View the chart data
| Company-wide line | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Net card fees | 2.551 | 2.969 |
| Cardholder services expense | 1.477 | 2.006 |
All bars start at zero and share a $3.2 billion maximum. Figures cover the whole company, not just Platinum. Separate lines exclude other revenue and costs; their difference is not a profit calculation.
American Express's premium-card push is bringing in more fees, but the perks are getting costlier too. Its October 23 results show both sides of the strategy behind products such as the $895 U.S. consumer Platinum card. [2] [3]
Company-wide net card fees reached almost $3 billion in the third quarter, up 16% from a year earlier. Spending on cardholder services rose faster, climbing 36% to $2 billion. Amex attributes that expense increase mainly to new U.S. Platinum benefits and customers using more benefits. [2] [4]
Something customers can use
The September 2025 Platinum refresh gives that strategy a concrete shape. Its benefits include up to $400 a year in eligible Resy dining credits and up to $300 in eligible U.S. lululemon purchases. Those amounts arrive in quarterly allowances, require enrollment and carry conditions. They are not unrestricted cash. [3]
Amex ties the growth in fee income to higher average fees on premium products and larger premium-card portfolios. Chairman and chief executive Stephen Squeri also highlighted customer retention in Friday's release. That supports the broader membership strategy, although the release does not give a Platinum-specific renewal percentage. [1] [2]
“Our business momentum continues”
The card needs to leave the wallet
Membership fees are only part of the payoff. Amex also collects revenue when customers spend at merchants. Total spending on Amex-issued cards reached $454 billion in the quarter, up 8%; revenue from merchant charges rose by a similar percentage. These totals cover the wider card business. [1] [4]
The travel offering is expanding too. Amex reported a new Airbnb partnership adding more than one million listings globally to Amex Travel. It also opened a Centurion Lounge at Amsterdam's airport and announced a planned 30,000-square-foot lounge at Newark, its largest to date. These give customers more reasons to use its services. [1]
The cost of keeping the promise
The higher services bill is only one expense. Cardholder rewards cost another $5.1 billion, up 10%. Subtracting services expense from card fees would therefore miss major costs and other revenue; it cannot establish whether Platinum itself became more profitable. [4]
Reported earnings also need context. Quarterly earnings per share rose 31% to $5.42. The company's adjusted figure, excluding a business-travel investment sale gain and a restructuring charge, rose 13% to $4.68. A lower tax rate and credit-loss reserve release also helped reported results. [1]
Amex warns that customers could become less willing to pay fees, while benefits could prove too expensive to deliver. [2] The premium-card strategy now has to keep winning spending and renewals as the benefits bill grows. Friday's results show the appeal of that business—and the cost of maintaining it.