American Express Business Platinum Card Review

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express provides a great card option for business owners who like to earn travel rewards. The Business Platinum Card pairs a generous welcome bonus with luxury travel benefits to create an overall package that will appeal to many.

Welcome Bonus

The welcome bonus for the Business Platinum Card varies, and you can find the most up to date offer below.

Although the minimum spend required to earn the bonus on this card is often higher than many others, American Express targets the Business Platinum Card to small businesses with a lot of expenses.

American Express Membership Rewards points can be used in a lot of ways. You can also transfer your points to travel partners like British Airways or Delta Airlines.

If you use your American Express Membership Rewards points to book airfare on your selected airline with your Business Platinum Card, you receive a 35% rebate on your points.

Remember: Amex only allows you to get a welcome bonus once per card per lifetime.

How to Earn American Express Membership Rewards Points

The Business Platinum Card is tailor made for small businesses that book a lot of travel or have large expenses. When you book flights or prepaid hotels at amextravel.com, you receive 5 American Express Membership Rewards per dollar spent, a valuable benefit when booking travel for your business.

The Business Platinum Card also rewards large purchases. When you spend over $5,000 in a single transaction or on all purchases in key business categories, you will receive 1.5 Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on the first $2 million spent per year. All other purchases earn 1 Membership Rewards point per dollar spent.

There is no limit on the number of points you can earn with the Business Platinum Card.

How Much Are American Express Membership Rewards Points Worth?

Once you’ve earned American Express Membership Rewards points with your Business Platinum Card, it’s time for the fun part: redeeming your points! Membership Rewards points are a very flexible currency, but that means the value of the points will differ depending on how you use them.

You have two options for redeeming your Membership Rewards points towards travel: booking travel through the Amex Travel portal or transferring them to travel partners.

Redeeming Points Through Amex Travel

The Amex Travel portal is a simple way to use your American Express Membership Rewards points. You simply book travel through Amex Travel like any travel website and choose the option to “pay with points”.

What’s a little tricky is that the value of your Membership Rewards points depends on the type of travel you book through the Amex Travel portal. We go into more detail on how to use the portal in our comprehensive Amex Travel portal guide, but here’s a quick chart for how much your Membership Rewards points will be worth if using your points from your Business Platinum Card at Amex Travel.

* – Either book a First or Business class flight, or any class flight with your selected qualifying airline. You can get up to 500,000 points back per calendar year.

When you book a flight through Amex Travel, the flight cost will be displayed with both a cash and a points price.

As you can see, the price displayed equates to 1 cent per Membership Reward point. However, if you book a first or business class flight on any airline, American Express will give you a 35% rebate of the Membership Rewards points spent.

Amex will also give you the 35% rebate on flights booked in any class on an airline you specifically select for the benefit (the same airline you receive a $200 airline incidental credit benefit for). That gives your points a value of 1.54 cents per point and you’ll even earn miles and elite credit on flights booked through the portal with points.

You can receive a rebate of up to 500,000 Membership Rewards points per year. With the 35% point rebate, 100,000 American Express Membership Rewards points would be worth over $1,500 with your Business Platinum Card.

Transfering Points to Amex Travel Partners

Another way to get get good value towards travel is by transferring your points to one of Amex’s numerous travel partners.

You can transfer American Express Membership Rewards points to 19 different airlines and 3 hotel partners. The airline partners represent all three major alliances and give you a lot of flight options to travel anywhere in the world. Membership Rewards airline and hotel transfer partners are listed below with their transfer ratios.

There are a lot of great options for how to use your American Express Membership Rewards points. You could book a round the world ticket on ANA or you could transfer to British Airways for short haul domestic flights on American Airlines. You could even book business class tickets on Star Alliance carriers using Air Canada Aeroplan miles.

On top of all of that, American Express sometimes will offer transfer bonuses to their travel partners. We’ve seen transfer bonuses of 15%-40% in the past, further stretching the value of your Membership Rewards points.

