American Express BUSINESS Platinum Card Review (Old Review NOT Being Updated)
Updated July 4, 2021. Please see our updated review here.
For the personal version, see our review for Amex Platinum Card (personal). For the temporary benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, please see our featured review.
The Facts
The Math
Business Platinum Card vs. personal Platinum Card: First of all, the business version is $45 more in annual fees, and their annual credits are different ($200 Uber and $100 Saks for the personal card and $200 Dell for the business card). While the business version's 5x on airfare is only limited to purchases through amextravel.com, as there is no booking fee and the fare is generally the same as when booking with airlines directly, it can still be very lucrative for airfare purchases. The business version also offers a unique redemption option with the fixed 1.54 cents per point value. In general, we think the differences are not substantial and your decision between the two will be based on your own situation.
The Conclusion
The October 2016 enhancement turned this card into a powerhouse for airfare bonus, and with its already very impressive perks, protection, and signup bonus, the Business Platinum Card is considered one of the best business cards in the market.
© 2011-2021 DrCreditCard.net All rights reserved.
For the personal version, see our review for Amex Platinum Card (personal). For the temporary benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic, please see our featured review.
The Facts
- Annual Fee: $595 for primary cardholder; $300 per additional Platinum Card, $45 per additional Gold Card, $0 per additional Green Card.
- Signup Bonus: 150,000 points after spending $15,000 within 3 months of new account opening. The bonus equals to $1,500 in airfare, gift cards, etc., or 150K miles of Avianca, Air Canada, ANA, Singapore, British, Cathay Pacific, Delta, Flying Blue, etc. Most likely, you need to use the private browsing mode and/or clear your browser cache and/or use VPN to see this offer - sometimes it might require multiple attempts; otherwise you might see lower offers (100K~130K points). The signup bonus is not available to applicants who have or have had this card. Historical best bonus: 150,000 points in 2021; 130,000 points in 2021; 120,000 points in 2021; 100,000 points for a few times in the past several years.
- Application Landing Page
- Rewards: 5x airfare, prepaid hotels, and travel packages booked through amextravel.com, 2x other travel booked through amextravel.com, and 1x everywhere else.
- Best Use of Membership Rewards (MR) points: Normally, Amex Membership Rewards points can be redeemed at up to 1 cent per point (cpp) for the following categories: statement credit (0.6 cpp), gift cards (0.7~1 cpp), flights (1 cpp), other travel (0.7 cpp), shopping with partners at checkout (0.7 cpp), merchandise through Amex shopping portal (0.5 cpp), etc. However, Business Platinum Card, along with certain other Amex products, is eligible for the transfer feature that allows points to be transferred to miles/points of frequent traveler programs. Please see our featured review on the major programs that have the transfer feature - Marriott vs. MR. vs. UR vs. TY vs. C1 vs. CR. In addition, Business Platinum Card offers 35% points rebate when using the "Pay with Points" option, essentially making MR points fixed value at 1.54 cents a piece, when buying First or Business Class tickets with any airline through amextravel.com, and Economy Class tickets with your selected airline also through amextravel.com.
- Annual $200 airline incidental credit each calendar year. You have to select an airline before getting reimbursed and are allowed to change the airline once every calendar year. Incidentals include check bag fees, change ticket fees, onboard meals, airport lounge day passes, and so on. There have been reported success of getting reimbursed for airline gift cards up to $100 each.
- Annual $200 Dell credits: up to $100 between January and June and up to $100 between July and December each year.
- Airport Lounge Access: (1) Unlimited complimentary access to the following airport lounges: Delta Sky Club (for you only), Airspace Lounges (for you and yours spouse and children under 21 or two guests), Centurion Lounges (for you and two guests), and International American Express Lounges (you and at least one guest). Please see our featured review to learn more about airport lounge access. (2) You also receive Priority Pass Select membership that gives you plus two guests unlimited complimentary access to over 1,000 airport lounges around the globe. Note that Priority Pass doesn't cover American Airlines, United, or Delta, but it covers Alaska, quite a few airport restaurants, as well as many international lounges.
- Hotel Benefits: (1) Fine Hotels & Resorts (FHR): a collection of over 750 luxury hotels and resorts worldwide. You receive one-category upgrade upon check-in based on availability, daily breakfasts for two (continental breakfasts are guaranteed while many hotels offer buffets), guaranteed 4 PM checkout, plus one property specific amenity such as $100 resort/spa/dining credit, one lunch/dinner for two, or 50-minute massage for two, per stay. In addition, FHR constantly runs promotions such as "4th Night Free" or "3rd Night Free" at many properties. You have to book through FHR by phone or online and pay with your Amex card. Most of time FHR rates are the same as the hotel's best available rates (note that non-refundable rates may be lower). We consider FHR the best luxury hotel program provided by a credit card due to its wide coverage and valuable amenities. Note that hotels booked through FHR is not prepaid and not eligible to receive 5x MR points. (2) Complimentary Hilton Gold status, which is considered the second best mid-tier hotel elite status, normally achieved with 20 stays, 40 nights, or 75,000 base points in a calendar year. (3) Complimentary Marriott Gold status, which after their program integration in August 2018 is not as good as Hilton Gold any more - you will receive 25% bonus points plus upgrades upon availability.
