American Express offers roughly two dozen consumer and business credit cards, spanning cash back cards with no annual fee, points-earning charge cards, and co-branded cards tied to airlines and hotels. The lineup breaks into a few clear families: the flagship Membership Rewards charge cards (Green, Gold, Platinum), cash back cards (Blue Cash and EveryDay), co-branded travel cards (Delta, Hilton, Marriott), and a parallel set of business cards. Here’s how they all stack up.
Flagship Charge Cards: Green, Gold, and Platinum
These three cards form the core of the Amex lineup. They earn Membership Rewards points, a flexible currency you can transfer to airline and hotel partners or use through Amex Travel. Unlike traditional credit cards, charge cards historically required you to pay the balance in full each month, though Amex now offers some pay-over-time flexibility on larger purchases.
The American Express Green Card is the entry point at $150 per year. It earns the highest rewards on most travel purchases and also rewards dining, making it a solid fit if you travel regularly but don’t need lounge access or luxury hotel perks.
The American Express Gold Card costs $325 per year and is built around food. It earns generous bonus points at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets. It also comes with $120 in annual dining credits at select restaurants and up to $120 a year in Uber Cash ($10 per month), usable for Uber Eats orders and Uber rides. If you spend heavily on groceries and dining, the credits can offset a big chunk of the annual fee.
The American Express Platinum Card sits at the top with an $895 annual fee. The value proposition is built on travel perks rather than everyday earning rates. You get access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection (one of the largest airport lounge networks), up to $200 in annual Uber Cash, a $200 airline fee credit for things like checked bags and in-flight purchases, and an application fee credit for CLEAR+ and either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. If you fly frequently and use the credits, the effective cost drops significantly. If you don’t, it’s an expensive card to carry.
Cash Back Cards
If you prefer straightforward cash back over transferable points, Amex has two main options in the Blue Cash family.
The Blue Cash Everyday Card has no annual fee and earns 3% back at U.S. supermarkets, U.S. gas stations, and on U.S. online retail purchases, each capped at $6,000 in spending per year (then 1%). Everything else earns 1%. It’s a simple, no-cost card that works well for everyday household spending.
The Blue Cash Preferred Card steps up with a $95 annual fee (waived the first year). Grocery rewards jump to 6% back at U.S. supermarkets, still capped at $6,000 per year. It also earns 6% on qualifying U.S. streaming subscriptions with no cap, 3% at U.S. gas stations, and 3% on transit (taxis, rideshare, parking, tolls, trains, buses). If your household spends $3,000 or more a year at supermarkets, the Preferred version typically comes out ahead of the Everyday card even after the annual fee.
Co-Branded Hotel Cards
Amex partners with Hilton and Marriott to offer cards that earn hotel loyalty points directly, with perks like free nights and elite status.
Hilton Honors
There are three tiers. The Hilton Honors American Express Card has no annual fee and is a good way to earn Hilton points on everyday spending without committing to a fee. The Hilton Honors Surpass Card costs $150 per year and adds higher earning rates plus complimentary Gold status. At the top, the Hilton Honors Aspire Card carries a $550 annual fee and comes with Diamond status (Hilton’s highest tier), a free weekend night reward, and resort credits that can offset the fee if you stay at Hilton properties several times a year.
Marriott Bonvoy
Amex offers two Marriott cards. The Marriott Bonvoy Bevy Card has a $250 annual fee and targets frequent Marriott guests who want solid point earning and a free night certificate. The Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant Card is the premium option at $650 per year, with higher credits and a more valuable free night award.
Co-Branded Airline Cards
Amex’s airline partnership is with Delta Air Lines, and it’s one of the most extensive co-branded lineups in the industry. Delta cards range from a no-annual-fee entry card up through premium tiers that include Delta Sky Club lounge access, companion certificates, and elevated SkyMiles earning. The tiers generally mirror what you see with the hotel cards: a starter card for casual flyers, a mid-tier card for regular travelers, and a premium card for frequent Delta loyalists who want lounge access and elite-qualifying perks.
Business Cards
Amex mirrors much of its consumer lineup with business versions, designed for freelancers, small business owners, and larger companies.
The Blue Business Plus Credit Card is the simplest option. It earns 2X Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 in eligible purchases each calendar year, then 1X after that. There are no rotating categories to track, and unlike many business cards, it earns double points on virtually everything up to that cap.
The American Express Business Gold Card adapts to your spending patterns. It earns 4X points on your top two eligible spending categories each month (from a list that includes things like advertising, shipping, and tech purchases), plus 3X on flights and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel. It also comes with a $240 annual flexible business credit ($20 per month toward purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and office supply stores) and a monthly Walmart+ membership credit of up to $12.95.
The Business Platinum Card is the premium tier, aimed at businesses with significant travel and operational spending. It earns 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel, and 2X on eligible purchases at hardware suppliers, electronics retailers, software and cloud providers, and shipping providers, as well as on any single eligible purchase of $5,000 or more (up to $2 million in combined spending per year). One of its more valuable features: you get 35% of your points back when you use Pay with Points for flights through Amex Travel, up to 1,000,000 points per year. It also includes up to $600 per year in hotel credits for Fine Hotels + Resorts or Hotel Collection bookings.
Welcome Bonus Eligibility Rules
Before applying for any Amex card, it’s worth understanding how their welcome bonus restrictions work. Amex groups its cards into “families,” and earning a welcome bonus on one card in a family can make you ineligible for a bonus on another card in the same family. For example, the Platinum Card family includes the standard Platinum as well as versions issued through Charles Schwab and Morgan Stanley. If you’ve held any of those, you may not qualify for a welcome bonus on the others. The Gold Card is also linked to the Platinum family, so a previous Platinum cardholder may not be eligible for a Gold welcome offer either.
The good news: Amex notifies you before your application is processed if you’re ineligible for a welcome offer, giving you the chance to back out. Some cardholders also report receiving targeted offers that waive these restrictions, though those aren’t guaranteed.
Choosing the Right Card
The best starting point is how you actually spend money. If groceries and dining dominate your budget, the Gold Card or Blue Cash Preferred tend to deliver the most value. If you fly frequently and want lounge access and travel credits, the Platinum Card pays for itself faster than you might expect. If you want a simple, no-fee card for everyday purchases, the Blue Cash Everyday or the no-fee Hilton card keeps things straightforward. And if you run a business with varied expenses, the Blue Business Plus earns solid rewards on everything without requiring you to manage bonus categories.
One practical note: Membership Rewards points (earned by the Green, Gold, Platinum, and Blue Business Plus) are worth more when transferred to airline and hotel partners than when redeemed for statement credits. If you’re not interested in learning transfer partners, a cash back card will give you simpler, more predictable value.