As American Express told us to expect much earlier this year, they have officially revamped both The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express.

Both cards see their annual fees rise to a show-stopping $895, leapfrogging the Chase Sapphire Reserve® and Chase Sapphire Reserve for Business℠ cards which just relaunched a few months ago at the $795 annual fee price point.

This makes The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates and Fees) and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates and Fees) the most expensive mainstream cards in the United States. However, it’s worth noting that American Express Platinum cards in some other countries have already topped the $895 mark in US dollars. For example, in Australia the Card has an annual fee of AUD$1,450 which works out to about USD$967 based on today’s exchange rate.

Of course, the fabled Centurion card (or Black Card) tops the Platinum Card’s annual fee at $7,500 a year with a $5,000 initiation fee, but that card, available by invitation to those that spend in the (and this is just according to rumors) about $500,000 a year on their Amex cards. 

The good news for us is that even at the $895 price point, the Platinum family of cards delivers a ton of benefits and statement credits in exchange for the $895 annual fee. I was pleasantly surprised to see that for $200 more in the annual fee, Amex is giving well more than that in additional statement credits. And despite the common refrain that American Express counts on statement credits going unredeemed, Amex launched a feature today in their app that shows you each statement credit and how much you have used, to easily see at a glance what you have used and what you still need to use.

The bad news is that $895 is a heck of a chunk of change for most of us to get our heads around. Yes, even I have to say it feels… heavy. As much as I have to think the American consumer will eventually feel “annual fee increase fatigue,” that time has not yet come (and maybe it never will?). Inflation over the last 5 years has equaled a total of just over 15%. In 2020, the Platinum cards had an annual fee of $550. They went to $695 in 2021. Now in 2025 we are at $895. That’s a 61% increase! So no, it’s not just inflation, but yes, they keep packing the card with more and more benefits and statement credits (I know, I know – digital coupons) to provide value.

With all of that said, let’s get to why you are here….

Let’s start with the new “mirror card” finish that Amex already teased on Instagram last week. Here’s what the cards look like:

If you like the Limited Edition Mirror Card Design and already have the card, you can order a mirror card – no problem. New applicants will have a choice of the classic card or the mirror card design.

Here’s more of a look at what it looks like in an actual setting:

Next, I want to quickly call something out so you don’t have to go hunting.

As far as I can tell, nothing has been removed from the card benefits on either card that we didn’t already know about. For example, on the Business Platinum card, the 35% rebate on points used to cover your chosen airline in all cabins and any airline in Business or First. As of today, that benefit is restricted to your chosen airline only in any class of service. But we knew that already. And I actually can’t think of anything else that is being removed as of today.

Despite a few rumors to the contrary, the personal Platinum Card retains the 5X points on airfare booked directly (as well as flights and hotels booked at AmexTravel.com).

The Platinum Card® from American Express

The welcome bonus offer on this is unchanged. 

You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer. Apply to know if you’re approved and find out your exact welcome offer amount – all with no credit score impact. If you’re approved and choose to accept the Card, your score may be impacted. Terms Apply.

Amex tells me this card now comes with more than $3,500 in value, up from over $1,500 in the current card. Of course, the value to you depends on what you value… Here’s what’s new.

