Does It Make Sense to Have Both the Amex Platinum and the Amex Biz Platinum?

The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees) and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees) are two of American Express’ premium travel credit cards. Both the personal and business versions of the Platinum Card have high annual fees along with many luxury travel benefits.

Many people wonder whether it’s worth it to hold both of these cards. Let’s compare The Platinum Card from American Express and The Business Platinum Card from American Express to help you determine whether it makes sense for you to keep both in your wallet!

Welcome Offers

Both the Personal Platinum and Business Platinum cards offer extremely lucrative welcome bonuses.

The Personal Platinum offers 80,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $8,000 on the card in the first 6 months of card membership. The 100,000 point welcome bonus can be worth up to or even more than $2,000, depending on how you redeem the points!

The Business Platinum offers 120,000 Membership Rewards after spending $15,000 on the card in the first 3 months of card membership. Applicants for this card will need to make sure they can meet the high minimum spend in order to earn the welcome offer.

Annual Fees

The Personal Platinum card charges an annual fee of $695 (Rates & Fees). The Business Platinum has an annual fee of $550 for applications through Jan. 12, 2022. After that, the annual fee will increase to $695 starting Jan. 13, 2022 (Rates & Fees).

Regular Earning Rates

Personal Platinum

On the Personal Platinum card, you can earn 5X points per dollar on flights purchased directly with the airline or purchased on amextravel.com for up to $500,000 in spending per year.

You can earn 5X points per dollar on prepaid hotels purchased on amextravel.com.

You can earn one point per dollar on all other purchases.

Business Platinum

Cardmembers earn 5X points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels purchased on amextravel.com.

They can also earn 1.5X points per dollar on eligible purchases in key business categories, as well on each purchase of $5,000 or more everywhere else, on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year. The key business categories include:

• Electronic Goods Retailers and Software & Cloud System Providers
• U.S. Construction Material & Hardware Suppliers
• U.S. Shipping Services

Members earn one point per dollar on all other purchases.

Card Benefits

While many people open rewards credit cards for the points they’ll earn, these high annual fee cards have many other benefits, too. Since you’re paying the annual fee, you may as well take advantage of these benefits! Let’s take a look at the benefits broken into three categories: benefits common to both the Personal and Business Platinum, benefits on only the Personal card, and benefits on only the Business card.

Benefits Common to Both the Personal and Business Platinum

Travel and Dining Benefits.

Cardmembers can:

• Access the American Express Global Lounge Collection, including American Express Centurion Lounges. The Centurion lounges are commonly regarded as some of the more luxurious airport lounges in the US, offering chef-curated menus, fancy cocktail menus, and more. Centurion lounges are located in many major US cities, including New York City (at both JFK and Laguardia Airports), Philadelphia, Las Vegas, Miami, Denver, Phoenix, and more!
• Access the Fine Hotels + Resorts Program. This program offers additional benefits to hotel stays booked through the Fine Hotels + Resorts Program on amextravel.com. Benefits include free breakfast, room upgrades, welcome amenities, late checkout, and more!
• Access Global Dining by Resy. Being an Amex Platinum cardholder gives you increased access to reservations at some of the most exclusive restaurants!
• Enjoy Gold Status for both Marriott and Hilton.

Credits

• Use an annual CLEAR credit up to $179. Charge your CLEAR membership to your Platinum card and get up to $179 credited back. CLEAR uses biometrics to identify you at airport security lines, saving valuable time.
• Use an annual airline credit up to $200 to be used for incidentals. Designate your airline choice, and get up to $200 credited back for incidentals such as baggage check fees, in-flight purchases, and more.
• Use a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck credit. Receive either a $100 credit for Global Entry every 4 years or an $85 credit for TSA PreCheck every 4.5 years.

Consumer Protections

• Enjoy Cell Phone Protection. As long as you pay your cell phone bill with your Platinum card, you can be reimbursed up to $800 for repair or replacement costs following damage or theft.

