Updated 13 April 2026 · 12 min read · By TravelLux.be

Premium Credit Cards Compared: Amex Platinum vs Visa Infinite vs Mastercard World Elite

Last summer I was standing at Brussels Airport. Gate B34, flight to Istanbul, three more hours to wait. Next to me sat a businessman who calmly pulled out his boarding pass and a silver-grey card, stood up and disappeared towards the lounge. I stayed put with my lukewarm bottle of water and a €6.50 croissant.

That moment has stayed with me. Not out of jealousy, but out of curiosity. What card was that? What does a premium credit card actually deliver for someone travelling from Belgium? And above all: is it worth the price, or are you mainly paying for a nice piece of metal?

Since then I have thoroughly compared three premium cards. Amex Platinum vs Visa Infinite vs Mastercard World Elite: the three heavyweights available in Belgium for travellers who want more than a standard bank card. I share here honestly what I discovered, including the things the brochures would rather not mention.

What makes a premium credit card different from a regular card?

Let me set something straight first. A premium credit card is not simply "a more expensive version of your regular Visa." It is a completely different product. Think of the difference between economy and business class: yes, you arrive at the same destination. But the experience along the way is totally different.

With a premium card you pay an annual fee (which can range from €150 to €780 depending on the tier) and in return you get benefits you cannot buy separately anywhere for the same price. Lounge access at airports. Travel insurance you no longer need to take out separately. Room upgrades at hotels. Points programmes with which you book flights.

The three cards I am comparing represent the absolute top tier in Belgium. Each with its own philosophy, its own strengths and its own weaknesses. None of them is "bad." But there is one that delivers the most for the majority of Belgian travellers. I will come back to that shortly.

Amex Platinum, Visa Infinite and Mastercard World Elite: who offers what in Belgium?

I am placing the three cards side by side. Not in a dry table, but honestly, based on the things that truly matter when you travel regularly from Brussels or Zaventem.

Honestly, when I first saw this side by side, it was quite clear. Visa Infinite and Mastercard World Elite are solid cards with good everyday acceptance in Belgium. But when you look at pure travel value, the Amex Platinum is playing in a different league.

Where the Amex Platinum truly makes the difference for Belgian travellers

I fly on average five or six times a year from Brussels Airport. Not always far: sometimes Lisbon, sometimes Barcelona, sometimes Dubai or the Maldives. And it is precisely in that pattern that you notice the difference a premium travel card makes.

Take lounge access. With my Amex Platinum I simply walk into the lounge at Zaventem. Free. My partner too. No limit on the number of visits per year. With a Visa Infinite via KBC you might get four or six lounge visits. That sounds okay, until you realise that a return flight already uses two visits. Three trips and you have hit your limit.

Then the points system. This is where the real gold lies for me. Membership Rewards points are transferable to more than 15 airlines. Brussels Airlines. Emirates. Qatar Airways. British Airways. Singapore Airlines. That means I can convert points earned on my everyday spending (groceries, fuel, restaurants) into business class flights. Last year I booked a return BRU to DXB to MLE via Emirates Skywards for a fraction of the price. Two weeks in the Maldives, business class there and back. With the Booster option (€10/month extra) you even earn 4 points per euro.

With Visa Infinite and Mastercard World Elite via Belgian banks the loyalty programmes are much more limited. You often get cashback (nice, but not spectacular) or vouchers you can spend at certain shops. No ability to transfer points to an airline. And that is a fundamental difference when you travel.

Something else Belgian travellers often forget: foreign transaction fees. The Amex Platinum charges no foreign transaction fees on payments in a foreign currency. With most Visa Infinite and Mastercard World Elite cards from Belgian banks you pay 1.5% to 2% extra on every payment outside the eurozone. On a hotel bill of €2,000 in Thailand that is €30 to €40 extra. On an annual basis that adds up quickly.

The honest downside: acceptance in Belgium

I am not going to beat around the bush here, because this is the question everyone asks. Is American Express accepted everywhere in Belgium?

No. Not everywhere.

Large chains accept Amex: Delhaize, Carrefour, Colruyt (online), most restaurants in Brussels, Antwerp and Ghent, hotels, petrol stations of major brands. Online it works virtually always: Coolblue, Bol, Booking.com, Amazon. But that small bakery in Leuven or the village café in the Ardennes? Probably not.

My solution is simple and it is the same one most Amex holders in Belgium use: I have a regular Visa or Mastercard as a backup for everyday small purchases. I use the Amex for everything that does accept it: large purchases, travel, online shopping, restaurants. That way I earn maximum points on my higher spending and never have the problem of not being able to pay somewhere.

Is that a downside? Yes, it is an extra card in your wallet. But when you do the maths on what the Amex Platinum gives back in travel benefits, lounges, insurance and points, that minor inconvenience is negligible.

How much does the Amex Platinum really cost, and do you earn it back?

The annual fee of €780 puts many people off. I understand that. It is a serious amount. But I did the maths for my own situation, and the result is surprisingly positive.

What you concretely get back, purely in fixed benefits:

Add that up and you arrive at over €1,300 in concrete value per year. And I have not even counted the Membership Rewards points yet. With the welcome bonus of 150,000 points (available via the TravelLux.be referral link) you can already book a business class return to the Middle East or Asia.

With a Visa Infinite at €250/year you get less back in pure travel value. Lower lounge limit, no Brussels Airport Fast Lane, no Fine Hotels + Resorts. You save €530 on the annual fee, but you miss out on more than €530 in benefits. That is the paradox many people do not see.

Honestly: if you only fly once a year and mainly pay within Belgium, the Amex Platinum is overkill. Then a Visa Infinite or Mastercard World Elite via your bank is a better match. But if you travel internationally three times or more per year? Then the Amex Platinum is the card in Belgium that pays for itself the fastest.

My personal setup as a Belgian traveller

I want to briefly share how I do it myself, because I think it will be recognisable for many readers.

My main card is the Amex Platinum. Everything I can pay via Amex goes through that card. Hotels via Fine Hotels + Resorts (just last month I booked the Ritz in Lisbon with free breakfast, a room upgrade and a €100 welcome gift). Flights. Restaurants in Brussels and Antwerp. Large online purchases. Fuel at Total.

In addition I have a regular Mastercard via my Belgian bank for the moments when Amex is not accepted. That is perhaps 20% of my daily spending. The rest goes through the Amex, and that way I build up points every month which I then convert into flights.

That combination works. It is not complicated, it does not cost me any extra effort, and it earns me thousands of euros in travel value every year. Last year I calculated that I received more than €2,400 in travel benefits with the Amex Platinum. On an annual fee of €780 that is a net gain of well over €1,600.

Honestly, three years ago I would not have believed it if someone had told me. But the numbers do not lie.

Frequently asked questions about premium credit cards in Belgium