Is the Business Platinum Card® from American Express worth it?
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is a valuable card for business owners who travel frequently, offering premium travel benefits like access to Amex lounges around the world, and the high rewards points earning potential on select purchases makes it a great option for businesses that spend on more than just travel.
However, this American Express card comes with a hefty annual fee of $695, making it less attractive for small businesses that don't spend a lot on travel, in which case another business credit card might be a better fit for your organization.
American Express Business Platinum Card®: Benefits
Welcome Offer
If you spend $20,000 in the first three months of having the card, you'll earn 150,000 Membership Rewards points.
The value of rewards points varies depending on how and when you redeem them, but on average they're worth about 1 cent per point, meaning the potential value of this welcome offer is about $1,500.
Get rewarded
Besides the welcome offer, you can also earn valuable reward points, including:
Earn 5x points when you book prepaid flights and hotels through American Express Travel. Earn 1.5x points on certain business expenses such as electronics, construction and hardware expenses, software subscriptions and fees, and shipping. Earn 1.5x points on purchases over $5,000. Earn 1x points on all other purchases.
Redeeming rewards
The Amex Platinum Business card rewards can be redeemed in a variety of ways, giving you flexibility in how you spend your rewards.
Some options are:
Book travel. Booking with American Express Travel using rewards usually gives you the most value per point. Transfer points. Amex allows you to transfer points to hotel and airline rewards programs such as Delta, Marriott Bonvoy, and Virgin Atlantic. You need at least 500 points to transfer, and you must transfer in increments of 250 points. Shop. You can use your points to buy gift cards and merchandise. Receive statement credits. Request a cash back conversion and use your points to receive a statement credit. Donate to charity. In some cases, you can redeem your points for charitable donations, a benefit that helps support a business's good causes.
Business Platinum Card®: Benefits
Travel Rewards
American Express Global Lounge Collection. Platinum card members can make business trips even more enjoyable with access to Amex airport lounges around the world. Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status. Your cardmember status can upgrade you to elite status in this hotel rewards program without having to meet stay requirements. This helps you earn free nights and other perks faster. Hilton Honors Gold Status. Not a Marriott Bonvoy member? No problem, because you can get similar benefits through Hilton's hotel rewards program. Fine Hotels & Resorts program. When you book a stay at a luxury hotel or other hotel through American Express Travel, you'll receive hundreds of dollars worth of perks and upgrades to make your stay even more enjoyable. Travel Insurance. When you pay for your travel expenses with your Amex Platinum Business card, you automatically receive Amex travel protection, which can help reduce losses due to trip delay or cancellation, trip interruption, damaged rental cards, and lost or delayed baggage.
Eligibility and rewards levels vary by card. Terms, conditions and restrictions apply. See americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.
Statement Credit
Indeed Statement Credit. Earn up to $90 cash back quarterly on Indeed purchases. This credit opportunity runs through December 2024. Dell Statement Credit. Earn up to $400 on Dell purchases in the US through December 2024. Earn up to $200 semi-annually. Adobe Statement Credit. Earn up to $150 in statement credits annually when you use your Amex Platinum Business card to pay for your auto-renewing Adobe subscription. Wireless Service Statement Credit. Earn up to $120 cash back annually when you use your Business Platinum card to pay for services with US-based wireless phone carriers. Airline Fee Credit. Earn up to $200 in credits on airline fees, including baggage fees. You must choose one airline and pay with that airline to receive these benefits. CLEAR Plus Credit. Earn up to $189 cash back annually on your CLEAR Plus membership when you pay with this card. Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Credit: You can earn up to a $100 statement credit every 4.5 years to help cover the cost of Global Entry or TSA Precheck.
