American Express is perhaps the most well known and respected card company out there, offering a wide range of both personal and business credit cards. Lets take a look at some popular credit cards that American Express currently offers.
Personal Cards
- Blue Cash® from American Express (Cash Back)
- Blue Sky from American Express(SM) (Travel Rewards)
- Platinum Card from American Express (General Rewards)
- Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express (Travel Rewards)
- TrueEarnings from Costco and American Express (Cash Back)
Business Cards
- American Express Business Platinum Card (General Rewards)
- Plum Card from American Express (Cash Back)
Blue Cash® from American Express
Blue Cash® from American Express is a cash back credit card that allows you to earn 3% cash back on gasoline purchases (on up to $3,000 annually, and 1% after that) 3% back at restaurants, 2% back for travel and then 1% cash back for everything else.
Blue Cash Tip: A quick way to accumulate cash back with this card (and to reduce the amount of bills you pay each month) is to pay your bills with this card using the Automatic bill pay service. This way your bills get paid automatically, and you’re earning 1.5% cash back at the same time – just remember to pay off your card balance in full each month.
Apply for Blue Cash® from American Express | Blue Cash Review
Blue Sky from American Express(SM)
Blue Sky from American Express(SM) is a travel rewards card that allows you to earn points that can be redeemed for airline tickets, hotel rooms, and car rentals. With Blue Sky you earn 1 point for every dollar you spend, and there is no cap on the amount of reward points you can earn. 7,500 points can be redeemed for a $100 statement credit toward any airline ticket, hotel star or car rental.
Additional travel benefits include:
- Car Rental Lost and Damage Insurance
- Up to $100,000 in Travel Accident Insurance.
- Global Assist Travel Hotline
- 24/7 medical, legal, financial and other emergency assistance when traveling.
Apply for Blue Sky from American Express(SM) | Blue Sky Review
Platinum Card from American Express
The Platinum Card from American Express is know for it’s incredible perks and benefits, which of course, come along with a fairly high annual fee ($550).
When it comes to redeeming rewards points, the Platinum Card has an extremely flexible program that allows you to redeem points for airline tickets and hotel rooms, and my personal favorite – the latest gadgets from Apple. You can also redeem points for items at hundreds of other retailers through ShopAmex.
As I mentioned above there is also a business version of the Platinum card, which is targeted at businesses who make six to seven figures a year. The Platinum business card has a similar rewards program but the perks have been adjusted a bit to better meet the needs of small businesses:
Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express
The Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express is currently our top choice for hotel rewards credit cards, and one of the best travel rewards cards out there. With Starwood Preferred you can also earn up to 25,000 Starpoints®: Receive 10,000 after your first purchase, and another 15,000 after you spend $5,000 within the first 6 months of Cardmembership-enough for a weekend getaway to a Category 4 hotel like the Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa.
If you travel a lot you can earn double points when you use your card at participating Starwood Hotels & Resorts and select Starwood retailers. This card has a $65 annual fee that is waved the first year.
Apply for Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express | Starwood Preferred Guest® Credit Card from American Express Review
TrueEarnings from Costco and American Express
TrueEarnings from Costco and American Express is a good all-around cash back card that allows you to earn 3% cash back on gasoline at U.S. stand-alone gas stations, including at Costco, for purchases up to $4,000 per year (1% thereafter). One thing I really like about this card is that fact that this card doubles as a Costco membership – so instead of paying an “annual fee” what you’re really doing is just paying for a yearly membership to Costco ($50) and getting an AMEX credit card as well.
Plum Card from American Express
American Express Plum Card was introduced in 2007 and is a cash back card targeted at small business owners with annual revenue in the six to seven figure range. Business expenses can vary greatly month to month and the Plum Card was designed with flexible payment and pre-pay options specifically for that reason. If you pay your purchases off within 10 days you receive a 1.5% discount (essentially 1.5% cash back). You can also choose to pay 10% of the balance and take up to two months to pay off the remainder of your purchase without interest.
The Plum Card does have a $185 annual fee, however this fee is waved the first year.
Useful American Express Guides
Below I’ve included a few of our popular American Express guides and card comparisons.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold or Platinum?Best American Express Travel Rewards CardPurchasing a Car With an American Express Credit Card
