amex travel vs expedia

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Credit Cards

The complete guide to the Amex Travel portal

Carissa Rawson

Allie Johnson

“Verified by an expert” means that this article has been thoroughly reviewed and evaluated for accuracy.

Robin Saks Frankel

Published 7:39 a.m. UTC Feb. 28, 2024

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The American Express Travel portal offers valuable benefits to American Express cardholders, including special prices. Depending on which card you hold, you may also be able to pay for travel with Membership Rewards® points and get access to perks such as discounted airfare and specialty benefits at luxury hotels. Let’s take a look at how the Amex Travel portal works, whether the benefits are worthwhile and who can access Amex Travel’s website. 

• American Express Travel offers hotels, vacation rentals, flights, rental cars and cruises.
• Luxury hotel benefits and discounted airfare are two benefits of booking through Amex’s travel portal. 
• American Express cardholders can access Amex Travel. 

How to book travel through the Amex Travel portal

Booking travel through the Amex Travel portal requires you to have an online account associated with an Amex card. While you can complete a search on the Amex Travel website without logging in, you will need to do so in order to make a booking.

After you choose whether to book a flight, hotel, vacation rental, vacation package, rental car or cruise, you’ll need to enter your travel details.

For example, if you want to book a flight through Amex Travel, you’ll need to put in your departure airport and destination as well as your dates of travel. The site will then bring up a list of matching results.

You can filter based on when the flights take off as well as how many stops you’re willing to tolerate, among other options. 

The Amex Travel site offers a wide variety of hotel stays and flights, but you’ll always want to double check elsewhere before booking since it doesn’t always feature every option. 

Once you’ve selected a booking, you’ll be taken through the checkout process. This includes providing your personal information and can also include seat requests and adding in loyalty program numbers.

To pay for your booking, you can use your American Express Membership Rewards, if you have a card that earns them, or your American Express card or a combination of both. 

After you’ve booked, you’ll receive a confirmation email containing your reservation information. You can also find your bookings under the My Trips section of Amex Travel.

Who can use the portal?

Any American Express cardholder can use the Amex Travel portal to book travel. But those whose cards don’t earn Amex Membership Rewards points will need to pay with their Amex card.

However, many American Express cards  earn Membership Rewards points that can be redeemed for travel through the Amex Travel portal. These cards include (terms apply):

The Platinum Card® from American Express

• American Express® Gold Card
• American Express® Green Card * The information for the American Express® Green Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
• Amex EveryDay® Credit Card * The information for the Amex EveryDay® Credit Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
• The Business Platinum Card® from American Express * The information for the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
• American Express® Business Gold Card * The information for the American Express® Business Gold Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

All information about American Express® Green Card, Amex EveryDay® Credit Card, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and American Express® Business Gold Card has been collected independently by Blueprint.

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Welcome Bonus

Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

Regular APR

Credit score.

Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.

Editor’s Take

• Over $1,500 in travel and entertainment credits can offset the annual fee.
• Comprehensive lounge access benefit.
• Generous travel and purchase protections.
• High annual fee and spending requirements.
• Amex’s once-per-lifetime rule limits welcome bonus eligibility.
• Annual statement credits have limited use.

Card Details

• Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Apply and select your preferred metal Card design: classic Platinum Card®, Platinum x Kehinde Wiley, or Platinum x Julie Mehretu.
• Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
• $200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
• $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card® on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
• $155 Walmart+ Credit: Cover the cost of a $12.95 monthly Walmart+ membership (subject to auto-renewal) with a statement credit after you pay for Walmart+ each month with your Platinum Card®. Cost includes $12.95 plus applicable local sales tax. Plus Up Benefits are excluded.
• $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card®.
• $200 Uber Cash: Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the US annually. Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member only. Terms Apply.
• $300 Equinox Credit: Get up to $300 back in statement credits per calendar year on an Equinox membership, or an Equinox club membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you pay with your Platinum Card®. Enrollment required. Visit https://platinum.equinox.com/ to enroll.
• $189 CLEAR® Plus Credit: Breeze through security with CLEAR Plus at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues nationwide and get up to $189 back per calendar year on your Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Platinum Card®. Learn more.
• $100 Global Entry Credit: Receive either a $100 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
• Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases in Saks Fifth Avenue stores or at saks.com on your Platinum Card®. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
• $300 SoulCycle At-Home Bike Credit: Get a $300 statement credit for the purchase of a SoulCycle at-home bike with your Platinum Card®. An Equinox+ subscription is required to purchase a SoulCycle at-home bike and access SoulCycle content. Must charge full price of bike in one transaction. Shipping available in the contiguous U.S. only. Enrollment Required.
• Unlock access to exclusive reservations and special dining experiences with Global Dining Access by Resy when you add your Platinum Card® to your Resy profile.
• $695 annual fee.
• Terms Apply.

Is the portal worth using?

The Amex Travel portal can be worth using in certain cases, though it won’t always make sense. For example, some flights aren’t bookable via Amex Travel, so if what you need isn’t available you’ll want to look elsewhere.

That being said, those with certain cards are entitled to exclusive benefits that can lower prices or allow them to redeem points for travel. There are also perks for booking luxury hotels within the portal. In these cases, Amex Travel is definitely worth investigating. 

How to maximize your Amex Travel benefits through the portal

International airline program.

Available to those who hold a high-end American Express card, including The Platinum Card from American Express, The Business Platinum Card from American Express and the American Express Centurion Black Card * The information for the American Express Centurion Black Card has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. , the International Airline Program (IAP) can save you money on certain international flights booked via the Amex Travel portal. 

All information about American Express Centurion Black Card has been collected independently by Blueprint.

This benefit is only available on tickets booked in premium economy, business or first class, but the savings can be significant. 

For example, we looked at a round-trip flight in premium economy from San Francisco (SFO) to Tokyo (NRT). Booking with Japan Airlines (JAL) directly resulted in a cost of $4,431.40, while the Amex Travel portal and the IAP charged just $3,797.40 for a savings of over $600.

Fine Hotels + Resorts ® and The Hotel Collection

American Express also offers the Fine Hotels and Resorts and The Hotel Collection to eligible cardholders. 

Fine Hotels and Resorts allows guests to book luxury hotels with special benefits. These include room upgrades, complimentary breakfast, an experience credit, late check-out, early check-in and more. 

The Hotel Collection offers similar but less exorbitant benefits. It’s directed toward more midscale properties and includes an experience credit as well as a room upgrade. 

35% rebate on redeemed points

Those who hold The Business Platinum Card from American Express are able to get a 35% rebate on points redeemed for eligible flights booked through the Amex Travel portal (up to 1,000,000 points per calendar year). 

Eligible flights include all fare classes on an airline that you select each year. It also includes first and business class tickets on any airline. 

Quick guide to Amex Membership Rewards

American Express Membership Rewards are the points you earn with eligible Amex cards. These highly flexible and valuable points can be redeemed in a number of ways, though they tend to be most valuable when transferred to Amex airline partners.

Other ways of redeeming Amex points include:

• Gift cards.
• Travel booked via Amex Travel.
• Online shopping. 
• Statement credits. 

While these are nice options to have, you’ll generally get much less value from your Membership Rewards points by redeeming them in these ways. Finally, although you can redeem your points in the Amex Travel portal, this isn’t necessarily a good idea if you aim to reap maximum value. Even if you’re taking advantage of the 35% rebate on redeemed points for flights, you’ll only ever receive a value of 1.54 cents per point. This is lower than you’d expect when transferring your Amex points to many airline and hotel partners. 

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

No, travel insurance is not automatically included when booking through the Amex portal. But many of the best credit cards feature complimentary travel insurance when using your card to pay, including those from American Express. Otherwise, you may be able to opt in to travel insurance during the booking process or via a third party provider.

Those with the The Platinum Card from American Express can earn 5 Membership Rewards® points per $1 for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel on up to $500,000 per calendar year, 5 points per $1 on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel and 1 point per $1 on other purchases. The card has an annual fee of $695 ( rates & fees ). 

Those with the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express * The information for the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer. , meanwhile, earn 5 Membership Rewards points per $1 on flights and prepaid hotels through American Express Travel, 1.5 points per $1 at U.S. construction material & hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers and software and cloud system providers, shipping providers, and purchases of $5,000 or more on up to $2 million per calendar year and 1 point per $1 on other eligible purchases. The card has a $695 annual fee.

All information about The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has been collected independently by Blueprint.

The phone number for American Express Travel is: 1-800-297-2977.

The number of Amex points that you’ll need to redeem for a flight will depend on the cash cost of your flight and whether you’re booking through Amex Travel or transferring your Membership Rewards points to an Amex airline partner. Amex Points are worth about one cent when booking flights through the portal, so a flight that costs $500 in cash would require about 50,000 Amex points. You’ll typically get a better deal with transfer partners than booking through the portal.

For rates and fees for The Platinum Card® from American Express please visit this page .

*The information for the American Express Centurion Black Card, American Express® Business Gold Card, American Express® Green Card, Amex EveryDay® Credit Card and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has been collected independently by Blueprint. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Blueprint is an independent publisher and comparison service, not an investment advisor. The information provided is for educational purposes only and we encourage you to seek personalized advice from qualified professionals regarding specific financial decisions. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Blueprint has an advertiser disclosure policy . The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Blueprint editorial staff alone. Blueprint adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.

Carissa Rawson is a credit cards and award travel expert with nearly a decade of experience. You can find her work in a variety of publications, including Forbes Advisor, Business Insider, The Points Guy, Investopedia, and more. When she's not writing or editing, you can find her in your nearest airport lounge sipping a coffee before her next flight.

Allie is a journalist with a passion for money tips and advice. She's been writing about personal finance since the Great Recession for online publications such as Bankrate, CreditCards.com, MyWalletJoy and ValuePenguin. She's also written personal finance content for Discover, First Horizon Bank, The Hartford, Travelers and Synovus.