Benefits on Only the Personal Platinum

• Use an Equinox credit of up to $300 annually. Enrollment Required.
• Use a Hotel Credit of up to $200 annually on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts or Hotel Collection bookings on Amex Travel with a minimum two-night stay.
• Use a Digital Entertainment Credit of up to $240 annually (get up to $20 back monthly). Valid for purchases on Peacock, Audible and New York Times.
• Use an Uber credit of up to $200 annually (get up to $15 in credits monthly except December when you get an additional $20 for a total of up to $35). You can use this credit for Uber rides or for Uber Eats!

Benefits on Only the Business Platinum

• Save with a 35% Airline Point Rebate. You can get 35% Membership Rewards points back after you use Pay with Points for any business or first class flight and economy flights on your selected airline, up to 500,000 points back her calendar year.
• Use a Dell Technologies credit of up to $400 annually (get up to $200 back semi-annually)
• Use an Indeed credit of up to $360 annually (get $90 back quarterly)
• Use an Adobe credit of up to $150 annually. Enrollment Required.
• Save with up to $120 in Wireless credits annually (get up to $10 back monthly). Enrollment Required.

Redemption Options

Both the Personal Platinum and Business Platinum cards earn Membership Rewards points, one of the most valuable flexible currencies. There are many great ways to redeem Membership Rewards points:

• You can redeem points on amextravel.com, which will generally get you about 1 cent/point value for flights and slightly less for hotels. The exception here is the 35% point rebate mentioned above that is available to Business Platinum cardholders.
• You can transfer points to one of 21 airline and hotel transfer partners, including Eithad, Iberia, British Airways, ANA, Delta, and many more. Occasionally, American Express offers transfer bonuses, when for a brief time period they offer 10-40% more miles upon transferring to an airline or hotel partner.

When does the Personal Platinum Make Sense?

The Personal Platinum card is a great premium card that makes sense for frequent travelers.

The current welcome bonus is quite lucrative. If you frequently travel through cities that have Centurion lounges, you’re bound to love the lounge access. If you can utilize the many credits offered on the Personal Platinum card, the card really can pay for itself and make it worth it to hold on to year after year. Many people will be able to utilize the Uber credit, while the Equinox and Digital Entertainment credits may not be as useful for some cardholders.

When does the Business Platinum Make Sense?

The Business Platinum card also has an extremely lucrative welcome bonus; just make sure you can meet the high minimum spend!

While almost everyone will be able to utilize the wireless credit, some cardholders may not have as much use for the other various credits that are offered. In my opinion, one of the best benefits on the Business Platinum card is the 35% airline point rebate, which is great for travelers who often redeem points through Amex’s travel portal.

When would it make sense to hold both the Personal and Business Platinum cards?

Many of the benefits are common to the Personal and Business Platinum cards, so many people wonder whether it’s worth it to hold both cards. If you don’t mind paying both annual fees, I would highly recommend both cards to earn two extremely lucrative welcome bonuses. Beyond that, you need to assess whether the benefits outweigh the cost for each card after the first year.

For example, if you have the Business Platinum card and don’t utilize the Dell, Indeed, and Adobe credits, the card may not be worth holding on to after the one year mark. Similarly for the Personal version, if you don’t use Uber, Equinox, and the digital entertainment credits, the Personal Platinum may not have a long term spot in your wallet. Many travelers, while maybe not wanting to hold both cards, may choose one version for the benefits the cards have in common (TSA PreCheck/Global Entry credits, lounge access, hotel status, and more).

For me personally, I currently have the Business Platinum card. My first Platinum card was the personal version. After getting access to the Centurion lounges, I don’t think I’d ever give that up, as I live in New York City and love the lounges at JFK and Laguardia airports. I cancelled my Personal Platinum card after applying for the Business Platinum, as for me it was hard to stomach both annual fees. However, there’s certainly an easy argument that can be made to hold both cards simultaneously, as long as you can take advantage of the benefits of both cards!