Is the CIMB Platinum card or the AMEX Platinum card better?

CIMB Platinum Mastercard and Amex Platinum are very different–and I'm not sure if either are a great match for frequent travellers. Here's a breakdown:

CIMB Platinum Mastercard is great because it has no annual fee. However, there's a S$800 minimum monthly spend requirement, so you'll need to use it quite a bit to access its advertised 10% rate. Furthermore, that 10% cashback on "travel" only applies to spend on flights and hotels _in foreign currency. _All of CIMB Platinum's individual rewards rates–dining, petrol, medical, furnishings, travel in foreign currency–earn 10% rebate, but are individually capped at S$20/month each. That's maxed out with just S$200 spend. To take full advantage, you'd need to have very distributed spend across all 5 of these categories, every month.

Amex Platinum is actually best fit for affluent local Singaporeans who want access to luxury & privileges without having to leave the country. First of all, there's a S$321 annual fee without a waiver option–a big differentiator from CIMB Platinum. It's also a points-earning card, where you'll get the most value if you convert your points to miles (no conversion fee). Amex Platinum is not a great option if you're looking to rapidly accrue rewards; general spend earns the equivalent of 0.69 miles/S$1 (both locally _and _overseas), boosted to 3.44 miles if you shop with select luxury merchants (mostly fashion retail). You don't receive lounge access or hotel room upgrades, nor special airline privileges. Instead, you'll get access to a myriad of local dining deals through Amex Selects, Love Dining, Amex Invites and the Chillax programme. Other perks include free green fees & local spa discounts. The biggest "travel" perk associated with Amex Platinum right now is its promotion, which offers the equivalent of up to 27.5k miles with S$12k spend in 6 months (hard to reach if you're an average spender).

Have you considered options like Maybank Horizon Visa or even KrisFlyer UOB instead? MB Horizon offers 3.2 miles/S$1 on local dining, transport, petrol & more, plus 2 miles on travel & overseas. You'll get lounge access, free travel insurance and can easily earn an annual fee waiver. KrisFlyer UOB is a good option if you mostly fly with SIA brands (SilkAir, SingaporeAirlines, Scoot). You can earn up to 3 miles/S$1 on global dining, transport, online fashion & travel, as well as on SIA spend–plus you'll unlock a bunch of privileges with Scoot.

Hopefully this helps. If you're still looking for a travel card, here are a few worthwhile options:

https://www.valuechampion.sg/best-travel-credit...​​​

They both have their benefits but if you are a frequent traveller, I would say the AMEX Platinum card is better because the benefits catered more towards travelling and foreign usage brings about more benefits than the CIMB platinum card. If you use your card for your overseas trips, you get deals like S$800 credit (S$400 air travel credit and another $400 lodging credit) as well as points and rewards if you use AMEX platinum card to book your air & lounge, hotels, cruise and car rentals.

Not saying CIMB doesnt have their own travel benefits as they do have a 10% cashback on travel in foreign currency but just that CIMB platinum card may be more useful locally with its 10% cashback on wine & dine, petrol & transport, health & medical, electronics & furnishing at selected merchants. ​​​