The American Express Business Platinum Card is a unique blend of a travel rewards card and a small business card. It’s designed specifically for business owners and comes with a hefty annual fee, similar to the regular Platinum Card from American Express.
This card offers a wealth of travel benefits, such as free access to airport lounges and a $200 airline fee credit with your chosen airline. It’s also part of the American Express Membership Rewards® program. It competes with other high-end cards for frequent travelers, like the Citi Executive AAdvantage World Elite Credit Card and the Platinum Delta SkyMiles Credit Card from American Express. It’s also comparable to general-purpose rewards cards like the Chase Sapphire Reserve Card.
However, this card isn’t for everyone. It requires a good or excellent credit score, so it might not be the best choice for new business owners.
The Amex Business Platinum card is a fantastic card, but it’s not for everyone. If you’re wondering how it compares to other high-end business cards, consider this comparison between the Amex Business Platinum and the Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card.
The Amex Business Platinum Card has a $695 annual fee, a $200 airline fee credit, up to 5x points on eligible purchases, a 35% bonus on airfare spending when you Pay With Points, complimentary airport lounge access, up to $400 Dell credit with qualifying purchases, and hotel benefits. On the other hand, the Capital One Spark Cash Plus Card has a $150 annual fee, no airline fee credit, 2% cash back on eligible purchases, and a $200 bonus with $200K annual spend.
So, is the Amex Business Platinum Card worth it? It has a lot of potentially valuable features, but it also has a hefty annual fee. Whether it’s worth it or not depends on how much you spend and how much you can use the other benefits of the Business Platinum Card.
Here’s a simple analysis. If you do the following each year you remain a cardmember, you’ll realize enough benefit value to offset the $695 annual fee:
- Fully utilize the $400 Dell purchase credit
- Full utilize the $200 airline fee credit
- Use the Pay With Points feature on airfare purchases worth at least $272 per year
This analysis doesn’t consider the value of points earned on purchases, which you’re likely to earn if and when you make qualifying purchases on your card. Nor does it include benefits like complimentary airport lounge access or hotel status benefits, whose potential values are significant but more variable based on your travel patterns and behaviors.
In conclusion, if you regularly travel for business, the Amex Business Platinum Card is very likely to be worth the annual fee.
The Business Platinum Card from American Express has several key features. You get a $200 annual airline fee credit with the airline of your choice, which is good for offsetting incidental expenses like baggage fees and in-flight services. You can earn 120,000 Membership Rewards® points if you spend at least $15,000 in eligible purchases within 3 months of opening your account.
Most Business Platinum purchases earn 1 Membership Rewards® point per $1 spent. You can earn 1.5 points per $1 spent on purchases in key business categories and on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else, on up to $2 million of these purchases each year. Prepaid hotel and airfare purchases made through American Express Travel earn 5 points per $1 spent.
You can redeem your points for merchandise, transportation, travel, gift cards, and statement credits through the American Express Membership Rewards® portal. Point values generally fall between $0.005 and $0.01 apiece, but vary by redemption method.
When you redeem earned points (Pay With Points) for airline travel at the qualifying airline of your choice, you get a 35% points bonus, payable as a rebate. For instance, if you redeem 10,000 points for a flight, 3,500 points are deposited back into your account. You only receive this benefit with one airline, so be sure to choose the carrier you fly with most often. This benefit is capped at 1 million bonus points per calendar year.
You’re also entitled to another, broader 35% points bonus on all First and Business class flights available through American Express Travel.
You can get up to $400 statement credits annually for U.S. purchases made with Dell. You also get complimentary access to over 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting through the American Express Global Lounge Collection. You can also access partner lounges such as Delta Sky Club and The Centurion Lounge.
You can use your card and get up to $189 back each year on your CLEAR® membership. You also get a slew of convenient benefits with nearly 1,000 Fine Hotels & Resorts, such as "12pm check-in when available, a room upgrade upon arrival when available, daily breakfast for two people, complimentary WiFi, or guaranteed 4pm late checkout.
You’re entitled to upgrade to Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status with no spend or stay requirement. When you do, you’ll enjoy a 50% bonus on base Bonvoy point earnings, special welcome gifts at check-in, flexible check-out, and room upgrades where available.
You’re also entitled to upgrade to Hilton Honors Gold Status with no spend or stay requirement. This entitles you to faster point earnings on eligible Hilton stays, among other benefits.
Your APR on purchases eligible for Pay Over Time will be 19.49% to 28.49% APR, depending on your creditworthiness and other factors as determined at time of account opening.
Amex Business Platinum has a $695 annual fee. There is no foreign transaction fee. The late fee is the greater of $39 or 2.99% of the total late balance, starting after two consecutive billing periods of nonpayment – though other repercussions, such as reduced spending limits, may be imposed after less time. The returned payment fee is $39.
This card requires good to excellent credit. Cardholders are also expected to have business cash flow sufficient to support timely payments on a high-end card.
The Business Platinum Card is a truly elite spending aid. Its many benefits include a strong welcome offer, a solid airline fee credit with the airline of your choice, complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status (terms apply), and much more.
However, this card’s biggest drawbacks are its exacting qualification requirements — cardmembership is a privilege, not a right — and a relatively high annual fee. It’s your call as to whether these downsides outweigh the considerable pluses.
If you’re a first-time entrepreneur with limited experience running a business and a non-stellar credit profile, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is probably too much card for you to handle right now. It is an exclusive card that’s meant for business owners who have truly spectacular credit, can pay their balances in full each month without trouble, and travel frequently enough to reap all the rewards on offer.
This doesn’t mean Business Platinum card membership is an unattainable goal that must be banished from your mind forever. It’s absolutely a realistic goal – provided you’re willing to work to build your business – and credit – first.
