The Amex Trifecta: Best 3 Cards for Maximizing Rewards

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Getting a rewards credit card is a great way to get rewarded for monthly spending and access valuable travel and shopping benefits. Earning rewards from one card is great, but you can maximize your rewards-earning potential by pairing multiple cards together to take advantage of a range of spending categories and perks.

Combine three American Express cards to build an Amex trifecta. Savvy consumers have formed similar strategies with a Chase trifecta and Citi trifecta. But pairing the right Amex cards together allows you to earn one of the most valuable rewards currencies, Membership Rewards points, through three different cards: the American Express® Gold Card, the Platinum Card from American Express and the Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express. As one of the most versatile rewards you can earn, Membership Rewards are redeemable for travel, flight upgrades, gift cards, statement credits, merchandise and more. You can also transfer your points to one of Amex's travel transfer partners.

Through the Amex trifecta, you'll earn bonus rates for spending on flights, prepaid hotels, purchases at restaurants worldwide and U.S. supermarkets, and on business expenses. While paying $945 in annual fees may seem troubling, this trio of cards comes with a host of luxury travel and other perks (plus bonus rewards rates) to help offset the costs.

• What Is the Amex Trifecta?
• How to Use the Amex Trifecta
• Is the Amex Trifecta Worth It?
• How to Redeem American Express Membership Rewards
• Other Questions You May Have About Amex Rewards Cards

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The Amex trifecta is the combination of three specific American Express credit cards that offer complementary perks while earning bonus points across a variety of spending categories. Building an Amex trifecta starts with three Amex cards:

• American Express® Gold Card — $325 annual fee
• Platinum Card from American Express — $695 annual fee
• Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express — $0 annual fee

With all three cards in your arsenal, your purchases in bonus spending categories each month will net you at least two to three points per dollar spent — and often more — while earning one point per dollar spent on everything else. Bonus spending categories on these three cards include:

• Restaurants worldwide
• U.S. supermarkets
• Flights booked directly with airlines or on AmexTravel.com
• Prepaid hotels booked on AmexTravel.com
• Business purchases

With $945 in combined annual fees, building an Amex trifecta isn't a small investment. There’s no way to waive the fees, unfortunately, so the only way to justify the cost is to maximize your spending and take full advantage of the bevy of perks included with the three cards. Benefits of this card trio include:

• A $200 hotel credit
• Access to 1,400+ airport lounges worldwide
• $200 airline fee credit
• $300 Uber cash ($200 with the Platinum Card and $120 with the Gold Card)
• A $240 digital entertainment credit
• A $155 Walmart+ credit
• $120 dining credit
• $300 Equinox membership credit
• $100 Saks Fifth Avenue shopping credit
• $189 CLEAR membership credit
• Global Entry or TSA Precheck fee credit
• Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status
• Hilton Honors Gold status
• Premium car rental status
• Car rental loss and damage insurance
• Trip delay and cancellation insurance
• Baggage insurance
• Purchase protection
• Extended warranty protection
• Cell phone protection

Few credit card combinations offer the kind of value you get from this Amex trifecta. It's not difficult to see how you could quickly offset annual fees, especially if you are a frequent traveler.

One drawback to the Amex trifecta is the high annual fees on two of the three cards. If you want to earn rewards but prefer to keep costs down, you can swap out one or more cards for other American Express cards that earn Membership Rewards points. You won’t earn the same rates or access the same perks, but doing so still allows you to take advantage of complementary card benefits. Here are two alternative cards to consider for your Amex trifecta.

• American Express Green Card — For travel and transit purchases
  Swap out the Platinum Card for the American Express Green Card. The Green Card earns 3X points on travel and transit purchases. At $150, the annual fee is a little easier to swallow than the massive $695 charge with Amex Platinum. Plus, the card provides some travel credits and protections. Unfortunately, you would lose out on Airport lounge access by swapping out the Platinum card.

• Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card — For groceries and fuel purchases
  Instead of getting the Gold Card, opt for the Amex EveryDay Preferred Credit Card. You’ll pay a lower annual fee, $95 versus the Gold Card's $250 fee, while still earning 3X points at U.S. supermarkets and gas stations.

The Amex trifecta is worth it if you can afford to pay the annual fees, use card benefits frequently and are strategic with card spending. The cost to keep all three cards each year is high, so continue to use the Amex trifecta strategy only if it provides enough value to offset the costs.

No travel rewards card is perfect for everyone. Consider the following benefits and drawbacks of an Amex trifecta to determine if using this strategy makes sense for you.

The Amex trifecta isn’t for everyone and may not be the best option if you:

• Don’t want to pay multiple expensive annual fees.
• Don’t want to keep track of multiple cards.
• Have different rewards cards from another carrier already
• Want to avoid a credit score drop from hard credit inquiries with each card application.

The Amex trifecta can be an amazing strategy within the right scenarios, like if:

• You want to pool all your rewards points together.
• You frequently travel with any of Amex’s transfer partners.
• You plan to use several of the cards’ travel perks.
• Your spending habits line up with the bonus rewards categories.

Extending your Amex strategy to include four cards could make sense in certain situations. Adding the American Express Green Card can help you earn more points for general travel purchases and transit expenses. It also earns another decent welcome bonus if you meet the card’s minimum spending requirement.

The Green Card carries a $150 annual fee, so it only makes sense to add to the mix if you earn enough points each year to offset the cost. Some of the card benefits may overlap with benefits already available with your existing Amex cards.

Redemptions abound within the Amex Membership Rewards program. Cardmembers can redeem points in numerous ways, including for travel, flight upgrades, statement credits, gift cards and online shopping.

Depending on travel preferences, you may get more bang for your buck by transferring your points to one of Amex’s transfer partners. Most partners carry a 1,000-point minimum redemption requirement, although some require less. Popular transfer partners include Hawaiian Airlines, British Airways, Delta, Hilton and Marriott.

>> More: American Express Membership Rewards: Program Guide

Track your spending habits to determine if it’s worth getting three or more American Express rewards credit cards. Compare card benefits, including rewards rates, welcome offers, spending categories, annual fees and other card perks, to find the best cards. Don’t forget to compare Amex cards to cards from other issuers to see if better options are available for earning rewards.

For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please click here.

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please click here.

For rates and fees of The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, please click here.