Robin Saks Frankel is a credit cards lead editor at USA TODAY Blueprint. Previously, she was a credit cards and personal finance deputy editor for Forbes Advisor. She has also covered credit cards and related content for other national web publications including NerdWallet, Bankrate and HerMoney. She's been featured as a personal finance expert in outlets including CNBC, Business Insider, CBS Marketplace, NASDAQ's Trade Talks and has appeared on or contributed to The New York Times, Fox News, CBS Radio, ABC Radio, NPR, International Business Times and NBC, ABC and CBS TV affiliates nationwide. She holds an M.S. in Business and Economics Journalism from Boston University. Follow her on Twitter at @robinsaks.

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American Express Travel: Your Guide to Booking Flights, Hotels, Car Rentals, & Cruises

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What Is AmexTravel.com?

Fees for using the portal, searching for flights, insider fares, the hotel collection, american express fine hotels and resorts, standard hotel booking, searching for packages, compare flights+hotel to booking separately, searching for cruises, special offers, cruise privileges program, amextravel.com insiders, final thoughts.

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American Express is best known as a credit card issuer, but the company also offers other products and services, including travel booking and planning using AmexTravel.com.

While AmexTravel.com is available for anyone (not just cardmembers), holding an Amex card can definitely help you get extra value when using the program.

Here’s a look at what AmexTravel.com is, what services it provides, what the cost to use, the best ways to use it, and when it’s worth using!

At its most basic, AmexTravel.com is an online travel booking portal (or “online travel agency”) just like Expedia , Kayak , and Orbitz .

You can use it to book a whole trip or just a flight, hotel (or flight + hotel packages), rental cars, or even cruises. If you’d like extra assistance from a customer service agent, you can book by phone as well.

Flights booked through the portal can be subject to small fees. However, sometimes the benefits can make these fees worth it, and they’re waived for holders of the Platinum Card ® from American Express .

There are also a few “sub-categories” that fall under the AmexTravel.com umbrella, including the Hotel Collection and Fine Hotels and Resorts .

Why Should You Use AmexTravel.com?

The main reason to book with AmexTravel.com is the incredible customer service . If you run into any problems during your trip (like delays, cancellations, over-bookings, etc.), you can connect with a live travel agent by phone 24/7 who will work with you to find a solution.

Additionally, if you hold an Amex credit card that earns Membership Rewards points, you can often earn 2x points or more by using it to pay for travel services booked through AmexTravel.com.

Hot Tip:  If you use your Amex Platinum card , you can earn 5x Membership Rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or with AmexTravel.com. 

Anytime you book a flight through AmexTravel.com (either on its own or as part of a package), you’ll pay a fee of $6.99 for domestic flights and $10.99 for international flights .

These fees are waived if you have the Amex Platinum card and are logged into your account.

If you choose to book a flight by phone rather than online, there’s an added $39 phone service fee .

If you make changes to your flight, there’s a $39 reissue fee in addition to whatever fee the airline charges. This only applies to advance changes, not changes due to problems like canceled flights .

Below, we’ll take a look at how to use AmexTravel.com to book flights, hotels, vacation packages, rental cars, and cruises.

Booking Flights With AmexTravel.com

Searching for flights with AmexTravel.com is similar to other online travel agencies. You can search by city or by specific airport, select your departure and return dates, and click whether you want to search for lower fares within 3 days of your chosen dates.

On the results page, American Express lists the most relevant Delta result at the top highlighted as a “featured airline.” The featured airline is followed by the lowest available fares.

When you scroll down, you can use the controls on the left sidebar to filter the results by the number of stops, departure/arrival times, airline, or even specific flight number.

By default, flights are displayed in price order starting with the lowest, except for a featured Delta flight at the top (when available). At the top of the search window above the results, all available airlines are shown, as well as the lowest available price with each airline.

Depending on your search, you may see a blue tab labeled “Insider Fares Available” above some of the airlines listed at the top of the search window.

These are discounted fares, and they only apply if you pay for the entire flight with Membership Rewards rather than cash. Note that cash prices are rounded to the nearest dollar.

If you’re logged in and have enough Membership Rewards points to cover the entire flight, you will be able to see these discounted fares.

For example, in the below search, you’ll see an example of an Insider Fare available for purchase. The Insider Fare offered a slight discount rather than just matching the cash price in points with each point worth 1 cent (more on that below).

The difference can be fairly minimal. In the JFK-ATL example above, the discount was from 25,259 Membership Rewards points to 24,120 — changing the value from 1 cent per point to about 1.05 cents per point .

Amextravel.com charges a fee to book, but they bundle this into the displayed price. The fee is $6.99 per domestic ticket or $10.99 per international ticket. These fees are waived as a benefit of the Amex Platinum card , just make sure you’re logged into your Amex account when booking.

Hot Tip: AmexTravel.com now offers Trip Cancel Guard coverage that you can add when purchasing flights via AmexTravel.com whether paying with an American Express card, with Membership Rewards points using the Pay With Points option, or a combination of both. It provides for reimbursement of up to 75% of the cost of the non-refundable prepaid flight expense, penalty and change fees caused by the cancellation, or the amount of any expired vouchers/flight credits received for the canceled flight. Coverage is applicable when your flight is canceled for any reason and is valid until 2 full calendar days prior to your trip’s originally scheduled departure date.

When searching several different flights across different online travel agents, we found similar results to the below example each time.

To compare prices, we searched multiple online travel agents and portals using the same search parameters: departing John F. Kennedy-New York (JFK), arriving at London-Heathrow International (LHR), round-trip, 1 traveler, economy, and nonstop on specific dates.

We selected the lowest-priced nonstop flight available through AmexTravel.com: a Finnair flight operated by Oneworld partner , American Airlines.

When searching on AmexTravel.com, the flight was $595.86. This breaks down to $133 in base fare and $462.86 of government, airline, and American Express-imposed fees.

We received the same search results when we replicated this search on Finnair’s U.S. website, Kayak, and Orbitz.

In a second search, we looked for a domestic round-trip from Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) to Los Angeles International (LAX) on the same dates. This flight was priced at $199.40. Keep in mind, you would usually see this rate plus the $6.99 Amex booking fee, but again, this is waived for Amex Platinum cardholders.

When cross-referencing this itinerary on Delta’s website, we found the same price listed for a regular economy fare of $199.40. However, there was a basic economy option that was a bit cheaper, which was not available through AmexTravel.com.

Other online travel portals, including Orbitz and Kayak , listed the same price.

This means, if you’re already set on the specific itinerary you want to fly, booking through AmexTravel.com can often cost the same as booking directly with the airline, or through a third party . This assumes you receive waived booking fees for being an Amex Platinum cardholder.

However, what if you’re just looking for the cheapest flight on a particular day? If you do a general search for a route on set dates, will AmexTravel.com find the same rates as other portals? In our experience, the answer is no.

In our example search, here are the lowest available regular economy non-stop flights we could find between New York (any airport) and London (any airport) when searching the same set of dates on a few different websites (sorted by price ascending):

*Including a $10.99 AmexTravel.com booking fee.

The reason for these results is likely due to the fact that the Amex portal doesn’t include some low-cost carriers like Norwegian, so travel portals that do will often win on price.

Even excluding the low-cost carriers, though, other portals like Expedia and Orbitz were able to offer lower fares by about $15.

That said, AmexTravel.com was able to find about the same fares you would find when booking directly with an airline.

Hot Tip: If you hold The Business Platinum Card ® from American Express you can get a 35% rebate on select flights when you pay with points through AmexTravel.com.

AmexTravel.com Hotel Programs

There are actually 3 programs offered for booking hotels:

• Fine Hotels and Resorts
• AmexTravel.com booking (standard)

What Is The Hotel Collection?

The Hotel Collection is a program through AmexTravel.com only available to holders of certain cards:

• The American Express ® Gold Card and the American Express ® Business Gold Card

The Amex Platinum card and the Business Platinum Card ® from American Express

The Centurion card

Perks of The Hotel Collection

When you book a hotel through The Hotel Collection, you get certain perks including:

• Room upgrade at check-in (if available)
• Up to a $100 hotel credit for on-site amenities like the restaurant, bar, room service, or spa
• Ability to use Pay With Points on prepaid reservations
• 3x Membership Rewards points for Amex Gold cardholders on prepaid bookings
• 5x Membership Rewards points for Amex Platinum cardholders on prepaid reservations
• Up to $200 credit each year towards prepaid hotel reservations with either The Hotel Collection (2-night stay) or Fine Hotels and Resorts with select credit cards

Usually, American Express guarantees that any hotel booked through AmexTravel.com will have the lowest publicly-available rates (prepaid rates only), but this rule does not apply to bookings through The Hotel Collection per the terms & conditions . Be certain to check multiple booking options to ensure you’re getting the best deal.

Rooms have to be booked through AmexTravel.com. That means that if you book directly through the hotel or another service, you won’t get the perks, even if the hotel is a part of The Hotel Collection and you pay for the stay with your American Express card.

Further, you must stay a minimum of 2 nights , and you cannot book consecutive stays within 24 hours of each other.

The good news is that these benefits are available for up to 3 rooms per stay . So if you book 3 rooms for family members, you’ll get a total hotel service credit of up to $300.

Hotel Points and Elite Benefits

Typically, you won’t earn points through a hotel loyalty program if you book through a third party, and this includes the AmexTravel.com portal.

Further, you won’t get any elite benefits that you might otherwise be entitled to if you have status with that hotel chain.

Bottom Line:  The Hotel Collection is potentially useful if you’re planning to pay with your eligible Membership Rewards-earning card. This comes at the expense of hotel-specific elite benefits, including points and elite credits in any hotel loyalty program.

What Is the Fine Hotels and Resorts Program?

AmexTravel.com runs a second hotel program called Fine Hotels and Resorts (FHR). It can be a little bit confusing since it sounds like it would overlap with the Hotel Collection, but that’s not the case.

The Fine Hotels and Resorts program is exclusive to Amex Platinum cardholders (personal or business) , as well as those with the invitation-only Centurion Card .

FHR includes different hotels and resorts than The Hotel Collection, with minimal overlap. The FHR collection tends to be more geared toward leisure travelers who wish to book stays at higher-end properties.

