this card is much more accessible to your average card user.
While perks like Uber Cash (good for Uber rides or Uber Eats) and dining credits almost pay for the entire annual fee, the rewards points earned for grocery shopping and eating out can easily put you ahead. Terms apply; enrollment may be required.
The Amex Platinum Card requires more thinking to recoup the more than double annual fee of the Amex Gold Card, but it does give you more options. If you can max out your annual Uber, streaming, airline, and hotel credits, you'll cover your annual fee and come out ahead. But that can be hard to do responsibly -- you don't want to spend extra money just to earn a perk.
However, if spending on travel to fund travel sounds exciting to you, then you definitely want to lean toward the Amex Platinum Card.
Amex Platinum Card: Wearing the welcome offer crown
American Express varies its welcome offers often based on things like time, date, browser, region, your history with Amex, and more. We also can't forget about Amex's "one bonus per card, per lifetime" rule.
The Amex Gold Card offers a generous base-level welcome offer of 60,000 Membership Rewards® Points when you spend $6,000 in the first 6 months (terms apply). But some new cardholders have been able to snag limited-time offers up to 100,000 points with less spending in the first six months.
However, The Amex Platinum Card generally comes with a welcome offer of 80,000 when you spend $8,000 in the first 6 months (terms apply). On special occasions though, we have seen the Amex Platinum Card have a welcome offer of up to 175,000 points for less spending in the first 6 months.
Rewards: Where the Amex Gold Card Excels
Like we said, if you love earning rewards on everyday expenses, the Amex Gold Card is a no-brainer. With 4X Membership Rewards® Points on dining and groceries, you'll quickly stack points. Terms apply. The Amex Platinum Card offers a higher rewards rate with 5X categories, but let's see why that might not be the best for everyone.
To earn the highest rewards rates with the Amex Platinum Card, here's where you have to spend your money:
- 5X points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel, up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year
- 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel
- 1X points on other purchases
- Terms apply
This really limits you booking only through Amex Travel -- you can't even book a hotel stay directly with the hotel. That also means no third-party discount travel sites are allowed either. While the Amex Travel portal is quite robust, it does limit your options.
On the other hand, this is where the Amex Gold Card really stands out:
- 4X points on restaurants worldwide (up to $50,000 per year); and U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X)
- 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com
- 1X points on other eligible purchases
- Terms apply
With 4X categories like that, this card will live at the top of your wallet -- not to mention earning points on just about every purchase.
