Amex Platinum Card vs. Capital One Venture Card [Detailed Comparison]

Are you in the market for a new travel rewards card? Have you come across both The Platinum Card^® from American Express and the Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card in your own research? Can’t decide between high-end travel benefits or a solid rewards card with a low annual fee?

In this guide, we’ll be showing you the ins and outs of both card options to help you decide which one is best for your situation. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, so we’ll dive deep into the rewards, redeeming points, travel benefits, shopping perks, and much more.

As you can probably imagine, the Amex Platinum card is geared more towards luxury travel benefits, while the Capital One Venture card is more suited for people who are averse to high annual fees but would still like a worthwhile rewards structure on their card.

Amex Platinum Card vs. Capital One Venture Card — Overview

Don’t have time to read through this entire article? We understand. Check out this table walking you through the summary of both cards head-to-head.

The Value of a Welcome Offer

These welcome bonuses are earned after meeting a minimum spending requirement within the first few months immediately after card approval.

In general, the Amex Platinum card usually has better welcome offers, but we’ve sometimes seen instances when the Capital One Venture card offers a more attractive welcome bonus.

Just remember that it behooves you to check if the welcome offer available is as high as possible when applying for your new card so you can strike while the iron is hot!

Amex Platinum Card

BEST LOUNGE ACCESS

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

The Platinum Card^® from American Express

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.

Learn More(at Amex's secure site)

Apply With Confidence

Know if you're approved with no credit score impact

If you're approved and accept this Card, your credit score may be impacted.

The Platinum Card^® from American Express

The Amex Platinum reigns supreme for luxury travel, offering the best airport lounge access plus generous statement credits, and complimentary elite status.

Welcome Offer

Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on the Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

80,000 points

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$1,760

Annual Fee

$695

APR

See Pay Over Time APR

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

When it comes to cards that offer top-notch benefits, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better card out there than The Platinum Card^® from American Express.

Make no mistake — the Amex Platinum card is a premium card with a premium price tag. With amazing benefits like best-in-class airport lounge access, hotel elite status, and tremendous value in annual statement credits, it can easily prove to be one of the most lucrative cards in your wallet year after year.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• The best airport lounge access out of any card (by far) — enjoy access to over 1,400 worldwide lounges, including the luxurious Amex Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges, and many more!
• 5x points per dollar spent on flights purchased directly with the airline or with AmexTravel.com (up to $500,000 per year)
• 5x points per dollar spent on prepaid hotels booked with AmexTravel.com

Cons

• $695 annual fee (rates and fees)
• Airline credit does not cover airfare (only incidentals like checked bags)

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards^® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership. Apply and select your preferred metal Card design: classic Platinum, Platinum x Kehinde Wiley, or Platinum x Julie Mehretu.
• Earn 5X Membership Rewards^® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards^® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
• $200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts^® or The Hotel Collection bookings with American Express Travel when you pay with your Platinum Card^®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
• $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card^® on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
• The American Express Global Lounge Collection^® can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market. As of 03/2023.
• $155 Walmart+ Credit: Save on eligible delivery fees, shipping, and more with a Walmart+ membership. Use your Platinum Card^® to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership and get up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes back on one membership (excluding Plus Ups) each month.
• $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your Platinum Card^®.
• $200 Uber Cash: Enjoy Uber VIP status and up to $200 in Uber savings on rides or eats orders in the US annually. Uber Cash and Uber VIP status is available to Basic Card Member only. Terms Apply.
• $189 CLEAR^® Plus Credit: CLEAR^® Plus helps to get you to your gate faster at 50+ airports nationwide and get up to $189 back per calendar year on your Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Card. CLEARLanes are available at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues.
• Receive either a $100 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 year period for TSA PreCheck^® application fee for a 5-year plan only (through a TSA PreCheck^® official enrollment provider), when charged to your Platinum Card^®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
• Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases in Saks Fifth Avenue stores or at saks.com on your Platinum Card^®. That's up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
• Unlock access to exclusive reservations and special dining experiences with Global Dining Access by Resy when you add your Platinum Card^® to your Resy profile.
• $695 annual fee.
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: See Pay Over Time APR
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

American Express Membership Rewards

Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus offer of up to 125k (or 150k) points with the Amex Platinum. The current public offer is 80,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)

Capital One Venture Card

LIMITED TIME OFFER

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the in's and out's of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

Get 2x miles plus some of the most flexible redemptions offered by a travel credit card!

