Amex’s premium cards just got a huge refresh, with huge new annual fees to match. Both The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express have revamped benefits and a hefty annual fee of $895 to go with them.

This is one of the largest overhauls we’ve seen from American Express in years. Let’s break down the changes, the new perks, and what they mean for both personal and business travelers.

<All information about The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has been collected independently by The Traveling Hansens. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.>

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Amex Platinum Card Details

The current Amex Platinum welcome offer is as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards® after spending $8,000 in the first six months. The way that many Amex welcome offers currently work is that they’re marketed as “up to” a certain amount, and when you click the link, you’ll see what amount you’re targeted for. I always recommend trying the link in multiple browsers and incognito mode to see which offer is highest.

The annual fee is now $895, up from $695 (rates & fees). That makes it the highest consumer card fee we’ve ever seen from Amex. Yikes. However, the annual fee – even when it’s huge – is often worth it for the first year thanks to that big welcome offer. Furthermore, there are a ton of benefits and credits that help offset it. More on that below.

For new applicants, you’ll pay the $895 annual fee on your first billing cycle.

For existing cardholders, the higher fee takes effect at your renewal date on or after January 2, 2026. Until then, you’ll continue paying $695 but still gain access to the new benefits.

Want to learn more about how to decide if annual fees are worth it? Check out this post.

Amex Business Platinum Card Details

The current Business Platinum welcome offer is for 200,000 Membership Rewards® after spending $20,000 in purchases in the first three months. This is the highest public offer we’ve ever seen on this card! Like the personal version, you can sometimes find varying targeted offers. However, 200,000 points is the standard offer, unlike the personal card offer, which states, “as high as”.

Like the personal card, the annual fee is now $895, up from $695 (rates & fees).

If you’re an existing cardholder, the new fee will apply starting with renewals on or after December 2, 2025.

Card benefits

Amex cards are jokingly referred to as “coupon books” due to their many (so many!) small credits and perks. This new refresh brings even more of these little credits, but when used, they can be worth multiple thousands of dollars.

Amex Platinum benefits and credits:

• Up to $600 Hotel Credit – Split into two $300 credits, one every six months, for prepaid bookings at Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection via Amex Travel.
• Up to $400 Dining Credit via Resy – Up to $100 per quarter for eligible dining spend. Enrollment required.
• Up to $300 Lululemon Credit – Up to $75 per quarter for eligible purchases. Enrollment required.
• Up to $200 Oura Ring Credit – Once per year on hardware purchases. Enrollment required.
• Up to $300 Equinox Credit – Per calendar year to use on Equinox gym and Equinox+ app memberships (subject to auto-renewal). Enrollment required.
• Up to $300 at SoulCycle: Up to $300 in statement credits per calendar year toward the purchase of a SoulCycle bike (up to 15 bikes per calendar year), enrolled in Equinox+ membership required.
• Up to $300 Digital Entertainment Credit – Up to $25 per month. This covers popular services like Disney+, ESPN+, YouTube Premium, Paramount+, and more. Enrollment required.
• Uber Benefits – Up to $15/month in Uber Cash (plus $20 in December) and a new Uber One membership credit (up to $120/year).
• Airline Fee Credit – Up to $200 annually with your selected airline, enrollment required.
• Up to $120 statement credit for Global Entry once every four years, or $85 statement credit for TSA PreCheck once every 4.5 years. Learn more about Global Entry and TSA PreCheck here.
• CLEAR Plus Credit – Receive up to $209 in statement credits per calendar year.
• Airport lounge access: Global Lounge Collection, including Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta), Priority Pass, Aspire Lounges, and Escape Lounges.
• Hotel Status – Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold and Hilton Honors Gold. Enrollment required.
• Rental Car Status – Complimentary Hertz Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle, Avis Preferred Plus and National Emerald Club Executive status. Enrollment required.
• Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Trip Delay, Extended Warranty, and more.
• No foreign transaction fees.

