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American Express Trifecta Point Calculator
Card Combo Value & AMEX Point Calculator
The most popular AMEX Trifecta consists of The Platinum Card® from American Express, American Express® Gold Card, and The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express. If you're big on travel, you're looking to maximize your rewards, and you want a long list of luxury travel benefits, this is a combination worth looking into.
The AMEX Trifecta is a 3-card combination of credit cards that earn Membership Rewards Points. The goal of a trifecta (or any combination) is to find which card combination earns you the best overall return and value.
The most common and popular AMEX Trifecta consists of:
This page focuses on this particular 3-card combination, but you can build your own trifecta, quadfecta, or any combination of credit cards from AMEX or other card providers using the Credit Card Comparison Tool.
In role of The Platinum Card in the trifecta is to provide elite travel benefits along with 5X earnings on airfare purchased directly with an airline and both airline and pre-paid hotel bookings made through American Express Travel.
The card offers a very long list of travel benefits, but the benefits that stand out for the card consists of:
American Express Global Lounge Collection
Complimentary Elite Status w/ Marriott, Hilton, Avis, Hertz, and National
Hotel Benefits via Fine Hotel + Resorts
US$100 to US$300 when booking cruises via the Cruises Privileges Program
Platinum Concierge
Fantastic Purchase Insurance
Along with these benefits (and many more), The Platinum Card also offers $1,400 in annual credits. If you're able to use at least half of the credits, you'll make up for The Platinum Card's annual fee of $695 (See Rates & Fees).
Even if you ignore the annual credits, the value of the benefits offered on The Platinum Card far exceeds that of the annual fee.
Intro Bonus: Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $6,000 on purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
Learn More about The Platinum Card from American Express.
American Express® Gold Card
The American Express® Gold Card's role in the trifecta is to earn 4X Membership Rewards Points at restaurants and U.S. supermarkets.
The card also earns 3X Membership Rewards Points on airfare purchased directly with an airline, which is a solid return in the case that you omit The Platinum Card from the trifecta..
Benefits of the American Express Gold Card include $120 in annual Uber Cash and $120 in annual dining credit. Both of these benefits add significant value to the card and can easily make up for the card's annual fee.
Intro Bonus: Earn 60,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $4,000 on eligible purchases with your new Card within the first 6 months.
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card is used for all card purchases that aren't covered under the bonus categories featured on The Platinum Card and the American Express Gold Card.
It earns 2 Membership Rewards Points per $1 on the first $50,000 in purchases made per year (then 1X). Instead of earnings 1X using The Platinum Card and the American Express Gold Card, you'll use the Blue Business Plus to earn the higher return.
No matter which trifecta or card combination you end up building with American Express, the Blue Business Plus is going to be the best card for miscellaneous purchases. If you can't pick up a business card (or don't want one), the American Express Everyday® Preferred Credit Card is the next best option.
Intro Bonus: Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
Learn More about the Blue Business Plus Credit Card from American Express.
AMEX Points Calculator
Find out how many Membership Rewards Points you can earn with the AMEX Trifecta Point Calculator as well as the cash value of those points. Results can be compared side-by-side credit cards featured on the site to see which earns you the most rewards.
Any spend entered into the primary card column (the first column) will carry over to all credit card calculators on the site, so there's no need to re-enter spend when viewing other credit cards.
If you want to build your own trifecta (or any other card combination), use the Credit Card Comparison Tool.
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Credit Cards
Use this section to add credit cards to the calculator. You can search for a card or go through our top recommendations for each category.
Once you select a card, you'll be shown the details of the card. Any link you click on in the details will open up in a new tab, so you will not lose your calculations.
Clicking on Add Selected Card will add it to the calculator.
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Compare A Card
Add a credit card to compare side by side based on spend, benefits and fees.
Search Cards
Search for a credit card by name, rewards program, or the rewards currency it earns.
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Family Cards
These cards are part of the same family and generally earn the same type of rewards.
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Travel Cards
Travel credit cards are great for building rewards redeemable towards a wide variety of travel including airfare, hotels, car rentals, cruises, and more. Most travel cards also offer a range of benefits that can make your trips more enjoyable and save you money.
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Cash Back Cards
Cash back is one of the most flexible form of rewards and most easy to understand. Rewards earned are worth face value and they can be used towards almost anything.
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Business Cards
Put money back into your business by earning cash back, points, or miles on business expenses. Many cards also offer travel insurance, purchase protection, and more.
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Airline Cards
These are the best credit cards if you're looking to use rewards towards award flights. Some of these cards also offer various benefits such as lounge access the ability to earn qualifying miles through spending.
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Hotel Cards
If you're looking to use rewards towards free nights at hotels, these are the best cards for you. Many of these cards also offer great benefits such as annual free nights, complimentary elite status, and more.
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No Annual Fee
If you're looking to minimize your immediate costs while still earning plenty of value, you may want to consider a credit card with no annual fee. Some of these cards also offer lower interest rates and balance transfer offers.
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Intro Bonus:
Annual Fee:
Authorized User Fee:
Bonus Categories:
Loyalty & Memberships
Loyalty: When adding hotel rewards cards (and a select few others) you'll be able to factor in the points earned from elite status. If a card offers complimentary status, the proper status will be selected by default.