Learn More(at Capital One's secure site)

Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card

Get 2x miles plus some of the most flexible redemptions offered by a travel credit card!

Welcome Offer

Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel.

$250 Capital One Travel Credit + 75,000 miles

UP's Bonus Valuation*:

$1,600

Annual Fee

$95

APR

19.99% - 29.99% (Variable)

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent Credit (670-850)

Why We Like This Card

The Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card is one of the most popular rewards cards on the market. It’s perfect for anyone in search of a great welcome offer, high rewards rates, and flexible redemption options.

Frequent travelers with excellent credit may benefit from this credit card that offers a lot of bells and whistles. And it offers easy-to-understand rewards earning and redemption.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 5x miles per $1 on hotels, vacation rentals, and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel
• 2x miles per $1 on all other purchases
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit

Cons

• $95 annual fee (rates & fees)
• Limited elite benefits

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Enjoy $250 to use on Capital One Travel in your first cardholder year, plus earn 75,000 bonus miles once you spend $4,000 on purchases within the first 3 months from account opening - that’s equal to $1,000 in travel
• Earn unlimited 2X miles on every purchase, every day
• Earn 5X miles on hotels, vacation rentals and rental cars booked through Capital One Travel, where you'll get Capital One's best prices on thousands of trip options
• Miles won't expire for the life of the account and there's no limit to how many you can earn
• Receive up to a $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck^®
• Use your miles to get reimbursed for any travel purchase—or redeem by booking a trip through Capital One Travel
• Enjoy a $50 experience credit and other premium benefits with every hotel and vacation rental booked from the Lifestyle Collection
• Transfer your miles to your choice of 15+ travel loyalty programs

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 19.99% - 29.99% (Variable)
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

Capital One Miles

Amex Membership Rewards Points vs. Capital One Miles

Amex Membership Rewards points or Capital One miles? Although there isn’t a universal answer, let’s take a look at both point currencies to see what exactly we’re dealing with.

To start, we value Amex Membership Rewards points at 2.2 cents each and Capital One miles at 1.8 cents each.

The reason why we value Amex Membership Rewards points more than Capital One miles is due to the quality of Amex’s airline and hotel transfer partners compared to Capital One’s transfer partners. Currently, Amex has better high-quality transfer partners like ANA Mileage Club and Hilton Honors.

These 2 programs share a lot of transfer partners such as Air Canada Aeroplan and British Airways Executive Club, but the difference is in the niche programs.

You can consistently transfer Amex Membership Rewards points to Hilton Honors at a 1:2 ratio to book luxury hotels using points at a good value — it’s not easy to get good value at hotels through Capital One miles due to the poor transfer ratio of 1:1 with Choice Privileges and Wyndham Rewards.

One common theme is that you can use both Amex Membership Rewards points and Capital One miles for less valuable redemption value through cash-back, gift cards, statement credits, and Amazon.com purchases.

Earning Potential

When you max out the rewards on the Amex Platinum card, you’re looking at a return on spending of 11% — however, if you tend to spend more of your money on non-travel purchases, the Capital One Venture card earns 2x miles, which we value at a 3.6% return on spending. This is superior to the Amex Platinum card’s 1x points on other purchases, equal to a 2.2% return on spending.

We definitely favor using the Amex Platinum card if you’re spending heavily on travel and the Capital One Venture card if you tend to make non-travel purchases.

Redemption Options

Redemption options for both cards appear to be very similar with both Amex Membership Rewards points and Capital One miles.

However, the difference lies in the nuance. We can’t emphasize enough that the best way to use either of these rewards points/miles is to transfer them to airline and hotel partners and book luxury award travel, whether it’s for business class flights or 5-star hotels.

And the Amex Platinum card’s transfer partners are typically more valuable than the Capital One Venture card’s transfer partners, though they do share many identical transfer partners.