- Other Benefits: (1) International Airfare Program: you receive discount on international premium economy, business, or first class tickets on over 20 airline partners, when booking through Platinum Travel Service. The cardholder needs to be traveling and you can buy up to 8 tickets per itinerary; $39 service fee will be charged per ticket. Amex drastically revamped this program in 2017, making it actually useful, as the old program requires refundable fare. (2) Waived foreign transaction fees, with an embedded EMV chip. (3) Amex Offers - you receive savings in form of statement credit or earn bonus MR points on select merchants when using your Amex card; you need to manually add an offer to your Amex card to be eligible for savings or bonus, and unlike other savings/bonus programs, you don't need to shop through a certain portal. (4) ShopRunner membership for free 2-day shipping with select merchants. (5) $100 reimbursement for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application. (6) Complimentary 24/7 Platinum Concierge Program. (7) Complimentary car rental elite status (Hertz #1 Gold, Avis Preferred, and National Executive). (8) Cruise Privileges Program (up to $400 cruise credit). (9) Platinum Destinations Vacations (up to bonus 25,000 points). (10) Platinum Villas (up to $500 amenities). (11) The Hotel Collection ($100 credit and room upgrade upon availability when booking a two-night-minimum stay at participating hotels). (12) Private Jet Services Program (up to $600 benefits). (13) Entertainment Access (a.k.a. Membership Experiences) including American Express Presale, American Express Preferred Seating, and Premium Access (Dining Access), and By Invitation Only. (14) Global Dining Collection which offers access to exclusive culinary events, and customized experiences at select restaurants around the world. (15) Global Dining Access by Resy for exclusive perks at participating restaurants. (16) Earn one InCircle point for every dollar spent at Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Last Call, Horchow, and CUSP, with your enrolled Platinum Card. (17) SoulCycle benefits including complimentary classes, SuperCycle status, "first class free" passes, etc.
- Additional Platinum Card users also receive most of the benefits (airport lounge access, Priority Pass Select, FHR, Hilton/Marriott Gold status, Global Entry, etc.). However, the $200 airline credit and $200 Dell credit apply to the card account as a whole.
- History: the business card used to share the same changes with the personal card over the years. In October 2016, Amex started differentiating the two products - the business card received several great enhancements including 1.5x on large transactions (>$5,000 each) and 50% points rebate with "Pay with Points" option (making a MR point 2 cents). In March 2017, Amex increased annual fees by $100 and added the $200 Uber credit on the personal card, but these changes did not come to the business card. However, the business card received 5x airfare, prepaid hotels, and travel packages booked through amextravel.com. In June 2017, Amex changed the points rebate with "Pay with Points" from 50% to 35%, reducing the value of MR points via this option from 2 cents to 1.54 cents per point. In February 2019, Amex raised the annual fee from $450 to $595 and added annual $200 Dell credits and one-year WeWork access. In July 2021, $179 CLEAR credit was added.
- While the business version of Amex Platinum Card shares most of the features with the personal version, its annual fee is $45 higher and there are some additional differences as summarized below:
- Features that are available on personal Platinum Card but not on business Platinum Card: (1) annual $200 Uber credits, (2) annual $100 Saks credits, and (3) 5x airfare when booked directly with airlines.
- Features that are available on business Platinum Card but not on personal Platinum Card: (1) 1.5x points on each purchase of $5,000 or more, (2) 1.54 cents per point fixed value redemption with the "Pay with Points" option, (3) annual $200 Dell credits, and (4) one-year free access to WeWork (shared workspaces for start-ups; you need to enroll between February and December 2019).
The Math
Business Platinum Card vs. personal Platinum Card: First of all, the business version is $45 more in annual fees, and their annual credits are different ($200 Uber and $100 Saks for the personal card and $200 Dell for the business card). While the business version's 5x on airfare is only limited to purchases through amextravel.com, as there is no booking fee and the fare is generally the same as when booking with airlines directly, it can still be very lucrative for airfare purchases. The business version also offers a unique redemption option with the fixed 1.54 cents per point value. In general, we think the differences are not substantial and your decision between the two will be based on your own situation.
The Conclusion
The October 2016 enhancement turned this card into a powerhouse for airfare bonus, and with its already very impressive perks, protection, and signup bonus, the Business Platinum Card is considered one of the best business cards in the market.
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