American Express raises Platinum card’s annual fee to $895 but adds $3,500 in perks
American Express on Thursday unveiled a major refresh of its flagship Platinum credit card, raising the annual fee to $895—up 29% from the current $695—but pairing the increase with expanded perks valued at $3,500 per year.
The company said both consumer and business versions of the Platinum card will now include more than double the previous level of annual benefits, delivered primarily through credits on purchases made with the card.
Expanded Perks and Credits
New perks include:
- $400 annual dining credit through restaurant booking platform Resy
- $300 credit at Lululemon
- Credits with Uber and Oura
- Expanded hotel and streaming benefits
Business Platinum cardholders will also gain enhanced hotel credits and offsets for purchases at Dell Technologies and Adobe.
American Express emphasized that existing benefits remain intact, with none rolled back as part of the refresh.
The Premium Card Arms Race
The announcement underscores intensifying competition among card issuers for wealthy U.S. consumers. Rival JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup have also rolled out updated or new premium cards in recent months, often timing their announcements around each other.
American Express in June previewed its “biggest ever” card refresh just before JPMorgan launched its latest Sapphire Reserve updates. On Wednesday, JPMorgan announced new hotel perks for that card, with AmEx’s Platinum updates following a day later.
The focus on affluent consumers reflects a broader spending trend: the top 10% of U.S. earners accounted for roughly half of all consumer spending in Q2, the highest level in over three decades, according to Moody’s Analytics.
Balancing Value and Complexity
Still, higher annual fees risk pushing some customers toward lower-tier cards from Capital One or Citigroup, or downgrading within the AmEx portfolio. Critics online have also described the Platinum’s approach as a “coupon book” that requires diligence to maximize value.
To address this, AmEx is rolling out a new Platinum-specific app feature designed to simplify enrollment and redemption of benefits. “We spent an enormous amount of time around, how do we make this as easy as it can be for card members to understand, access and, most importantly, unlock all these great benefits,” said Howard Grosfield, president of U.S. consumer services at AmEx.
What’s Next
Current Platinum cardholders will see the new $895 fee take effect on renewals starting January 2, 2026. AmEx is betting that its expanded perks will outweigh the higher cost, keeping its Platinum product competitive in an increasingly crowded luxury card market.
