The Travel Savvy Family Guide to Amex Cards

-

American Express


American Express cards can feel overwhelming. Personal or business. Gold or Platinum. Points and perks. This guide simplifies it so you can build a smart Amex strategy without wasting annual fees or missing valuable benefits.

At its core, Amex is powerful for families because Membership Rewards® points are flexible. And we love flexible, transferable points!




The airline partners are fantastic and offer opportunities for both domestic and international air travel. While Amex has many airline partners, the hotel partners are limited. Of those three hotel chains, I prefer Hilton simply for the value. The transfer rate to Hilton is 1 Amex point: 2 Hilton points. This means that your Amex points go twice as far with Hilton. Additionally, if you hold the Amex Platinum (personal or business), you receive automatic Hilton Gold status. Hilton offers a Fifth Night Free benefit on standard room reward bookings for members with this elite status. In addition to this perk, you also get complimentary breakfast (or a food and beverage credit at many Hilton properties), space-available room upgrades, bonus points on paid stays, and late checkout when available. For families, those perks can meaningfully reduce out-of-pocket costs and make stays more comfortable.

Amex Personal Cards

Most Amex cards include language stating that you may not be eligible for the welcome offer if you have had that card before. Additionally, Amex requires that you get the personal cards in order to be eligible for the signup bonus. So.....Green, then Gold, then Platinum. 

Many families, mine included, start with Gold and bypass the Green. The Green doesn't have the SUB or benefits to justify the 5/24 spot. The Gold is a perfect Amex starter card because it earns well on everyday spending. Hello, 4x on dining AND groceries! Many families find these multipliers to be so beneficial that they keep the card after the first year despite the annual fee. But the 100k point signup bonus makes it a slam dunk for the first year.


- 4x at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets
- $50 semi-annual Resy Restaurant credit
- 3x on flights booked directly or in the Amex portal 
- Monthly Uber or Uber Eats credits
- $7 monthly Dunkin' Donuts credit
- $395 annual fee



While the Gold shines for everyday spending, the Platinum takes the spotlight for the higher SUB and premium benefits like lounge access, hotel credits, and automatic rental car and hotel status. There are extensive benefits that come with this card each year. These benefits, plus the 175k signup bonus, make it a great option for those who love to travel.

- 5x on flights booked direct or in the travel portal
- $600 Hotel credit ($300 semi-annually)
- Amex lounge access
- $200 airline incidentals credit
- $209 annual Clear credit
- $400 annual Resy credit ($100 quarterly)
- $155 Walmart+ credit
- $300 Lululemon credit ($75 quarterly)
- $100 Saks credit ($50 semi-annually)
- Automatic Hilton Gold status
- Automatic Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status
- Rental Car Status with Hertz, National, and Avis
- No foreign transaction fees
- $895 annual fee

Business Cards

American Express business cards offer some incredible signup bonuses. The minimum spend is high, but worth it. There is no requirement to start with the lower-tiered cards, like with the personal cards, so you can apply in any order.

Amex Business Gold
This card shines with its flexible spending categories. You can earn 4x points on the 2 categories where you spend the most each month. Read about all of the benefits here.

Amex Business Platinum
If you have a large spend coming up, the Biz Platinum offers up to 200k points for spending $20k in the first months of card opening. And the premium benefits like lounge access and airline incidental credits help to offset the annual fee.

Blue Business Card
The Blue Business card is another great option. Many, like myself, have opened this card after a targeted offer appeared in my Amex account. This card has no annual fee and offers great multipliers. It is also a great downgrade option when the Gold and Platinum fees don't make sense beyond the first year. Keeping a Blue Biz card maintains your relationship with Amex, serves as a card to hold your points, and provides the opportunity for more targeted offers down the road! It is a simple way to stay positioned for future opportunities.

Applying for Amex cards

Amex follows a pre-approval format for its cards. When you apply, they do a 'soft pull' on your credit, at which time you are notified of the signup bonus amount that you are approved for. If you choose to accept the offer, you will then have a traditional credit pull. If you decline the offer or you are not approved for the card, the impact on your credit is even smaller than a typical application. You may notice that the Amex SUBs are advertised as 'up to 300k points'. This is because each person may have a different offer. Strange, but this is how it works. 



Premium Card Benefits

Premium card benefits are plentiful, and having a way to keep track of them and utilize them is essential! My favorite two apps for this are Travel Freely and Card Pointers.

Travel Freely helps you track welcome bonuses, annual fees, and application timelines. And it is FREE.

CardPointers helps you remember and use statement credits and bonus categories so the benefits do not go unused. While I do pay a small fee for this app, the monthly checklists help me to maximize the benefits for each of my cards. 

Amex is such a great point ecosystem, and it quickly became one of my absolute favorites! Questions about Amex, please reach out or drop a comment!

As always, I appreciate it when you use my referral links to apply for any credit card. I get a small referral bonus, and it doesn't cost you anything to use my link. It is a great way to say thank you for sharing all of the updates in the points and miles world! 


Happy travel! ✈️🌍

The Travel Savvy Family

- Wander More, Spend Less


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Chase Ink Business Cards Help Families Earn More Travel Points

-
Image
How Chase Ink Business Cards Help Families Earn More Travel Points If you’ve already dipped your toes into earning travel rewards with personal credit cards, you may be wondering: What’s next? Here’s our answer—business credit cards. Especially the Chase Ink  lineup. These cards are a smart way to: Earn generous welcome offers Boost your everyday spending with valuable bonus categories Keep your travel points strategy going for the long run And no, you don’t need a registered LLC or brick-and-mortar business to qualify. Let’s break down how this works—and why it makes sense for families like yours. You Might Already Qualify for a Business Card This is where many people pause: Do I really qualify for a business credit card? If you earn income—or even plan to—from any small or side business activity, you likely qualify. You’re considered a sole proprietor, which is a valid business structure. This is very common and widely accepted by banks. Some examples: Selling items online (Etsy,...
Read more

Southwest Companion Pass

-
Image
  Earning the Southwest Companion Pass At first, the Southwest Companion Pass sounded impossible — buy one ticket and your companion flies free, every time? But it’s real, and it’s changed everything for our family. We’ve flown to Hawaii (twice!), explored Grand Cayman together, slipped away to Mexico more times than I can count, and booked several spontaneous weekend trips. Even with Southwest rolling out changes, it’s still the best perk in the sky. What Is the Companion Pass? The Companion Pass  allows you to bring one person with you  for free, excluding  taxes and fees ($5.60 each way in the U.S.). You can change your companion up to three times a year. It works on flights booked with cash, points, or credits. Once you qualify, the pass is  valid for the remainder of that year  and the entire following  year. For my family of four, it’s the best perk out there. When my husband and I both hold Companion Passes, our kids fly free. Or...
Read more

Getting Started -- The Basics

-
Image
The Basics of Travel Hacking: How to Travel the World Using Credit Card Points What if we told you that you could take your family on incredible vacations—flights, hotels, and even experiences—for a fraction of the cost? That’s exactly what travel hacking is all about! By strategically earning and redeeming credit card points, you can turn everyday spending into free (or nearly free) travel. Welcome to the world of travel hacking! Our Journey Two years ago, I ran across a Facebook post where a local mom was sharing about travel hacking. I was intrigued. Travel has always been a dream of mine. Since getting married, my husband and I, have prioritized getting away at least once every two years or so, but it just wasn't enough for me. I wanted to travel with our kids. Experiences over stuff, right? But let's be honest. Experiences, at least those with air travel, can be very expensive for a family of 4.  Back to the post -- I followed her recommendation and started reading. I stay...
Read more