Perks of Fine Hotels and Resorts

Booking hotels through the Fine Hotels and Resorts collection entitles you to a handful of potentially valuable perks, including:

• Early noon check-in (when available)
• Room upgrade on arrival (when available)
• Daily breakfast for 2 people
• Guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• A unique amenity valued at $100 or more; examples include a property credit, dining credit, spa credit, or similar amenity

Unlike The Hotel Collection, rooms booked through Fine Hotels and Resorts are not all prepaid. In fact, most are standard rates that you’ll pay for at the end of your stay when you check out. In comparing several properties, including the Park Hyatt in Chicago, we found rates identical to the non-prepaid rates when booking directly through the hotel.

However, keep in mind that the hotel may directly offer prepaid and early-purchase options which may be much cheaper, though you won’t benefit from the Fine Hotels and Resorts perks.

There are fewer terms with Fine Hotels and Resorts than with The Hotel Collection. You must book through AmexTravel.com/FHR to receive the benefits .

As with The Hotel Collection, if you book directly with the hotel or through a different travel agency or portal, you won’t be able to claim FHR benefits even if it’s a participating hotel. Other terms vary by property.

Good news here! Unlike stays booked through The Hotel Collection, stays through American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts count as “qualifying rates” for hotel loyalty programs. That means if you’re staying at a hotel that’s part of a loyalty program, you’ll be able to earn points and receive the relevant benefits if you hold elite status.

Hot Tip: Want to know about the differences between these programs? Dig into our dedicated guide on the differences between the Hotel Collection and Fine Hotels & Resorts .

Searching Hotels

Searching for hotels at AmexTravel.com works more or less the same as with flights. You enter your city, dates, number of rooms, and guests. You can check a box to have properties from The Hotel Collection and Fine Hotels and Resorts displayed at the top.

Of course, if you’re interested in booking through either of those programs, you could also just book on their dedicated pages.

By default, search results are ranked by “recommended,” which seems to be decided by an algorithm factoring in price, location, and reviews.

Terms vary by the specific hotel and rate you book, so make sure to read the fine print.

The site can be a bit confusing when trying to compare prices since American Express doesn’t include all taxes and fees in the price displayed (while some hotel websites do).

For example, we searched for a 4-night stay at the Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill. American Express quoted an average of $337/night, which should make the total stay around $1,348. When you go to book, though, the total with fees is $1,625.

While it initially looks more expensive to book directly with Hyatt (where the cost is quoted at $404/night), that price includes all taxes and fees , so you’ll actually pay $1,611, or $14 less.

Our search for the Marriott Regent Park yielded similar results. It’s listed at $233/night in the search function, which implies the total to be $932.

In reality, once you click through, the total is $1,120. Booking directly with Marriott, rates are listed at $261/night, but that includes taxes and fees — for a total prepaid rate of $1,080.

For the 2 hotels in question, here’s how total prices compared through different portals (sorted by price ascending):

In both tickets, AmexTravel.com was within a few dollars of the other online travel agencies, which were all more expensive than booking directly through the hotel’s website.

Similar to The Hotel Collection, rates booked through AmexTravel.com aren’t eligible for elite benefits or hotel loyalty points.

Bottom Line:  Like most other online travel portals and agencies, prices can vary between AmexTravel.com and the hotel’s direct booking channel. You won’t get elite benefits or hotel points, so it might be worth booking directly if those are valuable to you. 

Flights+Hotel Packages

Like with many online travel portals and even airline websites, you can book packages that include flights and hotels through AmexTravel.com. Usually, the point of booking these packages is to get a discount, special perks, or promotions.

The search window for Flights+Hotels is simple: input airports (or cities), dates, number of travelers, and rooms. Results are listed in a recommended order by default just like when searching for a standard hotel.

Terms vary by the specific package you book, so make sure to read the fine print !

As with standalone flight reservations, AmexTravel.com charges a fee to book Flights+Hotel packages: $6.99 per domestic ticket or $10.99 per international ticket .

Again, these fees are waived for holders of the Amex Platinum card  or the Centurion card.

In the results field, a total starting price  per person is listed, including all taxes and fees with the cheapest flight option. American Express also lists how much you’re saving with the package, although this is missing for some hotels.

Once you select the hotel, you can customize your flight. The total price changes based on which flight you select.

In a sample search, we chose the Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill, and picked the cheapest nonstop flight: British Airways flight, which was Newark Liberty International (EWR) to LHR and London-Gatwick (LGW) to JFK. The package came to $1,446 per person, or $2,892 total.

Annoyingly, AmexTravel.com doesn’t show a breakdown of hotel and airfare costs and fees; instead, it just displays a total per person.

For comparison, you can search the flight and hotels separately. We tried searching for the flight first on the same day.

We found Finnair flights operated by American Airlines for $660 per person — an option that wasn’t offered as part of the package (although with the booking fee, the flights should have been $671). When we filtered the search to British Airways only, it showed a ton of options for $671.

Searching hotels next, we again chose the Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill’s lowest prepaid rate. It was listed as $337 per night for 1 room (plus taxes and fees), for a total of $2,031. For the 2 flights and the hotel, that comes to a total of $3,351, or $1,675.50 per person.

In this case, booking the trip as a package saves almost $460, even though the search results page didn’t highlight any savings specifically.

The main downside to booking a package is that you have less flexibility. Say you want to change hotels for part of the trip or maybe stay with a friend for the last few days. This isn’t an option because you must book a single hotel for the entire time between your flights. It can also make solutions harder to find if there are any problems — although the AmexTravel.com customer support should make up for that.

Bottom Line:  If you’re using AmexTravel.com and your plans allow for the lack of flexibility, you might be able to save a lot of money with a package. Just make sure to compare the listed price to booking everything separately. Note that you can’t book a package retroactively: you have to book the flights and hotel at the same time. 

Rental Cars

AmexTravel.com also offers a rental car booking service. You can make reservations from rental stations at airports and elsewhere.

To search for rental cars, simply enter an airport or city . You can also click a button to search near a specific address.

Results are shown in a handy grid format, with each column showing a different rental company, and each row displaying the pricing for a different category of car (economy, compact, midsize, and so on).

Bookings of up to 4 days are charged a daily rate, while bookings 5-7 days are charged on a weekly basis. There are specific rates for weekends and weekdays, as well as monthly options, with specific details varying by the rental agency.

In several sample searches, prices were generally consistent with other online travel agencies — though sometimes lower by $1-$2/day. Prices were identical to booking with the rental company directly.

Bottom Line:  Renting a car through AmexTravel.com doesn’t get you any benefits above what you’d receive for paying with your credit card, such as the collision damage waiver for paying with your Amex Platinum card. However, the convenient search page makes it a great option for comparing multiple prices at once. 

AmexTravel.com also offers tools to book cruises . In addition to letting you search for cruises all over the world, AmexTravel.com periodically highlights special offers on cruises, usually in the form of credits to use onboard.

To search for cruises, you need to enter the region you want to travel in, the cruise line(s) you want to travel with (or search all available lines), the month you’re planning the trip for, and the approximate length of the cruise you want.

Results are shown in order, from the lowest-priced option to the highest . Note that this is based on the lowest available rate; hovering over any result will show all available cabin types and the corresponding prices.

Under each result, the information shown includes the port of departure/return, date of departure, and ports visited.

Hot Tip:  Wondering what to pack for your time at sea? Check out our ultimate cruise-based packing list  — it’s printable and complete with tons of tips and advice!

Cruise rates booked through AmexTravel.com were within $1-2 of rates found on other online travel agents and websites . We found identical prices on the various cruise company websites — though each online travel portal and cruise line offers different promotions, so it might be worth comparing them.

For example, during a sample search for a weeklong Caribbean cruise in December, we found that Royal Caribbean was offering a $50 onboard credit if you booked directly.

On the search results page, you might notice a tab labeled “Special Offers.” Those offers are generally onboard credits, but can also include discounts or other special features. If you aren’t committed to a specific cruise line, these are often worth exploring.

Those with the Amex Platinum card have special access to the Cruise Privileges Program . Like the Fine Hotels and Resorts program, this is only available on specific cruises, although it’s more limited than FHR.

It includes onboard credit (often higher than otherwise offered) and a special onboard amenity, like complimentary dinner for 2 or a bottle of premium champagne.

Bottom Line: It can be worth booking a cruise through AmexTravel.com, especially if there are special offers. Make sure to compare different booking sites , though, as some may have better or exclusive promotions.

AmexTravel.com offers a feature called Travel Insiders. When you use the program, American Express connects you with a travel expert who can help you plan an itinerary based around your desired destination. Fees vary based on location, length of the trip, and details of the itinerary.

AmexTravel.com can be a very useful tool when booking flights, hotels, vacation packages, cruises, or rental cars. In many cases, it may not offer the best rate options , but it’s worth comparing to other booking sites and airlines or hotels directly.

If you have an American Express card that offers access to the Hotel Collection or Fine Hotels and Resorts, the perks can be very worthwhile.

Additionally, the extra Membership Rewards points you earn by booking through AmexTravel.com can be valuable, as long as the price is right.

Aside from the Hotel Collection and Fine Hotels and Resorts, the real value of AmexTravel.com is in the customer service provided. Booking a trip on your own is easy — dealing with problems when they arise can be less so!

If you book through AmexTravel.com, you’ll have easy access to someone who can help you get on a new flight, find a new hotel, or manage whatever other issues come up day or night. So if you’re looking to have that extra support, then AmexTravel.com might be a great choice for you!

The information regarding the Centurion ® Card from American Express was independently collected by Upgraded Points and was not provided nor reviewed by the issuer. 

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

Frequently Asked Questions

What is american express travel.

AmexTravel.com is an O nline  T ravel  A gency (OTA), just like Orbitz , Kayak , or Expedia . You can book flights, hotels, rental cars, or cruises through AmexTravel.com.

Do I need an American Express card to use Amex Travel services?

Whether or not you have an American Express card, you can book flights, hotels, rental cars, or cruises through AmexTravel.com. If you do have an Amex card, you might be eligible for certain perks or rewards.

