Key takeaways

  • The Amex Business Platinum Card comes with one of the highest annual fees on the market, but for many users, the card's benefits easily outweigh this cost.
  • Before deciding whether the Business Platinum is right for you, take the time to evaluate how its perks align with your business's spending activities.
  • It can also be helpful to see how other business users maximize the value of their Amex Business Platinum cards, which is why we've compiled several personal experiences here.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is easily one of the top business credit cards for travel enthusiasts on the market — especially right now. After all, the current welcome bonus on this card could be worth up to $2,520 if you transfer to the right partner based on our most recent valuations of points in its rewards program.

While a $695 annual fee applies, this card offers one of the best rewards rates out there on travel purchases, as well as myriad cardholder perks that are easy to maximize. In fact, statement credit offers on this card can be worth more than $1,500 if you use them all.

There are plenty of other reasons to love the Amex Business Platinum, including the fact that it earns flexible points in the American Express Membership Rewards program. With all the potential benefits the Amex Business Platinum Card offers, it’s no wonder so many business owners use it for their business-related expenses and bills.

6 reasons to love the Amex Business Platinum Card

We interviewed several regular users of the Business Platinum Card from American Express to find out why they chose this card over other business credit cards, and how they use it to maximize rewards on business spending. Here are the main reasons everyday business owners signed up for this card in the first place and how they use it throughout the year.

Excellent earning rate on travel purchases

Online entrepreneur Mike Nunez, who owns OliverWicks.com and has other online ventures, says he tries to optimize his rewards based on the types of purchases he’s making. To that end, he pairs his Amex Business Platinum Card with a few other rewards credit cards for personal use.

However, he always uses his Amex Business Platinum Card for travel purchases due to the fact that he earns 5X points on flights and prepaid hotel purchases made through AmexTravel.com. That way, he’s earning 5,000 Amex Membership Rewards points for every $1,000 he spends on eligible travel purchases through the Amex portal.

Generally speaking, Nunez says he likes to purchase his flights through the portal with cash so that he earns airline miles and points toward elite status on the purchases. In the meantime, Nunez also looks for other ways to rack up more rewards on business spending, and particularly on large purchases.

Solid earning rate in select business categories and on large purchases

Also, be aware that this card offers a few different ways to maximize rewards on spending. For starters, cardholders earn 1.5X Membership Rewards points for purchases of $5,000 or more made in select categories such as electronics goods, retailers, software, cloud service providers, construction materials and hardware supplies and shipping providers.

While these bonus categories won’t apply to every business out there, most can find some value here and earn some bonus points over the course of a year.

A bonus rewards cap of $2,000,000 applies to all bonus spending that earns 1.5X points (1X points earned thereafter). Small businesses that make a lot of purchases over $5,000 can really benefit here since every $5,000 in purchases will yield 7,500 Amex Membership Rewards points.

Flexible rewards program

Nunez says that, when it comes to redeeming his rewards, he almost always uses his points to book one-way flights for various family members. However, he only does this action after transferring his points to American Express airline partners, which include options like Air France / Flying Blue and Delta SkyMiles.

In addition to letting you redeem points for transfers to Amex airline and hotel partners, the American Express Membership Rewards program offers other redemption options. For example, you can redeem points directly for travel purchases through the American Express travel portal, or you can use points for gift cards, merchandise or online shopping.

Jacob Wade, who runs the website RoadmapMoney.com, says that he has earned over 250,000 Amex points through several different cards he has, including the Amex Business Platinum. In the process, he has learned to love the flexible redemption options and has used points for five round-trip tickets from Florida to Washington State, a hotel stay through the Amex portal and $900 worth of Home Depot gift cards for a backyard project.

In total, the Amex Membership Rewards program offers 17 different airline partners and three hotel partners to choose from. It’s also common to come across transfer partner bonus offers from time to time, which can help you get a better transfer ratio when you move your points from Amex to an airline or hotel partner.

Statement credits that more than make up for the annual fee

Amex Business Platinum benefits include a ton of statement credits that more than make up for the $695 annual fee, which you can start using after you get this card.

Specifically, cardholders are eligible for:

  • Up to $400 in credits for Dell purchases (up to $200 semi-annually)
  • Up to $360 in Indeed credits (up to $90 per quarter)
  • Up to $150 in credits toward select Adobe purchases annually
  • Up to $120 in wireless telephone service credits (up to $10 per month)
  • Up to $189 in credits toward CLEAR® Plus Membership annually
  • Up to $100 in credits toward Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fees every four years
  • Up to $200 in credits toward airline incidentals with a qualifying airline annually

These credits alone can be worth more than $1,500, but keep in mind that some of these credits come with stipulations that limit their use. For example, the $200 airline incidental fee credit only applies to one airline, and you have to select it ahead of time. Separately, the $400 in credits toward Dell purchases are good twice per year in increments of $200 every six months.

Generous travel benefits for cardholders

The Amex Business Platinum Card also comes with a range of valuable travel benefits, including Priority Pass Select airport lounge membership, access to Amex Centurion Lounges and Delta Sky Clubs when flying Delta, Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts benefits and a 35 percent airline bonus.

Nunez says he tries to use all the travel perks to justify this card’s annual fee, but has specifically enjoyed the CLEAR® Plus Membership, airline reimbursements for items such as Wi-Fi and snacks, access to Centurion Lounges and Priority Pass Select membership (note that a Priority Pass membership with unlimited visits has a retail value of $429 on its own).

He also points out that his family loves the Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts collection, and the benefits they receive such as early check-ins, late checkouts and a credit for room service or a spa visit are very valuable. However, the best benefit is the 35 percent points back on the airline of your choice or any Business or First class ticket, he says.

“This makes flying so much more comfortable for a minimal cost difference than flying economy,” says Nunez.

It’s also worth noting that the Amex Business Platinum Card comes with several travel insurance benefits for cardholders, including trip cancellation and interruption insurance, trip delay insurance, secondary auto rental coverage and a baggage insurance plan.

Amex lets you pool points earned with other cards

Money coach Sharita Humphrey of Houston, Texas, says her favorite strategy with her Amex Business Platinum Card is pairing it with other American Express credit cards to maximize rewards. Fortunately for cardholders, Amex makes it easy to earn Membership Rewards points with different card products and pool your points in one account.

Humphrey says she has chosen to get her employees’ cards associated with her Amex Business Platinum Card, but that she went with the American Express® Gold Card for her workers. This means they don’t get all the perks they would with a regular authorized user card, but she gets the benefit of earning Amex points on their business-related purchases (though they earn lower rates compared to if they were holding standard business cards).

She also uses her own Amex Gold for her personal spending and bills, which makes it easy to quickly rack up rewards. After all, the Amex Gold Card offers 4X points at restaurants (including takeout and Uber Eats purchases), 4X points at U.S. supermarkets (on up to $25,000 per year in purchases, then 1X points), 3X points on flights booked directly with airlines or via AmexTravel.com and 1X points on all other purchases.

The bottom line

The Amex Business Platinum is pretty pricey when compared to other business credit cards on the market, yet the statement credit offers and premium travel perks can make it well worth the cost. This statement is especially true right now since you can earn 120,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $15,000 on eligible purchases within three months of account opening.

If you’re still not convinced, take a closer look at other Amex cards for business, including the American Express® Business Gold Card. You might even consider The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express, which lets you earn Membership Rewards points for no annual fee.