American Express Raises Platinum Card Fee to $895 with $3,500 in Annual Perks

American Express Elevates Platinum Card Fee and Benefits Amid Premium Card Competition

American Express announced significant updates to its flagship Platinum credit card on Thursday, increasing the annual fee to $895 from $695—a 29% hike—as it competes for high-spending consumers in the luxury credit card segment.

The refreshed consumer and business Platinum cards now offer approximately $3,500 in annual benefits, more than twice the previous level. These benefits primarily come as credits that offset purchases made with the card.

Expanded Perks for Consumers and Businesses

Consumers can access credits for services such as Uber, Lululemon, Oura, and the restaurant reservation platform Resy, alongside enhanced hotel and streaming perks. Business cardholders receive similar $3,500 in annual benefits, including new hotel credits and purchase offsets for Dell Technologies and Adobe products.

Howard Grosfield, president of U.S. consumer services at American Express, emphasized that none of the existing benefits have been reduced despite the fee increase.

Competitive Dynamics in the Premium Card Market

This update underscores an ongoing competitive intensification among premium card issuers. Recently, JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup have also launched or refreshed premium cards packed with benefits aimed at affluent consumers who spend heavily on travel and dining.

American Express and JPMorgan notably timed their announcements within days of each other, with American Express investing significantly in the June Platinum card refresh shortly before JPMorgan introduced enhancements to its Sapphire Reserve card.

These moves are driven by data showing that the top 10% of earners in the U.S. accounted for roughly half of all consumer spending in Q2 2025—the highest concentration in over 30 years, according to Moody’s Analytics.

Balancing Costs and User Experience

Despite the enhanced benefits, the rising annual fee has prompted some users to downgrade or consider more affordable alternatives from issuers like Capital One and Citigroup. Senior Bankrate analyst Ted Rossman highlighted this trend in June, noting consumer sensitivity to membership costs.

Some cardholders have criticized the complexity of redeeming benefits, often referred to as a “coupon book” approach requiring careful management to maximize value.

American Express addressed these concerns by introducing a new app feature designed to simplify benefit enrollment and usage. Grosfield stated, “We spent an enormous amount of time around, how do we make this as easy as it can be for card members to understand, access and, most importantly, unlock all these great benefits.”

The new $895 annual fee will take effect for existing consumer Platinum cardholders upon renewal starting January 2, 2026.