The 6 Best Credit Cards for Venmo in 2024 [Why We Like Amex]

Venmo is one of the most popular peer-to-peer payment platforms on the market today. Originally, it was built as an app where you could split bills with friends and family members — nowadays, Venmo is used to send remittances to family members in the U.S., pay consultants or contractors, or purchase other goods and services.

Normally, you can just link up your bank account to Venmo to easily exchange funds. But if you’re savvy and use the right credit cards, you can earn some rewards to go along with your purchase. You’ve just got to be careful to use the right card at the right time in order to avoid losing big on fees.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the best credit cards to use for Venmo.

What To Look for in a Card for Venmo

Although this wasn’t the case in the past, paying a friend with a credit card is now a costly endeavor. Most of the major banks and payment networks now code Venmo as a cash advance, which not only means that you’ll be hit with cash advance fees, but your Venmo transaction won’t even earn any rewards.

So, the single, most important factor to look for in a card to use on Venmo is cash advance fees — you’ll want to find a card that doesn’t charge cash advance fees for Venmo transactions. Unfortunately, there aren’t that many banks that code Venmo transactions as purchases.

Here’s a list of banks that code Venmo transactions as cash advances:

And here’s the list of banks that code Venmo transactions as purchases:

Unfortunately, Discover offers relatively lackluster rewards and benefits from its credit cards — American Express is the much better issuer of top-shelf cards that offer excellent travel rewards and benefits.

For this reason, we’ll be focusing on our favorite Amex cards in this Venmo-centric guide.

The 3 Best Personal Cards for Venmo

All of our featured personal cards earn 1x Membership Rewards points on payments or transactions through the Venmo app and have no preset spending limit, meaning your spending limit is flexible. Unlike a traditional card with a set limit, the amount you can spend adapts based on factors such as your purchase, payment, and credit history.

Card Overview

Card	Welcome Offer	Annual Fee	Best For
The Platinum Card® from American Express	Earn 80,000 points after spending $8,000 on purchases in the first 6 months.	$695 (rates & fees)	Earning points on travel and lounge access
American Express® Gold Card	Earn 60,000 points when you spend $6,000 on purchases in the first 6 months.	$250 (rates & fees)	Earning points on dining, groceries, and travel
American Express® Green Card	Earn 40,000 points after spending $3,000 within the first 6 months.	$150	Mid-tier card for travel and dining

The Platinum Card^® from American Express

Our favorite personal card for Venmo is the Amex Platinum card, which is American Express’s flagship ultra-premium card product and boasts a terrific earning rate:

• 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines or through AmexTravel.com (up to $500,000 per calendar year)
• 5x points on prepaid hotels booked through AmexTravel.com
• 1x points on other purchases (including payments through the Venmo app)

In addition, this card offers the most robust collection of statement credit benefits of any card (some perks available upon enrollment):

• Up to $200 per year in prepaid hotel credits
• Up to $200 per year in airline fee credits (upon enrollment)
• Up to $189 per year in CLEAR Plus credits
• Up to $100 in Global Entry or up to $85 in TSA PreCheck application fee credits
• Up to $200 per year in Uber Cash
• Up to $300 per year in Equinox credits
• Up to $300 in SoulCycle credits
• Up to $100 per year in Saks Fifth Avenue credits (upon enrollment)
• Up to $240 per year in digital entertainment credits
• Up to $155 per year in Walmart+ credits

You’ll also enjoy a series of unique luxury travel benefits when you hold this card:

• Access to the American Express Global Lounge Collection, including Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when flying on a same-day Delta flight), and Priority Pass Lounges (upon enrollment)
• Access to Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection
• Complimentary Hilton Honors Gold and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status (upon enrollment)
• Complimentary Hertz Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle status, Avis Preferred privileges, and National Emerald Club Elite status (upon enrollment)
• Access to Platinum Concierge
• Comprehensive travel insurance, including trip interruption and cancellation insurance and trip delay insurance

This card also has cell phone insurance, return protection, purchase protection, extended warranty, no foreign transaction fees (rates & fees), and no preset spending limit.

American Express^® Gold Card

The Amex Gold card is another great card option for heavy Venmo users, as well as for those looking to rack up rewards on everyday purchases. Currently, you can earn up to 4x points:

• 4x points at restaurants worldwide, plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.
• 4x points at U.S. supermarkets, up to $25,000 in purchases per year
• 3x points on flights booked directly with airlines or with AmexTravel.com
• 1x points on other purchases (including payments through the Venmo app)

Although this card isn’t as fully-loaded with benefits as the Amex Platinum card, it does offer access to The Hotel Collection where you can book eligible 2-night stays through AmexTravel.com and get a room upgrade (if available) as well as a $100 property credit once per stay.

It also offers up to $10 in Uber Cash per month (up to $120 per year) and up to $10 in dining credits per month (up to $120 per year) at Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar, and select Shake Shack locations.

This card also offers basic travel insurance including car rental loss and damage insurance (secondary coverage), baggage insurance plan, and access to Global Assist Hotline.

There’s no preset spending limit or foreign transaction fees (rates & fees) when you use the Amex Gold card.

American Express^® Green Card

The Amex Green card is the last recommended personal card for Venmo in this guide. Definitely don’t write off this card just because it’s not as prestigious as the Amex Platinum card or Amex Gold card.

It earns up to 3x points on purchases:

• 3x points on travel, transit, and at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery in the U.S.
• 1x points on other purchases (including payments through the Venmo app)

You’ll get 2 major statement credit benefits with the Amex Green card:

• Up to $100 per year in LoungeBuddy credits
• Up to $189 per year in CLEAR Plus credits

To round out the travel insurance benefits, you can enjoy trip delay insurance, car rental loss and damage insurance (secondary coverage), baggage insurance plan, and access to Global Assist Hotline.

