Amex CEO: More Card ‘Refreshes’ (& Fee Hikes) Are Coming Soon

Travelers might be hitting a breaking point with their American Express cards and the never-ending cycle of raising annual fees while adding questionable, difficult-to-use benefits. But American Express's own CEO says that trend will continue … and they're not even done this year. 
American Express previously promised investors that it will revamp 40 of its credit card products throughout 2024. On Friday, Amex CEO Steve Squeri reiterated that goal: Even after raising annual fees on nearly the entire suite of Delta co-branded cards and Hilton's small business card earlier this year, more moves are in the pipeline.
“Refreshes really do help to drive demand. It drives awareness and it drives more engagement with existing cardholders. It’s been a strategy that has worked very, very well for us.” the CEO told investors during Amex's quarterly earnings call. “You can rest assured, all 40 – or approximately 40 – will be done.”
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I know, I know: I can hear you groaning. Just last week, we cried uncle with the “Extreme Couponing” mindset required to hold most Amex travel cards thanks to an ever-growing laundry list of use-them-or-lose-them benefits. But that's not changing. It's accelerating.
 

 
Read more: We’ve Had It – Amex Card Credits & Benefits Are Out of Control
Now, that doesn't mean every Amex travel card in American travelers' wallets will get the same treatment this year. That 40-card tally includes its U.S. cards and many international markets, from Canada to Mexico to Australia and beyond. 
Squeri didn't tip his hand as to which cards are on deck next, saying: “We don't really talk about when they’re going to be released.” 
But while you might think the $695 annual fee on *amex platinum* is as bad as it gets (see  rates & fees ), it's only a matter of time before that sees another hike.
American Express has tweaked its flagship travel card every three or four years … and we're nearing the the three-year mark since the last big overhaul in summer 2021, when its annual fee increased from $550 to that current $695 price tag. Just a year later, Squeri and company were already eyeing another increase … with a troubling anecdote.
“As far as how high it goes? Look, in Mexico, we charge $1,000 for the Platinum Card,” Squeri said during an investor conference in late 2022. “The reality is, it'll go as high as the value allows us to go.”
 

 
Back in the present day, Squeri explained the bank's mindset for the next round of supposed enhancements.
“We look at what our customers really want and make sure that we’re adding value that makes sense to them,” he said.
Surely, their travel-loving Platinum cardholders were clamoring for a $13 monthly credit for Walmart+ and a $300-a-year, drop-in-the-bucket credit toward a $3,000-plus Equinox gym membership. What's next? 
It's not all bad … check out our roundup of Amex Platinum benefits and how to maximize them!
The same fate likely awaits the *amex gold* . While American Express has added and subtracted a few benefits over the years, its annual fee has remained unchanged at $250 (see  rates & fees ) since a major rebrand in 2018. 
The problem for fed-up cardholders is that no matter how time-consuming it might be to track and use all the credits and benefits on your Amex cards, these tactics work like a charm for the bank's bottom line. Amex just keeps making more and more money, including pulling in 15% more in annual fees in the first quarter of 2024 compared to last year – largely powered by its increasingly expensive premium travel cards. 
Take the *delta reserve card* , for instance. Along with the rest of its Delta's co-branded, American Express hiked the yearly fee by $100 in February while adding convoluted credits for hotel stays , monthly dinners through Resy , and rideshare trips. Coming just months after the airline's botched overhaul of Medallion Status , a fee increase struck some cardholders as a slap in the face.
 

 
For Amex, though, it's been a home run.
“It has really, really gone well. Probably beyond our expectations,” Squeri said Friday. “We raised the fee $100 and added over $560 worth of value.”
That final sentence sums up the entire strategy.
American Express can tout hundreds of dollars in additional value with new benefits to justify raising annual fees … but by making those benefits cumbersome to use, they force cardholders to simply swipe those cards constantly for fear of losing out – or just give up and let them go to waste.
 
Bottom Line
American Express is saying – and I'm paraphrasing here – that the beatings will continue until morale improves. 
It's unclear which cards are next up, but it's painfully obvious that American Express will continue raising annual fees while tacking on additional benefits – some better than others. And it's only a matter of time before the next travel card gets that treatment.