• Annual Fee: $895; Authorized User: $195
• ENHANCED – $600 Hotel Credit with Increased Value and Expanded Suite of Hotels: Up to $300 back in statement credits semi-annually on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings through Amex Travel™ using the Platinum Card and we make it easy to use this credit at more than 3,100 handpicked hotels, more global hotels than any other credit card company.(Editor’s Note: this was previously $200 a year, so it’s up to $400 more. I’ll also note that FHR is the only one of the credit card issuers to have 4pm guaranteed late checkout as a benefit – and that is one that I value quite highly.)
• NEW – $400 Resy Dining Credit: Up to $100 in statement credits each quarter after Card Members use their Platinum Card to make eligible purchases with Resy, including dining purchases at more than 10,000 U.S. Resy restaurants. Enrollment required.
• ENHANCED – $300 Digital Entertainment Credit with Increased Value and Expanded Suite of Partners: With the addition of Paramount+, and YouTube Premium and YouTube TV, the Digital Entertainment Credit has increased to $25 back each month ($300 each calendar year) after Card Members pay with their Platinum Card on select digital subscriptions. New partners add to the existing suite of partners, including Disney+, a Disney+ bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required. (Editor’s Note: this was previously $240 a year / $20 monthly)
• NEW – $300 lululemon Credit: Up to $75 back each quarter in statement credits for eligible purchases at lululemon stores or lululemon.com in the U.S. when Card Members pay with the Platinum Card. Enrollment required. Terms apply.
• NEW – $120 Uber One Membership Credit: Up to $120 in statement credits each calendar year after purchase of an auto-renewing Uber One membership in the U.S. with the Platinum Card, adding to the existing Uber Cash benefit.
• NEW – $200 Oura Credit: Up to $200 back each calendar year in statement credits when Card Members use the Platinum Card to purchase an Oura Ring through Ouraring.com. Enrollment required.
• NEW – Premium Hotel Status: Card Members can receive complimentary Leaders Club Sterling Status from The Leading Hotels of the World® and enjoy exclusive benefits at more than 400 independent luxury hotels worldwide – including upgrade opportunities subject to availability, daily breakfast for two, and on-property perks. Enrollment required. (NOTE: Amex requires you to have the same email address on both your Amex account and your LHW account. If like me you have a business email on your card but a personal email at LHW, you’ll have to change one and then change it back later.)
• NEW – Platinum Nights by Resy – With your Platinum Card, you get access to Platinum Nights by Resy which offers you sought after reservations at participating top Resy restaurants on select nights. Add your eligible Card to your Resy profile to explore and book Platinum Nights reservations.

As I mentioned earlier, all of the existing statement credits are intact. 

• $200 Uber Cash: Platinum Card® Members can ride or dine in style with $15 in Uber Cash each month, plus a bonus $20 in December after adding their Card to their Uber account. Use your Uber Cash on rides and orders in the U.S. when you select an Amex Card for your transaction. Terms apply.
• Up to $100 in annual Saks Fifth Avenue shopping credits: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases in Saks Fifth Avenue stores or at saks.com on your Platinum Card®. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
• Up to $200 in annual airline fee credits (as statement credits)
  Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees, such as checked bags and in-flight refreshments, are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card® Account. American Express relies on airlines to submit the correct information on airline transactions to identify incidental fee purchases. If you do not see a credit for a qualifying incidental purchase on your eligible Card after 8 weeks, simply call the number on the back of your Card. Qualifying airlines are subject to change. See terms & conditions for more details.
• $209 CLEAR® Plus Credit: CLEAR® Plus helps get you to your gate faster by using unique facial attributes to verify you are you at 50+ airports nationwide. Use the dedicated CLEAR Lane to confirm your identity without taking out your passport or ID – this can mean shorter lines, less waiting. Receive up to $199 in statement credits per calendar year after you pay for your CLEAR Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) with the Platinum Card®. (Enrollment Required)
• $300 Equinox Credit: Receive up to $300 back per calendar year in statement credits for purchases at Equinox. Valid for Equinox All Access, Destination, or E by Equinox membership fees, or for Equinox+. (Enrollment required)
• $300 statement credit when you purchase a SoulCycle At-Home Bike, up to 15x per calendar year. An Equinox+ membership is required to purchase a SoulCycle at-home bike and access SoulCycle content. Must charge full price of bike in one transaction. Shipping available in the contiguous U.S. only. (Enrollment required)
• $155 Walmart+ Credit: A Walmart+ membership can get you free shipping with no order minimum on eligible items shipped by Walmart. Use your Platinum Card® to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) and receive one statement credit for up to $12.95 (plus applicable taxes. Plus Ups not eligible) each month. Free Shipping excludes most Marketplace items, freight & certain location surcharges. Paramount+ Essential plan only, separate registration required.
• Marriott Gold status and Hilton Gold status remain as benefits in addition to the new Leaders Club Sterling Status from The Leading Hotels of the World®
• You also still get car rental statuses: Hertz Gold Plus Rewards Rewards President’s Circle, Avis Preferred Plus and National Emerald Club Executive Elite.
• The Global Entry / TSA PreCheck® credit remains as well, unchanged.
• Centurion Lounge and Priority Pass / partner lounge access: Unchanged.
• No changes to bonus categories

Overall impression – consumer Platinum Card revamp:

I’m a bit torn. On the one hand I can’t (yet) come to terms with $895 as an annual fee on a credit card. But on the other hand, I have to hand it to Amex. This card is absolutely *packed* with benefits and statement credits.

