What does an American Express card do?

An American Express card usually provides rewards on purchases, in addition to helping you maintain a good credit score, enjoy unique experiences, finance big purchases, and more. Amex is both a card issuer and a network that supports cards issued by other companies, so it processes payments and services its own accounts.

You can use an American Express card in most places in the U.S., but it won’t be as widely accepted internationally as a Visa or Mastercard. Amex also offers charge cards, which generally need to be paid off in full each month.

What an American Express Card Does

Rewards on purchases

There’s a variety of rewards to earn with American Express cards – including points, cash back, and miles – and the rate at which you earn rewards may vary by card and by spending category. For example, the Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express offers 6% cash back at U.S. supermarkets (up to $6,000 spent per year), 6% back on select U.S. streaming subscriptions, 3% back at eligible U.S. gas stations and on transit, and 1% back on other eligible purchases, received as rewards dollars (which can be redeemed as a statement credit and at Amazon.com checkout). On the other hand, the American Express® Gold Card offers 4 points per $1 at U.S. supermarkets (up to $25,000 spent per year), 4 points per $1 at restaurants worldwide (up to $50,000 spent per year), 3 points per $1 on flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com, 2 points per $1 spent on prepaid hotels and other eligible purchases booked on AmexTravel.com, as well as 1 point per $1 on all other eligible purchases.

Annual credits

Some American Express cards offer bonus credits each year that apply to certain purchases automatically. Eligible purchases may include reservations at select hotels, subscriptions/memberships, rideshare purchases, and airline miles.

Travel benefits

Many American Express cards are travel-friendly, with a wide variety of travel benefits such as no foreign transaction fees on select cards, travel insurance, special vacation package deals ,exclusive prices on flights, and special entertainment offers. Several Amex cards also come with access to luxury airport lounges around the world.

Co-branded card rewards

American Express issues credit cards that are co-branded with hotel and airline brands such as Delta, Marriott, and Hilton. Cardholders can earn bonus rewards and qualify for extra perks with these brands when they use their co-branded Amex card.

Amex Offers

All American Express cards qualify for Amex Offers, which is a suite of shopping discounts and cash back offers that you can select through the American Express website or app. The featured offers change often, and can be an exciting opportunity for cardholders who enjoy retail therapy. Discounts may include money off select purchases or a statement credit after a purchase, for example. Enrollment is required for this benefit. 

Credit building

While American Express-issued credit cards are only available to people with good credit or better, other credit card companies issue cards on the American Express card network that people with less-than-good credit can qualify for. A secured card on the Amex network can help you build credit and is generally easier to get than an unsecured card because secured cards require a security deposit.

International credit score program

If you’ve built good credit while living in another country, the American Express Credit Passport program can help you get a credit card when you move to the U.S. Simply select the checkbox under the Social Security number field on your application to have Amex consider your international credit history from 12 participating countries during the approval process. 

Concierge service

Select American Express credit cards come with 24/7 access to their signature concierge service, which functions much like a personal assistant to help with booking travel, making purchases, and more.

Status symbol

Amex has long been viewed as an upper-class card to have, so carrying an American Express card can be a status symbol. In particular, the American Express Platinum Card® and the Centurion® Card from American Express are seen as elite and exclusive cards. The Centurion is also known as the Black Card, which is famous for catering to the ultra-wealthy.

Card issuer and network

American Express is both a card issuer and a card network, which means they offer their own credit cards while also helping to facilitate transactions made with cards from other issuers, such as the Credit One Bank® Premier American Express® Card.

Send & Split® feature

You can use an American Express card to pay someone on Venmo or PayPal without the standard credit card fee. You can send money through your Amex app or through the Venmo and PayPal apps directly, and the transaction will be considered a purchase rather than a cash advance. You’ll just need to load money into your Amex Send Account with your card first.

For the Split aspect, you can divide any posted or pending purchase on your Amex card with Venmo or PayPal contacts. When your contact pays you back, the money will get posted directly to your Amex card as a statement credit. Meanwhile, you get to keep the rewards for the entire purchase.

For more options, check out WalletHub’s editors’ picks for the best American Express credit cards.