AmEx Redesigns $695-a-Year Platinum Card With Mehretu, Wiley Art

(Bloomberg) — American Express Co. is adding new art to its high-end Platinum card just months after revamping its rewards.

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Customers with the $695-a-year card are now able to select designs by artists Kehinde Wiley or Julie Mehretu, the company said on its website. Cardholders can also elect to stick with the card’s classic design.

After focusing for years on the metals and other materials used to make their cards, lenders are increasingly focused on design as a way to set themselves apart and attract new customers. This is the second time AmEx has turned to Wiley, known for including botanical elements in his paintings and for his official portrait of Barack Obama. Last year, Wiley developed a leafy design for the bank’s Centurion card, which comes with a $5,000 annual membership fee.

The new design “brings these botanicals directly onto the Platinum card, wonderfully capturing the essence of Wiley’s profound energy and worldview,” AmEx said. Mehretu’s version, meanwhile, “evokes the abstract modernity for which she is known.”

AmEx has been revamping the rewards on many of its most popular credit cards as it seeks to draw new business for the products after curtailing much of that activity during the height of the pandemic. In July, the New York-based company said it would add a $200 credit for hotel stays to its Platinum card along with access to additional airport lounges and discounts on a private-jet program.