Does American Express Travel cost anything?

If you book a flight through AmexTravel.com, there’s a small fee ($6.99 for domestic flights, $10.99 for international) that fee is waived for Amex Platinum, Amex Business Platinum, and Centurion cardmembers. Other services, like hotels and cruises, do not have fees.

Why should I book with American Express Travel?

AmexTravel.com has very helpful customer service resources. If you have any problems with your trip (like a canceled flight), you can call an agent who can help solve the issue.

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About Jarrod West

Boasting a portfolio of over 20 cards, Jarrod has been an expert in the points and miles space for over 6 years. He earns and redeems over 1 million points per year and his work has been featured in outlets like The New York Times.

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When you think of American Express, charge cards and credit cards probably come to mind. Many people don’t realize that 50+ years before they got into the consumer credit card game, American Express was in the travel agency business dating back to 1915. Today, that service still exists, and it’s called American Express Travel, or Amex Travel for short.

Amex Travel is available to anyone who wants to use it for a nominal fee. But if you have one of the American Express credit cards , the fees are waived, and you get to enjoy a few additional travel perks.

Keep reading to learn the basics of Amex Travel, the costs associated with it, the services it offers, and — most importantly — when using it makes sense.

What is Amex Travel?

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Amex Travel is an OTA, or Online Travel Agency, and you can think of it like the original Expedia or Orbitz. It’s a service that can help you plan and book all sorts of travel, such as flights, hotels and resorts, rental cars, cruises, flight and hotel packages, or even an entire trip package. As mentioned, it’s available for anyone to use, although Amex cardholders can get significantly more value from it.

How to book with Amex Travel

Services can be booked online or by phone. To book online, simply visit the American Express Travel website . Or you can call Amex Travel's customer service toll-free at 800-297-2977. 

Amex Travel fees

There’s a nominal fee to use the service, which is built into the cost of the ticket, whether you book online or call. Just note: If you call to speak with a representative to book your travel, there’s an additional $39 fee.

These fees are waived if you have  The Platinum Card ® from American Express , The Business Platinum Card ® from American Express , or The Centurion ® Card from American Express .

To me, the fees are usually worth it for many people, since you’ll have a knowledgeable American Express representative available 24/7 should something go wrong and you need help to resolve the issue in real time.

Searching for flights with Amex Travel is like using any other online travel site. You can search one-way, round-trip, or multi-city flights. Personally, if I need to connect, I try to find a connection that has an Amex Centurion Lounge. These lounges are among the best, and Platinum and Centurion cardholders get in for free.

You can also do specific city or airport searches (don’t rule out a city search, as a regional airport might offer a better value ), select your departure and return dates, and opt for a three-day search to find the lowest fare.

Once the results populate, you’ll notice Delta flights appear at the top as a “featured airline.” This is because of the partnership between Delta and American Express (which has recently been extended through 2029). Under the featured airline, you’ll see more results, starting with the lowest fares. You can also filter the results by the number of stops, departure/arrival times, specific flight number, and airline.

If you’re logged in, you may see discounted fares if you have enough Membership Rewards to cover the cost of the flight, or you may see an insider fare offering a deeper discount. If you decide to use your Membership Rewards to book a flight, you can expect a value of one cent to 1.05 cents per point. Not necessarily the best value or use of points, but it might make sense, depending on your travel plans. I tend to find the best value when transferring Membership Rewards to one of the many airline partners of American Express .

Amex Travel fees to book flights

American Express charges a flat fee of $6.99 per domestic ticket and $10.99 per international ticket, which are bundled into the price of the flight. These fees are waived for Platinum and Centurion cardholders.

Next up, let’s take a look at flight and hotel packages. Just like other online travel sites, you can book flight and hotel packages through Amex Travel. Besides the incredible service, you can often receive exclusive perks, discounts, and special promotions as well.

The rates you’ll see in the results field will show a total per person, which is inclusive of all taxes and fees with the cheapest flight option appearing first. Once you select a hotel, you can choose a specific flight, and the price will adjust accordingly.

I’ve found that sometimes you can save a few hundred dollars by booking flights and hotels separately, but it takes a little patience and time to compare pricing and options. You also tend to have a bit less flexibility if you book a package deal instead of booking separately, so be sure to read the fine print and consider the limitations before booking a package deal.

Amex Travel fees to book flight and hotel packages

The fee structure is the same as booking a flight reservation, which means $6.99 per domestic ticket or $10.99 per international ticket (bundled into the cost of the flight). Fees for Platinum and Centurion cardholders are waived.

Now let’s get into what I tend to use Amex Travel for the most — hotel searches.

Option #1: Standard booking

To start your search, input the city, dates, number of rooms, and number of guests. The search results will be based on price, reviews, and location and will populate a list of “recommended” at the top of the results.

Amex Travel fees to book hotels

Rates can get a little confusing, as Amex Travel doesn’t include all fees and taxes on the results page (you have to select and click through to see them). I’ve found the pricing to be similar to other online travel sites and almost always a little higher than booking directly with the hotel.

This might make sense for you depending on your needs, such as wanting to book an independent hotel or if you aren’t in the loyalty program. Personally, I prefer taking advantage of a different program offered through Amex Travel called Fine Hotels & Resorts, which I’ll get to in a bit.

Option #2: The Hotel Collection

Using Amex Travel to access The Hotel Collection guarantees the lowest rates when you book a prepaid rate, plus a few premium perks.

The benefits include:

• Room upgrades at check-in (based on availability)
• $100 hotel credit (good for things like dining or the spa)
• Amex Gold Card members earn 2X Membership Rewards points on prepaid bookings
• Amex Platinum Card members earn 5X Membership Rewards points on prepaid bookings
• Easily redeem your points to reserve prepaid bookings

While standard Amex Travel hotel bookings are available to anyone, The Hotel Collection is only available to cardholders with one of the following cards:

• American Express ® Gold Card
• American Express ® Business Gold Card

The Platinum Card ® from American Express

• The Business Platinum Card ® from American Express
• The Centurion ® Card from American Express

Some potential downsides of The Hotel Collection are that you’ll need to book prepaid rates to get the benefits, you won’t earn hotel loyalty benefits, and there’s a two-night minimum stay policy. On the plus side, you can receive benefits for up to three rooms, which is excellent if you’re traveling with a family or as part of a group.

Option #3: Fine Hotels & Resorts program

By far my favorite part of Amex Travel is the Fine Hotels & Resorts program. While there’s some overlap between this program and The Hotel Collection, the Fine Hotels & Resorts program is designed more for the leisure travel crowd who want higher-end properties and other luxury benefits.

Here are the standout perks:

• Noon check-in (based on availability)
• Room upgrades (based on availability)
• Daily breakfast for two
• Guaranteed 4 pm late check-out
• Complimentary WiFi
• Unique amenity (usually $100 spa or dining credit)
• You can enjoy these perks and earn points/stay credits from hotel loyalty programs (just be sure to add your loyalty number to the reservation)

The Fine Hotels & Resorts program is limited to cardholders who have one of the following cards:

With Fine Hotels & Resorts, you don’t have to prepay to receive the benefits, and I've found the pricing is almost always identical to the rates when booking directly with the hotel (so why not take advantage of all the extra perks?). Cardholders can now also book stays through Fine Hotels & Resorts using Membership Rewards. It may not be the best value (one cent per point redemption) or use of points, but it’s an option to keep in mind.

Searching for a rental car via Amex Travel is as simple as entering an airport, city, or nearby address and then seeing a handful of options instantly come up in the search results.

This can be especially helpful when trying to find the closest car rental in a remote location. I’ve found these rates to be similar and sometimes even a buck or two lower than booking directly with the car rental company.

When you search for a cruise on Amex Travel, the results will be based on the lowest available rate, and if you hover your mouse over the rate, it will show all available cabin types with prices (cruises can be complex with so many cabin options). I’ve found the rates to be nearly identical when booking with Amex Travel as they are when booking directly.

By booking a cruise through Amex Travel, you’ll also receive a special onboard amenity, higher onboard credits, or premium champagne. It’s worth nothing this program is more restricted than Fine Hotels & Resorts and is only available on specific cruises.

1. You value customer service above price

Amex Travel has a track record of providing exemplary customer service. This is especially true if problems arise when you’re traveling. Having 24/7 access to a knowledgeable representative for assistance can give you peace of mind. As the saying goes, “You get what you pay for,” and in my experience, that’s been true with American Express.

2. You’ll earn bonus rewards as an American Express cardholder

American Express cardholders can enjoy all that Amex Travel has to offer without paying any of the fees for using its services. Not only can you snag some serious deals this way, but you can also earn rewards on every dollar spent. It’s a great way to pad your rewards account for your next trip.

3. You’re booking a cruise and want extra onboard perks

If you’re looking into a cruise, doing so through Amex Travel can secure extra perks for when you’re ready to set sail. Be sure to check on the cruise special offers page during your search.

4. You’re looking for luxury hotel perks and service

If your travel style appreciates the finer things, such as complimentary made-fresh breakfast and room upgrades with a view, the Fine Hotels & Resorts program can help you book hotel stays that are sure to please without paying extra for additional perks and service.

5. Price match

Despite its limitations, one great thing when booking a prepaid hotel room is the price-match guarantee. If your reservation details are found at a lower price, Amex Travel will match the price as long as the details line up.

Do I need an American Express card to use Amex Travel services?

You don’t have to have an American Express card to use Amex Travel services. But you will need an American Express card and a bank of Membership Rewards points if you want to pay for your travel using points. If you have an American Express card, you may also be able to take advantage of additional deals and earn more points when making a reservation through the site.

For example, American Express ® Gold Card members would earn 3X Membership Rewards points on flights booked directly with airlines or on Amextravel.com and have access to all the benefits and perks of the Hotel Collection.

Does American Express Travel have offices?

American Express Travel used to have physical locations where you could visit and make your travel arrangements. The last of these offices closed in 2013, but since then Amex has built partnerships with travel agencies and agents to create a Travel Insiders program. Now, if you’re looking for an office to visit, you can use the Travel Services Locator tool on their website and find a partner agency to help with your trip planning.