Hotel and Rental Car Program Elite Benefits

If you frequently stay at hotels or book car rentals while traveling, you’ll want to pay close attention to this next section!

Hotel Program Elite Status

One of the absolute biggest selling points of the Amex Platinum card is the hotel benefits and elite status perks.

Let’s start off with hotel benefits — when you have the Amex Platinum card, you have access to Fine Hotels + Resorts, a series of high-end properties that offers these benefits on bookings made through Amex:

• Room upgrades
• Daily breakfast for 2 guests
• Early check-in and late checkout (when available)
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• A unique property amenity (such as a spa, or food and beverage credit) worth a minimum of $100

In addition, you’ll have access to The Hotel Collection, which offers these benefits on eligible stays of at least 2 nights:

• Up to $100 property credit
• Upgraded room (when available)

Furthermore, with the Amex Platinum card, you can get Hilton Honors Gold status and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status upon enrollment, which is amazing!

Currently, the Capital One Venture card doesn’t offer any hotel elite status or benefit programs as the Amex Platinum card does.

Rental Car Program Benefits

The Amex Platinum card offers top-tier Executive status with National Emerald Club, top-tier Hertz Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle status, and Avis Preferred Plus status. This is all complimentary to cardholders upon enrollment!

Statement Credits

When it comes to statement credits, there’s no better card than the Amex Platinum card. Just take a look at all of the complimentary perks you get:

• Up to $200 in airline fee credits every year
• Up to $200 in prepaid hotel credits on eligible stays every year
• Up to $200 in Uber Cash every year
• Up to $189 in CLEAR Plus credits every year
• A Global Entry application fee credit every 4 years or a TSA PreCheck application fee credit every 4.5 years
• Up to $100 in Saks Fifth Avenue credits every year
• Up to $240 in digital entertainment credits every year
• Up to $300 in Equinox credit every year
• Up to $155 in Walmart+ credit every year
• Up to $300 in SoulCycle bike credit

Note that some of the statement credits mentioned above require enrollment so be sure to get the most out of your benefits through your American Express account.

The only major statement credit offered on the Capital One Venture card is the Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit.

Hot Tip:

To determine the true value of a card, you should subtract benefits with tangible value (like statement credits) from the annual fee of a card. After all, if a card has a $695 annual fee and offers you more than a thousand dollars worth of value every year, you’d come out way ahead!

Travel Benefits and Protections

Airport Lounge Access

The Amex Platinum card clearly sets itself apart from the rest of the pack with its airport lounge access benefit. Cardholders can access the American Express Global Lounge Collection, which includes:

Bottom Line:

If airport lounge access is important to you, the Amex Platinum card is the way to go.

Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance

The Amex Platinum card offers up to $75,000 in secondary rental car coverage, plus the ability to purchase primary rental car insurance for $12.25 to $24.95 per rental. To have coverage effective, you’ll need to pay for your rental car reservation using your card and decline the rental car company’s loss damage waiver/collision damage waiver (LDW/CDW).

The Capital One Venture card’s MasterRental Insurance allows you to use your card to rent an eligible vehicle and you may be covered for physical damage and theft of the rental vehicle.

Trip Interruption and Cancellation Insurance

The Amex Platinum card offers some fantastic travel insurance to protect against trip cancellation and interruption.

In the event that select prepaid nonrefundable expenses are made for your trip that is canceled or interrupted due to a covered reason such as illness, death, or injury, you can get reimbursed for up to $10,000 per trip with a maximum of $20,000 in total reimbursements every rolling 12 months.

The Capital One Venture card offers Trip Cancellation/Interruption Coverage. In the event of illness or death of the cardholder or immediate family member results in the cancellation or interruption of a trip, you may be eligible for reimbursement up to $1,500

Trip Delay Reimbursement

Is your trip delayed? If you purchased your common carrier ticket (e.g. plane ticket) using your Amex Platinum card and your trip is delayed by more than 6 hours (or if it requires an overnight stay), you can get up to $500 per trip in trip delay reimbursements towards essentials (up to 2 approved claims every rolling 12 months).

