Why You Might Want A Different Card
Narrow bonus spending rewards
Rewards are rich for travel spending via AmEx and poor for everything else.
The good.Membership Rewards points are worth an average of 1 cent apiece, so the 5 points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotel stays booked through amextravel.com is equivalent to a 5% rewards rate, which is exceptional. Spend $11,900 a year on travel to break even on the annual fee, before factoring in card perks. Whats more, get 35% of your points back when redeeming them for flights with your selected airline through amextravel.com, meaning you could squeeze out an effective rate of 6.75% on travel spending.
The bad. If you wont book a lot of travel through AmEx, this card loses its allure quickly. Its simply a poor choice for racking up rewards for other types of spending, which earns just 1 point per dollar spent or 1.5 points on certain business categories or if the purchase is more than $5,000.
For non-AmEx travel, you’d be better off with a cash-back card like the Capital One Spark Cash Plus. This card offers an unlimited 2% cash back on every purchase, and it comes with a good welcome bonus but it’s a charge card, so you can’t carry a balance.
Dining rewards, in particular, are a weak spot for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express. Restaurant spending, which typically accompanies travel, earns just 1 point per dollar.
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High annual fee
Complexity
Amex International Airline Program
With the Amex International Airline Program, you can save on the cost of international first-class, business class, and premium economy airfare, on nearly two dozen airlines. This typically provides discounts even on already discounted tickets, so is a spectacular value.
If you book paid international premium cabin travel with any frequency, this could cover the cards annual fee over and over.
Which Card Is Best For You
The best travel credit card for you depends on how you plan to use it. If you have a lot of business costs, travel frequently for work, and can comfortably spend enough to earn the welcome bonus, the Amex Business Platinum could be the right move for you.
On the other hand, if you dont have business expenses, the Amex Platinum would be the better choice. Even if you have a business, it might still make sense to stick with the regular Amex Platinum if you dont think youll spend enough to get the big benefits.
Additionally, consider the perks and credits offered by the Amex Platinum vs. Amex Business Platinum. Which are you more likely to make use of?
Be honest about what perks youre more likely to use and move forward with the card that makes the most sense. Either way, its a good idea to only spend what you can pay off in a month. Carrying a balance on these rewards cards could cost you big time.
Best Luxury Travel Benefits
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The American Express Business Platinum Canada Review
The American Express Business Platinum Card is currently the most lucrative business credit card in Canada. With a welcome bonus of up to 80,000 pointswhich we value between $1,600 $2,400 its value is unmatched by any other business credit card in Canada.
With worldwide airport lounge access, complimentary flight upgrades, companion tickets, and award-winning travel insurance, this card will take your travels to new heights. If youre a Canadian business owner who appreciates VIP benefits and getting excellent bang for your buck, the American Express Business Platinum Card is for you.
How Are The Amex Platinum And Amex Business Platinum Different
The Amex Platinum is a consumer card while the Amex Business Platinum is a business card. This means you dont need to have a small business to qualify for the Amex Platinum, but you need to have a business to qualify for the Business Platinum card.
And while both cards offer premium benefits, like complimentary airport lounge access and elite hotel status with Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors, there are also some differences in benefits depending on the card you choose. For instance, the Amex Platinum provides up to $200 in annual Uber Cash, which is good for Uber rides and Uber Eats orders, while the Amex Business Platinum offers up to $400 in annual Dell Technologies credit. Select benefits do require enrollment.
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How To Maximize The Amex Business Platinum Dell Credit
The Amex Business Platinum Card earns:
- 5 points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels booked through Amex Travel
- 1.5 points per dollar on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more, and on eligible purchases in the US at electronics goods retailers, software, and cloud service providers, shipping providers, and on construction materials and hardware supplies
- 1 point per dollar on all other eligible purchases
You will earn points for your purchase Amex will simply reimburse you with a statement credit, up to $200, after the transaction posts.
Dell is one of the merchants frequently included among Amex Offers**, providing you with a chance to either earn bonus points or money back on eligible purchases. Before you make your purchases from Dell, be sure to check your Amex Offers and add any offers to your account before you shop.
In addition, many online shopping portals offer bonus points, miles, or cash back when you shop with Dell, so you’ll want to browse the portals for the best offer, then click through to Dell’s website using that portal. For example, Rakuten gives you the opportunity to earn either cash back or Amex points. That means you could foreseeably:
- Earn points for using your Business Platinum
- Earn bonus points or cash back with an Amex Offer
- Earn bonus points for shopping through Rakuten
- Receive a $200 rebate for your purchase
That’s quite a string of savings!
