Colors of the American Express Cards
American Express credit cards come in different colors. What’s the story behind this?
Eine stilvoll fotografierte Szene zeigt eine grüne American Express Kreditkarte, elegant präsentiert von einer weiblichen Hand neben einer hochwertigen Papiertragetasche – das visuelle Sinnbild für anspruchsvolles Shopping und smarte Finanzlösungen im Premiumsegment. Das Bild unterstreicht im redaktionellen Kontext des Magazins AMEXperience, wie flexibel und attraktiv Kreditkarten im Vergleich sind. Es vermittelt, dass Leserinnen und Leser durch American Express exklusive Vorteile beim Einkaufen und einfachen Zugang zu einem gehobenen Lifestyle erhalten.
Everything You Need to Know at a Glance
The colors of American Express Cards represent different tiers of benefits, perks, and annual fees. Green is the classic American Express Card with select insurance coverage and Membership Rewards, and Gold offers additional travel and lifestyle benefits. The Platinum Card is the premium model with the most comprehensive benefits, such as lounge access, hotel status perks, and a particularly extensive insurance package.
If you know the differences between the American Express colors, you’ll find the card that best suits your lifestyle and travel habits more quickly.
Colors and fees for American Express Cards
Platinum, gold or green – the colors of the American Express Cards tell you at a glance which American Express credit card model it is. Each card has a specific combination of benefits and services.
These are the cards, their colors and the respective annual fees:
- Platinum Card: Platinum, annual fee CHF 900
- Gold Card: Gold, annual fee CHF 350, CHF 175 in the first year
- American Express Card: Green, annual fee CHF 140, free for the first year
You can make cashless payments with all cards – quickly, easily and securely. If you look at the other benefits in detail, you will find out which card suits you and your lifestyle best.
Comparison of the travel benefits of credit cards
Attractive hotel benefits, access to airport lounges and much more: The premium cards from American Express provide you with extensive benefits when traveling. So if you travel a lot, the annual fee can quickly pay for itself.
Hotel and airline benefits with the Platinum Card
The Platinum Card comes with participation in the two hotel programs from American Express: Fine Hotels + Resorts and The Hotel Collection. These programs offer you discounted overnight stays, early check-in, late check-out and room upgrades at more than 1,600 hotels worldwide.
The Platinum Card also gives you direct access to an elevated status in the loyalty programs of various luxury hotels: You also benefit from special advantages at the hotel groups Marriott, Hilton, Radisson and Meliá.
As a Platinum Cardholder, you will also receive special conditions with various partner airlines. Up to 20% discount on bookings in Economy, Business or First Class are possible.
Airport lounges for relaxed traveling
Bridging waiting times in a pleasant atmosphere or relaxing before a long-haul flight. With the Platinum Card, this is possible in 1,800 airport lounges worldwide. These lounges offer drinks, food, often even sleeping facilities and spa areas. As a Gold Cardholder, you also benefit: The gold-colored Amex card gives you free lounge access twice a year.
Traveling well with car hire benefits
With the car rental providers SIXT, Hertz and Avis, the Platinum Card gives you a higher status in the loyalty programs, for example upgrades to the next higher vehicle class and special rates. In addition, eight partial credits of CHF 25 per year are included with SIXT ride, which you can use for limousine or chauffeur services.
These benefits are not available with the Gold Card, but there are discounts on car hire bookings via Rentalcars.com. Perfect for a spontaneous road trip, for example.
So it turns out that Platinum is the right American Express Card for people who travel a lot. However, the Gold Card also offers some advantages and is suitable if you are traveling occasionally and want more convenience.
These insurance policies are offered by the cards
You can’t go on a trip due to illness, your suitcase gets lost or you have an accident with a hire car? You are covered for these and similar cases with American Express credit card insurance. The insurance included depends on the card.
The Platinum Card has the most comprehensive insurance package and includes, among other things:
- Travel Cancellation and Curtailment Insurance
- Loss Damage Waiver for Rental Cars
- Luggage Insurance
- Travel Inconvenience Insurance
- Transport Accident Insurance
- Purchase Protection Insurance
- Extended guarantee
The Gold Card also impresses with several relevant insurance policies, for example Foreign Travel Medical Expenses Insurance, Travel Inconvenience Insurance, Transport Accident Insurance and Purchase Protection Insurance.
And even the green American Express Card, which is available for a low annual fee, includes Transport Accident Insurance and Travel Inconvenience Insurance.
Bonus programs and other benefits
In addition to the travel benefits and insurance included, American Express credit cards have a number of additional benefits depending on the color:
Bonus points with Membership Rewards
In the Membership Rewards bonus program, you collect points with every purchase, which you can later exchange for a wide range of rewards. You can also pay with the points you collect at selected locations. The rewards program is included with the Platinum Card, Gold Card, and American Express Card.
Lifestyle benefits with the Platinum and Gold colors
The two more upmarket credit cards impress with various additional benefits. For example, the Gold Card offers a dining credit and special streaming benefits. The Platinum Card impresses with many benefits in the areas of dining, shopping, nightlife and events.
Offers via American Express Selects
With the American Express Selects program, you can enjoy special offers and discounts as an American Express credit cardholder, for example in certain hotels, restaurants and shops. This applies to all Amex credit cards. It is therefore worth exploring the offer.
American Express Cards: Which color suits you best?
From the Platinum Card – which offers the most comprehensive benefits and insurance coverage – to the Gold Card and the green American Express Card, American Express has the right color for every lifestyle.
The Platinum Card is ideal for frequent travelers with high expectations. The Gold Card offers various attractive benefits and insurance coverage, and the green American Express Card stands out with, among other things, a few insurance benefits and the Membership Rewards program.
The right credit card for your lifestyle
Frequently asked questions and answers
American Express Cards are available in Platinum, Gold, and Green. All cards come with specific benefits and carry different annual fees.
The various credit cards differ in the benefits they include and in their annual fees. The Platinum Card and the Gold Card offer extensive travel benefits and insurance coverage. The American Express Card has lower annual fees, so it offers fewer – but still attractive – benefits.
The Platinum Card from American Express offers the most extensive benefits of the four cards: Among other things, the card includes unlimited lounge access at airports, numerous insurance policies and extensive hotel benefits. Accordingly, the annual fee for this card is also the highest, but it quickly pays for itself with regular use.
With an annual fee of CHF 140.– (free for the first year), the American Express Card is the most affordable card from American Express. However, it also offers fewer benefits than the other cards. That’s why it’s well-suited as a starter credit card.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. It depends on your personal lifestyle and preferences. For example, the green American Express Card is a good choice for beginners, while frequent travelers who value exceptional comfort will benefit most from the Platinum Card.