Lost and Delayed Luggage Coverage

With the Amex Platinum card, lost luggage is eligible for up to $3,000 per person per trip with a sub-limit of $1,000 per person for all high-risk items.

For the Capital One Venture card’s Lost or Damaged Luggage, you may receive reimbursement for the actual cost of repairing or replacing your checked or carry-on luggage and personal property contained therein that is lost or damaged.

Roadside Dispatch/Master RoadAssist

Interestingly, the Amex Platinum card doesn’t offer roadside assistance, while the Capital One Venture card offers Master RoadAssist. Take advantage of 24 hour toll-free assistance to help with services like towing, gas delivery, jumpstarts, and tire changes. Note that you will be responsible for any and all costs incurred.

Travel Assistance

The Amex Platinum card is one of the few cards that gets you access to the Premium Global Assist Hotline, which is how you, your spouse, or your dependent children under the age of 22 years old can get assistance while traveling 24/7/365.

This service is a referral service for the most part, which means you’ll be responsible for any incurred costs. Here are some of the benefits available:

• Emergency message service
• Emergency ticket replacement
• Emergency translation service
• Emergency transportation assistance
• Legal referral assistance
• Lost luggage locator service
• Medical referral assistance
• Pre-trip assistance
• Prescription assistance and valuable document delivery

In addition, the Premium Global Assist Hotline offers you repatriation of mortal remains and emergency medical transportation and evacuation at no additional cost to you.

For the Capital One Venture card, the Travel Assistance services are Available 24/7 to help connect you with local emergency and assistance resources when you’re away from home.

Shopping Benefits and Protections

Earn Bonus Rewards or Cash-back Through Amex Offers

The Amex Platinum card offers Amex Offers. Amex Offers are well-known in the industry to offer much better savings or bonus rewards.

Cell Phone Protection

Another amazing benefit of the Amex Platinum card is the cell phone protection coverage. When you pay for your monthly cellular bill using your Amex Platinum card, you can receive up to $800 per claim in reimbursements against eligible damage or theft incidents with a $50 deductible per claim (maximum of 2 claims per rolling 12 months).

The Capital One Venture card doesn’t offer cell phone protection.

Purchase Protection

The Amex Platinum card has top-of-the-line purchase protection, covering you for eligible items that were damaged or stolen within 90 days of the purchase date — enjoy up to $10,000 in purchase protection per item and up to $50,000 per calendar year in total reimbursements.

Meanwhile, the Capital One Venture card offers purchase assurance allowing eligible purchases made with your card to be covered if damaged or stolen within the first 90 days of purchase.

Extended Warranty

When you have the Amex Platinum card and make a purchase on items with eligible original U.S. manufacturer’s warranties, you can get 1 additional year of extended warranty coverage on eligible warranties of 5 years or less.

No Preset Spending Limit

The Amex Platinum card is an ideal card for big spenders — and one of the ways it caters to big spenders is by offering no preset spending limit.

No preset spending limit doesn’t mean you can spend an unlimited amount of money; rather, your spending limit is flexible. Unlike a traditional card with a set limit, the amount you can spend adapts based on factors such as your purchase, payment, and credit history.

No Foreign Transaction Fees

There are no foreign transaction fees with both the Amex Platinum card and the Capital One Venture card (rates & fees).

Annual Fees and Adding Additional Users

Annual Fees

The Amex Platinum card has an annual fee of $695, while the Capital One Venture card has a $95 annual fee (rates & fees).

Authorized Users

With the Amex Platinum card, there are varying types of authorized user cards. If you add an authorized user, you can elect to add them as authorized user Platinum cards, authorized user Gold cards, or authorized user Green cards.

The rewards structure will follow the primary Amex Platinum card’s structure and will be the same regardless of which product you choose — however, the product you choose will determine what types of benefits are conferred to the authorized user as well.

For example, you can add authorized users for $195 per card, which gets them access to the Global Lounge Collection, their own Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit, and several other perks.

Meanwhile, adding authorized user Gold cards or Green cards comes with no additional annual fee but limited benefits (rates & fees).

The Capital One Venture card has no additional annual fee for authorized users.