Someone Who Doesnt Want To Track All The Details Maximizing The Card Requires
Yes the card comes with a seemingly endless amount of credits for various things, but in most cases they arent automatic and will require some work on your part. For example, that $200 airline incidental fee requires choosing an airline and you can only apply the credit towards one airline per year. The Gold elite status at Hilton and Marriott requires enrollment. The wireless credit is doled out in $10 monthly increments, and the Indeed credit comes as $90 per quarter, which means you still have to pay and then double-check that the credit gets applied. This might be too much effort for some.
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Redeem Points For Over 15 Cents Each Toward Airfare
Ordinarily, you can redeem Membership Rewards points for about a cent each toward the cost of an airfare purchase, which isnt that great. However, if you have the Amex Business Platinum Card you can redeem points at a special rate.
If you book your flight through American Express Travel using the Membership Rewards Pay with Points feature, you get 35% of those points back:
- You need to either be booking a first or business class flight or book any cabin on your selected qualifying airline
- You can get up to 500,000 points back per calendar year using this redemption method
In other words, you could book a $1,000 ticket for 100,000 points, and then youd get 35,000 points back, meaning, in the end, youre paying 65,000 points. Thats a value of ~1.54 cents per point, which is excellent.
Guest Policy For Centurion Lounges
Currently, Platinum cardmembers may enter with up to two guests at no additional charge. And Centurion cardmembers may enter with up to two guests or immediate family at no additional charge. Platinum and Centurion cardmembers may purchase day passes for extra guests at the time of entry for $50 per guest.
Effective Feb. 1, 2023, U.S. Platinum cardmembers will need to pay $50 per guest age 18 or older . However, U.S. Platinum cardmembers can qualify for complimentary guest access for up to two guests per visit after spending $75,000 in eligible purchases on their card between Jan. 1, 2022, and Dec. 31, 2022 .
Even after the new guest policies begin, children under 2 will still be allowed into the lounge free of charge when accompanied by a parent or guardian who can show either proof of age for the child or a lap-infant boarding pass.
However, note that guest policies may vary from country to country in international locations.
Related: Solo travelers rejoice: Why Im in favor of new Amex Centurion Lounge guest rules
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Airline Fee And Expedited Security Travel Credits
If you travel frequently, you will enjoy the time savings of programs like PreCheck, Global Entry, and CLEAR®, which can make your airport experience smoother. Both variants of the Platinum card offer credits to offset many of the fees you might pay as a frequent traveler.
Airline Fee Credit: Both the Platinum and Business Platinum cards offer up to $200 in annual airline fees as reimbursements for airline incidental fees, such as checked bags and in-flight refreshments on your preferred U.S. airline when they are charged to your card. To be eligible to receive the $200 in airline fee statement credits, you must enroll and select your preferred airline prior to your purchase.
Global Entry or TSA PreCheck Credit: For frequent travelers, enrollment in either PreCheck or Global Entry is almost a necessity. PreCheck provides expedited screening at airport security, while Global Entry provides expedited entry into the United States through many ports of entry and includes membership in PreCheck. No matter whether you choose to enroll in Global Entry or PreCheck, your Platinum card will provide a credit once every four years for either Global Entry or PreCheck.
CLEAR® Membership Credit: CLEAR® is a service available at many airports that provides an expedited path through security at over 50 airports, stadiums and other venues in the United States. Both cards also offer up to $189 back per year via statement credit when you use your card to pay for a CLEAR® membership.
Amex Business Platinum Military Offer
The spending hurdle is high on this card because it’s mainly focused on small business owners. Businesses can have thousands of dollars in expenses per month, between overhead, rent, inventory, payroll, and taxes.
Many military servicemembers run businesses on the side or have a second source of income. If your spouse owns his or her own business, that also opens up this card to you.
You don’t need an LLC to get business credit cards.
Business owners may also have to make estimated tax payments every quarter. Estimated tax payments can be made with a credit card through sites such as Pay1040.com. There are three official credit card processors listed on the IRS website.
Let’s say you make estimated tax payments of $25,000. Since the purchase is over $5000, you will earn 1.5x points on the transaction. That’s 37,500 points.
Plus, with this tax payment you’ll meet the minimum spend of $15k spend in 3 months.
That’s a fantastic return on spend! MR points are typically valued at 2 cents per point, so you’re getting 12%+ back on the $20,000 in purchases.
If you have a Charles Schwab account, you may be eligible for the American Express Platinum Card for Schwab. With the Schwab Platinum, you can transfer MR reward points to your Schwab checking account at a value of 1.25 cents per point.
That puts the 125,000 points at $1562 for $20,000 of spend, or 7.8% cash back. Again, that’s a great return and easily covers the 1.87% fee on credit card tax payments.