One thing to note is that American Express charges an excise tax of $0.0006 cents per point transferred to U.S. based airlines which diminishes the value slightly. Luckily, the excise tax is capped at $99 per transfer.

Between the ability to book flights directly with points through the Amex Travel portal and the ability to transfer to travel partners, American Express Membership Rewards points remain a powerful currency to earn for any traveler.

Business Platinum Card Travel Benefits

While Membership Rewards points are rightfully the focus for many cardmemb4rs of the Business Platinum Card, the card offers many travel benefits that should not be overlooked.

$200 Airline Incidental Credit

The Business Platinum Card comes with up to $200 in airline incidental credits per year in the airline of your choice. When you first receive the card, you must select your airline of choice here. You may also choose your selected airline every calendar year. Remember, this is the same airline for which you’ll receive a 35% points rebate when you book an economy flight with points.

The airline incidental credit can be used for fees like baggage fees, seat selection fees, or in flight refreshments.

$100 TSA PreCheck or Global Entry Credit

The value of reduced wait time and stress at the airport cannot be overstated. With the Business Platinum Card, you receive a credit of up to $100 for enrolling in either the Global Entry or TSA Pre✓® programs.

Global Entry is a program that allows for expedited customs processing when re-entering the United States. TSA PreCheck allows you to pass through TSA screening in a shorter line without having to take your computer out of your bag or take off your shoes.

Global Entry generally tends to be the better deal, and it costs $100 which is $15 more than TSA PreCheck, but if you are enrolled in Global Entry, you receive TSA Pre✓® privileges as well. For either, using the $100 credit from your Business Platinum Card makes signing up for the programs a no brainer. The terms and conditions state that “Only one credit will be given in a 4 year period for Global Entry or in a 4.5 year period for TSA Pre✓® for whichever application fee is charged to your Card first.”

One other notable benefit: additional cardholders (fee of $300) also receive this $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓®.

Global Lounge Access through Centurion Lounges and Priority Pass

Business Platinum Card holders receive access to over 1,300 airport lounges all around the world. You can access The Centurion® Lounge and The International American Express lounges which are part of the American Express lounge network. Enrollment required.

The Centurion Lounges rank highly amongst frequent travelers as some of the most comfortable lounges in the world. You can find Centurion Lounges in San Francisco, Hong Kong, Las Vegas and many other locations. You and two travel companions may access Centurion lounges whenever you travel with your Business Platinum Card.

Your Business Platinum Card also gives you complimentary access to Delta Sky Club lounges when flying on a Delta flight. You may bring in additional guests for a fee.

The Business Platinum Card also gives you access to Priority Pass Select. After you apply online, you and up to two companions receive access to Priority Pass Select lounges all over the world when traveling with a same day boarding pass. Enrollment required.

Additional Business Platinum employee cards receive access to all of the above lounge benefits as well (employees with Green or Gold cards do not receive the lounge benefit).

Hotel Status with Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors

Owners of the Business Platinum Card (and Platinum authorized users) also receive complimentary mid-tier status in Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors. Enrollment required.

Business Platinum Card holders receive Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status. With Gold Elite Status, you receive access to potential complimentary room upgrades, a 25% bonus on Marriott Bonvoy points earned during stays, exclusive member rates and 2 p.m. late checkout (based on availability).

With the Hilton Honors Gold status that comes with the Business Platinum Card, you receive many of the same benefits at Hilton that you do at Marriott with Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status. You receive complimentary room upgrades subject to availability, late checkout subject to availability and bonus points on your stay.

Car Rental Benefits

The Business Platinum Card provides secondary car rental insurance for loss and damage when you pay for your entire car rental with the card. You also receive complimentary membership in the Avis Preferred program, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards and National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive. You can enroll in these programs for no fee and receive complimentary car upgrades after you enroll.

You can also enroll in American Express Premium Car Rental Protection. You will pay one flat rate per rental for up to 42 consecutive days, and most every car that you can rent will be covered.

