Which american express cards are charge cards

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American Express cards are known for lucrative rewards, countless perks and unique card designs. In fact, Amex released the first "black card," the American Express Centurion Card, in 1999 and created a lot of buzz nearly 20 years later when it offered the American Express® Gold Card in a limited-edition rose gold metal in 2018.

Beyond creative card designs, Amex cards offer a wide range of benefits for a variety of consumers, whether you're looking to earn rewards, get out of debt, travel or streamline business expenses.

While a few Amex cards have annual fees that can reach nearly $700, you can find low and no annual fee cards with many of the same standard Amex perks offered on annual fee cards, such as shopping discounts through Amex Offers and free two-day shipping with ShopRunner.

Below, Select breaks down the best Amex cards, so you can find the card that fits your needs.

Best American Express cards

• Best cash-back card: Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express
• Best no-annual-fee card: Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express (See rates and fees)
• Best dining and grocery card: American Express® Gold Card
• Best travel and luxury card: The Platinum Card® from American Express
• Best small business card: Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express

FAQs

• Are Amex cards worth it?
• Which Amex credit cards earn cash back?
• Which American Express credit card is easiest to get?
• Which is better: Visa or American Express?
• Which is the best American Express card?

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Best cash-back card

Who's this for? If you're whipping up a new recipe, refueling your car or streaming your favorite TV show, it's a good idea to consider a card that rewards those purchases. The Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express is a great choice for anyone who regularly stocks up on groceries or pays for streaming subscriptions since the cash-back program is tailored to those purchases.

The card's spending categories are:

• 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets on up to $6,000 per year in purchases (then 1%)
• 6% cash back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions
• 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations
• 3% cash back on transit
• 1% cash back on all other eligible purchases.

The list of eligible streaming subscriptions is longer than most cards and includes Netflix, Spotify, Disney+ and more. Learn more about how Amex classifies bonus category purchases.

In addition to rewards, you can take advantage of a 0% intro APR for 12 months from the date of account opening, then a 17.74% to 28.74% variable APR applies. (see rates and fees).

This card has a $0 intro annual fee for the first year (then $95) (see rates and fees), but it can be offset by the cash back you earn and discounts you can get through the Amex Offers. There's also a no-annual-fee version, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express. (See rates and fees.)

Best no-annual-fee card

Who's this for? If you're looking for a similar rewards program to the Blue Cash Preferred card, consider the no annual fee cash-back alternative, the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express. (See rates and fees.)

This is a competitive no annual fee cash-back card for grocery shoppers with 3% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $6,000 per year in purchases, then 1%).

You can also earn 3% cash back at U.S. gas stations, (on up to $6,000 per year, then 1%). This is a decent rewards rate since all other purchases earn a standard 1% cash back.

The Blue Cash Everyday card also provides a special financing offer for purchases and balance transfers with a 0% intro APR for the first 15 months from the date of account opening. Once the intro period ends, a 17.74%-28.74% variable APR applies; there's a balance transfer fee that's either $5 or 3% of the amount of each transfer (whichever is greater) (See rates and fees).

Best dining and grocery card

Who's this for? Consumers that enjoy traveling, dining out and shopping for groceries can benefit from the rewards and added perks provided by the American Express® Gold Card. You can earn 4X Membership Rewards® points on restaurants and 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or with amextravel.com.

And when you book rooms through The Hotel Collection with American Express Travel, you can receive a $100 hotel credit to spend on qualifying dining, spa and resort activities. In addition, when you book a stay of at least two consecutive nights you can receive a room upgrade, upon approval.

Even if travel isn't top of mind now, you can benefit from earning rewards on U.S. supermarket purchases and receiving a credit on eligible take-out. Cardholders earn 4X points on purchases at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X), plus 1X points on all other purchases.

Plus you receive a $120 annual dining credit ($10 per month) to cover food from Grubhub, The Cheesecake Factory, Goldbelly, Wine.com, Milk Bar and select Shake Shack locations. Enrollment required.

Additionally, you'll receive up to $120 in credits for Uber, which can be used towards Uber rides or Uber Eats.

So by using both of these credits to their fullest, you can nearly wipe away the $250 annual fee. (See rates and fees)

Best travel and luxury card

Who's this for? If you're looking to travel in luxury and benefit from high rewards on eligible airfare and hotel expenses, consider The Platinum Card® from American Express. This card offers 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (starting January 1, 2021, this applies on up to $500,000 per calendar year), 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel and 1X points on all other purchases.

In addition to rewards, cardholders can benefit from up to $200 in annual airline fee credits to cover incidentals, such as baggage fees, seat upgrades and in-flight purchases. If you fly often, there's another money-saving perk that can allow you to speed through security — an application fee credit for Global Entry ($100) every 4 years or TSA PreCheck ($85) every 4.5 years. And if you want even more flexibility to choose between expedited security programs, the card also comes with a $189 annual credit to enroll in CLEAR®.

