Best American Express Credit Cards
American Express is the issuer of choice if you’re looking for some of the best rewards credit cards we’ve seen. But that’s not all they offer. American Express is often ranked at the top of any list of top credit cards companies, offering top-rated customer service, an excellent user experience, and a top-rated mobile app that helps manage your credit cards needs on the go. Any credit cards enthusiast can see at least one or two American Express cards in their collection.
American Express Credit Card
Best American Express credit cards
- Travel rewards and airport lounges: The Platinum Card® from American Express
- Cash back at U.S. supermarkets: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
- U.S. gas stations and U.S. supermarkets: Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
- Restaurants and U.S. supermarkets: American Express® Gold Card
- Regular Delta flyers: Delta SkyMiles® Platinum American Express Card
- Casual Delta flyers: Delta SkyMiles® Gold American Express Card
- Marriot Bonvoy hotel stays: Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
- Dining, travel, and transit: American Express® Green Card
- Frequent Hilton guests: Hilton Honors American Express Aspire Card
An overview of the best American Express credit cards
American Express has a diverse range of credit cards that suit all types of rewards lovers. You can choose from:
- Luxury Travel Card
- Everyday Rewards Cards
- Cobranded Airline Cards
Whether you’re always on the go or prefer to stay at home, you can find an American Express Rewards credit cards that fits your lifestyle.
Platinum Card® from American Express
The Platinum Card® from American Express is loaded with benefits, welcome offers and statement credits. (Select Terms Apply, Registration Required, View Rates and Fees)
American Express
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
Good for: Cash back at US supermarkets
The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is an ideal cash back rewards card for everyday purchases. You are in the U.S. Supermarket stores, select streaming services, transit providers and U.S. Earn high rate rewards on purchases at gas stations. Plus, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express comes with a competitive welcome offer and a 12-month 0% intro APR on purchases and balance transfers. The churn rate after the promotional period ends is variable at 18.24%-29.24%. (See Conditions Apply, Rates and Fees)
Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express
The Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express is a solid no-annual-fee cash back rewards card that covers several useful everyday purchase categories. You can earn bonus credit cards rewards at U.S. gas stations and U.S. supermarkets, as well as for online retail purchases. It’s also one of American Express’s best 0% APR credit cards, with a 15-month introductory offer that applies to purchases and balance transfers. The go-to rate is 18.24%-29.24% Variable after the introductory period expires.
Types of American Express Credit Cards
American Express is a haven for rewards credit cards, so splitting them up largely comes down to the types of rewards you earn. Most American Express cards earn rewards points, while some offer cash back rewards. The rest are co-branded hotel and airline cards that earn loyalty points with their respective brands.
Travel Rewards Card
American Express is home to some top-shelf travel rewards cards packed with travel perks and perks like lounge access and trip insurance. It has a number of cards to choose from that earn lots of bonus points on hotel, airline and transit purchases. But American Express gives you the option to earn high-value transferable travel rewards on your everyday purchases, too.
Travel Rewards Card
That’s because American Express cards that earn rewards points earn American Express Membership Rewards points, a transferable currency that can be turned into hotel points or airline miles with more than a dozen travel partners. So, you can choose a card that has US Offers 3x or 4x Membership Rewards points per dollar on things like supermarkets and restaurants, allowing you to save for your next trip without ever leaving home.
Cash Back Rewards Card
American Express’ cash back rewards cards offer some competitive choices, especially if you’re in the market for a credit cards for gas and groceries. American Express’s most popular cash back cards are the most popular in the US. Streaming rewards rates at supermarkets and sports, as well as transit and US. Comes with bonus cash back at gas stations. If you are in the US Supermarkets and US You also have a few options if you don’t want to pay an annual fee, including gas station rewards cards and unlimited flat-rate rewards.
Cobranded Cards
American Express is one of the main proponents of co-branded travel cards, and has a wide range of hotel and airline credit cards from both Delta and Hilton. Each brand offers multiple tiers with annual fees that vary with the benefits and amount of benefits you receive.