Fine Hotels and Resorts Program

The Fine Hotels and Resorts program is a program offered by American Express that gives you exclusive rates at luxury hotels. In addition to good rates, when you book with Fine Hotels and Resorts, you receive benefits during your stay such as:

• Room upgrade upon arrival when available
• Daily breakfast for two people
• Guaranteed 4 p.m. late check-out
• Noon check-in, when available
• Complimentary Wi-Fi
• Unique amenity valued at $100 USD such as spa or restaurant credit

The actual benefits received depend on the particular hotel. You can see the options available when you book online.

Trip Delay and Cancellation Insurance

If you purchase a trip on your card in full, you may be eligible for trip delay and cancellation insurance.

Trip delay insurance is available for delays of six hours or more. Trip delay insurance reimburses up to $500 of expenses incurred from delays up to twice a year.

Trip cancellation insurance can reimburse you for up to $10,000 in non-refundable costs for a cancelled trip, up to $20,000 per year total.

Baggage Insurance

If you book a ticket on a common carrier (flight, train, bus, etc.) using your Business Platinum Card, you can receive coverage for lost or damaged baggage of up to $2,000 for checked baggage or $3,000 for checked and carry-on baggage combined.

You must pay the fare for the entire ticket on your card either with cash or your Membership Rewards points.

Other Business Platinum Card Benefits

The Business Platinum Card also offers other benefits outside of travel that will help you and your business.

Up to $400 Dell Reimbursement Credits, $200 Semi-Annually

When you shop at Dell Technologies, you will receive up to $400 in reimbursements from your Business Platinum Card over the course of a calendar year awarded as $200 credits semi-annually.

You receive up to a $200 credit for purchases made between January through June and a second up to $200 credit for purchases in July through December, so you can’t get the entire $400 credit in one transaction. This is a great benefit when you need to buy technology for your small business.

Shopping Benefits and Protections

American Express has you covered with numerous shopping protections like Return Protection, Purchase Protection and Extended Warranty.

With American Express Return Protection, you may return eligible purchases to American Express even if the seller won’t take them back up to 90 days from the date of purchase. If the entire cost of the item was paid for with your Business Platinum Card, you can receive up to $300 back per item (excluding shipping and handling) up to $1,000 total per year.

Purchase protection protects you from loss, damage or theft of eligible items paid for with your card for up to 90 days from date of purchase.

American Express’s extended warranty protection extends the manufacturer’s warranty of items you purchase by one year up to $10,000 per item ($50,000 total per calendar year).

Added together, these shopping benefits and protections can really give you peace of mind when making purchases with your Business Platinum Card.

Concierge

The Business Platinum Card Concierge offers you complimentary assistance with arranging dining reservations, procuring concert tickets to entertain clients, booking ground transportation and more. Call the number on the back of your card and say “concierge” to speak with a representative.

Additional Employee Cards

You can add additional employee cards to your Business Platinum Card. When adding employees you get to select whether they receive a Platinum card, Gold card, or a Green card.

Platinum employee cards cost $300. Employees who hold Platinum cards receive the Global Entry/TSA Pre✓® credit, Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors status and access to the same purchase and travel protections. They also receive their own Priority Pass Select membership and access to American Express Centurion lounges.

You can also add Gold employee cards for a cost of $45 or Green employee cards for no additional fee. Gold and Green employee cards receive none of the benefits that additional Business Platinum employee cards do.

Final Thoughts

Overall the Business Platinum Card is THE premium credit card for businesses. If you spend a lot of money on business expenses and travel, the card can be well worth it. The list of benefits and protections you receive for holding the Business Platinum Card is extensive and the ability to extend many of those benefits to employees through adding additional cards brings value as well.

Still, the inability to earn more than 1X American Express Membership Rewards points on the majority of your purchases may mean that a card like the American Express® Business Gold Card might allow you to earn more Membership Rewards points for your business. Be sure to research what will work best for your business and definitely consider the Business Platinum Card for your business credit needs.