Navigating the American Express Four Credit Card Limit

As you think about the best American Express credit cards to apply for to help you travel the world on points, it’s important to be aware of a certain limitations on the number of different products you can hold concurrently.

In particular, while there’s no limit to the number of American Express charge cards you can hold, you are in fact limited to having four credit cards at any given time.

And since there’s quite a handful of American Express credit cards that are worth your attention, you’ll have to think carefully about which quartet of American Express credit cards you’re most interested in – and whether to swap a few of them around over time.

American Express Charge Cards vs. Credit Cards

American Express is the only major credit card issuer to offer charge cards in addition to credit cards:

• Charge cards don’t come with a pre-determined credit limit, although you must pay off the balance in full every month
• Credit cards come with a credit limit and allow you to make minimum monthly payments and carry a balance (not that that’s ever a good idea).

You can hold unlimited charge cards, which means that you can collect the welcome bonuses on all of the American Express Platinum Card, the Business Platinum Card from American Express, the American Express Business Gold Card, and the American Express Aeroplan Card without worrying about running into card limits.

However, the four-card limit makes things more interesting in terms of American Express’s revolving credit products.

The following American Express credit cards are generally considered to be the most powerful for elevating your travel (as you can see, there’s already more than four):

Meanwhile, the following products might also appeal to those who’d prefer more low-maintenance points strategies, or even cash back:

However, it’s worth noting that these are generally less useful products in the overall Amex lineup. If you’re looking to elevate your travel, you’ll want to consider the cards in the list above for the best outcomes.

Which Four American Express Credit Cards?

To decide on the best strategy, we’ll need to trim down our list of American Express’s seven best travel credit cards (i.e., the first set of seven credit cards listed above) down to four.

Slot #1

The American Express Cobalt Card should absolutely be among your first picks for an American Express credit card.

With its much-celebrated ability to earn 5x Membership Rewards points on food and drinks (including anything you can buy at the grocery store), the Cobalt Card is a trusty points-generating machine and a core component of any optimal points strategy.

That’s especially the case since MR points can be transferred 1:1 to Aeroplan and British Airways Executive Club, and 1:0.75 to Air France KLM Flying Blue, Cathay Pacific Asia Miles, and Delta SkyMiles, to fund high-value flight redemptions.

Pick up the Cobalt Card, spend up to $2,500 per month on it in the eats and drinks category, and earn up to 150,000 MR points that serve as a formidable base for your annual points earnings every year. 

Slots #2 and #3

From the remaining six major credit cards, we can instantly tell that a key determinant in the optimal strategy is whether or not you’re interested in maximizing Marriott Bonvoy hotel loyalty points.

If chain hotels aren’t a part of your travel style, then you can simply skip the two Bonvoy co-branded cards, and there’s no further worry – you can load up on the three of the remaining four credit cards in the Aeroplan and Membership Rewards families.

But for most travellers who are looking to maximize their credit card points and benefits, the personal and business Bonvoy cards will probably play a fairly significant role.

After all, you always need a place to stay, and these cards are some of the most accessible ways to save money and unlock greater upside for your accommodations.

By holding onto both the personal and business Bonvoy cards in the long run, you’re earning:

Taking only the Free Night Awards into consideration, a reasonable target valuation when redeeming these certificates would be around $300–350 (CAD), which would outstrip the value of your annual fees by up to $200 (equivalent to a $400 gain across two cards).

Under the right circumstances, this figure could be even higher. It’s primarily due to this potential upside that the Bonvoy cards are among the best American Express credit cards for keeping in the long run. 

Slot #4

With one final slot left, here’s where the strategy branches out a little, depending on your specific travel needs and goals.

If you’re heavily invested in Aeroplan and fly often with Air Canada, then the American Express Aeroplan Reserve Card could make a lot of sense to hold in the long run, even with its $599 annual fee.

The card has seen very frequent Amex Offers that effectively reduce the annual fee, all while carrying some excellent benefits like Maple Leaf Lounge access, Air Canada priority services, and rollover of eUpgrades and unused Status Qualifying Miles.

(The Visa Infinite Privilege cards by TD and CIBC could play the same role, but their $200,000 minimum income requirements can be prohibitive, and those two issuers have been far less generous than American Express in terms of ongoing engagement offers.)

In most cases, the Amex Aeroplan Reserve Card makes more sense to hold than the American Express Aeroplan Business Reserve Card, as the two products are very similar and it doesn’t make sense to pay two annual fees here.

If you’re looking for a strong Amex card for your business, use the Business Platinum Card from American Express instead – it’s a charge card, so it doesn’t count towards your four-card limit, and the earn rate is higher at 1.25x compared to 1x.

Just keep in mind that picking up the Amex Aeroplan Reserve Card would complete your set of four credit cards – and thereby lock you out of, say, the American Express Gold Rewards Card and the American Express Business Edge Card.

This may not be a great loss, as neither card offers too many meaningful ongoing benefits that make them worth keeping year after year.

Sure, the Gold Rewards Card does offer four Plaza Premium lounge visits, but that can easily be replicated by picking up a cheaper Visa Infinite product such as the CIBC Aventura® Visa Infinite* Card or the Scotiabank Passport Visa Infinite Card, or simply the Platinum Card for lounge access in unlimited quantities.

Ideally, you’d be able to fill the fourth slot with a card that’s offering an excellent welcome bonus at the time. That way, you’ll enjoy great daily earning rates with your Cobalt, and then you’ll earn an initial boost for your Aeroplan or MR balance before holding onto the card for the long-term benefits.

What About Two-Player Mode?

If you’re playing the game in two-player mode, then there’s a little more leeway for expanding your strategy beyond what we’ve discussed above, once we consider the fact that some of the credit cards can be held by one partner, but maximized by both.

Give some thought as to how many Bonvoy cards – and their associated Free Night Awards – makes sense for your household to keep in the long run.

Some households might be able to maximize all four Bonvoy cards and Free Night Awards each year. But others might not travel enough to justify holding all four – rather than fitting those certificates into their organic travel plans, they might have to go out of their way to stay four nights at the 35,000-point level, and that defeats the purpose. 

The Cobalt Card is another interesting one. Supplementary cards are free, so there’s little reason for both partners to get a Cobalt of their own – you can simply share the same account and earn 5x points on all of your household’s food and drinks purchases.

The only exception is if you tend to rack up huge bills at your local grocery check-out and you find yourself running up to the $2,500 monthly purchase limit in the 5x category. In this case, you could bypass the limit by having your partner open a Cobalt Card of their own and then adding you as an authorized user.

As for the Aeroplan Reserve, the partner who travels more frequently could pick up the card, sharing the benefits with the other partner when you travel together. 

That would leave 2–4 open slots between the two of you for any other attractive welcome bonuses that pop up on the remaining credit cards. By pooling your efforts in two-player mode, you’re able to capture more ongoing benefits and one-time bonuses alike through your combined credit card portfolio. 

Conclusion

Here in Canada, American Express limits cardholders to four revolving credit cards at any given time.

While you can load up on as many of the charge cards in the Membership Rewards family as you’d like, it’s important to give some thought as to which products to keep in your four credit card slots. 

In most cases, the Cobalt Card and the twin Bonvoy cards make the most sense to keep open in the long run, with the final spot either dedicated to the Amex Aeroplan Reserve Card or kept flexible.