What Is The Best American Express Card To Start With In 2025?

If you're new to the world of points and miles, choosing your first American Express card can feel overwhelming. With numerous options offering different welcome bonuses, earning rates, and perks, it's easy to become confused about which card will give you the best introduction to the points-collecting hobby. As someone who's built multiple successful points strategies, I'm going to walk you through the best starter options in the UK market for 2025.

The American Express Gold Card: The Best All-Around Starter

For most beginners, the American Express Preferred Rewards Gold Credit Card stands out as the clear frontrunner. Here's why it continues to be my top recommendation:

Key Benefits:

• No fee first year: The £195 annual fee is waived for the first 12 months, giving you time to decide if it suits your needs without financial commitment

• Enhanced welcome bonus: 30,000 Membership Rewards points after spending £3,000 in three months (when applying through a referral)

• Airport lounge access: Four complimentary Priority Pass lounge visits per year, giving you access to over 1,300 airport lounges worldwide

• Dining credit: £10 Deliveroo credit per month (£5 back, twice monthly)

• Spending bonuses: Additional 2,500 points for every £5,000 spent annually (up to 12,500 bonus points)

• Enhanced earning rates: 2x points on airline purchases and foreign currency spending, 3x points at American Express Travel

The Gold card's greatest strength is flexibility. Those 30,000 Membership Rewards points can be transferred to numerous airline and hotel loyalty programs including British Airways Executive Club (30,000 Avios), Virgin Atlantic Flying Club (30,000 Virgin Points), Marriott Bonvoy (45,000 points), or Hilton Honors (60,000 points).

This flexibility allows you to accumulate points while you learn which programs offer the best value for your specific travel needs. You're not locked into a single currency before you've had time to understand the ecosystem.

Do You Qualify For The Welcome Bonus?

Amex's current rule is straightforward: you can receive the welcome bonus if you haven't held a personal American Express card within the past 24 months. However, there are some important exceptions:

• Corporate/Business American Express cards don't disqualify you

• Being a supplementary cardholder on someone else's account doesn't affect your eligibility

• Having a store card (like John Lewis) that happens to be operated by Amex won't disqualify you

If you don't qualify for the bonus, you can still apply and receive all other card benefits, but getting that 30,000-point head start makes a significant difference.

The Platinum Card: Premium Benefits For Higher Spenders

If you're comfortable with a higher annual fee and can maximize premium travel benefits, the American Express Platinum Card is worth considering:

Key Benefits:

• Generous welcome bonus: Currently offers 70,000 Membership Rewards points after spending £6,000 in three months (when applying through a referral)

• Comprehensive lounge access: Access to over 1,400 lounges across 650 cities worldwide

• Global Dining Credit: Up to £400 annually (£200 locally and £200 abroad) at over 2,000 selected restaurants

• Harvey Nichols credit: Up to £100 in statement credits annually (£50 every six months)

• Elite hotel status: Automatic Gold status with Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy

• Comprehensive travel insurance: Worldwide travel insurance for you, supplementary cardmembers, respective partners and dependent children under 25

• Enhanced shopping benefits: Extra 10% savings at The Bicester Collection villages across Europe

At £650 per year, the Platinum isn't for everyone. But if you travel frequently and can utilize the lounge access, hotel status benefits, and dining credits, the value proposition becomes much more attractive. I've found that the combination of Marriott Gold status and the lounge access alone has saved me hundreds of pounds on recent trips.

The British Airways American Express Cards: For The Avios Collector

If you're already certain that British Airways Avios will be your primary currency, British Airways offers two American Express options:

British Airways American Express Card (No Annual Fee)

• Welcome bonus: 5,000 Avios after spending £1,000 in three months

• Companion Voucher: Earn a 2-for-1 voucher on Avios redemptions after spending £20,000 in a card year (limited to Economy class)

• Earning rate: 1 Avios per £1 spent

• No annual fee: Making it an easy card to keep long-term

British Airways American Express Premium Plus Card

• Enhanced welcome bonus: 31,000 Avios when applying through a referral after spending £6,000 in three months

• Superior earning rate: 1.5 Avios per £1 spent on general purchases and 3 Avios per £1 spent with British Airways or BA Holidays

• More valuable Companion Voucher: Earn after £15,000 spend each year, usable in any cabin including Club World (business) and with access to additional reward seat availability

• Travel protection: Includes flight delay coverage, baggage delay compensation, and travel accident insurance

• Annual fee: £300

The Premium Plus card offers significantly more value for serious Avios collectors, particularly due to the more flexible Companion Voucher and boosted earning rates. However, for beginners, I typically recommend starting with either the the Gold card to become familiar with the points ecosystem before committing to the higher annual fee (do note that this will make you illegible for the Platinum’s welcome bonus later down the line).

Additional Gold Card Benefits Worth Highlighting

The American Express Gold Card comes with several other valuable benefits that enhance its value proposition:

• Travel protection: Travel Accident Insurance up to £250,000 and Travel Inconvenience Insurance up to £200 when you use the card to book your travel

• Purchase protection: Coverage for eligible items if they're stolen or damaged within 90 days of purchase, up to £2,500 per item

• Refund protection: If a UK retailer won't accept your return within 90 days, Amex will refund you up to £300

• Plan It™ installment plans: Spread the cost of purchases of £100 or more into monthly installments with a fixed fee

• American Express Experiences: Access to advance tickets for events, gigs, and films, plus exclusive access to unique events

How I Built My Card Strategy

When I started my points journey, I began with the American Express Gold card. This allowed me to build a flexible points balance while I learned the ins and outs of different loyalty programs.

After I got to grips with things first year, I upgraded to the Business Platinum to take advantage of hotel status benefits for a planned trip to Asia.

Currently, my strategy involves holding the American Express Business Platinum for its flexible points and travel benefits, complemented by the Capital on Tap Business Card for additional business Avios earning, and the Curve Card + Barclaycard Avios Plus to maximize my abroad spending opportunities ( 1% cashback on foreign spend).

Finding The Right Card For You

When choosing your first American Express card, consider:

1. Your spending habits: Can you comfortably meet the minimum spend requirement for the welcome bonus?

2. Your travel goals: Do you prefer airline miles or hotel points?

3. Your tolerance for annual fees: Are you comfortable with a fee, or would you prefer to start with a no-fee option?

4. Your travel frequency: Will you use benefits like lounge access, dining credits, and hotel status?

For most beginners, I stand by the American Express Gold as the best starting point. Its first-year fee waiver, generous welcome bonus through referral (30,000 points), and flexible rewards currency make it an ideal introduction to the world of points. The lower minimum spend requirement (£3,000 compared to others' £6,000) also makes it more accessible for many.

If you're a frequent traveler who can maximize the Platinum card's extensive benefits – particularly the £400 dining credit, lounge access, and hotel status perks – then the higher annual fee might be justified by the exceptional 70,000-point welcome bonus and premium benefits.

For those specifically interested in British Airways redemptions, the choice between the no-fee card and Premium Plus version should depend on your spending patterns and how much you value premium cabin travel. If you can meet the £15,000 spending threshold and want to use the Companion Voucher for business class flights, the Premium Plus offers considerably more value despite its £300 annual fee.

Need help tracking your progress toward travel goals? Our British Airways Tier Point Calculator can help you plan your status strategy, while our Avios Points Calculator can show you exactly how many points you'll need for your dream flights.

For those looking to maximize value from their newly earned points, our Award Travel Finder tool makes finding award availability across multiple airlines simple.

Have you recently started your points journey with an American Express card? I'd love to hear about your experiences in the comments below!