Our take: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express rocks out when it comes to travel perks. But if you don't use the benefits, the card's annual fee will leave you with a headache.
Pros
- Broad access to airport lounges worldwide
- 35% points rebate when using points for all or part of an eligible flight booked through Amex Travel
- Valuable travel and purchase credits that can outweigh the card’s ownership cost
Cons
- High $695 annual fee
- Multiple credits take some work to maximize
- Rewards rate on spending outside of flights and prepaid hotels is mediocre
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express Highlights
Card type: Business
- Welcome Bonus: 120,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of card membership
- Annual fee: $695
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Rewards:
- 5x points on flights and prepaid hotel stays booked through amextravel.com
- 1.5x points on purchases in select business categories (currently construction material and hardware suppliers, U.S. shipping providers, U.S. electronics retailers, and software and cloud system providers)
- 1.5x points on qualifying purchases of $5,000 or more in other categories
- 1x points on all other eligible purchases
To view rates and fees of the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page.
Overview
Can you hear that? The sounds of a crowded, noisy, hectic airport terminal? No? That’s what you get with The Business Platinum Card® from American Express.
The headlining benefit of this card is the unparalleled airport lounge access it offers. The card grants entry to the exclusive Centurion lounges, as well as Escape Lounges, Lufthansa Lounges when flying Lufthansa Group, Plaza Premium, Priority Pass Select Lounges, and Additional Global Lounge Collection Partner Lounges, which means you’ll have access to an oasis of calm at nearly any airport you fly into or out of.
But there’s more to this card than just quiet airport luxury. The card offers multiple perks to make your overall travel experience smoother, including an annual CLEAR Plus application fee credit, a Global Entry or TSA Precheck application fee credit, Gold elite status with Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors (enrollment required), benefits for bookings made with Amex’s Fine Hotels & Resorts Program and premium car rental privileges with either Hertz, Avis or National (enrollment with one of the brands required).
There’s also a plethora of other potential perks that can make up for (and even outweigh) the card’s imposing annual fee. This includes an up to $200 annual airline incidental fee credit, an up to $120 wireless statement credit, an up to $360 annual credit with Indeed, an up to $400 annual Dell credit (this benefit will be sunset after Dec. 31, 2024) and up to $150 in annual Adobe Creative Solutions credit.
These credits are all nice-to-haves and can soothe the wallet-straining price tag on the Amex Business Platinum, but the main reason to get this card would be for the powerful business traveler’s combo of premium lounge access and the 35% points rebate on flights booked through Amex. For someone who flies multiple times a year, these two attributes can be worth well more than the card’s annual fee.
Who is the Amex Business Platinum good for?
The Amex Business Platinum is ideal for a business traveler who flies often, primarily with one airline, and can skillfully manage the attributes of this card to get the most value from it.
Who shouldn’t get the Amex Business Platinum?
If you rarely fly, this card is not for you. It’s cheaper to buy an airport lounge day pass a few times a year than to carry the $695-annual-fee Amex. And, the rewards earned on the card outside of booking flights and prepaid hotels can be bested by plenty of other rewards cards with less-lofty annual fees.
Business Platinum Card® from American Express: How to earn rewards
The Business Platinum Card has a multi-tier rewards structure through its Membership Rewards program:
- 5x points on flights and prepaid hotel stays booked through amextravel.com
- 1.5x points on purchases in select business categories (currently construction material and hardware suppliers, U.S. shipping providers, U.S. electronics retailers, and software and cloud system providers)
- 1.5x points on qualifying purchases of $5,000 or more in other categories
- 1x points on all other eligible purchases
Please note: The 1.5x rewards multiplier is capped at two million dollars of eligible purchases per calendar year per account.
You can earn points on most purchases. However, the following transactions are ineligible for Membership Rewards points:
- Person-to-person transfers
- Fees or interest charged to your account
- Gift card or traveler’s check purchases
- Prepaid card purchases or reloading
The Business Platinum Card a offers welcome bonus to new customers of 120,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months of card membership.
How to redeem Membership Rewards points with the Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Amex Business Platinum Card earns Membership Rewards points which are highly flexible, meaning they can be redeemed in multiple ways. Here’s what you can do with them.
Pay with points at checkout
You can use your points to pay at checkout with eligible partners like Amazon, Best Buy and PayPal. Points are typically worth 0.7 cents per point this way.
Redeem for travel with Pay with Points
You can use Membership Rewards to book travel through AmexTravel using the Pay with Points feature. Using points this way will give you a value of 1 cent per point for flights and hotels in the Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts Collection, and 0.7 cents per point for prepaid hotel bookings, cruises, rental cars, and vacation packages.
However, the card also gives you 3.5 bonus points bonus for every 10 points you redeem for flights you book through Amex Travel and pay for with points, which is effectively a 35% rebate on reward bookings made this way. That’s a stellar value.
One important caveat to be aware of is that you’ll get that 35% bonus on business or first class flights on any airline, but if you’re booking any form of economy class, you’ll only get the bonus on a qualifying airline you have to select and that qualifying airline has to match what you selected to get your $200 annual airline fee credit.
Redeem for travel by transferring to airline and hotel partners
One of the best uses of Membership Rewards points is transferring them to one of Amex’s airline partners. Amex has 18 airline partners and three hotel partners and in some cases you’ll get more value from your Membership Rewards by transferring points to a partner. It pays to do the math to determine if this is a better option than paying with points for the 35% bonus.
