Amex Gold vs. Platinum Card: Which is Better? (2024)

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.

Learn more: ▶︎Amex Gold Card review

Why you might want the Platinum Card instead

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.

Learn more: ▶︎Amex Platinum review

Should I get both Amex Gold and Amex Platinum?

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.

▶︎ See our picks: Best Credit Card Welcome Offers

Amex Gold vs. Amex Platinum: Rewards points

Winner: Amex Gold

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.

CLEAR Plus & TSA PreCheck/Global Entry

• Platinum members can utilize up to $199/year credit for CLEAR Plus membership and up to a $100 fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck.
• Gold members don’t have either of these benefits.

Airline credits

• 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.

▶︎ Learn more: Guide to American Express Travel 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.

▶︎ Learn more: Amex Gold card benefits guide

Amex Platinum credits:

• 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.

▶︎ See our picks: Best Credit Cards for International Travel

Amex Gold vs. Amex Platinum: Eligibility

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.

If you’ve come to realize that you don’t want either of these cards, check out these other options:

For cash back:

• Blue Cash Preferred^® Card from American Express
• Blue Cash Everyday^® Card from American Express
• Capital One SavorOne Cash Rewards Credit Card
• Chase Freedom Unlimited^®

For travel rewards:

• Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
• Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
• Chase Sapphire Reserve^®
• Chase Sapphire Preferred^® Card

• • • • •

^{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