What is the phone number for American Express Travel?

To book or change a reservation with American Express Travel, call 1-800-297-2977.

Does Amex travel charge a fee to book a flight?

American Express Travel does add fees if you book a flight using its services. If you book through the website, you can expect an additional $6.99 for each domestic ticket and $10.99 for each international ticket. 

If you make a flight or complete a trip reservation by phone, you may be charged a $39 fee per ticket or transaction. Also, if you need to change your flight, Amex may also add a $39 fee to re-issue each ticket. This is in addition to any change fees the airline might charge.

Is Amex travel more expensive?

It’s hard to give a yes or no answer to this question, as rates and deals vary from day-to-day and from one travel booking website to the next. It’s always smart to first shop around to find the range of prices for your travel plans, and then make decisions about what to book.

For American Express cardholders, the company offers a guarantee for the lowest price on prepaid hotel reservations. To get this, you have to file a claim with information showing a lower price for the exact dates and other specifications. If approved, you’ll get a credit for the difference between what you paid and the lower price.

As someone who has searched high and low on every online booking site for many trips, I can confidently say Amex Travel is worth it in many instances — especially if you’re an Amex cardholder.

If you don’t currently have an Amex card, I’d encourage you to compare rates on other booking sites before settling on booking through Amex Travel. While the perks and service are incredible, there are instances where it may not provide the best value or rate options, meaning you could pay less by booking your travels through a different site. Still, if you’re looking to book a trip with a premium support helpline, this service could be a good choice for you.

If you travel often, it may be worth applying for an American Express card so that you can book through Amex Travel. Further, these are some of the best travel credit cards for earning rewards. There are several options, including some with no foreign transaction fees and no annual fees. That way, you can get the Membership Rewards points from your regular spending and use them to save on your travel purchases.

Luxury Travel Benefits

FinanceBuzz writers and editors score cards based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Current Offer

• Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 on purchases on your new card in the first 6 months

Rewards Rate

• 5X points per dollar spent on eligible airfare (on up to $500,000 per calendar year, after that 1X) and eligible hotel purchases, and 1X points per dollar on all other eligible purchases
• Select your metal card design: classic Platinum Card, Platinum x Kehinde Wiley, or Platinum x Julie Mehretu
• 5X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on Amextravel.com (on up to $500,000 per calendar year, after that 1X) and prepaid hotels booked on Amextravel.com
• Access to Centurion and Priority Pass airport lounges
• Select benefits require enrollment.
• $ 695 annual fee
• High annual fee
• Terms apply

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American Express Travel Review [2024]: Worth the hype?

Heard about the amazing perks and benefits that Amex cardholders have through Amex Travel? Whether you're already a cardholder or if you're looking to sign up, definitely check out all of the perks of Amex Travel before you choose to book with them!

Editor's Note: This is a review of American Express' Travel Platforms, not specifically the credit cards. This review is independently written and was not sponsored by American Express.

Are you an American Express cardholder planning to book a trip soon? You might want to take a look at the Amex Travel portal in preparation for your vacation. 

American Express cardholders and non-cardholders alike have access to this booking portal, but American Express cardholders can receive travel benefits like room upgrades, resort credit, and more by booking through Amex Travel.

Plus, cardholders can use Membership Rewards Points to cover all or part of their booking on Amex Travel! 

However, it's important to note that the Amex Travel portal might not be the best option for every traveler. Some drawbacks include the barrier to entry and the low points-to-dollar conversion for travel services booked on the site. 

Keep reading to learn more about the Amex Travel portal and whether we think it's worth using to book your next trip!

What is Amex Travel?

AMex Travel , also known as American Express Travel, is a travel booking portal that allows users to book travel, including flights, cruises, and hotel stays. It's an additional service portal that American Express Credit Card Holders get to use as part of their membership.

Cardholders can redeem American Express Membership Rewards Points directly to use on travel bookings. It is a convenient way to redeem points for travel directly in the portal rather than having to transfer points to a partner airline or hotel group. 

How does Amex Travel work?

First things first, only American Express cardholders can use the Amex Travel portal to redeem points to book travel. 

If you have an American Express branded credit card and Membership Rewards points ready to use, you're good to go. Otherwise, you'll still be able to use the site, but you won't be able to apply points to your booking or reap the benefits of certain cardholder-only programs.  

Amex Travel is simple and easy to use and has a clean interface that allows users to quickly find what they're looking for on the platform. Users can book travel directly in the Amex Travel portal by using American Express Membership Rewards Points, a credit card, or both. 

Travel services available on the Amex Travel portal include flights, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and vacation packages.

How can I book a trip through Amex Travel?

The ease of use and simple user interface make booking travel on Amex Travel an enjoyable, stress-free experience.

All you need to do to book a trip through Amex Travel is:

• Log into your American Express account. 
• Search for the trip type you want to book, like flights, hotels, cruises, etc.
• Apply points to your booking at check-out.
• Book the trip!

American Express Credit Cards

Depending on which American Express card or cards you have, you get access to certain perks when booking travel through the Amex Travel portal.

These are the two most popular travel-related American Express Credit Cards, which besides the Centurion no-limit invite-only card, contains the best Amex point rewards and benefits system!

American Express Gold Cardholders

The American Express Gold Card is the affordable credit card options if you're looking for great reward points for a cheaper annual fee. The Amex Gold Card's annual fee comes to $250, which includes

• Up to $120 Uber Cash (U.S.)
• Up to $120 dining credits
• Access to the Hotels Collection
• Other Insurance & general perks!

With the 3x amount of points earned on travel and 4x amount of points earned on groceries, this card is a great place to start if you're looking to build up travel reward points for your next travel getaway!

American Express Platinum Cardholders

The American Express Platinum card, Amex's flagship credit card, receives tons of travel-related credits that can then be used when booking through the Amex Travel Portal. Coming in at a $695 annual fee, it's easily to be discouraged for signing up for such an expensive credit card.

However, the travel benefits that comes with the Amex Platinum card are incredible, which includes but are not limited to:

• Up to $200 annual airline credits
• Up to $200 Uber Cash (U.S.)
• Up to $200 hotel statement credits on Fine Hotel + Resorts or The Hotel Collection bookings
• Up to $189 Clear statement credits
• Global Lounge Collection
• Complimentary Hilton Honors + Marriott Bo
• Bonvoy Gold Elite
• and more non-travel credits!

If you travel frequently, we recommend you take advantage of the huge benefits that comes with the Amex Platinum credit card!

American Express Travel Benefit Programs

The hotel collection.

The Hotel Collection is a select American Express membership perk that allows specific cardholders to book participating hotels through Amex Travel portal to receive exclusive benefits, using cash or points.

In order to gain access to The Hotel Collection, you'll need to have access to the following Amex credit cards:

• American Express Gold Card + Business Gold
• American Express Platinum + Business Platinum
• American Express Centurion Card

Here are all of the benefits Amex card holders can receive with access to the hotels Collection Program:

• Pay-With-Points
• Exclusive deals on lower rates for hotel bookings or reservations
• Room Upgrade upon check-in when staying 2 nights or longer
• up to $100 in hotel credits, which can be used to spend on dining, spa and other eligible activities when staying 2 nights or longer
• 5x Membership reward points for Platinum cardholders, 2x membership reward points for Gold cardholders on prepaid reservations or bookings.

The Fine Hotels & Resorts Program

The Fine Hotels & Resorts program, also known as "Amex FHR" or "FHR," has a suite of benefits such as daily breakfast for two, guaranteed 4pm check-out, complimentary WiFi, and room upgrades when available. 

The Fine hotel & Resorts program is only available for American Express Platinum cardholders and above.

When booking through the Fine Hotels & Resorts program, you'll also receive a $100 experience credit for services at the spa or food and beverages at the hotel–note that this benefit varies based on the property. 

The FHR program is entirely different from the Amex Travel Portal, so points and credits aren't guaranteed in this program. Be sure to check up on whether your points count towards the FHR program with Amex Travel's representative before booking!

Cruise Privileges Program

American Express Platinum cardholders also have access to the Cruise Privileges Program in the Amex Travel portal. 

Platinum Card and Centurion Card Members can receive amenities like $100-$300 in onboard credit, as well as 2x points per dollar spent per booking when using the Amex Travel portal. These benefits are available on sailings of five nights or more and may include additional perks specific to each cruise line. 

Platinum Destinations Vacations

Platinum Destinations Vacations is another perk of using the Amex Travel portal as an American Express Platinum cardholder. Cardholders can receive up to 2x points per dollar spent on a qualifying independent or escorted vacation package through Amex Travel. 

Additional Amex Travel Benefits

Another key benefit of booking travel through the Amex Travel portal is that users can receive additional points on bookings when using their American Express credit card. 

American Express Platinum cardholders can earn 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels, and American Express® Gold cardholders can earn 3x points on flights. American Express® Green cardholders can earn 3x points on all travel. If you're looking to rack up more American Express Member Rewards points, this is a quick way to do so.

For a comprehensive list of all available benefits associated with the Amex Travel portal, visit the  Amex Travel website . 

Is Amex Travel worth it?

Amex Travel is an easy-to-use, convenient travel booking portal, but it might not be a good option for travelers looking to get the best value for their American Express Membership Rewards points. 

While always changing, the points-to-dollar conversion rate has historically yielded less value than transferring points to partner programs like Delta or Marriott. This is worth noting because better value often means you'll get more out of the points you accrue.  

Further, you aren't guaranteed to earn loyalty points with outside partners since Amex Travel is a third-party booking service. 

For travelers looking to enhance their loyalty status, booking directly with the hotel group might make more sense. For airline miles, you might still be able to earn loyalty points or miles with the airline when booking through Amex Travel. 

Be sure to check with the airline before booking if you aim to receive miles for your flight. Note that basic economy fares, whether found on Amex Travel or another website, are sometimes not eligible for earning miles or enhancing your loyalty status. 