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Which Card Is The Most Suitable For You
Choosing the right travel credit card is a personal decision based on your specific needs. If you have a lot of business expenses, often travel for work, and can easily spend enough to get the welcome bonus, the Amex Business Platinum card may be the correct choice for you.
With no business expenditures, the Amex Platinum would be a better option for a company credit card. The standard Amex Platinum card may be a better choice if you dont expect to spend enough to get the perks of the business card if you operate a business. Also, have a look at the benefits and credits given by the Amex Platinum and Amex Business Platinum cards. Which one do you think youll utilize the most?
If youre not going to use all of the cards advantages, dont sign up for a new one. Either way, sticking to a budget that you can afford to pay off in a month is a smart move. You might lose a lot of money if you keep a balance on these reward cards.
David Krug
Key Differences Between The Amex Platinum And Amex Business Platinum
There are plenty of similarities between these cards. Youll earn Membership Rewards with both, which can often be transferred on a 1:1 basis with a variety of Amex partner airlines and hotels. Youll also have access to Fine Hotels & Resorts perks and will receive Gold Status in both the Marriott Bonvoy and Hilton Honors programs.
However, when considering the Amex Platinum vs. Amex Business Platinum, consider the key differences between the two cards. Youll be able to figure out which is best for you based on how you can earn points, the available benefits, and the costs involved.
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Enjoy Quarterly Credits With Indeed
Your Business Platinum Card provides a quarterly statement credit of up to $90 when you purchase Indeed services. Quarters are defined as January through March, April through June, July through September, and October through December. This is up to $360 in annual savings. Enrollment is required to use this benefit.
Final Thoughts On The Business Platinum Card
You’ll have to decide whether the Business Platinum Card is worth it for you. The annual fee is quite high, but the card offers excellent savings if you can use the bulk of its credits. There also is a wealth of travel perks. You’ll need to do the math to see which benefits you can really use and what value they will provide for you. And make sure you don’t discount things like travel insurance protections. The Business Platinum Card also currently has an excellent welcome offer. If you don’t find the card compelling, there are plenty of other great business credit cards out there.
For rates and fees of the cards mentioned in this post, please visit the following links: The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
4.85
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What Are The Business Platinum Card From American Express Points Worth
The value of Membership Rewards® points depends on how you redeem them. The best value that you can get is transferring them to hotel or airline transfer partners. We estimate a value of 2.2 cents per point if you redeem Membership Rewards® in this way. You can also use points to book flights and hotels through the Amex Travel portal, redeem them for gift cards or use them while shopping. These redemptions will generally provide a lower value for your points.
Value: Above average
Ease of redeeming: Above average
Additional Global Lounge Collection Partner Lounges
Additionally, Platinum cardholders get access to other Global Lounge Collection partner lounges as indicated by the lounge search function on Amexs website. To gain access to participating lounges, youll need to show your Platinum Card, a government-issued ID and a boarding pass showing a confirmed reservation for same-day travel on any carrier. However, guest access and guest fees will vary.
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Claim Rental Car Elite Status
American Express partners with three major rental car companies to offer Business Platinum cardholders elite status. This includes Avis Preferred Plus, Hertz Gold Plus Rewards and National Car Rental Emerald Club Executive status.
Elite benefits vary by program, but you can generally expect complimentary vehicle upgrades and bonus points. These are nice perks that can make for a better car rental experience. Once you have your new Amex Business Platinum card, its worthwhile to take a few minutes to claim your rental car elite status benefits. Heres a step-by-step guide to doing that:
$400 Dell Statement Credits
For having the Amex Business Platinum Card you get up to $400 in Dell credits annually. Enrollment is required, and the way this is broken down, you get a $200 statement credit between January and June, and an additional $200 statement credit between July and December.
Theres no minimum required to activate this , and the statement credits should post within two to four weeks of an eligible purchase.
Dell sells a surprising number of items from other companies. For example, you can buy Bose headphones through Dell, so this is more useful than you might assume.
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The Business Platinum Card From American Express Vs Ink Business Preferred Credit Card
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is Chases premier small business card, but it only has a $95 annual fee. In exchange for the lower annual fee, youre going to give up benefits like the statement credits, lounge access, and hotel elite status.
However, this card is much more rewarding when it comes to earning rewards. The Ink Business Preferred earns 3 Ultimate Rewards points per dollar spent on the first $150,000 in combined spending on travel, shipping, internet, cable, phone services and advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines and 1 point per dollar spent on all other purchases. Plus, the Ink Business Preferred is offering the opportunity to earn a welcome bonus: 100,000 points after you spend $15,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Ultimate Rewards points are also extremely valuable. They can be transferred to airline and hotel programs at a 1:1 ratio and theyre worth 25% more when redeemed for travel through Ultimate Rewards Travel compared to redeeming for cash back.