Loyalty is reflected by a blue LOY image. Adding a card with loyalty attached to it will add it to the calculator. It becomes its own entity once added to the calculator and can be removed independent of the card that added it.
Membership: If a card offers any kind of bonus rewards based on your membership in a program, the option will be listed here. Do note that some options calculate automatically.
Welcome Bonus: Any welcome bonuses that changes the earning rates of a card will also be listed here. This allows you to toggle the bonus on or off.
Use this section to enter how much you plan on spending either monthly or yearly across different categories for each card listed.
You can click on the option button for access to a lot of useful tools you can use to quickly adjust spending for the calculator.
Change the order of the categories in the Category Spending section. This has an impact on cards that have spend limits and bonus caps on categories.
Resets all fields in the Category Spending section for all columns. Also clears all saved spend values that carry from calculator to calculator.
Add Categories
Search for categories and click 'Add Category' to add it to the calculator. If you want to be more specific, you can specify domestic or international spend.
Type at least 3 characters.
Currently Selected:
Spend Region:
Category Spending Total
The amount of rewards earned from card spending.
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Rewards & Bonuses
If a card earns bonus points, miles, or cash back, it will be listed here. You'll be able to edit or toggle on/off most bonuses listed here.
Do note that some bonuses may be automatically calculated based on spend entered in the Category Spending section.
If you want to factor in an intro or welcome bonus, you can also do that here by entering it in the Extra Value field. You can click on View Offers when applicable to see current sign up bonuses for all top credit cards by category.
Extra Value
Use this field to add additional rewards to include in the calculation such as an intro or signup bonus.
Extra Value
Use this field to add additional rewards to include in the calculation such as an intro or signup bonus.
Extra Value
Use this field to add additional rewards to include in the calculation such as an intro or signup bonus.
Rewards & Bonus Total
The amount of rewards earned from card bonuses.
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Total Rewards & Cash Value
This is the total of all points, miles, and cash back earned between Loyalty & Memberships, Category Spending, and Rewards & Bonuses.
You can view the average value of the rewards based on popular redemptions and the transfer of rewards to partners (where applicable).
This is how much we value the rewards earned with the card on average based on our valuations. Cards that may offer bonus/additional value are reflected here.
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Transfers To Partners
Redemptions to do with transferring rewards to partner loyalty programs and redeeming them for high value (when applicable). These redemption values typically require knowledge of the best transfer partners.
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Cash Back, Statement Credits
Redemptions to do with turning your rewards into cash back or using it as a statement credit to offset purchases made to the card.
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Travel
Redemptions to do with using your rewards towards travel such as airfare, hotels, and car rentals (not including transfers to partners).
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Gift Cards
Redemptions to do with using your rewards towards the purchase of gift cards.
Enter how much you value a single rewards point or mile in cents or regional currency equivalent (X.XX). The value of cash back cannot be changed.
Rewards Cash Value
The average cash value of rewards earned in the Grand Total section based on the set Currency Worth.
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Monetary Bonuses
This section lists all monetary bonuses. This includes annual credits and top-tier benefits that can offer great monetary value.
If there's a perk or benefit missing that you find valuable, you can add how much you value it in the Extra Cash Value field.
Extra Cash Value
Use this field to add additional cash value to the calculations.
Extra Cash Value
Use this field to add additional cash value to the calculations.
Extra Cash Value
Use this field to add additional cash value to the calculations.
Total Cash Value
The total cash value of all listed benefits plus the cash value of rewards earned.
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Fees
With great benefits comes great annual fees. If a card has a fee that you have to pay annually (or monthly in rare cases), it will be listed here. You have the ability to change it.
If the card charges a fee for adding authorized users, it will also appear in this section.
Annual Fee
This is the fee you must pay annually to have the card.
Authorized User Fee
This is the cost to add additional users or supplemental cards to the account. Enter total amount of authorized users.
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Total Card Value
This is the total cash value of each listed card when factoring in all rewards and all fees.
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Learn More
Learn more about the card through our partners.
FAQ
What is the AMEX Trifecta
The AMEX Trifecta is a 3-card combination consisting of The Platinum Card® from American Express, American Express® Gold Card, and The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express. It is one of the best credit card combinations for those who frequently travel.
Is the AMEX Trifecta better than the Chase Trifecta?
This depends on how much you value Membership Rewards Points versus how much you value Ultimate Rewards Points. There is no trifecta that is always 'better'. You can use the AMEX vs Chase Trifecta Calculator to compare them based on your spend.
Are there other card combinations outside of the default AMEX Trifecta?
Yes. The AMEX Trifecta consisting of the AMEX Platinum, AMEX Gold, and Blue Business Plus is not set in stone. There are card combinations that will be better for others based on spend. You can test any combination of credit cards using the Credit Card Comparison Tool to see which combinations work best for you.
Looking for the best credit cards?
We've run the calculations for you and here are our top picks for best credit cards of 2023:
Our Credit Card Rewards calculator can help you find the perfect card and offers based on your monthly and yearly spending habits. Simply enter your spend amounts into our tool and let us do the work for you!
