Best American Express Credit Cards of October 2023

American Express is one issuer of choice if you're looking for some of the best rewards credit cards we've seen. But that's not all it offers. American Express -- Amex for short -- is often ranked at the top of any list of top credit card companies, offering high-rated customer service, a great user experience, and a highly rated mobile app that helps manage your credit card needs on the go. Any credit card aficionado may want at least one or two American Express cards in their collection.

American Express has a diverse range of credit cards suited for all manner of rewards lovers. You can choose from:

• Luxury travel cards
• Everyday rewards cards
• Cobranded airline cards

Whether you're always on the go or prefer to stay at home, you can likely find an American Express rewards credit card suited to your lifestyle.

The Platinum Card® from American Express

Great for: Travel rewards and airport lounges

The Platinum Card® from American Express is a truly top-of-the-line travel card packed full of perks, welcome offers, and statement credits. (Terms apply, select enrollment required, see rates and fees)

Read the full The Platinum Card® from American Express review

Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express

Great for: Cash back at U.S. supermarkets

The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is an ideal cash back rewards card for everyday purchases. You'll earn high-rate rewards on purchases from U.S. supermarkets and grocery stores, select streaming services, transit providers, and U.S. gas stations. Plus, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express comes with a competitive welcome offer and a 0% intro APR offer for 12 months on purchases and balance transfers. The go-to rate is 19.24%-29.99% Variable after the promotional period expires. (Terms apply, see rates and fees)

Read the full Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express review

Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express

Great for: U.S. gas stations, U.S. supermarkets, and department stores

The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express is a solid no annual fee cash back rewards card that covers several useful everyday purchase categories. You can earn bonus credit card rewards at U.S. gas stations and U.S. supermarkets, as well as for online retail purchases. It's also one of American Express's best 0% APR credit cards, with an introductory offer that applies to purchases and balance transfers for 15 months. The go-to rate is 19.24%-29.99% Variable after the introductory period expires. (Terms apply, see rates and fees)

Read the full Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express review

American Express® Green Card

Great for: Dining, travel, and transit

The American Express® Green Card is a mid-level travel rewards card that offers premium rewards on restaurant, transit, and travel purchases. While it's not as packed with perks as its more-expensive Platinum sibling, it does come with valuable statement credits. (All information about the American Express® Green Card has been gathered independently by The Ascent. Terms apply, select enrollment required, see rates and fees)

Read the full American Express® Green Card review

American Express® Gold Card

Great for: Restaurants and U.S. supermarkets

The American Express® Gold Card is a foodie's best friend with its premium rewards at restaurants. The hefty annual fee is offset by the lucrative credits, as well as the large welcome offer. (Terms apply, select enrollment required, see rates and fees)

Read the full American Express® Gold Card review

Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card

Great for: Regular Delta flyers

The Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card is the mid-tier Delta credit card, offering bonus miles on Delta purchases, as well as bonus miles on hotels, dining, and U.S. supermarket purchases. Its moderate annual fee also covers an annual domestic companion certificate and your first checked bag free on Delta flights. (Terms apply, see rates and fees)

Read the full Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card review

Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card

Great for: Casual Delta flyers

The Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card is a solid option for casual Delta flyers who want a free checked bag on Delta flights. The card also earns bonus miles on Delta, dining, and U.S. supermarkets store purchases. Note that the card's annual fee changes, with a $0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $99. This means you probably need to fly Delta at least a few times a year to get your money's worth. (Terms apply, see rates and fees)

Read the full Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card review

Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card

Great for: Frequent Hilton guests

The Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card is the card for anyone who stays with Hilton on the regular. While it has a big annual fee, it comes with complimentary Diamond elite status with enrollment (which is good enough for free breakfast), as well as property and airline credits. Cardholders also earn double-digit rewards on Hilton purchases, and a high rewards rate on select travel and dining purchases. (Terms apply, see rates and fees)

Read the full Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card review

American Express is a haven for rewards credit cards, so dividing them up comes down mostly to the types of rewards you earn. Most American Express cards earn Membership Rewards points, while a few earn cash back rewards. The rest are cobranded hotel and airline cards that earn loyalty points with their respective brands.

Travel rewards cards

American Express is home to some top-shelf travel rewards cards that come jam-packed with travel perks and benefits like lounge access and trip insurance. It has a number of cards to choose from that earn lots of bonus points on hotel, airline, and transit purchases. But American Express gives you the option to earn high-value transferable travel rewards on your everyday purchases, too.

That's because Amex cards that earn rewards points earn American Express Membership Rewards points, a transferable currency that can be turned into hotel points or airline miles with more than a dozen travel partners. So, you can choose a card that offers 3x or 4x Membership Rewards points per dollar on expenses like U.S. supermarkets and restaurants, allowing you to save for your next trip without needing to leave home.

Cash back rewards cards

American Express's cash back rewards cards offer some competitive picks, especially if you're in the market for credit cards for gas and groceries. The most popular of American Express's cash back cards come with the highest U.S. supermarket and streaming rewards rates in the game, as well as bonus cash back on transit and at U.S. gas stations. You also have a couple of options if you don't want to pay an annual fee, including a U.S. supermarkets and U.S. gas station rewards card and one that offers unlimited flat-rate rewards.

