American Express offers some of the best credit cards on the market, with cash-back, travel, and business options available. If you’re in the market for a new card and are considering several Amex cards, it makes sense to compare their cards based on points-earning capacity, bonus offers, annual fees, and more.
If you’re a frequent traveler, it’s important to note that Amex cards are widely accepted in the U.S., but not as much overseas. If you’re traveling abroad, it’s best to carry a backup card (like Visa or Mastercard).
Below, we detail the best Amex cards by category to help you find the best one.
Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel, and 1X points on other eligible purchases.
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This is quite a spectacular card with incredibly valuable benefits, but the annual fee is objectively very high.
Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X. Earn 4 points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1 point per dollar), 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com, and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases
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If you like to dine out frequently, the $200+ worth of dining-related annual statement credits can easily help justify the yearly fee.
Earn 6% cash back on up to $6,000 spent at U.S. supermarkets each year (then 1% back), 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming services, 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations and on transit, and 1% cash back on other eligible purchases. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.
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Although this card has an annual fee, most families will be able to easily get enough value out of the everyday categories to make it worth it.
Earn 3% cash back on up to $6,000/year spent at U.S. supermarkets (then 1%), 3% cash back on up to $6,000/year at U.S. gas stations (then 1%), 3% cash back on up to $6,000/year on U.S. online retail purchases (then 1%), and 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases. Cash back is received in the form of Reward Dollars that can be redeemed as a statement credit or at Amazon.com checkout.
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For a no-annual-fee option, the reward rate on this card is pretty solid, but for heavy spenders, other cards may offer more value.
Earn 5 Membership Rewards® points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels through American Express Travel and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases. Earn 1.5 points per dollar on eligible business expenses and purchases of $5,000+ (up to $2 million per calendar year). Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus.
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The annual fee certainly has a shock factor but for the premium business traveler, this card’s luxury perks could make it well worth it.
Earn 2X miles on restaurant purchases (plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.), 2X miles at U.S. supermarkets and on Delta purchases, and 1X miles on all other eligible purchases.
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The perks this card delivers can easily make up for the annual fee but may not be worth it if you aren’t a Delta enthusiast.
Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points (up to the first $150,000 in purchases per year, then 1X points) on 2 categories where your business spends the most each billing cycle and 1X points on other eligible purchases.
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The automatically adjusting bonus categories give this card tremendous reward potential, but you’ll need to spend a pretty penny to make up for the annual fee.
Earn 6X points per dollar spent at participating hotels, 3X points at restaurants worldwide, 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines, and 2X points on other eligible purchases.
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This card has plenty of value to outweigh the annual fee if you’re a Marriott loyalist, but could be difficult for the average traveler to justify.
Earn 12X points on eligible purchases made directly with Hilton hotels and resorts, 6X points at U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and U.S. supermarkets, 4X points on U.S. online retail purchases, and 3X points on all other eligible purchases.
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You won’t get a complimentary Free Night Award with this card but it still offers a multitude of valuable benefits for the Hilton loyalist.
American Express is both a credit card issuer and a payment processing network. This means that they issue the cards to consumers and they process the payments themselves. While many credit cards from other issuers use payment networks like Visa or Mastercard, Amex can do it all.
Outside of credit cards, American Express also offers savings accounts, checking accounts, certificates of deposit, and more.
American Express used to fall behind Visa and Mastercard in its acceptance rating, but in recent years they’ve reached over 99% acceptance in the U.S..
So there’s a tiny chance your Amex card won’t be accepted in the U.S., in which case it’s always best to have cash or another card available as backup. Amex cards are also not a payment method accepted at Costco.
Internationally, the acceptance rating is quite a bit lower, so it may be a good idea to have a Visa or Mastercard-branded card (like a Chase credit card or Capital One credit card) in your back pocket if you’re going overseas.
American Express credit cards are some of the best on the market, with options for many consumers. They offer no-annual-fee cash-back cards, premium travel cards, business cards, and almost everything in between. However, they don’t have credit cards for bad or limited credit histories.