Amex Business Platinum benefits and credits:

• Up to $600 Hotel Credit – Split into two $300 credits, one every six months, for prepaid bookings at Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection via Amex Travel.
• Dell – Up to $150 in statement credits on U.S. purchases made directly at Dell and an additional $1,000 statement credit after spending $5,000 or more with Dell each calendar year. Enrollment required.
• Indeed – Up to $360 per calendar year, up to $90 per quarter. Enrollment required.
• Adobe – $250 statement credit after spending $600 or more on U.S. purchases made directly at Adobe each calendar year (subject to auto-renewal). Enrollment required.
• Hilton – Up to $200 per calendar year, up to $50 per quarter on eligible purchases made directly with a property in the Hilton portfolio.
• Cell Phone – Up to $120 per calendar year, up to $10 per month in statement credits for purchases made directly from any U.S. wireless telephone provider.
• Airline Fee Credit – Up to $200 annually with your selected airline, enrollment required.
• Up to $120 statement credit for Global Entry once every four years, or $85 statement credit for TSA PreCheck once every 4.5 years. Learn more about Global Entry and TSA PreCheck here.
• CLEAR Plus Credit – Receive up to $209 in statement credits per calendar year.
• Airport lounge access: Global Lounge Collection, including Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta), Priority Pass, Aspire Lounges, and Escape Lounges.
• Hotel Status – Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold and Hilton Honors Gold. Enrollment required.
• Rental Car Status – Complimentary Hertz Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle, Avis Preferred Plus and National Emerald Club Executive status. Enrollment required.
• Cell Phone Protection, Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Trip Delay, Extended Warranty, and more.
• No foreign transaction fees.

Both of these cards come with a ton of credits and perks that can help offset the annual fee, but only if you’re actually using them. For me, the personal Platinum benefits are way more useful than the business ones. I currently have the business card, but will likely be getting the personal one sometime next year as long as a can qualify for a high offer!

My rule of thumb when it comes to annual fees and card benefits is simple: if the credits are for things you wouldn’t normally spend money on, they don’t really save you anything. So if you’re not hopping in Ubers, grabbing Lululemon, or shopping at Dell or Indeed, those credits don’t actually add value.

That said, the huge welcome offers can definitely make the fee worth it for the first year. After that, it really comes down to whether the benefits match up with your lifestyle and how you like to travel.

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Earning Rates

Honestly, neither of these cards has good earning rates in any categories. These aren’t long-term keeper cards for their earning rates. If you want to keep the cards long-term, it will be for the credit and benefits, but you should use other cards for your everyday spending.

The earning rates for the Amex Platinum breaks down as follows:

• 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines or Amex Travel
• 5x on prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel
• 1x on other purchases
• 1x points on all other purchases

Here’s the breakdown for the Amex Business Platinum:

• 5x on flights and prepaid hotels through Amex Travel
• 2x on key business categories – hardware, tech, shipping, purchases of $5,000 or more
• 1x on all other purchases

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Eligibility

FAMILY LANGUAGE

Amex has some tricky rules when it comes to its cards. Basically, if you already have (or have had) a higher-level card, you can’t go back and open a lower one. For example, you won’t be eligible for the Amex Green if you currently have (or once had) the Gold or Platinum.

So, if your goal is to earn the welcome offers on all three cards, you’ll want to start at the bottom and work your way up.

For example:

1. American Express® Green Card
2. American Express® Gold Card
3. Amex Platinum

LIFETIME LANGUAGE

Amex also has what’s called “lifetime language,” which says: “Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card or previous versions of this Card.” In other words, you can technically only earn a welcome bonus once per card.

But there are some ways around this:

• Many data points show that Amex defines a “lifetime” as around seven years.
• Oftentimes, you’ll find targeted offers (in the mail, in your email, or in your Amex account online) that don’t include lifetime language. If you see a targeted offer, it means you may be able to snag the bonus again, even if you’ve had the card before. This has happened to me multiple times.

The other good thing? Amex is upfront about your eligibility. When you apply, a pop-up will tell you if you’re not eligible for the welcome bonus. This is what people sometimes call “Amex pop-up jail.” If you get this, just back out of the application. There will be no credit pull, and you can try again at a different time.

Using Your Points

These cards earn valuable Membership Rewards®, which can be used in multiple ways.

Transferring points to travel partners is my favorite way to use our points because it gives us the most value. However, there are a few other options.

• You can transfer them to one of Amex’s 21 airline and hotel partners.
• You can book flights, hotels, and more through the Amex Travel portal.
• You can cash out your points to cover expenses; however, this typically nets a lower than one cent per point value, so I try to avoid this.

Wrapping it up

This refresh is one of the biggest changes we’ve seen from Amex in years. With lots of new credits, huge welcome offers, and the highest annual fee ever charged by Amex, the Platinum and Business Platinum now offer more options for cardholders, but only if you actually use the perks.

If you regularly stay in luxury hotels, dine out at Resy restaurants, or spend heavily in business categories, the cards can absolutely justify the $895 fee. If not, the credits may not outweigh the cost.

Either way, the huge welcome offers and expanded perks make both cards worth considering.