Also, you’ll get purchase protection, extended warranty, no foreign transaction fees, and no preset spending limit.

The 3 Best Business Cards for Venmo

Similar to the recommended personal cards, our featured Amex business cards also earn 1x Membership Rewards points on payments or transactions through the Venmo app and have no preset spending limit.

Card Overview

Card	Welcome Offer	Annual Fee	Best For
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express	Earn 150,000 points after spending $20,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months. Annual fee of $695 (rates & fees)	$695 (rates & fees)	Earning points on travel and lounge access
American Express® Business Gold Card	Earn 70,000 points after you spend $10,000 on purchases in the first 3 months.	$375 (rates & fees)	Earning points on business categories
Business Green Rewards Card from American Express	Earn 15,000 points after spending $3,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months	$0 introductory annual fee for the first year, then $95 (rates & fees)	Earning points on travel

The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express

With the Amex Business Platinum card, you can enjoy some high-end rewards and luxury travel benefits, starting with a great earning rate:

• 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through AmexTravel.com
• 1.5x points on eligible purchases in key business categories and eligible purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else (cap applies)
• 1x points on other purchases (including payments through the Venmo app)

There’s a slightly different series of statement credits for the Amex Business Platinum card (some perks available upon enrollment) than with the Amex Platinum card:

• Up to $400 per year in Dell credits
• Up to $360 per year in Indeed credits
• Up to $150 per year in Adobe credits
• Up to $120 per year in wireless statement credits
• Up to $200 per year in airline fee credits (upon enrollment)
• Up to $189 per year in CLEAR Plus credits
• Up to $100 in Global Entry or up to $85 in TSA PreCheck application fee credits

Plus, a unique benefit with the Amex Business Platinum card is the 35% airline bonus, which gets you 35% points back on flights booked through AmexTravel.com using Pay With Points (up to 1 million points back per calendar year).

You’ll still enjoy the same access to Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection, as well as complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite and Hilton Honors Gold status (upon enrollment), car rental perks and elite status with National, Avis, and Hertz (upon enrollment), and top-notch travel insurance.

Additionally, this card has cell phone protection, purchase protection, extended warranty, return protection, no preset spending limit, and no foreign transaction fees (rates & fees).

American Express^® Business Gold Card

Our runner-up business card for Venmo is the Amex Business Gold card.

This card earns 4x Membership Rewards points on the top 2 categories in which your business spends the most every month (up to $150,000 in combined purchases every calendar year):

• NEW! Transit purchases including trains, taxicabs, rideshare services, ferries, tolls, parking, buses, and subways
• NEW! U.S. purchases made from electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers
• NEW! Monthly wireless telephone service charges made directly from a wireless telephone service provider in the U.S.
• U.S. purchases at gas stations
• U.S. purchases at restaurants, including takeout and delivery
• Purchases at U.S. media providers for advertising in select media (online, TV, radio)

Other than that, this card has access to benefits such as access to The Hotel Collection, purchase protection, extended warranty, no preset spending limit, and no foreign transaction fees (rates & fees).

Business Green Rewards Card from American Express

The last card we’ll discuss is the Amex Business Green card, which earns up to 2x points:

• 2x points on eligible purchases booked through AmexTravel.com
• 1x points on other purchases (including payments through the Venmo app)

It comes with baggage insurance plan, access to Global Assist Hotline, and a series of spending perks including purchase protection, extended warranty, no foreign transaction fees (rates & fees), and no preset spending limit.

Final Thoughts

Overall, there aren’t as many options for cards to use with Venmo as there were in the past. This is because an increasing number of banks and card issuers treat Venmo as peer-to-peer payments, which triggers cash advance fees.

To date, American Express and Discover are 2 of the only major card issuers that still treat Venmo as a purchase, allowing you to earn rewards and avoid triggering cash advance fees.

Discover generally lags behind in terms of rewards, so we’ve focused most of our energy on American Express cards. In particular, we’ve walked you through 6 of the best card options for Venmo purchases. We hope that this guide has been helpful!

For the baggage insurance plan benefit of the Amex Platinum card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

For the baggage insurance plan benefit of the Amex Gold card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

For the car rental loss and damage insurance benefit of the Amex Gold card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

For the car rental loss and damage insurance benefit of the Amex Green card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

For the cell phone protection benefit of the Amex Platinum card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

For the cell phone protection benefit of the Amex Business Platinum card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

For the extended warranty benefit of the Amex Platinum card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

For the extended warranty benefit of the Amex Business Platinum card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

For the extended warranty benefit of the Amex Business Gold card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

For the global assist hotline benefit of the Amex Gold card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Card members are responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers.

For the purchase protection benefit of the Amex Platinum card, eligibility and benefit level varies by Card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

For the purchase protection benefit of the Amex Business Platinum card, eligibility and benefit level varies by Card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

For the purchase protection benefit of the Amex Business Gold card, eligibility and benefit level varies by Card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

For the return protection benefit of the Amex Platinum card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.

For the return protection benefit of the Amex Business Platinum card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details.

For the trip cancellation and interruption insurance benefit of the Amex Platinum card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

For the trip cancellation and interruption insurance benefit of the Amex Business Platinum card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

For the trip delay insurance benefit of the Amex Platinum card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

For the trip delay insurance benefit of the Amex Business Platinum card, eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.