Cobranded cards

American Express is one of the major backers for cobranded travel cards, and it has a wide range of hotel and airline credit cards from both Delta and Hilton. Each brand offers multiple tiers, with annual fees that vary with the number of perks and benefits you receive.

The expensive top-tier cards come with high-value perks like airport lounge access for airline cards or elite loyalty status for hotel cards. You'll find fewer perks at the low-fee end, but these cobranded cards can still be useful for casual travelers.

While the best credit cards for you will depend on what you need out of your card, there are a few American Express cards that hit the top of most rewards card lists.

First, The Platinum Card® from American Express is hands-down one of the best travel rewards cards, offering bonus rewards on hotel and airline purchases, as well as more than a dozen valuable travel perks like airport lounge access and Uber credits (select enrollment required, terms apply).

Similarly, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is one of the top cash back credit cards, offering bonus rewards in everyday categories that are hard to beat (terms apply).

The cardmember benefits you get with your American Express card will vary a lot depending on which card you have. The cards with higher annual fees often have the most benefits, but some of the more affordable cards can also pack in a lot of perks.

Here's an example of some common cardholder benefits:

• American Express extended warranty*: This benefit is offered by most Amex cards, and it extends the manufacturers warranty on purchases. Most often, warranties are extended by one year.
• American Express purchase protection*: This is probably the most common benefit for American Express cards, coming with both regular American Express cards and cobranded cards. With purchase protection, your recent purchases (within 90 days) are covered in the event of theft or damage. Coverage limits apply.
• American Express return protection**: Another common benefit, return protection is useful when you are unsatisfied with your purchase. If you make a good faith attempt to return the item to the seller, but they won't accept the return, American Express may refund your purchase.
• American Express travel insurance: A broad benefits category, travel insurance is offered by several American Express cards, mostly those that earn rewards points. The specific benefits can vary, but usually includes some type of trip delay** protection and lost baggage coverage**.
• American Express car rental insurance***: Many American Express travel cards come with some version of rental car insurance. This coverage is usually secondary, however, and will only kick in after your regular car insurance does its part.

This is just a few of the benefits you can get from your American Express card. Other benefits can include:

• Free credit scores
• Global assist hotlines
• Access to the Amex Offers & Benefits portal

Additionally, cobranded cards often may come with brand-specific benefits like free checked bags or complimentary elite status.

Membership Rewards are American Express's rewards points currency. You earn points for every dollar spent with eligible rewards cards. You can then redeem those points for things like travel or statement credits.

In general, however, you'll get the best per-point value when you transfer your points to one of American Express's hotel or airline partners. This turns your Membership Rewards into hotel loyalty points or frequent flyer miles that can be redeemed for free stays and flights.

Once transferred, the value you get from your rewards will depend on how you redeem them with the other program. Smart redemptions can easily net $0.02 to $0.04 per transferred point.

The current list of travel partners includes:

Most transfers are at a 1:1 rate, meaning you get 1 airline mile or hotel point for every 1 Membership Rewards point you transfer. Some partners may offer a lower or higher transfer rate. American Express occasionally offers transfer bonuses that give you a 30% to 35% extra when you transfer to the highlighted partner.

If you're not interested in transferring your Membership Rewards points, you can still redeem them, just don't expect to get more than $0.01 per point. In fact, most alternative redemption options will give you far less than $0.01 per point.

Membership Rewards points don't expire as long as your account stays open and in good standing. So, if you don't have plans to transfer your rewards anytime soon, consider hanging on to them rather than using them in a low-value redemption.

With so many American Express cards to choose from, picking the right card can be complicated. You'll need to decide both the type of rewards you want to earn, as well as which rewards categories will be most valuable for your lifestyle.

If you want Membership Rewards points:

• The Platinum Card® from American Express
• American Express® Green Card
• American Express® Gold Card
• Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
• Terms apply to all offers

If you want cash back rewards:

• Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
• Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
• Terms apply to all offers

If you want bonus rewards on U.S. supermarkets:

• American Express® Gold Card
• Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
• Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
• Terms apply to all offers

If you want to earn Delta SkyMiles:

• Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
• Delta SkyMiles® Blue American Express Card
• Terms apply to all offers

If you want to earn Hilton Honors points:

• Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
• Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card
• Hilton Honors American Express Card
• Terms apply to all offers

If you're trying to compare credit card offers in the same category, be sure to consider the annual fee, as well as any secondary rewards category. And don't overlook the cardholder benefits; an annual statement credit or extra perk could make a higher fee worth paying.

More resources

For more information on the best American Express credit cards, check out our guides below:

• American Express vs. Visa
• A Complete Guide to American Express Blue Cash Preferred Benefits
• A Complete Guide to American Express Green Card Benefits
• A Complete Guide to American Express Gold Card Benefits
• A Complete Guide to American Express Platinum Travel Insurance Coverage