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Amex Trifecta: the optimal combination of American Express cards
Maximize rewards on everyday purchases with three cards.
Each American Express card comes with its own perks and benefits. If you combine some of them, you can easily offset the annual fees, earn maximum rewards and enjoy additional benefits. But don’t apply for all cards at once. This could cause Amex to reject your application and it could hurt your credit score.
What’s the Amex trifecta?
The Amex trifecta is a combination of three American Express cards with membership rewards. Each card complements each other, allowing you to earn the highest rewards on your purchases. The cards that make the Amex trifecta are:
The Platinum Card® from American Express
American Express® Gold Card
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
Amex trifecta overview
The Platinum Card® from American Express
American Express® Gold Card
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
Reward points
5x points on flights booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel
5x points on prepaid hotels booked on Amex Travel
1x points on all other purchases
4x points at restaurants worldwide
4x points at US supermarkets on up to $25,000 annually, 1x points after that
3x points on flights booked directly with airlines or with Amex Travel
2x points on all purchases on on up to $50,000 annually
1x points after reaching the cap
Welcome offer
Earn 60,000 bonus points once you spend $5,000 in your first 3 months of card membership
Earn 35,000 bonus points once you spend $4,000 in your first 3 months of card membership
Earn up to $300 in statement credit — $100 each at Dell Technologies, DocuSign or FedEx after you make a purchase in the first 3 months of card membership.
Credits
$200 airline fee credit
Up to $100 fee credit for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry
$120 dining credit
$100 airline fee credit
N/A
Other perks
$200 in Uber cash each year
Benefits valued at $550 with Fine Hotels and Resorts
Access to the Global Lounge Collection
$100 credit for the Hotel Collection
12 months of 0% intro APR period on purchases, variable APR of 13.24% – 19.24% thereafter
Anyone who owns an LLC business, or who is a sole proprietor, can apply for the Amex business credit card. If you think this doesn’t apply to you, think again — almost anyone can qualify as a sole proprietor, including freelancers, IT consultants and Amazon sellers. When you fill out the application, you can:
Use your personal name as your business name
Use your personal address and phone number as your business address and phone number
Select other in the industry type field if you can’t find your business in the list
Select sole proprietorship as your business structure if that’s what your business is
Be honest about how long your company has been active
Select one employee if you don’t have others
Use your Social Security number for your federal tax ID
How much can you earn with Amex trifecta?
The Platinum Card® from American Express
American Express® Gold Card
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
Points earned
Flights
$2,000
$0
$0
10,000
Hotels
$2,000
$0
$0
10,000
Dining
$0
$5,000
$0
20,000
US supermarkets
$0
$8,000
$0
32,000
Gas
$0
$0
$4,000
8,000
Other
$0
$0
$5,000
10,000
Total
$4,000
$13,000
$9,000
90,000
With annual spending similar to our example, you would earn 90,000 points each year, not counting the welcome offers for the first year. This is a value of up to $900, which is enough to pay the annual fee for both the American Express® Gold Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express and get $100 on top.
If you use the fee credits and the cards’ benefits, you’ll get an additional value of more than $1,300.
Compare Amex trifecta credit cards
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How to maximize Amex trifecta
To make the most of your Amex trifecta cards, here’s what you need to do:
Use the right card for the right purchases. Each card earns accelerated points on select categories. Make sure to:
Use The Platinum Card® from American Express for hotel and airline purchases.
Use the American Express® Gold Card at US supermarkets and restaurants worldwide.
Use The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express on all other purchases.
Earn the welcome offer. All three cards come with generous welcome offers. If you clear it, you can earn rewards points worth more than $1,400.
Use the fee credits. You get a total of $800 credits to use at hotels, airlines, dining and Uber rides, plus benefits worth $550. Make sure you use them to offset the annual fee.
Use the intro APR period. The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express is the only credit card with a 0% intro APR period on purchases. If you’re looking to make a large purchase and pay it off for up to a year without interest, use this card.
Bottom line
Combining the three American Express cards: The Platinum Card® from American Express, American Express® Gold Card and The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express can be an excellent strategy to maximize your rewards, especially if you spend money on airfare, hotels, dining worldwide and at US supermarkets. Plus, you get other generous perks that can make this card combination even more valuable.
However, if you think this card combination won’t work for you, compare other credit cards and make your own trifecta.
Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card or Chase Sapphire Reserve®.
Chase also has a business card trifecta, consisting of:
Ink Business Cash℠ Credit Card
Ink Business Unlimited℠ Credit Card
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
Blue Cash Preferred® Card from American Express can be a useful addition to the Amex trifecta. However, you earn cashback instead of points:
6% back at US supermarkets on up to $6,000 annually, 1% thereafter.
6% back on select US streaming services, including Apple TV and Music, Amazon Music Unlimited, Audible, Disney+, ESPN+, Spotify, Netflix and Hulu.
3% back at US gas station and transit, including trains, taxicabs, rideshares, ferries, tolls, parking, buses and subways.
1% back on all other purchases.
No, the American Express® Gold Card and The Platinum Card® from American Express are charge and credit card hybrids, meaning you have to pay your balance in full before it’s due.The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express is the only credit card where you can carry your balance.
Kliment Dukovski is a credit cards writer. He's written over 600 articles to help readers find and compare the best credit cards. Kliment has also written on money transfers, home loans and more. Previously, he ghostwrote guides and articles on foreign exchange, stock market trading and cryptocurrencies.
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