Did Robinhood Just Say "Checkmate" to American Express?

The popular online brokerage and banking platform Robinhood (NASDAQ: HOOD) is taking a page out of American Express' (NYSE: AXP) playbook and launching a platinum credit card with a high annual fee that provides numerous perks.

It's Robinhood's latest foray into banking, as the company seeks to capitalize on the momentum it's generated with its huge customer base, which first came to the platform for commission-free trading and investing.

Did Robinhood just say "checkmate" to American Express?

Image source: The Motley Fool.

How Robinhood's new Platinum Card stacks up

Although the card is not yet available, Robinhood said it plans to offer its platinum credit card, boasting over $3,000 in potential value each year for a $695 annual fee. In addition to 5% cash back on flights, 10% cash back on hotel and car purchases, 1% cash back on other purchases, and a complimentary Robinhood Gold membership, other perks include:

• Travel credit: $300
• Hotel credit: $500
• Priority pass for airport lounges: $469
• Global Entry/TSA PreCheck: $120
• Autonomous rides credit: $250
• Restaurant credit: $250
• DoorDash discounts: $370
• Oura membership: $70
• Wearables credit: $200
• Function Health membership: $365
• Amazon One Medical membership: $199

Now, there are some caveats. For instance, DoorDash discounts apply only to orders of $50 or more. But there's definitely a lot of potential value in Robinhood's Platinum Card.

Meanwhile, American Express' popular Platinum Card has an annual fee of $895, and AmEx claims it offers over $3,500 in potential annual value. In addition to 175,000 membership reward points for new members who spend $12,000 on their card over the first six months, and 5 times points on all flights and prepaid hotels, here are just some of the perks AmEx also offers with its Platinum Card:

• Hotel credit: $600
• Access to global airport lounges: $850-plus
• Uber credit: $200
• Uber One credit: $120
• Airline fee credit: $200
• CLEAR+ credit: $209
• Reservation credit: $400
• Digital entertainment credit: $300
• Equinox credit: $300
• Lululemon credit: $300

As with Robinhood, cardholders must meet certain conditions to receive these credits, most of which are issued as statement credits (in other words, the services must be purchased using the credit card).

Did Robinhood just say "checkmate" to AmEx?

Based on the company's fourth-quarter 2025 earnings results, Robinhood has $324 billion in total platform assets, including equities, options, registered investment assets, and cash. The company also reported 27 million funded customers. Based on these numbers (Robinhood doesn't provide a more accurate estimate), the average account balance at Robinhood is estimated as roughly $12,000.

This implies that customers may have some disposable income but aren't the same higher-income customers that AmEx targets with its platinum card. While AmEx's card is more expensive, the benefits seem to apply to a wider range of users. Ultimately, I don't see any evidence that Robinhood's new card will steal market share from AmEx, especially given the company's strong brand.

I'm also curious to see how much demand there will be for Robinhood's new card, since the annual fee is quite high. Still, I don't necessarily view this as a bad play by the company. It could be a good long-term strategy. I've always viewed Robinhood's advantage as its ability to draw customers in early in their financial lives. If it can offer more banking products, which the company has greatly expanded in recent years, Robinhood should be able to cross-sell its products fairly effectively.

Its platform is easy to use, and I think customers will find the idea of doing most of their banking on one platform appealing. As Robinhood's customer base accumulates wealth, this card may become very attractive to them.

American Express is an advertising partner of Motley Fool Money. Bram Berkowitz has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Lululemon Athletica Inc. and Uber Technologies. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.