We know what you’re thinking: Why pay a high annual fee for two cards that earn the same type of points? Well, it’s totally worth it for us (and many others).
Indeed, the total price tag of over $1,000 American Express Platinum Card® and American Express® Gold Card Can face it. However, the income rates and allowances on these cards vary widely.
If you want to speed up your income, maximize card benefits and protect your purchases, it makes sense to hold platinum and gold cards. There are four reasons why.
Earn two welcome bonuses
In your first year of owning a card, welcome bonuses are one of the most valuable benefits, if not the most valuable benefits. Between these two cards, you can earn up to 275,000 bonus membership bonus points:
- Amex Platinum: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for up to 175,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 in the first six months of card membership. (Welcome offers vary, you may not be eligible for an offer.)
- Amex Gold: Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for up to 100,000 bonus points after spending $6,000 in the first six months of card membership. (Welcome offers vary, you may not be eligible for an offer.)
TPG’s July 2025 valuation of PEG American Express membership reward points are 2 cents, which means these comprehensive welcome bonuses are worth up to $5,500.
There are several application restrictions to note:
- You will only receive a welcome offer for each card once a year.
- It is better to apply for gold first and then apply for platinum; on the contrary, if you do, you may not be eligible for a welcome offer for gold.
Related: Complete Guide to Amex’s Millennium Limits
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Accelerate your income
You can earn thousands of points each time you buy it every year. The general guide is to use:
Let’s dig into the numbers.
Booking a flight with Platinum, you will earn 5 points directly with the airline or American ExpressTravel®*, while Amex Gold is 3 points per dollar.
For prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel, Platinum is once again ideal for you, earning 5 points per dollar instead of using Amex Gold 2 points per dollar.
Then you need to use Amex gold for grocery and catering purchases. You will earn 4 points on global restaurants and our supermarkets***. With Platinum, you can only earn 1 point in these categories.
* Up to $500,000 per year, then 1 point per dollar
**Purchase year up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1 p.m. per dollar
***Purchase year up to $25,000 per calendar year, then 1 point per dollar
Related: How to Earn Over 300,000 Points per Year
Maximize statement credit
Both cards offer annual statement credits that can put hundreds or thousands of dollars back into your pocket.
Amex Gold’s $325 annual fee (see Fees and Fees) is well above a declared credit line of up to $424, which are mainly concentrated on catering, including:
- Biennial recurring credit up to $50: American Restaurants in Resy
- Meal credit of up to $10 per month: Selected businessmen in five guys and grubhub
- Uber cash up to $10 per month^: For Uber rides or Uber eating orders in the United States
- Dunkin’ credit of up to $7 per month: In our Duncan location
Registration is required.
^Uber cash is deposited into only one Uber account when you redeem a qualified AMEX card as a payment method and redeem it with any Amex card.
Meanwhile, Amex Platinum’s high $695 annual fee (see Fees and Fees) can be offset by a stated credit as long as you maximize all of this. Most are travel and lifestyle-centric, and some of our favorites are:
- Annual clear credit up to $209: Cover your annual membership (if automatically renewed)
- Annual airline fee credit up to $200: With your preferred airline
- Annual hotel credit limit up to $200: Offset the booking with Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts or hotel favorites (at least two nights stay)
- Digital entertainment credit up to $20 per month: Includes Disney+ and Peacock Subscriptions
- Uber cash of up to $15 per month^: For Uber rides or Uber eating orders in the US; bonus $20 for December (total of $35 for the month)
Registration is required.
Related: American Express Gold vs. American Express Platinum: Which one is right for you?
Protect your purchases and travel
Both American Express Platinum and Gold Cards offer extended warranty and purchase protection benefits.
However, the Amex Platinum card has more comprehensive protection advantages, especially for frequent customers, while the Amex Gold card offers more limited coverage.
Amex Platinum offers shopping and travel protections (but without Amex Gold) include:
- Mobile phone protection
- Emergency medical transport (if coordinated by welfare administrators)
- Travel Cancellation and Interrupt Insurance*
- Trip delay insurance*
- Car rental losses and losses cover higher coverage, luggage and travel delay insurance
*Qualifications and income levels vary from card to card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. For more information, visit AmericaneXpress.com/benefitsguide. The policy is insured by AIG New Hampshire Insurance Company.
When it doesn’t make sense
Everyone who holds Amex Platinum and Gold cards may not be cost-effective. Consider the following:
- Lounge entry: If you rarely use the airport lounge or spend enough money on platinum to unlock guest access, you may not get enough value from the card.
- Grocery Purchase: If you buy primarily at large retailers like Walmart or Target, or through grocery delivery services that are not a “supermarket” code, you may not receive reward points in these categories.
- Declare points: Evaluate whether you have spent on services such as Grubhub and Uber to get statement credit; if not, you may end up spending “saving money” unnecessarily.
Bottom line
The lower annual fees and reward points for Amex Gold card for catering and groceries may be suitable for many users, and the higher fees for Platinum card are worth it for those who can maximize their travel allowance.
Combining these two cards together can improve your AMEX point balance, improve travel and offset your spending on buying lifestyles.
To learn more, read our full review of Amex Platinum and Amex Gold.
Apply here: Amex Gold
Apply here: Amex Platinum
For Amex platinum rates and fees, click here.
For Amex Gold Card rates and fees, click here.
