On the other hand, platinum tends to perform better during times of economic growth. When manufacturing and industrial industries thrive, platinum prices often do, too. Therefore, it is a valuable short-term investment that usually generates higher immediate returns compared to gold. We tend to think that platinum is more expensive than gold, which is why platinum credit cards have a higher status than gold and that is why, in the world of album certification, platinum (one million units sold) ranks higher than gold (half a million units).