Amex offers multiple types of credit cards, so there’s an option for almost any consumer.
American Express offers various options of credit cards for small businesses. These cards often have business-specific reward categories and tend to come with valuable perks. (See our full list of Amex business card picks).
Many American Express credit cards earn what are called Membership Rewards points, a valuable Amex-specific currency. These points can be redeemed in various ways, from statement credits to transfers with select travel partners.
While some cards from American Express earn Membership Rewards points, others earn cash back. With these cards, you earn a percentage of each purchase back in rewards. However, if you can’t choose between the Blue Cash Preferred or Blue Cash Everyday then it is best to compare the benefits to see whether it is worth it for your financial goals.
American Express partners with certain airline and hotel brands like Hilton, Delta, and Marriott to offer cards specific to those brands. These cards have various tiers, with differing annual fees and rewards.
There are loads of American Express benefits that make them one of the best card providers around, these are a few of the standout perks:
Amex credit cards like the Platinum Card® from American Express and the American Express® Gold Card let you earn Amex Membership Rewards points while others like the Blue Cash cards earn cash back. Generally speaking, this card issuer’s cash-back credit cards only let you redeem your cash back for statement credits, which makes Amex Membership Rewards a better option in terms of flexibility.
These points can be used to “pay with points” at many famous retailers, but you can also redeem them for gift cards or merchandise. Amex Membership Rewards points can also be used to book hotel stays, rental cars, flights, and more through the Amex travel portal.
Amex Membership Rewards points can also be transferred to many airline and hotel partners, which can help you get more value in return.
If you’re a frequent traveler who wants a new card with flexible rewards and plenty of perks, looking at cards that earn Membership Rewards points can make sense. Amex travel cards tend to offer bonus miles on travel purchases and generous rewards on other non-travel purchases you make. Some of these are great options for cards with airport lounge access. Many travel credit cards from Amex also offer perks like airport lounge access, fee credits for Global Entry or TSA Precheck membership, and credits for a CLEAR Plus membership. (Not sure of the difference? Check out our guides on Global Entry vs TSA PreCheck and TSA PreCheck vs CLEAR).
Many American Express cards even offer travel insurance perks, but if you’re traveling internationally or going on a cruise, you may want to consider purchasing an additional travel insurance or cruise insurance plan to make sure you are adequately covered on your trip.
If you love earning cash back on eligible purchases, several credit cards from Amex could work well as your new card. Some cards in this niche even offer up to 6% cash back on select purchases including U.S. supermarket spending. Just keep in mind that many Amex credit cards that earn cash back only let you redeem your rewards for statement credits.
This card issuer also offers a range of business credit cards geared to those who want to earn cash back or travel rewards on eligible purchases. There are several top business credit cards from Amex with no annual fee, and some extend 0% APR intro offers for eligible purchases. If you’re a business owner or entrepreneur who is seeking a new card, you’ll find that Amex boasts some of the best options out there.
After deciding on a card to apply for, click the “Learn More” button next to the card at the top of this page. That will lead you to a page where you can learn more about the card’s benefits and fees, and there will also be a button to “Apply Now.”
When applying, you’ll likely be asked for information like:
One of the biggest appeals of an American Express credit card is the Amex pre-approval tool, which helps you know your chances of approval before applying.
You typically need good to excellent credit (670+ FICO) to qualify for an American Express credit card. However, Amex will also take other factors into consideration, like income and debt.
American Express allows you to have up to 5 of their credit cards at once. This includes business and personal cards. This limit does not include cards without a preset spending limit, like the Platinum Card or the Gold Card. If you’re not sure what your credit score is, head over to our guide on how to check your credit score.
To select the credit cards for this ranking, we looked at various factors like:
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Note: All information for The Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card has been collected independently by LA Times Compare. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
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For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of tThe Business Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of the Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card, please visit this page.
