Major credit card company raises fee for top card by 29%

Holders of a high-end credit card will soon pay much more for the privilege.

American Express announced it will raise the annual fee of its Platinum card from $695 to $895 a year, an increase of about 29%.

In return, card members will have access to what American Express describes as “$3,500 in annual lifestyle benefits,” such as credits on eligible purchases from booking site Resy, Lululemon and Uber One and discounts at hotels and entertainment and streaming credits. Those benefits are roughly double the current offering.

Cardholders will also be offered a $250 credit on products such as Adobe Acrobat and Adobe Express and up to $1,150 in credits for purchases from Dell Technologies. New cardholders will receive a bonus of 175,000 Membership Reward points on a personal card if they spend at least $8,000 within the first six months and up to 250,000 points on a business card if they spend at least $20,000 in the same time period.

Members can also elect to choose a new limited-edition mirrored card design or the traditional Platinum design.

Card members who opened their accounts before Sept. 18 will see the new annual fee at their next renewal date – Dec. 2 for U.S. Business Platinum holders and Jan. 2, 2026 for U.S. Consumer Platinum holders.