Final Thoughts

You can’t go wrong with the Amex Platinum card or the Capital One Venture card. But if you’re looking more for luxury travel benefits and rewards, the Amex Platinum card probably suits you the best.

If you’re on the market for something premium but not too fancy, the Capital One Venture card might work for you, thanks to its streamlined rewards categories, unfussy benefits, and reasonable price tag.

Just remember to factor in the statement credits and other benefits into the overall equation before making a decision — you might end up getting more back from your card even if it has a higher annual fee.

That way, you can justify paying the hefty annual fee to get access to luxury travel benefits from the Amex Platinum card.

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For Capital One products listed on this page, some of the benefits may be provided by Visa^® or Mastercard^® and may vary by product. See the respective Guide to Benefits for details, as terms and exclusions apply.

For the baggage insurance plan benefit of The Platinum Card^® from American Express, baggage insurance plan coverage can be in effect for covered persons for eligible lost, damaged, or stolen baggage during their travel on a common carrier vehicle (e.g. plane, train, ship, or bus) when the Entire Fare for a ticket for the trip (one-way or round-trip) is charged to an eligible card. Coverage can be provided for up to $2,000 for checked baggage and up to a combined maximum of $3,000 for checked and carry-on baggage, in excess of coverage provided by the common carrier. The coverage is also subject to a $3,000 aggregate limit per covered trip. For New York State residents, there is a $2,000 per bag/suitcase limit for each covered person with a $10,000 aggregate maximum for all covered persons per covered trip. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

For the car rental loss and damage insurance benefit ofThe Platinum Card^® from American Express, car rental loss and damage insurance can provide coverage up to $75,000 for theft of or damage to most rental vehicles when you use your eligible card to reserve and pay for the entire eligible vehicle rental and decline the collision damage waiver or similar option offered by the commercial car rental company. This product provides secondary coverage and does not include liability coverage. Not all vehicle types or rentals are covered. geographic restrictions apply. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company. Car Rental Loss or Damage Coverage is offered through American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc.

For the cell phone protection benefit of The Platinum Card^® from American Express, coverage for a stolen or damaged eligible cellular wireless telephone is subject to the terms, conditions, exclusions and limits of liability of this benefit. The maximum liability is $800, per claim, per eligible card account. Each claim is subject to a $50 deductible. Coverage is limited to two (2) claims per eligible card account per 12 month period. Eligibility and benefit level varies by Card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

For the extended warranty benefit of The Platinum Card^® from American Express, when an American Express^® card member charges a covered purchase to an eligible card, extended warranty can provide up to one extra year added to the original manufacturer’s warranty. Applies to warranties of five (5) years or less. Coverage is up to the actual amount charged to your card for the item up to a maximum of $10,000; not to exceed $50,000 per card member account per calendar year. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

For the premium global assist hotline benefit of The Platinum Card^® from American Express, you can rely on Global Assist Hotline 24 hours a day / 7 days a week for medical, legal, financial or other select emergency coordination and assistance services while traveling more than 100 miles away from your home. Plus, we may provide emergency medical transportation assistance and related services. Third-party service costs may be your responsibility. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. If approved and coordinated by premium global assist hotline, emergency medical transportation assistance may be provided at no cost. In any other circumstance, Card Members may be responsible for the costs charged by third-party service providers.

For the purchase protection benefit of The Platinum Card^® from American Express, purchase protection is an embedded benefit of your card membership and requires no enrollment. It can help protect covered purchases made on your eligible card when they’re accidentally damaged, stolen, or lost, for up to 90 days from the covered purchase date. The coverage is limited up to $10,000 per occurrence, up to $50,000 per card member account per calendar year. Coverage limits apply. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.

For the trip cancellation and interruption insurance benefit of The Platinum Card^® from American Express, the maximum benefit amount for trip cancellation and interruption insurance is $10,000 per covered trip and $20,000 per eligible card per 12 consecutive month period. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.

For the trip delay insurance benefit of The Platinum Card^® from American Express, up to $500 per covered trip that is delayed for more than 6 hours; and 2 claims per eligible card per 12 consecutive month period. Eligibility and benefit level varies by card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.