When I talk about a card like this, I like to think “What are the easy to use credits and benefits?”

For the target Platinum cardholder, the $600 a year in FHR credits is probably pretty easy to use. That’s just one reservation twice a year to get your $300 X 2 back.

If you live in a major city, you will probably eat at a Resy restaurant once every 3 months? I know in NYC you can’t turn around without looking at a Resy restaurant. There’s $400 more back. 

Who isn’t using $25 a month in streaming services (the selection of qualifying services is pretty wide here). That’s $300 more back.

Use Uber OR Uber Eats? That’s $200 more.

And I think most of us use the $200 incidental airline credit pretty easily? There’s another $200.

Just from those alone, you are at $1,700 in statement credits that were not very hard to use. Sure, I still get the “coupon book” thing – but when 4 offers get you back $805 over the annual fee and you still have other possible credits to use, maybe it’s not bad?

$1,700 is the value that Your Best Credit Cards now uses on the Platinum Card when we calculate card value on spend, which is always the benefits / credits that we find “easy to use” as opposed to “possible to use.” Remember that we calculate what you spend on each bonus category then subtract the annual fee and add back “easy to use” statement credits when calculating your annual rewards value.

You still have the $50 X 2 Saks credit, the Uber One credit (hey, I have Uber One and pay for it!), the $209 CLEAR Plus credit, The Walmart+ credit (I use this on my Business Gold card and find it’s a great compliment to Amazon Prime), the hotel statuses (now 3), the car rental statuses, and the Centurion lounges (and access to Delta SkyClub lounges when flying Delta – subject to your annual limits on visits of course).

Leading Hotels of the World Sterling status is nice to have, with advance upgrades (subject to availability; room to room and suite to suite), breakfast for two, and daily perks. 

Note that while Leader’s Club isn’t a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards® at this time, it is a transfer partner of Citi ThankYou (at a 5:1 ratio).

I guess you all will tell me if I’m crazy, but I think that if you a) live in a major metropolitan area where you can easily use benefits like Resy and Uber and b) are the target market (affluent – you can *handle* the annual fee if you think it’s worth it), then this is a pretty darn good card!

Rates and Fees for the American Express Platinum Card

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

While the consumer offer was unchanged, we are seeing a 25% bump in the welcome bonus offer on the business version, now offering a welcome bonus of 200,000 points, up from 150,000 points for the same minimum spend. (Note that we have seen offers of 250,000 in the past, but those have been targeted offers)

Welcome Offer: Earn 150,000 200,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Business Platinum Card® within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Terms apply.

Note: We have now seen offers of 250,000 or even 300,000 points via refer-a-friend and the classic incognito method….

The Business Platinum refresh, in my opinion, dazzles a bit less than the consumer refresh for smaller businesses. For example, I would have liked to see the Uber One benefit on this card in addition to the consumer card since I do take Uber for business and order Uber Eats for business all the time.

I will say that for businesses with very high spend, though, the refresh is amazing and I’ll go into that below.

Here’s what’s changed on The Business Platinum Card® from American Express.

Annual Fee: $895; Employee Cards: $400

(Note: Employee cards offer employees access to all Centurion Lounges, 10 complimentary Delta Sky Club visits when flying an eligible Delta flight, complimentary Marriott Bonvoy® Gold Elite status, and complimentary Hilton Honors Gold status. There is also an Employee Business Expense Card option with no annual fee offering limited benefits.)

Once again, these are all additions with no subtractions not withstanding the change to the 35% rebate (first bullet below) which we’ve known for quite some time was happening – refresh or not.

