The American Express Business Platinum Card offers valuable Membership Rewards points with airline and hotel transfer flexibility. Consider the high annual fee against multiple statement credits and premium travel benefits when evaluating long-term value beyond the welcome offer.
The standard welcome offer for this card is 50,000 points after spending $15,000 in purchases. Public offers have occasionally reached as high as 150,000 points. Due to American Express's once-per-lifetime rule, the substantial spending requirement, and the high $695 annual fee, we recommend waiting to apply until the welcome offer meets your personal threshold for value. The annual fee is justified in the first year because of the welcome bonus, even at the lower amount. The long-term value depends on how much you utilize the various credits and benefits detailed below. American Express offers 18 airline transfer partners and 3 hotel partners, giving you excellent flexibility when redeeming your Membership Rewards points.
This card has several unique perks. Cardmembers can receive $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees (such as checked bags, seat selections, or in-flight refreshments) are charged by the selected airline. Be aware that you must choose one qualifying airline each year (you can change it every January). Another notable perk is a 35% rebate on points when you use Amex’s Pay with Points feature. The 35% rebate applies to first- or business-class flights on any airline; if you book economy, it must be with the same airline you selected for the $200 statement credit.
If you’ve been in the points game for a while, you may already have Priority Pass benefits through another card, but that’s included here as well. Amex Business Platinum also provides access to The American Express Global Lounge Collection, which includes Centurion Lounge, Delta Sky Club, Escape Lounge, and Lufthansa Lounge. You can offset the annual fee if you take advantage of various statement credits, such as:
Consider avoiding this card if:
Amex points are great in theory. We just find them harder to collect and more expensive to hold than Chase points.
The American Express Business Platinum card occupies a premium position in the Membership Rewards ecosystem, particularly for business owners who want to avoid affecting their Chase 5/24 status. Here's how it compares to other American Express options:
The Business Green card isn't recommended due to its poor value proposition compared to other options.
For personal cards, the American Express Platinum carries the same high annual fee with a typical welcome bonus of 60,000 points (historical high: 100,000). However, its benefits are tailored toward individual rather than business needs.
Strategic application tip: If you're planning a long-term relationship with American Express and determine the personal Platinum better suits your needs, follow this application sequence:
This sequential approach preserves your eligibility for welcome bonuses on all three cards. If you obtain the Platinum first, you'll forfeit welcome bonus eligibility for the Green and Gold cards due to American Express's lifetime bonus restrictions.
My wife and I had been focused on Chase cards for 18 months until we both got rejected, so we needed a new strategy. I jumped on the Amex Business Platinum card after finding a 250,000-point sign-up bonus through a targeted incognito offer. My biggest concern was meeting the $20,000 spending requirement in 3 months, but we had several large purchases coming up. We even had the opportunity to charge a family vacation house to the card, so it made sense.
We used those 250,000 sign-up bonus points to book round-trip flights for our family of five to Calgary (a $3,975 cash value) for summer 2025. We also got some points back with the 35% rebate (we booked two one-way flights with different airlines, so not all costs were eligible, but we still got 58,000 miles back!). We used the $200 credit for seat selection and checked baggage fees. It was well worth the $695 annual fee for the first year — we’ll likely cancel before the next fee is due.
| Bonus Points | Minimum Spend | Point Value | Annual Value | Annual Fee |
1st Year Value
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 150,000 | $20,000 | 1.5 ¢ | $230 | $695 |
$2153
|
| Best Value | Differentiating Perks | Rules |
|---|---|---|
| 1.54 cents in Amex Travel Portal | Premier Airport Lounges, Hilton Gold Status, 5x points on Amex travel | No CR , No 2nd Biz , Amex 3/90 , No 5/24 , Amex 1/10 |
5X points
7.7¢ Per Dollar Spent
1X points
1.5¢ Per Dollar Spent
1.5X points
2.3¢ Per Dollar Spent
5X points
7.7¢ Per Dollar Spent
1.5X points
2.3¢ Per Dollar Spent
5X points
7.7¢ Per Dollar Spent
Transfer To Spouse/Partner No
Transfer To Friends No
Amex Member Rewards Outside Point System
1:1 100% value retained
1:1 100% value retained
1:1 71% value retained
1:1 71% value retained
1:1 86% value retained
1:1 86% value retained
1:1 86% value retained
1:1 86% value retained
1:2 86% value retained
1:0.8 69% value retained
1:1 50% value retained
1:1 86% value retained
1:1 93% value retained
1:1 100% value retained
This business card will not show on your personal credit report, so it won't count against your 5/24 status
You might not be allowed to get a second card for a separate business (EIN)
You'll be declined if you apply for a fourth Amex card in 90 days
Card approval not subject to 5-personal-cards-in-24-months rule
Amex allows only 1 bonus per specific card per lifetime (yours or that version of the card)
Below is a snapshot of where this card performs best compared to the other cards in our database:
- SkyMiles Gold Business Card - 80,000 Bonus Miles after spending $6000 in 6 months + 5,000 miles after making an eligible Delta purchase - $99 annual fee.
- SkyMiles Platinum Business Card - 100,000 Bonus Miles after spending $8000 in 6 months + 10,000 miles after making an eligible Delta purchase - $250 annual fee.
- SkyMiles Reserve Business Card - 110,000 Bonus Miles after spending $12000 in 6 months + 10,000 miles after making an eligible Delta purchase - $550 annual fee.
Here is a fun list of Delta Amex cards that are offering limited time (ending 3/29/23) sign-up bonus:
- Amex Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card: 100,000 miles after spending $6000 in 3 months, $550 annual fee.
- Amex Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Card: 95,000 miles after spending $4000 in 3 months, $250 annual fee.
- Amex Delta SkyMiles Gold Business Card: 75,000 miles after spending $3000 in 3 months, $0 intro annual fee, then $99.
- Amex Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card: 90,000 miles after spending $6000 in 6 months, $550 annual fee.
- Amex Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card: 90,000 miles after spending $4000 in 6 months, $250 annual fee.
- Amex Delta SkyMiles Gold Card: 70,000 miles after spending $2000 in 6 months, $0 intro annual fee, then $99.
American Express only gives you once in a lifetime sign up bonuses, so if you've been waiting, this might be the time:
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve Business Card, 110,000 Bonus miles after spending $6000 in 3 months, $550 annual fee.
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum Business Card, 100,000 Bonus miles after spending $4000 in 3 months, $250 annual fee.
- Delta SkyMiles Gold Business Card, 75,000 Bonus miles after spending $3000 in 3 months, $0 annual fee for the 1st year, then $99.
- Delta SkyMiles Reserve, 100,000 Bonus miles after spending $5000 in 3 month, $550 annual fee.
- Delta SkyMiles Platinum Card, 90,000 Bonus miles after spending $3000 in 3 months, $250 annual fee.
- Delta SkyMiles Gold Card, 70,000 Bonus miles after spending $2000 in 3 months, $0 annual fee for the 1st year, then $99.
American Express Business Platinum card is now offering 120,000 Rewards after spending $15,000 in 3 months. This card is full of perks & benefits and with the limited time increase offer you can get 20,000 more rewards than the normal offer.