▶︎ Recommended: Best Credit Cards for Global Entry and TSA PreCheck
Shopping Protection
Extended Warranty. When you use your card to purchase an item with a manufacturer's warranty of 5 years or less, you'll get up to one year of extended warranty coverage. This means that if your business laptop, printer, copier, or other covered item breaks down shortly after the manufacturer's warranty expires, which happens all the time, you're still covered. Purchase Protection. When you use your Amex card to purchase items, you can rest assured that you'll be covered for losses if the item is damaged in an accident or theft. This coverage covers you up to $10,000 per incident, and $50,000 total per year. Return Protection. If you can't return the item to the retailer, you can return it directly to Amex for a refund. Cell Phone Protection. Amex coverage will reimburse you for the cost of replacing or repairing a damaged cell phone, up to a total of $800, minus a $50 deductible. You can use this benefit up to two times per year, as long as you pay for your cell phone bill with your Amex card.
Eligibility and rewards levels vary by card. Terms, conditions and restrictions apply. See americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.
Fees, Rates and Restrictions
Fee
With Amex, big perks and rewards usually come at a cost, and this card is no exception: It has a $695 annual fee, but you can add up to 99 employee cards at no extra cost and still earn rewards on spending on those cards (see rates and fees).
Other fees you may incur with this credit card include:
$39 or 2.99% of the outstanding balance, whichever is greater, for late payments and $39 for refunded payments
There are no foreign transaction fees when purchasing outside the US.
Interest level
With this card, Amex offers a Pay Over Time feature that allows you to carry your balance over a period of time at a variable APR ranging from 19.49% to 28.49% depending on your creditworthiness. This feature is only available on certain purchases and is limited by the Pay Over Time limit, which works similarly to a credit limit.
Late payments may be subject to a variable penalty APR of 29.99% over 12 billing cycles. The penalty APR applies if you make two or more late payments within a 12-month period, if you receive a returned payment, or if you never make the minimum payment for an entire statement cycle.
Credit Limit
This card does not have a preset credit limit. The amount you can use at any one time depends on your credit history and how you manage your American Express credit card accounts, including this card. By practicing responsible account management, you can usually increase your credit limit.
Please note that there are limits on installment benefits, which are subject to change as you demonstrate responsible payment history. Call Amex to discuss your limits and available payments.
Comparison with the American Express Business Platinum Card®
American Express Business Platinum Card® and American Express Business Gold Card
For businesses that can't maximize the Platinum Card's benefits, the American Express Business Gold Card may be a better option. This card has an annual fee of just $375 (see rates and fees) and earns 4x points on two select spending categories, 3x points on flights and hotels booked through American Express Travel, and 1x points on all other purchases. You'll also get a welcome offer of 70,000 bonus points after spending $10,000 in the first three months.
Please note that you can only earn 4x points in a selected category up to $150,000 in total spending in the year, after which you will earn 1x points on spending in that category.
While the Business Gold Card doesn't offer the same level of rewards or statement credits as the Platinum Card, you can still earn $155 in Walmart+ credits and $20 in monthly credits towards eligible business expenses.
The Business Gold Card also enjoys the Pay Over Time feature, and the rates and fee structure for this card is the same as the Platinum Card.
Read our full review of the Amex Business Gold card
Is the Business Platinum Card® from American Express right for me?
The Amex Business Platinum card offers plenty of attractive perks, but it's best suited for businesses with a higher spending budget. If you only have a few thousand dollars to spend each month, you probably won't be able to take full advantage of this card's perks and rewards, and the $695 annual fee will be a financial strain.
If you're not sure if the Amex Business Platinum card is right for you, consider these alternatives.
You can also check out the Chase Business Card or the Capital One Spark Business Card to learn more about options from other card issuers.
How do I apply for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express?
You can learn more about the Amex Business Platinum card and apply online. The application usually takes just a few minutes and requires information such as your name, Social Security or tax ID number, company name, address, contact information, and basic company revenue or financial information. In some cases, Amex may request more information and require you to provide documents such as tax forms or checking account statements.
This card requires good to excellent credit. People with a credit score of 700 or above are most likely to be approved for this card, but other factors such as income and overall credit history also factor into approval.
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