The Platinum Card from American Express

• The welcome bonus is as high as 175,000 points after $12,000 in purchases in 6 months, and offers vary by person, so yours could be lower. Membership Rewards points transfer to a long list of airline and hotel partners, so the ceiling on that haul is real, but $12,000 in 6 months is a serious spend hurdle and not everyone gets there on normal spending.
• $895/year only makes sense if you're actually extracting the credits - and there are a LOT of them, each with its own enrollment step, quarterly or monthly cadence, or partner restriction (looking at you, $25/month digital entertainment credit and $15/month Uber Cash).
• The $400 Resy Credit (up to $100 per quarter) covers dining at U.S. Resy restaurants, and as of September 15, 2026, Tock venues count toward it too. Enrollment required, and like the other credits it resets quarterly, so unused amounts are lost.
• The lounge access story is genuinely unmatched: Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass Select, and 10 Delta Sky Club visits per year when flying Delta - that last one is capped at 10, which is worth knowing before you start treating Sky Club like a default airport routine.
• The hotel credits sound like $600 in free money - they're not quite: Fine Hotels + Resorts requires booking through Amex Travel at prepaid rates, The Hotel Collection requires a two-night minimum stay, and neither credit stacks with outside booking platforms or loyalty rate discounts.
• NO earn rate worth mentioning outside of flights and prepaid Amex Travel hotels - 5x on those two categories is strong, but the $500,000 annual cap on flights is the only guardrail that matters for most people, and everything else on this card earns a flat 1x (yes, even groceries).
• The complimentary status perks are a quiet bonus: Marriott Gold, Hilton Gold, and car rental elite status at Avis, Hertz, and National all come with the card - enrollment is required for most of them, so don't assume they activate automatically.
• Car rental coverage is secondary in the U.S. (not available at all in Australia, Italy, or New Zealand) and trip delay insurance only kicks in after a 6-hour delay on a round trip paid entirely with the card - the protections are real, but the fine print earns its reputation here.
• Don't forget the Global Entry / TSA PreCheck credit - up to $120 (or $85 for PreCheck) every 4 years when you apply with the card; it quietly covers the fee for years.
• Your Membership Rewards points include complimentary access to point.me's award-search tool (point.me/amex) - handy for spotting transfer sweet spots before you move points.
• The monthly Walmart+ credit fully covers a Walmart+ membership, and the sneaky win is Walmart+ now includes your pick of Peacock or Paramount+ at no extra cost, so a travel card quietly hands you a streaming service. Pick the monthly plan, not annual, or the credit won't trigger.
• The CLEAR Plus credit covers airport CLEAR (front of the ID line), and it stacks with the PreCheck you already get from the Global Entry credit, so you've basically bought both fast lanes for free.

The Amex Platinum is the granddaddy of premium travel cards - a $895/year powerhouse stuffed with $3,500+ in annual credits, Centurion Lounge access, and a lounge network that no other card can touch. If you actually use the benefits (and there are a *lot* of them), this card more than pays for itself.

Perks worth knowing

Extra value that rides along with this card, from its network and from benefits that unlock more.