What credit score do you need to get an American Express Platinum card?​on February 5, 2025 at 12:00 pm

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The American Express Platinum Card is a premium card with a range of benefits that can make paying its $695 annual fee worth it (see rates and fees).

This card offers the following statement credits:

• Walmart+: Up to $155 annually (Subject to auto-renewal. Up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes on one membership fee.)
• Saks Fifth Avenue: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually (enrollment required)
• Equinox: Up to $300 annually (enrollment required)
• Select digital entertainment services: Up to $240 annually (enrollment required)
• Airline fees: Up to $200 annually (enrollment required)
• Up to $199 CLEAR® Plus Credit (subject to auto-renewal)
• Up to $120 statement credit every four 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.
• Uber: Up to $200 annually (Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member only. Effective 11/8/2024, an Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit.)
• Hotel Credit (Fine Hotels & Resorts® or The Hotel Collection): Up to $200 back in statement credits annually; Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel (Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay. Certain room categories are not eligible for upgrade).

If you spend in just half of these categories and maximize the credits, it won’t be hard to offset the annual cost of keeping the card.

It also earns American Express Membership Rewards points, which are useful for booking various types of travel. You can use Membership Rewards points to book cruises, rental cars, hotels, flights and more through the Amex Travel site. Amex points transfer to many valuable airline and hotel loyalty programs, which are great for booking luxury hotels or premium cabin award flights.

To qualify for The American Express Platinum Card, you’ll usually need a good to excellent credit score.

FICO® Score is one of the most commonly used credit scores, and it classifies credit scores into the following groupings:

• Very poor: 300 to 579
• Fair: 580 to 669
• Good: 670 to 739
• Very good: 740 to 799
• Excellent: 800 to 850

You’ll want a credit score of at least 670 for the best approval chance. However, having a pristine credit score doesn’t guarantee your approval; Amex considers other factors, such as your income and history with Amex.

Amex has a unique feature that tells you if you’ll be approved for the card using a soft credit inquiry, which doesn’t impact your credit score. With this option, you’ll receive a hard inquiry only if you accept the card.

There are additional restrictions on qualifying for the Amex Platinum card’s welcome bonus offer. You may not be eligible for the intro bonus if you currently or in the past have had either The American Express Platinum card or:

• The Platinum Card^® from American Express Exclusively for Charles Schwab
• The Platinum Card^® from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley
• Previous versions of these Cards

Amex also considers other eligibility factors such as your history with balance transfers and the number of cards you’ve opened and closed. During the application process, a pop-up window will let you know if you don’t qualify for the bonus before applying. If your application is rejected, you may want to call Amex’s reconsideration line to see if there is something you can do to change the outcome of your application.

Improving your FICO® Score

According to FICO, your score is based on the following weighted factors:

Two of the most important things you can do to improve your credit score over the long haul are to pay off your debt and consistently pay your bills on time.

One way to potentially boost your credit score is to use a service that helps put certain types of payment activity on your credit report (like rent or utility bills) that typically isn’t included. *Experian Boost® and eCredable Lift, for example, allow you to add payment data for select services and utilities to specific credit reports.

However, these services have limitations. Experian Boost only affects your Experian credit report and eCredable Lift adds to your TransUnion credit report. One caveat with eCredable Life is that this service will add positive and negative activity to your TransUnion report, so be careful not to add accounts with late payments or it could negatively affect your credit score. While Experian Boost is available for free, access to eCredable Lift starts at $9.95 per month.

You can’t open a premium credit card with luxury perks if you have poor credit. However, opening a more basic card can open a path to rebuilding your credit and eventually qualifying for more rewarding cards.

One of the best travel credit cards for average credit is the Credit One Bank® Wander® American Express® with Dining, Gas & Travel Rewards. It earns 5X points on eligible dining, gas, and travel purchases and 10X points on eligible hotels and rental cars booked through the Credit One Bank travel partner site. The points you earn are worth one cent each when you use them for statement credits, so you’re effectively earning 5% to 10% back on these purchases. You can read our Credit One Wander American Express Card review to learn more.

Another card worth looking into is the Discover it® Secured Credit Card. It requires a $200 minimum upfront deposit, and after seven months your account will automatically be reviewed to see if you’re eligible for an upgrade to an unsecured line of credit. The Discover it Secured Credit Card also has two features that are rare to find with a secured credit card — cash back rewards and a welcome offer. You’ll earn 2% cash back on the first $1,000 in combined gas station and restaurant purchases each quarter (then 1% cash back) and 1% cash back on all other purchases. Plus, Discover will match the cash back you earn in your first year, so you effectively earn twice the rate of cash-back rewards during that time.