Something important to note is that a fee is added using the service, which is built into the cost of a ticket. This fee is unavoidable and can be higher if you call to book as opposed to using the online booking platform. The fees are waived if you have the Platinum Card, Business Platinum Card, or the Centurion Card.

For travelers considering convenience as their main priority in the booking process, Amex Travel makes it easier than ever to book a trip. 

Overall, Amex Travel is worth checking during the booking process to compare prices and points conversions on flights or hotels you might be interested in. 

However, for the budget traveler or the points-and-miles traveler, Amex Travel might not be worth it to use while booking your next vacation because of the low redemption value of American Express Membership Rewards points in the portal. 

If you're an American Express cardholder and want to earn more Membership Rewards points when booking travel, Amex Travel is a great option. If you do not have any American Express credit cards, there is no real advantage to using Amex Travel compared to any other third-party booking service. 

Our Rating: 4.1/5

• Easy to use
• Pay with Points
• Hotel benefits for Gold & Platinum Members
• Additional points per dollar spent on travel
• A pricer option for higher-end hotels and resorts
• Must be a Amex cardholder member to access
• Not guaranteed to earn loyalty points with travel providers
• Additional Amex Travel fees

Book travel and plan with Pilot!

Now that you're considering redeeming some of those travel points or even alternative platforms for your travels, it's time to start planning your trip!

If you're looking to relax before your flights, we've previously reviewed  Priority Pass  and  LoungeBuddy  as potential options. Whatever you choose, be sure to use Pilot for all of your travel plans.

Disclosure : Pilot is supported by our community. We may earn a small commission fee with affiliate links on our website. All reviews and recommendations are independent and do not reflect the official view of Pilot.

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The American Express Travel site is a third-party travel booking portal open to anyone, regardless of whether you have an American Express card . Depending on which Amex travel credit cards you have, using Amex Travel can be advantageous. Unfortunately, there are also quite a few downsides to using third-party sites like this and others one of which is because you might not be able to take advantage of elite status perks or earn points on your travel.

So let’s take a look at when you should and shouldn’t use the Amex travel site to book your next trip.

What is American Express Travel?

American Express Travel is a third-party booking site, just like  Orbitz or Expedia . Overall, it is a well-functioning website that is user-friendly. Sometimes, third-party travel websites can be clunky, but the Amex Travel site is easy to use.

If you log in to your Amex account, you’ll be able to see how many Amex Membership Rewards points  you have and use them to pay for travel, although that’s not always a good deal. (We’ll cover more on that later.)

The site also shows you the perks you have with your American Express cards, including earning 5x points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel with The Platinum Card® from American Express. It’s one of the best cards for earning American Express Membership Rewards points .

Pros and cons of using a third-party website to book travel

If you are looking to earn points and elite status with hotels, steer clear of third-party websites, including American Express. When you are booking through a third party, the hotel (Hilton, IHG, etc.) will almost never recognize your status and you won’t earn points. The same also applies to rental cars.

For example, if you book a Hilton hotel through Hotels.com, you won’t receive any benefit from having Diamond Hilton status thanks to your Hilton Honors Aspire Card from American Express. Plus, you won’t earn 14x Hilton points when you use your card to book a Hilton stay because you did not book directly.

The information for the Hilton Aspire card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

With airlines it’s a bit different, because you will still earn miles and elite status credit when booking flights with a third-party provider. That means you could pay for you flight with Amex points when you book through Amex Travel and still  earn frequent flyer miles on your free flight . However, the miles and status credits you earn will still depend on which fare class you book, so watch out for those Basic Economy tickets.

If you are in the business of simply saving money or do not care about hotel elite status, there are certain cases where a third-party site could provide value. Just be sure to always shop around for the best price and always use an online shopping portal to earn extra rewards when you can.

When does it make sense to book through Amex Travel?

There certainly are cases where booking with Amex makes complete sense. If you’re booking a stay with a hotel that isn’t part of a loyalty program,  earning 5x American Express Membership Rewards points  on prepaid bookings made with an Amex Platinum or The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is a great option. You’ll just want to be sure you’re still getting the best price.

Another advantage to having the Amex Business Platinum card is that you’ll get a 35% points rebate (up to 500,000 points per calendar year) when you use the Amex Pay With Points option for airfare. This rebate only applies to first- or business-class fares, or any fare booked with the airline you selected for your airline incidental fee credit . Paying with points isn’t a good option for most business- or first-class flights; for those you’ll want to transfer your Amex points to airline partners instead.

Occasionally you can book cheap economy fares with your selected airline for fewer points when you use the Pay With Points feature. Your Amex points are worth one cent each toward airfare (less for booking other travel). So a cheap $200 flight would cost 20,000 Amex points and you could get a 7,000-point rebate in addition to earning miles on your flight. This also gives you the option to use Amex points for flights with airlines that aren’t direct Amex transfer partners, like Alaska Airlines.

Customer Service

While I’ve minimal interaction with American Express Travel directly, the few times I have called needing assistance have gone smoothly. However, booking a hotel with cash is always a bit more difficult than booking with points. Typically, if you are able to book with points, you can cancel your room and your points will be refunded immediately.

One piece that I have no experience with is its Lowest Rate Guarantee. If you are able to find a a publicly-available lower price available online elsewhere, American Express will refund the difference. The terms and conditions say:

If you book a qualifying prepaid hotel rate on  amextravel.com  and then find the same room, in the same hotel, for the same dates, the same number of children and adults, at a lower price online, before taxes and fees, we’ll refund you the difference. Your claim must be submitted prior to your stay, before the date of check-in.

If you have any experience with this, I’d love to hear how it went in the comments.

Best American Express cards to use with American Express Travel

The best Amex cards for earning points when booking with American Express Travel are the Amex Platinum and the Amex Business Platinum. Both of those cards earn 5x Amex points on airfare and prepaid hotels booked through the site. But these cards have bigger annual fees — $695 for the personal Amex Platinum (see rates and fees) and $595 for the Business Platinum ($695 if application is received on or after 01/13/2022) (see rates and fees).

You could also earn bonus points on travel and pay a smaller annual fee with the American Express® Green Card ($150, see rates and fees) or the American Express® Gold Card ($250, see rates and fees). The Amex Green card earns 3x Amex points on travel purchases (not just purchases made through Amex Travel) and the Amex Gold earns 3x points on flights booked directly with airline or through Amex Travel. The information for the Amex Green Card has been collected independently by Million Mile Secrets. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.          

If you want to use your Amex points to pay for travel, two Amex business cards are your best options – the Amex Business Platinum and the American Express® Business Gold Card. As we mentioned before, the Amex Business Platinum has a 35% points rebate and the Amex Business Gold has a 25% rebate with you use Pay With Points (up to 250,000 points rebated per calendar year).

Bottom line

Booking travel in the most efficient way can take some time and effort. But American Express Travel can potentially make the process a bit easier, especially if you have an Amex Business Platinum Card and can take advantage of the card’s 35% points rebate. However, in most cases, booking with American Express Travel provides no advantage over using another third-party booking service.

If you have any American Express Travel tricks or tips, be sure to leave them in the comments below.

Featured photo by First Class Photography.

For rates and fees of the Amex Green card, click here.

For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum Card, please click here.

For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum Card, please click  here .

For rates and fees of the Amex Gold card, click here.

Jason Stauffer

Jason Stauffer was a writer for Million Mile Secrets where he covered points, miles, credit cards, airlines, hotels and general travel. His work has appeared in The Points Guy and NextAdvisor.

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American Express is giving cardholders a new way to redeem Membership Rewards points.

On Tuesday, AmEx announced a new feature with the travel booking site Expedia to allow cardholders to apply Membership Rewards points directly toward certain Expedia purchases. That means you can use your AmEx points to book travel on Expedia without having to transfer them first.

Here’s how it works:

Link your account. If you have an American Express card that earns Membership Rewards points, you can link it to your Expedia account via this page . If you don’t have an Expedia account, you can create one for free.

Book your trip. Select a flight or prepaid hotel on Expedia and you will be asked at checkout whether you’d like to apply your American Express Membership points to your total. Points are worth about 0.7 cents apiece when redeemed this way.

Look for your savings. If you pay with points on Expedia, the American Express card linked to your account will be charged the full amount of the purchase. American Express will then apply your redeemed points as a credit on your account in two to four business days. For example, if you used 2,000 points toward your Expedia purchase, you'd get roughly $14 back as a statement credit.

This new feature comes with some caveats:

The redemption value could be higher. Getting 0.7 cent per point is OK, but you can get more value out of your rewards by using American Express’s other redemption options, some of which offer 1 cent per point.

Rewards can't be combined. You can’t combine Membership Rewards points from different AmEx cards. Also, you also can’t combine your Expedia points with your Membership Rewards points.

You can't apply Membership Rewards points to all Expedia purchases. You can use Membership Rewards points only for flights and prepaid hotels — not other purchases, such as travel packages, cruises or car rentals.

In addition to the new integration with Expedia, American Express also has been sprucing up its point-transfer options.

Last month, it added British Airways and Spain's Iberia Airlines as 1:1 transfer partners. (Previously, cardholders could make transfers to these loyalty programs only at a 5:4 ratio.) Through Sept. 17, 2017, cardholders can get 40% more points on top of that 1:1 transfer when they transfer rewards to these programs. The catch is cardholders will still have to pay a fee to make such transfers.

When you transfer AmEx points to a frequent flyer program, the company charges an excise tax offset fee of 0.06 cents per point, with a maximum fee of $99.

On a similar note...

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When Does Using American Express Travel Make Sense?

One important consideration for points and miles enthusiasts is figuring out where to purchase travel in order to maximize rewards. Today, TPG Contributor Richard Kerr looks at Amex Travel to help you decide whether it's a good option for booking your next trip.

Amex has made some changes to its travel portal over the past year, as well as to related benefits on American Express cards that earn Membership Rewards points. In this post, I'll take into account all the recent program updates, ancillary services, benefits and costs to help you decipher when using American Express Travel makes sense.

