Over the last few years of travel nerds coalescing on Reddit boards, the “Amex Trifecta” has gained enormous popularity. It refers to a strategic combination of three American Express cards: the Amex Gold Card, the Amex Platinum Card, and the Amex Blue Business Plus Card. When used together, these cards offer one of the best ways to maximize American Express Membership Rewards (MR) points and enhance your travel experience with a variety of premium benefits.
Today, let's take a look at how the Amex Trifecta really functions. We’ll dive deep into how this trifecta works, the perks of each card, and how you can use them to optimize your spending and rewards. We'll also compare it to the Chase Trifecta, a popular alternative, and discuss why the Amex Trifecta might be the better option for many.
What is the Amex Trifecta?
The Amex Trifecta is a powerful combination of three American Express credit cards that complement each other perfectly to maximize points earning and rewards redemption. The cards involved are:
1. American Express Gold Card
2. American Express Platinum Card
3. Amex Blue Business Plus Card
Two of these cards come with annual fees that might temporarily sting your pocketbook, but their combined benefits, including bonus MR points, transfer partners, travel perks, and statement credits, far outweigh the costs for many users.
Additionally, it's important to note for the credit card newbies in the room that the Gold and Platinum cards referenced in this article are the American Express "vanilla" versions, and not the popular co-branded Delta versions. That is absolutely critical to understand, as there are a myriad of Amex cards on the market today and you need these specific cards for this to work.
Card 1: The American Express Gold Card
The Amex Gold Card is a standout rewards credit card, especially for foodies and travelers. With this card, you'll earn: - 4x points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in eligible purchases) - 4x points at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery services - 3x points on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel - 1x point on all other purchases
Annual Fee and Credits
Unfortunately, American Express bumped up the annual fee of The Gold Card in 2024. This card now comes with a $325 annual fee but offers valuable annual credits to offset this cost. These include:
- $120 in annual dining credits at select partners like Grubhub, the Cheesecake Factory, and select restaurants.
- $120 in Uber Cash (divided monthly) for Uber rides or Uber Eats orders.
- $100 Resy credit, divided twice annually, for credits towards eating at restaurants registered with American Express's restaurant booking engine, Resy
- $84 in Dunkin credits, split up monthly
With over $400 in annual credits, your net cost for the Gold Card could be effectively $0 per year if you fully utilize these benefits.
Welcome Offer
The Gold Card often comes with a welcome offer of 60,000-75,000 bonus points after meeting the minimum spending requirement within the first few months of card membership. However, I've seen these welcome offers spike as high as 100,000 points, and my own personal welcome offer I received was 90,000 after $6,000 of spend in the first six months. These bonus MR points can be a quick way to jumpstart your rewards.
Card 2: The American Express Platinum Card
The Amex Platinum Card is a top-tier card designed for frequent travelers seeking luxury perks. With this card, you’ll earn:
- 5x points on flights booked directly with airlines or through Amex Travel
- 5x points on prepaid hotel bookings via American Express Travel
- 1x points on all other purchases
Travel Perks and Annual Fee
The Platinum Card carries a hefty, sometimes backbreaking, $695 annual fee, but the extensive travel perks can easily make up for this cost:
- Up to $200 in annual Uber Credits, including Uber Eats
- Up to $200 in airline fee credits for incidental charges like checked baggage
- Up to $100 in annual credits at Saks Fifth Avenue
- Access to Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs, and over 1,300 other airport lounges worldwide via Priority Pass Select membership
- Complimentary TSA PreCheck or Global Entry application fee credit
Additionally, with up to $1,400 in potential annual credits, the Platinum Card offers maximum value for frequent travelers. However, the main criticism of this card is that it's really morphed into some sort of upper-middle class coupon book, and you have to live in a major city to fully maximize the credits (for example, we just got a Centurion Lounge in Atlanta, and I don't have an Equinox within three states of me, so that credit is completely useless).
Welcome Bonus
The Platinum Card typically offers a large welcome bonus of 80,000 to 100,000 points after spending $6,000 in the first six months, though I've seen sign-up bonuses all the way up to 150,000 for spend levels up to $10,000 in the first six months. These points can be transferred to 19 airline and hotel partners, offering flexible and valuable redemption options.
Card 3: Amex Blue Business Plus Card
The Amex Blue Business Plus card is a fantastic no-annual-fee business credit card that earns:
- 2x points on all purchases, up to $50,000 in spending per calendar year
- 1x points on purchases after that
This simple yet powerful card complements the Gold and Platinum cards by allowing you to earn 2x points on any purchases that don’t fall into specific bonus categories, such as dining or travel. This makes it an excellent all-around card to round out the trifecta.