• ENHANCED BONUS CATEGORIES– 2X Membership Rewards®:
  Earn 2X points on purchases at U.S. construction material & hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on eligible purchases of $5,000 or more, up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year. (Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus.)
• 5X Membership Rewards: Earn 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through AmexTravel.com. (Unchanged)
• 1X Membership Rewards: Earn 1X points on all other purchases. Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus. (Unchanged)
• NEW – $600 Hotel Credit: Get up to $300 in statement credits semi-annually for up to a total of $600 each calendar year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings through Amex Travel™ using the Business Platinum Card at more than 3,100 handpicked hotels, more hotels than any other credit card company. (The Business Platinum did not previously have any FHR benefit.)
• NEW – Premium Hotel Status: Card Members can receive complimentary Leaders Club Sterling Status from The Leading Hotels of the World® and enjoy exclusive benefits at more than 400 independent luxury hotels worldwide – including upgrade opportunities subject to availability, daily breakfast for two, and on-property perks. Enrollment required.

• $1,150 Dell Technologies Credit: Card Members can upgrade their tech with the latest PCs, tech accessories, and more. Get up to $150 in statement credits on U.S. purchases directly with Dell Technologies and an additional $1,000 statement credit after spending $5,000 or more on those purchases per calendar year. Enrollment required.

• $250 Adobe Credit: Get a $250 statement credit on popular Adobe products like Acrobat and Adobe Express after spending $600 or more on U.S. purchases directly with Adobe per calendar year. Enrollment required.

• NEW – Additional $3,600 in Statement Credits for Flights and One AP® Business Management Tool: Unlock up to $3,600 in additional statement credits for use in the following calendar year after spending $250,000 on eligible purchases in a calendar year, including: 1) Up to $1,200 in statement credits for use in the next calendar year on flights booked on AmexTravel.com and 2) Up to $2,400 in statement credits for use in the next calendar year on monthly fees for American Express One AP®, American Express’ digital accounts payable product that automates supplier payments on one platform.

• UPDATED – 35% Airline Bonus: Get 35% points back after using Pay with Points for flights booked through Amex Travel with one of nine selected qualifying airlines, up to 1,000,000 points back per calendar year. (This is the negative change that we’ve known about for several weeks now – but importantly it does remain as-is with regards to your chosen airline although it loses the ability to book other airlines in premium cabins with the rebate). 
• Resy Platinum Nights: With your Business Platinum Card® you get access to Platinum Nights by Resy which offers you sought after reservations at participating top Resy restaurants on select nights. Add your eligible Card to your Resy profile to explore and book Platinum Nights reservations.

Other benefits that are simply intact from the current card include: 

• Up to $200 in annual airline fee credit, covering baggage fees and other incidentals with one pre-selected qualifying airline.
• Up to $120 in statement credits each year for wireless phone services purchased directly with a U.S. wireless provider ($10 per month). (Enrollment required).
• Up to $120 credit towards a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee every 4 to 4.5 years.
• Up to $360 in annual Indeed statement credit, broken down as $90 each quarter. (Enrollment required).
• Use your card and get up to $209 in statement credits per calendar year on your CLEAR® Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use the Business Platinum Card®.
• Get up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year (up to $50 per quarter) when you enroll in the $200 Hilton Statement Credit Benefit with your Business Platinum Card through American Express. Purchases must be made directly with a property in the Hilton portfolio on your Business Platinum Card. Hilton for Business membership is required. If your business does not already have a Hilton for Business account, you will be registered for one at the time you enroll in the benefit. (Enrollment required).

My personal opinion is that there will be more polarized views on the Business Platinum refresh as compared to the personal version. The personal version just stacks and stacks and stacks the statement credits.

The Business Platinum is a bit more “concise” if you will…. 

The bi-annual FHR credit is the big credit that should offset the annual fee increase. Since we didn’t have this benefit at all before, if you just use one of the credits (meaning if you only make one FHR (or Hotel Collection) hotel booking, you’re still ahead by $100 on the higher annual fee.

But here’s what is game-changing for this card, and since I’m publishing this at the exact same time as everyone else, I don’t know how many are realizing this, is the “2X points on purchases at U.S. construction material & hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on eligible purchases of $5,000 or more, up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year.”

I work with a lot of small businesses to help them optimize their points game. Larger businesses have a TON of expenses that are more than $5,000 at a time. Where we can fit expenses into the 4X categories of the American Express® Business Gold Card, we will always pair that, but remember that even the 4X categories max out at $150,000 a year.

And of course I recommend the Blue Business Plus® with no annual fee and 2X points on the first $50,000 of eligible purchases each year (1X thereafter), but that $50,000 cap is sometimes a few days of expenses for my clients.