The most fundamental consideration is the cost of travel. In March I wrote about how American Express Travel generally does not offer the lowest prices. Furthermore, Amex tacks on booking fees, though these are now waived for anyone with The Platinum Card from American Express . Airfare and package deals (flight + hotel) booked online incur a fee of $6.99 per domestic ticket and $10.99 per international ticket. Hotel and cruise bookings don't come with booking fees when booked separately from airfare.

If all that matters to you is the bottom line, then you probably already shop around for your flights, prepaid hotels, cruises and vacation packages. Amex Travel could surprise you, but I'd say it's unlikely to offer the best rate.

If you're willing to pay a bit more for great service, then the value proposition changes. I've called American Express Travel many times, and it comes out on top by a wide margin when compared with other travel services, online travel agencies and other credit card travel portals. You can count on quickly reaching a live human who is capable of solving a problem, and that alone can be a lifesaver. I appreciate empowered customer service agents, and I hope American Express doesn't alter this feature moving forward.

Added Hotel/Cruise Benefits

Like many cruise booking sites, American Express Travel frequently offers added perks to attract potential cruise-goers to the site. If Amex offers the most onboard credit, a free specialty dinner or other gratuities that you won't get elsewhere, then the value may be enough to overcome any disparity in price.

Likewise, booking through American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts will give you early check-in, late check-out, breakfast, Wi-Fi, room upgrades (when available) and a unique property amenity. The prices are on par with normal rates, and in practice I have still earned hotel points and elite status credit!

Limited Options

If the airline or hotel that you want to book is not offered by American Express (e.g., Southwest), then obviously it doesn't make much sense to come to the site.

With these basics scenarios covered, let's look at American Express Travel from a points-strategy perspective.

American Express Cardholders

The general public does have access to book through Amex Travel, but American Express cardholders can get significantly more from the service. Membership Rewards cards earn one extra point per dollar spent when booking travel with American Express. Amex bills this as double points, but it really means double base points, so you don't earn double on any spending category bonuses. That extra point is nice, but probably not enough to sway your decision of where to book.

Taking category bonuses into account, American Express Premier Rewards Gold cardholders can earn a total of 4 points per dollar when booking through Amex Travel, since the card earns 3x points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines to begin with. That's still just one point more than you would earn by booking elsewhere, but the overall return remains impressive.

It's not easy to beat 4x points on travel in one transaction; the question is whether that earning rate makes using the Amex travel portal worthwhile. Obviously if prices are comparable elsewhere, then you may as well book through Amex to get the extra point. Even if you're paying a small premium, it could still be worthwhile. For example, you might pick a flight that costs $1,010 on Amex Travel over the same flight for $1,000 on Orbitz, because the extra 1,000 points you earn are worth more than $10, as shown by TPG's June valuations . If the premium is any higher than about 1.5%, then you're better off saving your cash and using your Membership Rewards card where the price is lowest.

Meeting Goals

I'm a firm believer that when it comes to earning points, you should always be chasing a specific goal. Points make a terrible long-term investment, as you have no guarantee of what they'll be worth tomorrow. If my current award-travel goal (for, say, a transcontinental flight in JetBlue Mint) can be reached more quickly by collecting Membership Rewards points, then I'm more likely to use Amex Travel to earn bonus points. Even if the price offered by Amex is higher, the cost may be offset by the value of the award.

Extenuating Circumstances

Sometimes outside influences may force your hand. If you use American Express for business expenses, or if your small business utilizes the American Express Small Business travel tool, then Amex Travel is the obvious choice. Similarly, if you're forced to fly Delta for all business travel, booking through the American Express travel portal to earn bonus points and then transferring your MR balance to your Delta account can make good sense.

Bottom Line

If you're not a Membership Rewards cardholder and the Amex Travel portal doesn't offer the cheapest price, I don't recommend using it. Otherwise, ask yourself the following questions (in order of importance):

• Am I willing to pay marginally more for better service?
• Am I getting added perks/benefits on my hotel or cruise?
• Are the bonus points I earn by using Amex better than other bonus points I would earn by booking elsewhere?
• Do the points earned by booking through Amex allow me to reach my current award travel goal faster?
• Can I pool the Membership Rewards points I earn together with my current points or miles?

If your answer to one or more of the above questions is yes, then the American Express Travel portal can work for you. If not, then you can be confident that there's a better deal for you elsewhere.

What factors do you consider when using the American Express Travel portal? [card card-name='Premier Rewards Gold Card from American Express' card-id='22035076' type='javascript' bullet-id='1']

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5 best credit cards that offer pre-approval or pre-qualification in 2024, pre-approval doesn't guarantee approval, but it can help you avoid an unnecessary hard pull on your credit..

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When you apply for a credit card, the issuer performs what is known as a hard pull or hard inquiry , which shows up on your credit report. Hard pulls temporarily lower your credit score, which isn't the end of the world, but it's better to avoid racking up unnecessary hard inquiries since they can remain on your credit report for up to two years. One way to do this is by going through a card issuer's pre-approval or pre-qualification process before applying.

Getting a pre-approved offer for a credit card doesn't guarantee you'll be approved, but it can give you a better idea of your approval odds with no hard inquiry. There is no impact to your credit score until you formally apply.

Not every card issuer offers pre-approvals. Below, CNBC Select details the top credit cards that generally offer pre-approval or pre-qualification and how they work. (See our methodology for more information on how we made this list.)

Best credit cards for pre-approval

• Best for no annual fee: Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card
• Best for balance transfers: Citi Double Cash® Card
• Best for travel rewards: American Express® Gold Card
• Best for cash-back:   Discover it® Cash Back
• Best for premium perks: Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (see rates & fees )

Best for no annual fee

Wells fargo active cash® card.

Unlimited 2% cash rewards on purchases

Welcome bonus

Earn a $200 cash rewards bonus after spending $500 in purchases in the first 3 months

0% intro APR for 15 months from account opening on purchases and qualifying balance transfers; balance transfers made within 120 days qualify for the intro rate

Regular APR

20.24%, 25.24%, or 29.99% Variable APR on purchases and balance transfers

Balance transfer fee

3% intro for 120 days from account opening then BT fee of up to 5%, min: $5

Foreign transaction fee

Credit needed.

Excellent/Good

See rates and fees , terms apply.

• Unlimited cash rewards
• $200 cash rewards welcome bonus
• No annual fee
• Introductory APR period for first 15 months
• Access to Visa Signature® Concierge
• Get up to $600 cell phone protection (subject to a $25 deductible)
• 3% fee charged on foreign transactions

Who's this for? The Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card (see rates and fees ) is a jack of all trades, with an easy-to-earn welcome bonus , generous intro-APR offer and a lucrative flat-rate rewards structure — all for no annual fee .

Standout benefits: This card earns unlimited 2% cash rewards on every purchase. This simple cash-reward rate takes the headaches out of maximizing the return you get on your credit card spending.

Wells Fargo pre-approval process: Fill out this Wells Fargo pre-qualification form with your name, address and the last four digits of your Social Security Number (SSN). If you have a Wells Fargo online account, you can log in to expedite the process.

[ Jump to more details ]

Best for balance transfers

Citi double cash® card.

Earn 2% on every purchase with unlimited 1% cash back when you buy, plus an additional 1% as you pay for those purchases. To earn cash back, pay at least the minimum due on time. Plus, for a limited time, earn 5% total cash back on hotel, car rentals and attractions booked on the Citi Travel℠ portal through 12/31/24

Earn $200 cash back after you spend $1,500 on purchases in the first 6 months of account opening. This bonus offer will be fulfilled as 20,000 ThankYou® Points, which can be redeemed for $200 cash back.

0% for the first 18 months on balance transfers; N/A for purchases

19.24% - 29.24% variable

For balance transfers completed within 4 months of account opening, an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies; after that, a balance transfer fee of 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies

Fair/Good/Excellent

Read our Citi Double Cash® Card review.

• 2% cash back on all eligible purchases
• Simple cash-back program that doesn't require activation or spending caps
• One of the longest intro periods for balance transfers at 18 months
• 3% fee charged on purchases made outside the U.S.
• Estimated rewards earned after 1 year:  $443
• Estimated rewards earned after 5 years: $2,213

Who's this for? The Citi Double Cash® Card is ideal for those seeking a strong introductory APR offer for balance transfers and still want to earn valuable rewards.

Standout benefits: Eligible balance transfers qualify for an intro 0% APR for the first 18 months, then a variable 19.24% to 29.24% APR applies. There is an intro balance transfer fee of 3% of each transfer completed in the first four months ($5 minimum). The standard balance transfer fee of 5% of each transfer ($5 minimum) applies thereafter.

Citi pre-approval process: See what Citi credit card offers you're pre-qualified for with this form . Enter your name, email, address and the last four digits of your SSN.

Best for travel rewards

American express® gold card.

4X Membership Rewards® points at Restaurants (plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.) and at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X), 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com, 1X points on all other purchases

Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months of Card Membership.

Not applicable

See Pay Over Time APR

Read our American Express® Gold Card review .

• Up to $120 dining credit annually ($10 a month) for purchases made with Grubhub, Goldbelly and other eligible restaurants (after a one-time enrollment)
• Up to $120 Uber Cash annually ($10 a month) for U.S. Uber Eats orders and U.S. Uber rides (card must be added to Uber app to receive the Uber Cash benefit)
• Strong rewards program with 4X points earned at restaurants and 3X points earned on flights booked directly with airlines or amextravel.com
• Baggage insurance plan covers up to $1,250 for carry-on baggage and up to $500 for checked baggage that is damaged, lost or stolen
• No fee charged on purchases made outside the U.S.
• No introductory APR period
• $250 annual fee
• Estimated rewards earned after 1 year: $1,074
• Estimated rewards earned after 5 years: $2,969

Rewards totals incorporate the points earned from the welcome bonus

Who's this for? The American Express® Gold Card is great for earning travel rewards thanks to its generous bonuses on common spending categories like dining and groceries.

