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With their top-tier rewards and luxury benefits, premium credit cards can be an attractive option. Offering perks like airport lounge access, generous welcome offers and valuable statement credits, these cards can help add an element of luxury to your life. However, these high-end credit cards come with high annual fees and strict requirements, so consider your options carefully before adding one to your wallet.
Continue reading to learn which premium credit cards we recommend and why.
Our top picks for the best premium credit cards
Earn 10X points on hotels and car rentals booked through Chase Travel℠, 10X points on Chase Dining purchases, 5X points on flights booked through Chase Travel, 3X points on non-Chase travel and dining, and 1X points on all non-bonus spending.
Earn 5X Membership Rewards® points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel (on up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year), 5X points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel, and 1X points on other eligible purchases.
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Earn 10X miles on hotel and rental car purchases made through Capital One Travel, 5X miles on airfare and vacation rentals purchased through the portal, and 2X miles per dollar spent on all other purchases.
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Earn 3X miles per dollar on Delta purchases made directly with Delta and 1X miles per dollar on all other eligible purchases.
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Earn 6X points per dollar spent at participating hotels, 3X points at restaurants worldwide, 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines, and 2X points on other eligible purchases.
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Earn 5 Membership Rewards® points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels through American Express Travel and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases. Earn 1.5 points per dollar on eligible business expenses and purchases of $5,000+ (up to $2 million per calendar year). Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus.
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Earn 4X Membership Rewards® points per dollar spent on purchases at restaurants worldwide on up to $50,000 in purchases per calendar year, then 1X. Earn 4 points per dollar at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per calendar year in purchases, then 1 point per dollar), 3 points per dollar on flights booked directly with airlines or on amextravel.com, and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases
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A premium credit card offers a wide variety of high-value benefits — far more than a traditional credit card. Specific perks vary but commonly include large welcome bonuses, access to airport lounges, generous travel credits and complimentary high-tier status for airlines and hotels. You can also earn impressive bonus rewards across a range of categories.
Of course, these benefits come at a cost. The top premium credit cards all have high annual fees.
You might choose a premium credit card if you’re searching for luxury perks. If you can find a card with benefits that you’re likely to use, it’s relatively easy to get enough value to justify the high annual fee.
Here are the most important advantages of having a luxury credit card in your wallet.
Premium credit cards are all about the benefits, such as:
If you love to play the miles and points game, a premium credit card can be a great investment. Many of these rewards credit cards come with impressive bonus categories that help you earn more in points, miles or cash back.
Premium cards often offer the best credit card welcome bonuses, allowing you to earn a lump sum of points or miles as soon as you reach a specific spending threshold in a set period of time. However, this threshold is usually a lot higher than it is for standard cards.
It isn’t always easy to get approved for a premium credit card. At a minimum, you’ll need a good to excellent credit score, an adequate income and a solid credit profile.
▶︎ See our picks: Best credit cards for excellent credit
The most exclusive credit cards come with high annual fees. If you’re uncertain about your ability to absorb that charge each year — or if you don’t think you’ll be able to use enough of the benefits to justify it — it might be worth considering a card with no annual fee (or at least a lower annual fee).
If you want to get the most from your premium credit card’s perks, you’ll need to pay attention to how you’re using it. Track bonus rewards categories, and read the terms carefully to maximize the benefits.
Most issuers reserve their best high-end credit cards for people with excellent credit. American Express typically requires a score of 661 to 780; the Platinum card, in particular, requires a high score. The Capital One Venture X is limited to people with excellent credit, which means a score of 800 or higher.
A premium credit card is worth it only if you use enough of the benefits to cover the annual fee. While you’re at it, look at your spending patterns to estimate how much you’ll earn in rewards — then, calculate the value of those rewards to see if it helps defray the costs of the card.
In most cases, premium cards are only a good idea if you can pay off the balance each month; otherwise, the interest charges can negate the benefits.
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For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of the Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of the Delta SkyMiles® Reserve American Express Card, please visit this page.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Gold Card, please visit this page.
The most luxurious credit cards include The Platinum Card From American Express, the Chase Sapphire Reserve card and the Capital One Venture X card.
The annual fee for premium credit cards usually ranges from $250 to $695 or more.
A premium credit card is one that offers luxurious perks, such as complimentary airport lounge access, high reward rates, generous welcome offers and valuable benefits.
Many American Express credit cards are considered premium including the Platinum Card and the Delta SkyMiles Reserve card.
Elizabeth Smith is an experienced travel and finance writer who specializes in topics including credit cards, travel insurance, and personal finance. Travel insurance, in particular, has both professional and personal significance for Smith. She’s traveled to 73 countries, and has extensive experience choosing and using various policies — she understands how valuable the right plan can be in an emergency, and loves to help readers find the perfect fit.
Smith comes to the world of finance from a scientific and technical background. She spent more than 10 years writing about engineering, science, and technology for universities and private companies. When she’s not writing or traveling, Smith can usually be found hiking or Nordic skiing.
Blake Esken has over 15 years of experience in product management and has been a member of the Los Angeles Times staff for over five years.
As part of his role at the Los Angeles Times Commerce Team, Blake acts as the in-house reviewer and fact checker for LA Times Compare. He supervises all content for compliance and accuracy and puts to use skills he has honed through years of experience managing high-stakes projects for a range of industry-leading companies.
He has a strong background in data analysis, compliance, and communication, which allows him to support LA Times Compare through fact-checking in an effort to provide up-to-date and factual information across our content.
* Opinions expressed here are those of the LA Times Compare Cards Team and have not been reviewed or approved by any advertiser or entities included within this content. See our editorial policy for more details.
All products or services are presented in this content without warranty. The information, including card details such as rates and fees, is accurate at the time of publish. Please visit each bank's website directly for the most current information.
