With the Amex Platinum changes coming, are we going to have a $1,000 annual fee?

On Monday, American Express revealed that it would be the “largest investment ever” including American Express’s Platinum Card® and American Express’s Business Platinum Card® later this year. If there are any signs of past card remodels, the annual expenses for these cards will almost certainly increase, as part of the planned changes. But how high can they go?

With both cards already sporting annual fees of $695 (see rates and fees-Amex Platinum) and (see rates and fees-Business Platinum) there’s not a whole lot of room left for Amex to make annual fees hikes before entering four-figure range — especially since in the last few years, we’ve seen annual fees on premium credit cards on both the consumer and business sides skyrocket by $200 or more. The Bonvoy Brillight® American Express® card costs, which rose from $450 to $650 at the end of 2022 (see interest rates and fees), or the United Club’s business card, whose fees jumped from $450 to $695 from March this year.

Information on the United Club business has been collected independently by Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

As for the Amex Platinum, its last annual fee was smaller, at $145, and the price on the card rose to $695 from $550 in 2021. However, the cost back to 2017 was only $450, which suggests that over four years, the accumulated $245 or 54% of the fee was over four years. Considering that the platinum changes will take effect this fall – four years since the last fee increase – Big won’t change like never before. An additional $245 in the current fee will bring that fee to $940, while a 54% increase will reach $1,070.

The bigger problem is that consumers are willing to keep a premium card in their wallet, especially during these uncertain economic times, especially the cost of keeping premium cards. With 2025 already bringing wild volatility in the stock market and widespread layoffs in multiple business units, no matter how many elite status benefits and how much credits are brought by a statement, premium cards may stop making sense to some.

Currently, we have to wait to see what AMEX has, although the upcoming changes to Chase SapphireReserve® (see Rates and Fees) may give us a clue about the direction of annual charges. Chase recently announced that the card will now be overhauled sometime “this summer” and that the card will now receive a $550 annual fee, meaning news may be coming sooner than this month.

Related readings:

For American Express Platinum rates and fees, click here.

For rates and fees for Amex business platinum, click here.

For rates and fees for Amex Bonvoy bright cards, click here.