Best American Express Credit Cards
American Express's slogan is "Don't live life without it."
And if you're all about getting the best earn rates and perks, Amex is right.
There's only one downside to American Express – acceptance. Our solution? Pair it with either a Visa or Mastercard, and you'll earn great credit card rewards everywhere you go.
American Express also issues a handful of charge cards in addition to regular credit cards. You can't carry a balance on a charge card, though – they have to be paid in full every month. If you tend to carry a balance then these cards won't be of any use to you (but they'd help break that habit).
If you can look past the acceptance, you've got great options for every part of your life. There's a great mix of cash back, travel, airline, and hotel cards to choose from. And most of their travel cards have no foreign exchange fees, saving you money when traveling abroad or making purchases in foreign currency.
Plus, all American Express cards carry standard perks such as ShopRunner and exclusive access to ticket presales, so you'll be getting some unique perks no matter what card you go for.
Amex travel cards
Amex has some pretty iconic cards that collect Amex Membership Rewards – the
The
Earn 3 points per $1 spent on travel and restaurant purchases. Plus get $100 credits for both a CLEAR membership and LoungeBuddy.
For increased perks, you can look at the
What are they? Here's just a few of them offered:
- $200 airline fee credit,
- access to Fine Hotels and Resorts for great benefits at select hotels,
- unlimited access to the Amex Global Lounge collection, and
- automatic Marriott Bonvoy & Hilton Honors Gold status.
As for rewards, you'll earn 5 points per $1 on flights booked directly with the airline or through Amex Travel, as well as prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel.
The points collected with both cards are also super flexible, as there are so many ways to redeem your points for travel. Choose from transferring to 18 airline partners (most at a 1:1 ratio) and 3 hotel partners, or redeem for any type of travel purchased through American Express travel.
And if that's not enough, you can also get statement credits, redeem for merchandise and gift cards, and use your points to pay for Ticketmaster purchases.
Airline cards
If an airline card is more your preference, American Express issues cards for Delta Air Lines.
There are 4 different cards to choose from, ranging from no annual fees all the way to a $550 fee.
There's a great mix of cards here for you, whether you just want a no fee card to accumulate miles, or want some great perks like companion vouchers and free checked bags.
They all have great welcome bonuses to give you a boost towards that next free flight as well.
Hotel cards
Prefer a hotel rewards program? Amex issues cards for both Hilton Honors as well as Marriott Bonvoy.
For Hilton Honors, there's a variety of cards to choose from to suit your tastes:
All of these cards will offer you plenty of Hilton Honors points for your purchases, as well as Hilton Honors benefits.
For premium perks with Marriott Bonvoy, the
Cash back cards
Prefer earning cash back? American Express has you covered.
While it's one of the few cash back cards that has an annual fee ($95), the
- 6% on groceries and streaming services, up to $6,000 per year (1% after that),
- 3% on gas and transit, and
- 1% on all other purchases.
Earning 6% on groceries is one of the highest earn rates for that category. Period. Spend $6,000 in groceries in one year and that alone gets you $360 in cash back rewards.
Plus, if you sign up now, you'll get a $250 statement credit after you spend $1,000 in the first 3 months.
For no annual fee, you can also look at the
