Confirmed: Amex Platinum Card and Amex Business Platinum Card Overhaul Later This Year

Is this the year we could see a $1,000 annual fee on a premium credit card? Possibly.

American Express has confirmed changes are coming to The Platinum Card^® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express “later this year.”

When these cards were last refreshed, updated, overhauled — whatever you want to call it — with new perks and higher annual fees, we saw the annual fees approach $700 apiece. If that’s happening again, how high will the annual fee go?

Amex Confirms Changes Are Coming

Other than being told by an American Express spokesperson that changes are coming “later this year,” we don’t know much else — for certain — about what’s happening with the Amex Platinum card and Amex Business Platinum card. However, we can definitely read between the lines.

“Platinum card benefits and services resonate across generations, particularly with Millennial and Gen Z who accounted for 35% of total US Consumer spend last quarter,” said Howard Grosfield, group president of U.S. consumer services at Amex. “We’re going to take these cards to a new level, not only in what they offer in travel, dining and lifestyle benefits, but also in how they look and feel to meet the evolving needs of our customers.”

We’ve also seen multiple statements from American Express executives over the past few years saying that their approach to cards — often bemoaned as a coupon book approach — has worked and is profitable. Thus, we’re likely to see this model taken further.

What Will We See on the Updated Platinum Cards?

In the announcement confirming upcoming modifications to the cards, Amex touted a few key elements:

• Its large lounge network
• Its Resy dining platform
• Partnerships with other brands
• Unique event experiences

There’s also the recurring description of the Amex Platinum card as a “lifestyle card.”

If Amex touts its lounge network as bigger than what competitors like Chase and Capital One can offer, we can assume that means Amex thinks its premium cards are worth more — aka, a higher annual fee — than what those card issuers are offering. With a $695 annual fee on the Amex Platinum card (rates & fees) and a matching $695 annual fee on the Amex Business Platinum card (rates & fees), carrying these cards already costs more than the competitors.

Similarly, the press release mentions unique experiences, Resy, and brand partnerships. We should assume Amex is going to lean into those by offering additional statement credits with an expanded list of partners. Some of these will make more sense than others, and some may be more difficult to use than others. We’ll have to wait to see exactly what they are, but expect Amex to continue touting “benefits worth over x amount of money each year” while you need to expend a fair amount of effort to make that happen.

Final Thoughts

It’s not impossible to imagine Amex pushing the annual fees close to $1,000 on these cards later this year, now that we know 100% for sure that the issuer plans to refresh the Amex Platinum card and Amex Business Platinum card before 2025 is finished. The annual fees jumped a few hundred dollars the last time these cards were updated with new benefits.

How high will it go this time, and what perks will be added to justify it? We shouldn’t have to wait long to find out. Amex only has 6 months left to meet its intended timeline.