Standout benefits: Cardholders get up to $120 in annual dining credit (up to $10 per month at Grubhub , Goldbelly, The Cheesecake Factory and other participating restaurants; enrollment is required) and up to $120 in Uber Cash ($10 per month) to put toward rides in the U.S. and dining via Uber Eats (you must add your Amex Gold Card as a payment method in the Uber app to enroll).

American Express pre-approval process: See what American Express card offers you may be eligible for by filling out this form with your name, address, last four digits of your SSN and your annual income. If you already have an Amex account, you may need to open the form in incognito mode or clear your browser's cache to access the page.

Best for cash-back

Discover it® cash back.

Earn 5% cash back on everyday purchases at different places you shop each quarter like grocery stores, restaurants, gas stations, and more, up to the quarterly maximum when you activate. Plus, earn unlimited 1% cash back on all other purchases-automatically.

Discover will match all the cash back earned for all new cardmembers at the end of your first year.

0% for 15 months on purchases

17.24% to 28.24% Variable

3% intro balance transfer fee, up to 5% fee on future balance transfers (see terms)*

Good / Excellent

* See rates and fees , terms apply.

Read our Discover it® Cash Back review.

• Cash-back program
• Generous welcome bonus
• Cash-back categories must be activated each quarter
• Cash-back program limits earnings: Enroll every quarter to earn 5% cash back in various categories on up to $1,500 in quarterly purchases, then 1%

Who's this for? The Discover it® Cash Back is a relatively easy-to-get cash-back card with no annual fee and useful rotating bonus categories .

Standout benefits: This card has a unique welcome offer that can supercharge your cash-back earnings. Discover will match the cash back new cardholders earn in the first year. So, purchases that qualify for 5% cash back would effectively earn 10% back in your first year. Plus, the card has no foreign transaction fees.

Discover pre-approval process: Fill out this Discover credit card pre-approval form with your name, address, date of birth, housing payment, student status and gross income to see what offers you're eligible for. If you don't qualify for an unsecured card, you may want to consider a secured credit card such as the Discover it® Secured Card which doesn't require a credit score.

Best for premium perks

Capital one venture x rewards credit card.

Unlimited 2X miles on all eligible purchases, and 5 Miles per dollar on flights and 10 Miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars when booked via Capital One Travel portal

Earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening

19.99% - 29.99% variable APR

$0 at the Transfer APR, 4% of the amount of each transferred balance that posts to your account at a promotional APR that Capital One may offer to you

Foreign transaction fees

Read our Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card review.

• Large welcome bonus
• No foreign transaction fees
• Up to $100 statement credits for either Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®
• Unlimited complimentary access for you and two guests to 1,300+ lounges, including Capital One Lounges and the Partner Lounge Network
• High annual fee
• No introductory 0% APR period

Who's this for? The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card is geared towards those seeking luxury benefits like airport lounge access, annual travel credits, various travel and shopping protections and more.

Standout benefits: Every year, Capital One Venture X Card members receive up to $300 in travel credits for bookings made through Capital One Travel and 10,000-anniversary bonus miles (worth $100 in travel). Those two benefits alone can offset the card's $395 annual fee (see rates and fees ).

Capital One pre-approval process: You can see what Capital One cards you're pre-approved for by filling out this form . You'll need to enter your name, address, email address, phone number, employment status, education, income, housing payment, date of birth, SSN and what type of bank accounts you have.

More on our top credit cards that offer pre-approval or pre-qualification

The  Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card  is a no annual fee card that can help you earn cash rewards, while enjoying various money-saving benefits.

• Unlimited 2% cash rewards on all purchases

Earn $200 in cash rewards after spending $500 in purchases in the first three months of account opening.

Notable perks

Cardholders can take advantage of cell phone insurance when they pay their monthly bill with the card. This insurance covers damage, theft and loss of a cell phone and has a $25 deductible. You can be reimbursed for up to two claims per 12 months and up to $600 per claim.

Cardholders can also save on interest with the card's intro-APR offer. Purchases and eligible balance transfers qualify for an intro 0% APR for 15 months. then a variable 20.24%, 25.24% or 29.99% applies. To qualify for the intro APR, balance transfers must be completed within 120 days of opening the account. There is an intro balance transfer fee , and for the first 120 days you'll pay 3% of the amount of each transfer ($5 minimum). After the intro period, the balance transfer fee increases to 5% of the amount of each transfer ($5 minimum).

[ Return to card summary ]

The Citi Double Cash® Card is a cash-back credit card , but it earns cash back in the form of Citi ThankYou points , which which can be redeemed in lots of ways, including the option to transfer them to travel partners.

• 5% total cash back on Citi travel bookings (through Dec. 31, 2024)
• 2% cash back on all purchases: 1% back when you buy and 1% back as you pay

Earn a $200 cash bonus after spending $1,500 on purchases in the first six months of account opening.

The ThankYou® points can be redeemed for cash back, gift cards and travel at a rate of one cent per point. Cardholders also have access to a small number of Citi's travel partners, including Wyndham, Choice and JetBlue. If you have a Citi card that enables full transfers, such as the Citi Premier® Card , you can combine the points you earn with your Double Cash and then transfer those points to all of Citi's partner hotel and airline loyalty programs.

There are also several special cardmember programs, including Citi Entertainment℠, which gives cardholders first access to purchase tickets for thousands of concerts and events. The card also provides access to Citi® Identity Theft Solutions, a service that will help you if you're a victim of identity theft.

The American Express® Gold Card is a travel rewards card with a long list of benefits that can easily make the annual fee worth paying (see rates and fees ). Plus, the Amex Membership Rewards points you earn with this card are some of the most valuable travel points out there since they can be transferred to a variety of airline or hotel partners.

• 4X points at restaurants (plus takeout and delivery in the U.S.)
• 4X points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1X)
• 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or on Amextravel.com
• 1X points on all other purchases

Earn 60,000 points after you spend $6,000 on eligible purchases within the first six months of card membership.

$250 (see rates and fees )

Cardholders receive up to $120 in dining credit per year ($10 per month) at participating partners and up to $120 in Uber Cash per year ($10 per month) after you add your Amex Gold Card as a payment method in the Uber app. The card also offers no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees ), baggage insurance, rental car coverage (secondary), extended warranty, purchase protection and trip delay insurance .

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.

The Discover it® Cash Back is a no-annual-fee cash-back rewards card that allows you to earn a generous 5% back on rotating spending categories.

• 5% cash back on the first $1,500 in purchases in rotating categories each quarter (when you activate), then 1% cash back. Check out Discover's 5% cash-back calendar .
• 1% cash back on all other purchases

Discover will match the cash back you earn at the end of the first year.

New card members receive an intro 0% APR for 15 months on purchases and eligible balance transfers, then a variable 17.24% to 28.24% applies. An intro balance transfer fee of 3% of the amount you transfer applies to eligible transfers. The standard transfer fee on future balance transfers is up to 5% of the amount of each transfer. (See rates and fees )

The card charges $0 in  foreign transaction fees , which can save you money when traveling abroad.

The Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card (see rates and fees ) is a premium credit card with a straightforward rewards structure, a long list of benefits and a lower annual fee than other high-end cards with similar features.

• 10X miles per dollar on hotels and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel portal
• 5X miles per dollar on flights booked through Capital One Travel
• 5X miles on Capital One Entertainment purchases (through Dec. 31, 2025)
• 2X miles on all other purchases

Earn 75,000 bonus miles after spending $4,000 on purchases within the first three months of account opening.

In addition to the annual $300 Capital One Travel credit and 10,000 anniversary bonus miles, the Capital One Venture X Card comes with airport lounge access for the primary cardholder and authorized users. One great feature of this card is that you can add up to four authorized users for free and each cardholder gets access to Priority Pass lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges and Capital One Lounges .

Other benefits include:

• Hertz Presidents Circle status (enrollment required)
• Global Entry/TSA PreCheck® application fee credit (worth up to $100)
• Cell phone protection
• Visa Infinite Concierge
• Rental car collision damage waiver (primary)
• Trip cancellation and interruption coverage
• Trip delay reimbursement
• Lost luggage reimbursement
• Extended warranty protection
• Return protection
• Purchase security

What's the difference between a pre-approval and a pre-qualification?

The terms pre-approval and pre-qualification both refer to the card issuers' pre-screening process that can help you determine whether you'll qualify for a credit card without a hard pull on your credit reports. Prequalified offers are typically initiated by consumers who want to check their approval odds, while preapproved offers are generally unsolicited offers from card issuers.

Does pre-approval or pre-qualification result in a hard credit pull?

Most credit card pre-approvals do not result in a hard pull of your credit. Some issuers require a Social Security Number (SSN) or the last four digits of your SSN to process a pre-approval, but this is generally done to verify your identity and shouldn't result in a credit check unless otherwise stated.

Does pre-approval guarantee approval?

If you qualify for a pre-approved credit card or receive a pre-screened offer in the mail, that does not guarantee you'll be approved. Your credit score, income and history with the card issuers are all taken into account, but won't be fully reviewed unless you submit a traditional card application.

Bottom line

Getting a pre-approved, pre-qualified or pre-screened credit card offer doesn't guarantee you'll get approved for the card if you apply. However, seeing whether you're pre-approved for a card offer is easy and typically doesn't require a hard credit pull. So it doesn't hurt to explore what offers you may qualify for.

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Why trust CNBC Select?

At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every credit card   article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of credit card   products .  While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See  our methodology  for more information on how we choose the best business credit cards for LLCs.

Our methodology

To determine which business cards offer the best value and pre-approval, CNBC Select analyzed the most popular credit cards available to U.S. consumers that also had a publicly available pre-approval or pre-qualification process at the time of writing. We compared each card on a range of features, including the annual fee, employee card fee, rewards, welcome bonus, introductory and standard APR and foreign transaction fees. We also considered additional perks, the application process and how easy it is to redeem points.

Catch up on CNBC Select's in-depth coverage of  credit cards ,  banking  and  money , and follow us on  TikTok ,  Facebook ,  Instagram  and  Twitter  to stay up to date.

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

For rates and fees of the   Discover it® Cash Back, click here .

For rates and fees of the Wells Fargo Active Cash® Card, click here .

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