It's at this point that you may have asked "I don't have a business...so how can I get a business card?" Well, the definition of "business" in the United States is very loose. You could do consulting on the side, you could set up an Etsy store or you could even walk dogs in your neighborhood. Any income (or spend) that you have outside of your 9-5 could be considered "self-employment," so getting a business card in the U.S is pretty straight forward.
Maximizing Points
Earning with the Amex Trifecta By combining the three cards in the Amex Trifecta, you can effectively earn bonus MR points across a wide range of spending categories.
1. Use the Amex Gold Card for:
- 4x points on dining and groceries at U.S. supermarkets
2. Use the Amex Platinum Card for:
- 5x points on flights and hotels booked via American Express Travel
- Travel perks like airport lounge access and credits
3. Use the Amex Blue Business Plus for:
- 2x points on all other purchases
This strategy ensures that you are maximizing your points in all spending categories, without wasting potential rewards on purchases that don't fit into a bonus category.
Redeeming Amex Membership Rewards Points
The key to extracting maximum value from your Amex Trifecta lies in how you redeem your Amex Membership Rewards Points. While there are many ways to use your points, some offer much more value than others.
Transfer Partners
One of the best ways to redeem Amex points is by transferring them to airline and hotel partners. American Express has 19 airline and hotel transfer partners, including:
- Delta Airlines (an exclusive American Express Partner)
- British Airways
- Hilton Honors
- Marriott Bonvoy
It's also worth mentioning that Virgin Atlantic is a key transfer partner that can occasionally offer ludicrously outsized value for your points (my wife and I took two first class/Upper Class trips to London on Virgin Atlantic entirely on points, saving us ~$20,000).
By transferring your points to these partners, you can often get much better value, especially when booking business or first-class travel.
Booking Travel Through Amex
You can also use your points to book travel directly through Amex Travel, though the value is typically around 1 cent per point. While this isn’t the best return, clocking in at around half the value of The Points Guy value, it can still be useful for those who prefer simplicity or need to cover specific bookings.
Comparing the Amex Trifecta to the Chase Trifecta
The Chase Trifecta is another popular card combination, typically involving the Chase Sapphire Reserve, Chase Freedom Unlimited, and Chase Freedom Flex. Both the Amex and Chase trifectas are designed to maximize points earning, but there are some key differences to consider.
1. Point Value: Chase Ultimate Rewards points are generally valued at 1.5 cents per point when redeemed for travel through the Chase portal (if you have the Sapphire Reserve), while Amex points are valued at 1 cent per point when redeemed through Amex Travel. Both, however, offer outsized value when transferring out to partners, so it's a dead heat in that respect.
2. Annual Fee: The Amex Trifecta has higher annual fees, but also offers significantly more credits and premium benefits, such as access to Centurion Lounges and Delta Sky Clubs. However, it is worth noting that Chase is stepping their lounge game up and opening competitor "Sapphire Lounges" to American Express's Centurion model, with the first opening in JFK in conjunction with Etihad Airways.
3. Bonus Categories: The Amex Trifecta focuses heavily on dining, groceries, and travel, while the Chase Trifecta provides more flexible categories and rotating points multipliers. It can be a bit more to keep track of, but Chase Ultimate Rewards can add up quickly.
Overall, I prefer the Amex Trifecta because it's better suited for frequent travelers like me who value premium perks and lounge access, while the Chase Trifecta offers more flexibility for those who want to keep their annual fees lower. The Chase Trifecta also comes out ahead for travelers who don't want a big coupon book-style benefits package that requires spreadsheets to keep track of.
Is the Amex Trifecta Worth It?
The Amex Trifecta is one of the most rewarding credit card combinations available, but it’s not for everyone. To get the maximum value out of these cards, you'll need to take advantage of their perks, credits, and bonus categories. Here are a few considerations:
- Annual Spending: If you frequently spend in the bonus categories like dining, groceries, and travel, the trifecta can help you rack up points quickly.
- Travel Frequency: The Platinum Travel benefits, including airport lounges, Global Entry, and TSA PreCheck credits, are perfect for frequent travelers.
- Statement Credits: If you can maximize the various annual credits, the high annual fees can be easily justified. If you're someone who doesn't need another thing in life to keep track of, then the Amex Trifecta may not be for you.
In short, if you spend a lot on dining and travel and can make use of the card’s premium travel perks, the Amex Trifecta offers plenty of benefits and can significantly enhance your rewards strategy.
Conclusion
The Amex Trifecta—composed of the Amex Gold Card, Amex Platinum Card, and Blue Business Plus Card—is a powerful card combination that provides excellent rewards for dining, travel, and everyday purchases. With its high reward rate, premium travel benefits, and access to exclusive lounges and statement credits, it’s a strategy that can yield significant returns for the right person.
If you’re someone who values reward points, luxury travel perks, and transfer partners, then the Amex Trifecta may be the great way to maximize your rewards and make the most of your annual spending.
Comments