Amex is also the only issuer that seems to have no problem with extremely high amounts of monthly charges on their Cards. Other issuers have limits or, if no preset spending limit per se, seem to cut off charges sooner than Amex.

So for business that spend a ton on either the 2X categories or charges of $5,000 or more, you now have a $2,000,000 cap to play with. That’s 4 million Membership Rewards points!

While it’s not the only business card that can earn 2X points, it’s the one that is easiest for very high spenders. I’ll note that the Capital One Spark Cash Plus earns 2% cash back but you can move that cash back to any Capital One Miles earning card and they become miles and the Capital One Venture X Business as well as the Spark Miles for Business card earns 2X Capital One Miles on everything – no need for the purchases to be over $5,000 or in a category – but again, my experience is that larger businesses have problems being able to put enough spend on them before getting cut off (they work great for smaller businesses as does the Blue Business Plus®.

Plus, if you are spending at that level you’ll also probably clear the $250,000 in annual spend to get those $1,200 in free flights at AmexTravel.com.

The other benefits are going to be very business specific. You may or may not use Adobe or Indeed at all – or even Dell. The new Leader’s Club Sterling status is pretty nice given that it does come with pre-arrival upgrades (subject to some pretty specific terms) and other benefits.

$1,120 is the value that Your Best Credit Cards now uses on the Business Platinum Card when we calculate card value on spend, which is always the benefits / credits that we find “easy to use” as opposed to “possible to use.” This is the (up to) $200 incidental airline credit, the (up to) $600 FHR / Hotel Collection credit as $300 twice a year, the (up to) $120 in annual wireless statement credits, and the (up to) $200 Hilton credit ($50 / quarter).

This is less than the $1,700 in value we assign to the consumer Platinum card now, but still well in excess of the $895 annual fee.

I personally value the CLEAR credit since I use it but I also think many wouldn’t pay for it if it wasn’t “free” so we don’t count that.

I hope I’ve broken this down in a digestible way, which I know is hard when there are over 3,600 words but, when you are deciding on getting or keeping a nearly $900 a year card, I want to be sure you have all the information!

Rates and Fees for the The Business Platinum Card(R) from American Express

The Platinum Card App Experience

If you have either Platinum card, you’ll get the new app experience for Platinum cardmembers, designed specifically for the suite of benefits in these cards. 

We will all appreciate the features which include:

• Welcome Bonus Offer tracker
• Tap your card to your phone to add to mobile wallet
• Step by Step setup of your card and all benefits (guided enrollment!)
• Benefit Tracking: see how much you have used or not used in each benefit at a glance
• View and book with Resy from inside your Amex app

Here’s a sneak peak:

As I’ve already mentioned, I love that they are making it easy to see what benefits / credits you have used or might be about to miss out on for a month / quarter / half year / year. In as much as I’m sure there will continue to be lots of unredeemed credits, you can’t say Amex isn’t at least trying to help you keep track so you can maximize your benefits (which actually incentivizes you to renew your Card!) 

Annual Fee Increases for Renewing Cardmembers

For Card Members who opened accounts before today, the new annual fee will go into effect at your next renewal date on or after December 2, 2025 for the Business Platinum or January 2, 2026 for the Consumer Platinum Card.

Bottom Line

Annual fee increases aren’t fun. As I said 4,000 words ago, I do wonder if there is a point that we all take a harder look at the rising fees or if with inflation all around us for so long, these annual fees become the new normal the same way we have adjusted to higher prices in nearly every corner of our lives.

I appreciate that Amex really went hard on giving way more in very usable credits than the increase in fee – especially on the consumer card. 

If you hadn’t yet applied for these cards before you saw the refresh announcement, here are our links to our complete card details pages where you can also learn how to apply:

• The Platinum Card® from American Express
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

So what are your opinions on these refreshes??

Thoughts?

Let me know below in the comments, on Twitter, or in the private MilesTalk Facebook group. And don't forget to follow me on Instagram for all sorts of tips on miles, points, credit cards, and travel.

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You can find credit cards that best match your spending habits and bonus categories at Your Best Credit Cards. 

New to all of this? My “introduction to miles and points” book, MilesTalk: Live Your Wildest Travel Dreams Using Miles and Points is available on Amazon and at major booksellers.