Here’s an example:
A one-way first class flight from Atlanta (ATL) to Chicago’s Midway Airport (MDW) on Delta Air Lines in May 2024 has a cash price of $449. At a redemption value of a penny per point, you’d have to redeem 44,900 Membership Rewards points for that flight, although you’d get 15,715 of them back from the 35% bonus points feature. That means this flight booked through Amex Travel for an Amex Business Platinum cardholder will effectively cost 29,185 points.
However, booking the flight with Delta SkyMiles requires 37,500 SkyMiles, which means you’d need to transfer 37,500 Membership Rewards to your Delta SkyMiles account in order to book that flight on points, 8,315 points more than booking directly through Amex . Without the 35% points rebate, you’ll get more value for your rewards using transfer partners, but with it, it’s a better value to book through Amex.
Redeem for gift cards
You can redeem your rewards to buy gift cards from a variety of vendors including hotel brands, airlines, restaurant chains, retailers and more. The value of redeeming your rewards this way is between 0.7 cents and 1 cent per point, depending on the specific gift card.
Redeem for statement credits
Redeeming Ultimate Rewards for a statement credit is worth just 0.6 cents per point, making this the least valuable redemption option.
Rates and Fees
- Purchase APR: The Amex Business Platinum card is a pay-in-full card, meaning any balance is technically due in full at the end of each billing cycle. It has a 19.49%–27.49% variable interest rate for Pay Over Time transactions.
- Annual fee: $695
- Foreign transaction fee: None
To view rates and fees of the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, see this page.
Additional benefits
In addition to the points you’ll earn for making qualifying purchases, you’ll enjoy these (and other) valuable benefits as a Business Platinum Card member:
- Upgraded hotel status: Enroll in Marriott Bonvoy™ Gold Elite and Hilton Honors Gold programs for free without meeting stay requirements.
- Hotel perks: Enhance your hotel stay with a room upgrade, early check-in, late checkout, free Wi-Fi, breakfast for two, or a $100 amenity credit through the Fine Hotels and Resorts Program.
- Rental car program premium status: Get priority customer service, discounts, and vehicle upgrades (when available).
- Car rental loss and damage insurance: Protect your rental without paying for coverage out of pocket.
- Cell phone protection: Get reimbursed for up to $800 to repair or replace your cell phone. You’re limited to two claims per year, and all claims are subject to a $50 deductible.
- Baggage insurance: If your luggage gets lost, stolen, or damaged, you can receive up to $2,000 for checked bags or a combined $3,000 for checked and carry-on bags.
- Trip delay, interruption, or cancellation insurance: If your adventure doesn’t go as planned, contact American Express for assistance.
- $189 CLEAR Plus credit: Get up to $189 credited back to your account to cover the cost of your CLEAR Plus membership, which helps you get through event security faster.
- Fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck®: Get reimbursed $100 every four years for your Global Entry membership fee and up to $85 every four and a half years for your TSA PreCheck® membership fee.
- Other statement credits: Get up to $400 credited to your account when you make qualifying purchases through companies like Dell Technologies, Indeed, Adobe, and wireless telephone service providers.
- Business tools: Take advantage of account alerts, the American Express® mobile app (for Android and iOS), employee cards (which also earn rewards), helpful account statements and reports, and seamless integration with QuickBooks.
- Extended warranty: Get your manufacturer’s warranty extended for up to one year on covered purchases.
- Purchase protection: If you buy a new gadget and it gets stolen, lost, or accidentally damaged within 90 days of purchase, American Express® may be able to help.
- Terms apply to all benefits.
Credit cards similar to the Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Maybe the Amex Business Platinum’s benefits don’t sound like sweet music to your ears. If that’s the case, here's a worthy options to consider.
Business Gold Card from American Express vs. the Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The American Express® Business Gold Card and the Business Platinum Card both feature a flexible credit limit, the Pay Over Time option on select purchases, no foreign transaction fees, and the same APR. However, that’s where the similarities end.
Compared to the generous welcome bonus cardholders receive with the Platinum card, Business Gold cardholders can earn 70,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership. In addition, Gold Card cardmembers enjoy far fewer travel and business-related benefits than Platinum Card users.
While the Gold Card offers cardmembers fewer points and perks, it comes with a much lower cost of ownership. Its annual fee is considerably less than its Platinum counterpart at $375.
To view rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, see this page.
Is the Amex Business Platinum Card® from American Express right for you?
The Amex Business Platinum is best for the business traveler who frequently flies solo in business class or higher to and from multiple airports with lounges and who can take full advantage of both the potential credits on the card and the 35% points bonus.
That’s not to say others who can use the card strategically won’t benefit, but this card is more about the perks than the earning potential so the card’s potential will be muffled without putting in a little work.
Frequently asked questions
How hard is it to get the Amex Business Platinum?
As a premium credit card, to get the Amex Business Platinum card likely requires good to excellent credit, which FICO defines as a credit score of 670 or above. Like all issuers, Amex will also take other factors into consideration like your business income and other debts you might have.
What is the limit on the Amex Business Platinum card?
The Amex Business Platinum card doesn’t have a preset spending limit. According to Amex, this means that your limit is flexible, and “adapts” based on factors like your payment history, your purchase history and your overall credit profile. If you’re planning a big purchase, you can use Amex’s Check Spending Power tool to see if you’ll be approved.
Is the Amex Platinum a good card?
The Amex Business Platinum is a good card for those who take full advantage of the card’s perk and benefits. For someone who rarely flies or uses rewards to book flights, the card is not a good fit.
Please note that card details are accurate as of the publish date but are subject to change at any time at the issuer’s discretion. Before applying, please contact the card issuer to verify rates, fees, and benefits.
Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more.
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.
