The Business Platinum Card® from American Express Review

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express Review

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is aimed at business owners who travel frequently and spend a lot. A combination of a generous rewards program and a suite of travel and shopping benefits can help make your trips easier and more rewarding, despite its hefty $695 annual fee.

Continue reading to discover all that this card has to offer and whether it’s a good choice for you.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express: pros and cons

Rewards system in a nutshell

Spending $15,000 on qualifying purchases within the first 3 months will earn you 120,000 reward points. For flights and prepaid hotels that you book through amextravel.com, you get 5 reward points per dollar. All other qualifying purchases earn 1 point per dollar. However, you receive 1.5 points (50% extra) for each dollar spent on qualifying business purchases (including construction material and hardware, electronic goods, shipping, software, and cloud system) and purchases of $5,000 or more, up to a maximum of 2 million dollars spent in a year.

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express offers several redemption options, including transferring points to partner loyalty programs. You are likely to get the best value with this redemption option. The card has 15+ airlines (including Aer Lingus, British Airways, and Emirates) and three hotel loyalty program partners (Marriott Bonvoy, Hilton Honors, and Choice Privileges).

Cardholders can also redeem points for 1 cent per point by buying airfare through American Express Travel. Even better, booking a business or first class on any airline or any cabin on your selected airline through American Express Travel Pay with Points will get you 35% of those points back. In a calendar year, you can get up to a maximum of 1,000,000 points back using this redemption option.

So, if you book a $2,000 ticket for 200,000 points, you’ll get 70,000 points back. That means, in effect, the airfare will cost you 130,000 points. That’s a value of approximately 1.54 cents per point.

You can also redeem points for upgrading flights, paying NYC taxis, booking Fine Hotels & Resorts, buying gift cards. Each option redeems your points for up to 1 cent per point.

Additionally, you can pay with points at Amex Express Checkout, Dell.com, Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, JustGiving, Grubhub, Newegg, Rite Aid, PayPal, Boxed, Seamless, or Saks Fifth Avenue. At all these places, you’ll get 0.7 cents in value per point. You can use reward points to pay for tickets through Ticketmaster at 0.5 cents per point.

Lastly, you can cover your card charges with Amex points, reserve prepaid hotels, or simply Shop with Points.

Who can benefit from getting the Business Platinum Card® from American Express?

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is ideal for business owners who are frequent travelers, spend a lot, and can take full advantage of all (or most) of its travel and shopping benefits. The benefits and earning rates can easily justify its steep $695 annual fee for such a user.

For example, you enjoy access to the issuer’s collection of airport lounges and 5x earning on flights and hotels booked through Amex Travel. Plus, a 35% rebate is there for the taking if you book a first- or business-class ticket or any class ticket with your chosen airline using reward points (up to 1,000,000 points in a calendar year).

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express allows issuing additional employee cards. To better manage the company’s spending, the business owner can set a spending limit or receive alerts if an employee uses the credit card for not approved categories.

Are there any other benefits?

Yes, there are quite a few of them.

• Airline Fee Credit: You receive up to $200 in reimbursements for incidental fees, like in-flight refreshments and checked bags, each year with the selected airline.
• Multiple business-related statement credits: every year, you can get up to $400 credit for purchases with Dell, $179 credit for CLEAR, $150 for purchases with Adobe, $360 credit for Indeed, and $120 credit for wireless telephone service.
• Hilton Honors Gold Status: You receive exclusive perks when you stay at a Hilton hotel. Benefits include 80% points earning bonus on stays, preferred rooms, milestone bonuses, and more.
• Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status: You get to enjoy the complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold Status as long as you have the American Express Business Platinum Credit Card®. The list of perks includes preferred rates, complimentary in-room internet access, and more.
• Fine Hotels + Resorts Program: You receive elite-like benefits when you book through the program. Benefits include noon check-in, guaranteed 4 pm late check-out, room upgrade (when available), complimentary Wi-Fi, and breakfast for two.
• Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express offers coverage in the event of travel cancellation, interruption, or delay for round-trip tickets paid for entirely with it. If a trip gets canceled or interrupted, you can get up to $10,000 in reimbursement. The maximum benefit amount is capped at $20,000 per 12 consecutive months. In the event of a delay of six hours or longer, you can get up to $500 in reimbursements per trip for necessary expenses, such as meals, hotels, and other expenses.
• TSA Pre-Check/Global Entry Credit: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express offers a Global Entry or TSA Pre-Check credit up to $100 every four years or 4.5 years, depending on the program.
• Car Rental Loss and Damage Insurance: As a cardholder, you can receive secondary protection if your rental vehicle gets stolen or damaged.
• Baggage Insurance Plan: You receive protection if your baggage, whether checked or carry-on, is lost, damaged, or stolen. You must pay the entire fare with your Business Platinum Card® from American Express to be eligible for coverage.
• Purchase Protection: Covers eligible purchases from loss, theft, or damage for up to 90 days from the purchase date. The benefit is capped at $10,000 per occurrence and $50,000 per year.
• Extended Warranty: Add up to one year to the original manufacturer’s warranty.
• No Preset Spending Limit: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express does not have a fixed spending limit. The amount you can spend depends on the credit card use history, which means the limit changes automatically.
• QuickBooks connection: You can easily connect your Business Platinum Card® from American Express to the QuickBooks account, which helps manage your company finances more efficiently.
• Terms Apply.

Conclusion

If you frequently travel for business, generous rewards and perks available with this credit card could make it an attractive option despite its steep annual fee. Not a frequent traveler? You’re likely to struggle to get your money’s worth from this credit card.