The Amex Platinum and Gold Pair, ranked
American Express The Platinum Card, Gold Card — every spend category, ranked by what each card actually returns.
Best card by category
Everything else
- The Platinum Card 1.6% 1x base rate
- Gold Card 1.6% 1x base rate
Dining
- Gold Card 6.4% 4x, capped
- The Platinum Card 1.6% 1x base rate
Groceries
- Gold Card 6.4% 4x, capped
- The Platinum Card 1.6% 1x base rate
Flights
- The Platinum Card 8.0% 5x, capped
- The Platinum Card · American Express Travel 8.0% 5x
- Gold Card 4.8% 3x
- Gold Card · American Express Travel 4.8% 3x
Hotels
- The Platinum Card · American Express Travel 8.0% 5x
- Gold Card · American Express Travel 8.0% 5x
- The Platinum Card 1.6% 1x base rate
- Gold Card 1.6% 1x base rate
Car rental
- Gold Card · American Express Travel 3.2% 2x
- The Platinum Card 1.6% 1x base rate
- Gold Card 1.6% 1x base rate
Cruises
- Gold Card · American Express Travel 3.2% 2x
- The Platinum Card 1.6% 1x base rate
- Gold Card 1.6% 1x base rate
What the numbers are doing
Gold Card's 4x on dining runs out: it applies to the first $50,000 of dining spend a year, and everything past that earns 1x.
The table is earn rate only — annual fees are not netted out of it. These cards charge The Platinum Card $895 and Gold Card $325 a year, so a thin lead in one category may not cover the difference.
Where they differ: Gold Card takes dining, groceries, car rental and cruises; The Platinum Card takes flights and hotels.
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