Expensive, higher-tier cards come with high-value benefits like airport lounge access for airline cards or elite loyalty status for hotel cards. You’ll get less perks on the low-fee end, but this cobranded card can still be useful for casual travelers.
What is the best American Express credit card?
While the best credit cards for you will depend on what you need out of your card, there are a few American Express cards that hit the top of most rewards card lists. First, The Platinum Card® from American Express is hands-down one of the best travel rewards cards, offering bonus rewards on hotel and airline purchases, as well as more than a dozen valuable travel perks like lounge access and Uber credits (select enrollment required, terms apply). Similarly, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is one of the top cash back credit cards, offering bonus rewards in everyday categories that are hard to beat (terms apply).
Benefits of American Express cards
The cardmember benefits you get with your American Express card will vary a lot depending on which card you have. The cards with higher annual fees often have the most benefits, but some of the more affordable cards can also pack in a lot of perks. Here’s an example of some common cardholder benefits:
- American Express extended warranty*: This benefit is offered by most Amex cards, and it extends the manufacturers warranty on purchases. Most often, warranties are extended by one year.
- American Express purchase protection*: This is probably the most common benefit for American Express cards, coming with both regular American Express cards and cobranded cards. With purchase protection, your recent purchases (within 90 days) are covered in the event of theft or damage. Coverage limits apply.
- American Express return protection**: Another common benefit, return protection is useful when you are unsatisfied with your purchase. If you make a good faith attempt to return the item to the seller, but they won’t accept the return, American Express may refund your purchase.
- American Express travel insurance: A broad benefits category, travel insurance is offered by several American Express cards, mostly those that earn rewards points. The specific benefits can vary, but usually includes some type of trip delay** protection and lost baggage coverage**.
- American Express car rental insurance***: Many American Express travel cards come with some version of rental car insurance. This coverage is usually secondary, however, and will only kick in after your regular car insurance does its part.
This is just a few of the benefits you can get from your American Express card. Other benefits can include:
- Free credit scores
- Global assist hotlines
- Access to the Amex Offers & Benefits portal
Additionally, cobranded cards often may come with brand-specific benefits like free checked bags or complimentary elite status.
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How does American Express’ Membership Rewards program work?
Membership Rewards are American Express’s rewards points currency. You earn points for every dollar spent with eligible rewards cards. You can then redeem those points for things like travel or statement credits.
In general, however, you’ll get the best per-point value when you transfer your points to one of American Express’s hotel or airline partners. This turns your Membership Rewards into hotel loyalty points or frequent flyer miles that can be redeemed for free stays and flights. Once transferred, the value you get from your rewards will depend on how you redeem them with the other program. Smart redemptions can easily net $0.02 to $0.04 per transferred point.
The current list of travel partners includes:
- Aer Lingus
- Aeromexico
- Air Canada
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- Alitalia
- All Nippon Airways
- Avianca
- British Airways
- Cathay Pacific
- Delta Air Lines
- El Al Israel Airlines
- Emirates
- Etihad Airways
- Hawaiian Airlines
- Iberia
- JetBlue Airways
- Qantas
- Singapore Airlines
- Virgin Atlantic Airways
- Choice Hotels
- Hilton
- Marriott Bonvoy
Most transfers are at a 1:1 rate, meaning you get 1 airline mile or hotel point for every 1 Membership Rewards point you transfer. Some partners may offer a lower or higher transfer rate. American Express occasionally offers transfer bonuses that give you a 30% to 35% extra when you transfer to the highlighted partner.
If you’re not interested in transferring your Membership Rewards points, you can still redeem them, just don’t expect to get more than $0.01 per point. In fact, most alternative redemption options will give you far less than $0.01 per point.
Membership Rewards points don’t expire as long as your account stays open and in good standing. So, if you don’t have plans to transfer your rewards anytime soon, consider hanging on to them rather than using them in a low-value redemption.
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