The easiest Amex cards to get have a lower spending requirement for rewards and a low or no annual fee, such as the Blue Cash Everyday Card from American Express (no annual fee, see rates and fees) and the Blue Cash Preferred Card from American Express ($95 annual fee after the first year, see rates and fees).
Many experts say the Platinum Card® from American Express is the best travel credit card across all major card issuers. However, The best American Express credit card for you depends on your specific rewards-earning goals. For example, you should decide whether you want to earn flexible points for travel or cash back.
That said, our picks for the best American Express credit card is as follows:
We recommend comparing cards based on their features, benefits, and annual fees.
Most Amex credit cards require good or excellent credit. While American Express does not list a minimum credit score requirement for approvals, a “good” credit score typically means any FICO score of 670 or higher.
There are three options to cancel an American Express credit card; by phone, online, or via mail.
Here are the steps you can take for each.
Online: You also may be able to cancel your card online by chatting with a live representative on the American Express website by following these steps:
When you cancel, you’ll have 90 days from the date you requested cancellation to use up your remaining rewards. If you don’t redeem them by then, you forfeit all remaining points or cash back.
Amex will only refund your annual fee if you request cancellation within 30 days of when the latest annual fee was charged. After that point, you won’t receive a refund.
American Express credit cards are an excellent option for consumers who want the best perks and rewards. American Express is also renowned for its customer service. In fact, Amex earned the #1 spot in J.D. Power’s 2021 U.S. Credit Card Satisfaction Study.
No, American Express does not offer student credit cards. Since American Express cards are only for those with an excellent credit score, students often don’t qualify since they have a limited credit history.
Amex focuses on consumers with good or excellent credit and does not offer secured credit cards or options for those with a bad credit score. Many other issuers offer credit cards for bad credit or credit cards for no credit that can help you build your credit score until you can qualify for one of the best American Express cards.
Unlike Visa and Mastercard which tend to have the security code on the back of the card, American Express has theirs on the front. It’s also a 4-digit number, unlike Visa and Mastercard with three digits. Learn more about what credit card numbers mean.
Most American Express cards have annual fees ranging from $95 to hundreds of dollars, but there are a few no-annual-fee card options. Our opinion is that the best American Express card with no annual fee is the Blue Cash Everyday card (see rates and fees).
Neither card is objectively better. The Platinum Card is best for frequent travelers who enjoy luxury perks, while the Gold Card is better for everyday spending. See how these two cards stack up in our detailed comparison of Amex Gold vs Platinum.
Yes! Unlike Costco, Sam’s Club accepts all major credit cards, including American Express.
Yes! Whole Foods accepts all major credit cards, including American Express. They’re also counted as a U.S. supermarket, so you can enjoy the high reward value of Amex cards with that category, like the Blue Cash Preferred!
Holly D. Johnson is an award-winning personal finance writer who covers topics like insurance, investing, credit and family finance. As a leading voice in the travel and loyalty space, Johnson has traveled with her family to more than 50 countries over the last decade.
The author has also written extensively on the power of household budgeting, and she even co-authored a book on the topic. Zero Down Your Debt: Reclaim Your Income and Build a Life You’ll Love was originally published in 2017, and it teaches families how to use zero-sum budgeting to reach their financial goals. She is also the co-owner and founder of the family finance and travel website, ClubThrifty.com.
Johnson’s 10+ years of writing have focused on helping families make important financial decisions at each stage of their lives. The author also applies the financial principles she teaches to her own life, and she is currently on track to retire in her late 40’s with her partner. She currently lives in Central Indiana with her husband and children, and she is a regular contributor for Bankrate, CNN, Forbes, U.S. News and World Report Travel and many other notable publications.
* Opinions expressed here are those of LA Times Compare and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser or entities included within this content. See our editorial policy for more details.
All products or services are presented in this content without warranty. The information, including card details such as rates and fees, is accurate at the time of publication. Please visit each bank's website directly for the most current information.
