Card economics
Amex Platinum
Annual fee
$895/yr
Foreign transaction fee
None
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Welcome offers change frequently — check the issuer's page for the current offer.
Earn rates
Points or cash back earned per dollar spent. 'x' means points multiplier, '%' means cash back percentage. Portal-only rates require booking through the issuer's travel portal.| Category | Rate |
|---|---|
| Flights outside issuer portals | 5xUp to $500,000/yr shared, then 1x |
| Amex Travel - Flights | 5xPortal onlyUp to $500,000/yr shared, then 1x |
| Amex Travel - Hotels | 5xPortal only |
| Delta Airfare | 5xUp to $500,000/yr shared, then 1x |
| United Airfare | 5xUp to $500,000/yr shared, then 1x |
| Southwest Airfare | 5xUp to $500,000/yr shared, then 1x |
| Everything else | 1xBase rate |
Transfer partners: Amex Membership Rewards
Spending caps
Many cards cap bonus earn rates at a set spending amount per year, quarter, or month. After hitting the cap, you earn the lower base rate. The optimizer automatically routes overflow spend to other cards.| Category | Bonus rate | Cap |
|---|---|---|
| Flights outside issuer portals | 5x | $500,000/yrThen 1x |
| Delta Airfare | 5x | $500,000/yrThen 1x |
| United Airfare | 5x | $500,000/yrThen 1x |
| Southwest Airfare | 5x | $500,000/yrThen 1x |
| Amex Travel - Flights | 5x | $500,000/yrThen 1x |
After reaching the cap, spending in that category earns at the lower “after cap” rate. The optimizer automatically handles cap overflows.
Benefits not in the math
Perks whose value depends on how you travel — lounges, free bags, status. The optimizer counts them only when a Premium perk-value profile assigns them a dollar value, once per wallet; with no profile they are worth $0 in every figure.Airport lounge access
Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass Select, Escape and Plaza Premium lounges, plus 10 Delta Sky Club visit-days per year when flying Delta.
Issuer sourceHotel elite status
Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status, Hilton Honors Gold status, and Leaders Club Sterling status from The Leading Hotels of the World.
Issuer sourceCounted at $0 unless you assign a value in a Premium perk-value profile.
Fee calculator
The effective fee is the annual fee minus credits you'll actually use. A $550 card with $400 in usable credits has an effective fee of $150. Adjust credit values based on how much you'll realistically use.Sticker Fee
$895/yr
Credits
-$490
Effective FeeWhat you actually pay after subtracting credits you use. This is the real cost of holding the card — the number that matters for optimization.
$405
Credits & Benefits
Adjust each credit's value based on how much you'll realistically use. 'Easy' credits are straightforward to use (dining, streaming). 'Conditional' credits may require specific merchants or booking methods.Max: $200/yr · annual
For ONE chosen airline only. Covers baggage fees, seat upgrades, in-flight purchases. Does NOT cover ticket purchases. Must select airline each January.
Max: $600/yr · annual
Fine Hotels+Resorts or The Hotel Collection only. Semiannual credits; THC requires a 2+ night stay.
Max: $300/yr ($25/mo) · monthly
Monthly. Covers Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, Peacock, NYT, Paramount+, WSJ, YouTube, and select others. Enrollment required.
Max: $200/yr ($15/mo) · monthly
$15/month, $20 in December. Uber or Uber Eats. Monthly, no rollover.
Max: $120/yr · annual
Statement credits for an eligible auto-renewing Uber One membership.
Max: $300/yr · counted per year; paid quarterly
$75/quarter ($300/yr) at lululemon. Replaced the Saks credit in September 2025. Enrollment required.
Max: $400/yr · counted per year; paid quarterly
$100/quarter ($400/yr) at U.S. Resy restaurants. Enrollment required.
Max: $155/yr ($13/mo) · monthly
Covers a monthly Walmart+ membership (~$155/yr incl. tax). Requires keeping the membership active.
Max: $200/yr · annual
Up to $200/yr toward Oura Ring hardware purchases from ouraring.com. Enrollment required.
Max: $300/yr · annual
Up to $300/yr toward Equinox memberships. Requires an Equinox membership; enrollment required.
Max: $219/yr · annual
Up to $219/year for CLEAR Plus membership (CLEAR Plus and Amex's matching credit rose from $209 to $219 effective 2026-07-01). Enrollment required.
Max: $30/yr · counted per year; renews every 4 years
Up to $120 for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. Once every 4 years (~$30/yr effective).
Adds this card to your current wallet and keeps your spending. Premium uses your edited credit values; Free uses conservative defaults. The optimizer may recommend a different wallet.
Catalog record last reviewed Oct 11, 2026; see the Corrections page for later changes. Issuer terms and available offers control and may change.
Next step
One card is a start. The modeled setup is the whole wallet.
The Amex Platinum might be useful on its own, but the modeled combination depends on your total spending. The optimizer searches eligible portfolios and clearly labels whether the result was proven optimal within that run's inputs or is the strongest valid setup found before timeout.