You can take advantage of Global Lounge Collection access with more than 1,200 airport lounges across 130+ countries and special benefits at Fine Hotels & Resorts properties, such as up to a $100 hotel property credit, complimentary room upgrades when available and free Wi-Fi. The card even offers $200 back in statement credits each year on select prepaid hotel bookings.

You'll also receive up to $200 in annual Uber cash for Uber rides or Uber Eats purchases, as well as up to $240 back in statement credits for digital entertainment purchases, including Disney+, Hulu, ESPN+, The New York Times, Sirius XM and more.

This card does come with a steep $695* annual fee, but if you consider all the added perks, you can easily offset the annual fee. If you just deduct the $200 airline fee credit and the $200 Uber credit, you'll be paying an effective annual fee of $295. Then if you factor in eligible hotel stays, airport security program enrollment credits, digital entertainment credits and other benefits, the annual fee can be justified. (See rates and fees.)

Best business card

Who's this for? Small business cards, like the Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, are a great asset for business owners that want to streamline business expenses while earning rewards.

This card provides an introductory interest-free period that lasts 12 months on purchases from the date of account opening (16.99% - 24.99%variable APR after that) (See rates and fees). This is a helpful tool for paying off expensive business equipment.

Business owners won't have to pay an annual fee for this card or any employee cards. (See rates and fees.) And all spending — whether it's by you or your employees — earns rewards at a rate of 2X Membership Rewards® points on all purchases up to $50,000 per year, then 1X point on all other purchases.

You'll also receive various account management tools that allow you to simplify expenses and get helpful answers to any business needs. Cardholders receive Relationship Care® Service, which offers 24/7 support from representatives who are trained to understand business needs.

Find the best credit card for you by reviewing offers in our credit card marketplace or get personalized offers via CardMatch™.

Bottom line

American Express offers many more credit cards than those on this list, so if one of these products doesn't fit your needs, you'll want to analyze other options before making a decision.

In addition, it's important to evaluate if a credit card is the best financial product for you. As long as you don't overspend and stick to your budget, a credit card can be a great addition to your wallet to earn rewards. However, if you find yourself crawling out of credit card debt, you may want to stick with a debit card or cash.

Read more

FAQs about American Express credit cards

Select analyzed the top questions asked about American Express credit cards, and answered them to help you make the best decision when choosing an Amex card.

Are Amex cards worth it?

Amex cards are highly rewarding cards, giving you with either travel rewards or cash back for spending. Plus, many Amex cards come with travel benefits, like airport lounge access or hotel elite status.

Which Amex credit cards earn cash back?

Which American Express credit card is easiest to get?

The easiest American Express credit card to be approved for is the Credit One Bank American Express® Card as this card is designed for consumers with less than perfect credit.

Which is better: Visa or American Express?

Both Visa and American Express have their own payment networks and are both widely accepted within the United States. If you're a frequent international traveler, you can still use an Amex card, but you may want to have a VISA card as well, as those are more widely accepted throughout the world.

Which is the best American Express card?

The best American Express card is one that best fits your spending habits and lifestyle. But if you're looking for the most luxurious card, it's the American Express Centurion Card, which is an invitation-only card.

Our methodology

To determine which credit cards offer the best value for various categories, Select analyzed Amex credit cards available in the U.S. We compared each card on a range of features, including rewards, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR, balance transfer fee and foreign transaction fees, as well as factors such as required credit and customer reviews when available. We also considered additional perks, the application process and how easy it is for the consumer to redeem points.

Select teamed up with location intelligence firm Esri. The company's data development team provided the most up-to-date and comprehensive consumer spending data based on the 2019 Consumer Expenditure Surveys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. You can read more about their methodology here.

Esri's data team created a sample annual budget of approximately $22,126 in retail spending. The budget includes six main categories: groceries ($5,174), gas ($2,218), dining out ($3,675), travel ($2,244), utilities ($4,862) and general purchases ($3,953). General purchases include items such as housekeeping supplies, clothing, personal care products, prescription drugs and vitamins, and other vehicle expenses.

Select used this budget to estimate how much the average consumer would save over the course of a year, two years and five years, assuming they would attempt to maximize their rewards potential by earning all welcome bonuses offered and using the card for all applicable purchases. All rewards total estimations are net the annual fee.

While the five-year estimates we've included are derived from a budget similar to the average American's spending, you may earn a higher or lower return depending on your shopping habits.

For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express, click here.

For rates and fees of the Blue Cash Everyday® Card from American Express, click here.

For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, click here.

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.

For rates and fees of the Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, click here.

Information about the Centurion® Card from American Express, American Express Cash Magnet® Card has been collected independently by Select and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of the card prior to publication.

Editorial Note: Opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Select editorial staff’s alone, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any third party.

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