The Business Platinum Card® from American Express review

Best for businesses with big expenses

• Rewards rate: Earn 5X Membership Rewards points on flights and prepaid hotels booked with AmexTravel.com, 2X points on prepaid rental cars booked through AmexTravel.com, 1.5X points per dollar spent on purchases of $5,000 or more and 1X points on all other purchases
• Welcome offer: Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Platinum Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
• Annual fee: $595
• Purchase intro APR: None
• Balance transfer intro APR: None
• Regular APR: 14.24% to 22.24% (variable)

With the Business Platinum Card® from American Express, applicants should know they’ll need to pay their balance off in full each month. Other than that, this card works like any other business credit card that rewards business owners with points for their spending while extending important perks and protections most of us have come to expect.

The rewards structure is geared toward frequent travelers, with 5X points on flights and prepaid hotel bookings through Amex’s travel portal. However, purchases of $5,000 or more will net business owners with 1.5X Membership Rewards points for each dollar spent, which can add up quickly if you have pricey business expenses to cover every month.

This business card also comes with important perks you can take advantage of, including up to $200 in airline fee credits each year, elite status with Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors, up to $200 in Dell credits, airport lounge access and more.

This luxury travel credit card for business comes with a hefty $595 annual fee, but it can be an excellent value if you can earn a lot of rewards and take advantage of the new cardholder perks available to you.

Amex Business Platinum current welcome bonus

The Amex Business Platinum gives new cardholders the chance to earn Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Platinum Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership. This welcome bonus is generous, to say the least, but you’ll only earn it if you can spend at least $5,000 per month on your card for the first three consecutive months in a row.

Rewards

Frequent travelers might get the most out of the Amex Business Platinum due to its earning structure and its travel-related perks. However, users who make a lot of purchases that are $5,000 or higher also stand to get ahead. Here’s a basic rundown of the main features you should understand about this card’s earning structure and rewards program.

Earning rewards

Cardholders can earn 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels (and 2X points on prepaid rental cars), but they have to be booked through AmexTravel.com. This may not be a big deal if you’re able to book travel using the Amex travel portal with ease, but keep in mind that this means you won’t earn bonus points on travel you book directly or with a discount site like Expedia.com or Priceline.com.

You also get the chance to earn 1.5X points on purchases of $5,000 or more, which heavily favors those with high business expenses. Cardmembers will earn 1X points on all other purchases as well, which is standard among American Express credit cards.

Redeeming rewards

This card lets you earn rewards in the American Express Membership Rewards program, which can be redeemed for merchandise, gift cards, statement credits, travel and rental cars booked through AmexTravel.com or transfers to Amex airline and hotel partners.

How much are points worth?

Points are worth 2 cents each (on average) when transferred to airlines and hotel partners and used to book travel. However, you’ll only get 0.6 cents to 0.7 cents per point if you redeem your Amex points for other options like merchandise with select retailers or statement credits to your account.

Amex Business Platinum: Benefits

The Amex Business Platinum comes with a dizzying number of benefits that can more than make up for the annual fee. These benefits may come in the form of credits to your account, but you’ll also get travel perks and insurance protections.

Travel benefits

Travel benefits that come with this business credit card include broad airport lounge access with Priority Pass Select and Amex Centurion lounges, up to a $200 airline fee credit with a select airline, a fee credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck and no foreign transaction fees.

Starting Jan. 10, 2021, you’ll be able to receive a complimentary night/$150+ property credit after booking an eligible stay at participating Hotel Collection locations through American Express Travel, or another a complimentary night/$250+ property credit for doing the same at a participating Fine Hotels + Resorts property (terms apply). To sweeten the deal even more, you’ll also be able to take advantage of the new “Recommended Flights” feature for up to 20 percent off publicly listed route, flight and seat ticket prices on flights for Jan. 10, 2021 to May 31, 2021 (must be booked between Jan. 10, 2021, and  Mar. 31, 2021).

You’ll also get a 35 percent points bonus when you use Amex points to book qualifying airfare through AmexTravel.com. Flights that qualify include first or business class flights with any airline or any flight with your selected airline, and this benefit is worth up to 500,000 bonus points per year.

Elite status benefits

Qualify for automatic Gold status with the Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy program just for owning the Amex Business Platinum.

Consumer protections and insurance

This business credit card comes with return protection, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, trip delay coverage, a baggage insurance plan, car rental loss and damage insurance, extended warranties on eligible items and purchase protection against damage or theft.

Dell tech and WeWork discounts

Per year, you can qualify for up to $200 in credits toward purchases made with Dell: up to $100 on January to June purchases and another up to $100 from July to December purchases. And more good news for business owners working from home, American Express is offering Business Platinum cardholders 25 percent back on WeWork AllAccess memberships and a  free private office through February 2021.

Rates and fees

The Amex Business Platinum comes with a $595 annual fee that is not waived in the first year. Other fees to be aware of include a late payment fee up to $39 (or 2.99 percent of any past due Pay in Full amount, whichever is greater) and a returned payment fee up to $39.

How the Amex Business Platinum Card compares to other Amex business credit cards

The Amex Business Platinum may be ideal if your business spends a lot on travel, but you can consider other Amex business credit cards that offer more rewards in different categories. As an example, the American Express® Business Gold Card is popular considering you get the chance to earn 4X points on up to $150,000 spent in popular categories many businesses spend a lot in. However, the tradeoff involved in choosing this card comes in the form of reduced travel benefits and perks.

Also, keep in mind that you can earn American Express Membership Rewards points on business purchases without paying an annual fee at all. The Blue Business^® Plus Credit Card from American Express lets you do just that, and you can even pay down your balance interest-free for a full year upon account opening.

Best cards to pair the Amex Business Platinum with

If you want to maximize the rewards you earn within a year but you don’t want to pay any more annual fees, consider pairing the Amex Business Platinum with the Amex Blue Business Plus. The Blue Business Plus lets you earn 2X Membership Rewards points on the first $50,000 you spend each year, so it would be a great option for non-travel purchases you need to make.

Bankrate’s Take—Is the Amex Business Platinum worth it?

The Amex Business Platinum is best for business owners who spend a lot on travel and can take advantage of the many travel perks cardholders receive. Furthermore, this card is a good option for anyone who has a lot of purchases that surpass the $5,000 mark, since they will earn 1.5X points per dollar spent.

The annual fee on this card is high, but the welcome bonus is easily worth $1,500 if you transfer your points to airline partners and book premium flights. That makes it an excellent first-year value, which gives you enough time to try out the card’s benefits to see if it’s worth keeping.

Pros

• Generous welcome bonus
• Airport lounge access, credit for Global Entry or TSA Precheck, up to $200 in airline fee credits per year and other travel perks
• Exceptional rewards rate for travel booked through AmexTravel.com, and for purchases of $5,000 or more

Cons

• High annual fee
• Cardmember perks (like airline fee credit for a select airline) can be hard to use
• You need to plan on paying off your balance off each month in most cases