Great Card If
- You travel often enough to take advantage of the many travel benefits provided to cardholders
- You want a card with luxury perks like hotel elite status and airport lounge access
- You want a card with purchase protection
- You want a card that earns transferable rewards
Don’t Get If
- You cannot afford the annual fee
- You prefer a cash-back card
- You don’t travel often
Amex Business Platinum — Is It Worth It?
The Amex Business Platinum card is made for small business owners who travel frequently enough to take advantage of the luxury travel perks offered with the card.
However, even though there is a steep annual fee — the card comes with perks like airport lounge access, hotel elite status, up to $200 airline incidental credit (upon enrollment), a 35% rebate with Amex Pay With Points, and 5x points per $1 on flights and prepaid hotels on Amex Travel.
If your business has turned you into a road warrior, you’ll be hard-pressed to find a business card that comes with better travel-related perks than this one.
As far as business cards go, the Amex Business Platinum card is a must-have for many of the Upgraded Points team members, including Senior Finance Contributor Christine Krzyszton, who stated:
“The Amex Business Platinum card is my go-to card for international airfare. I like getting the 35% rebate when I use Membership Rewards points to purchase flights via Amex Travel. I can even use a combination of points and charge the remainder to my card. Plus, I earn 5x points for the entire transaction. I pay $10 on my wireless account, receive a statement credit each month, and always make a $200 purchase with Dell every 6 months for that statement credit (enrollment required). Best of all, I enjoy a nice break in a Centurion Lounge during my travels.”
Christine Krzyszton, Senior Finance Contributor
Amex Business Platinum Card Top Benefits
Up to $200 Annual Airline Fee Credit
Each calendar year, you’ll be able to receive up to $200 in statement credits for incidental fees charged by your selected airline, such as checked bags and inflight refreshments. This fee credit does not apply to airfare.
Note that statement credits are per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to your card or any of the additional cards on your Amex Business Platinum card account.
Airport Lounge Access
Having access to an airport lounge can do wonders on a busy travel day. Whether you enjoy having a quiet workspace, complimentary food and drink, or even premium amenities like a shower room, you’ll love the lounges you’ll be able to access with your card.
The American Express Global Lounge Collection features over 1,400 airport lounges across 130 countries worldwide, including Amex Centurion Lounges in the U.S. and abroad, Escape Lounges – The Centurion Studio Partner, Plaza Premium Lounges, select Virgin Clubhouses, select Lufthansa Lounges when flying with Lufthansa Group the same day, and Delta Sky Clubs when flying with Delta the same day.
You’ll also enjoy a complimentary Priority Pass Select membership upon enrollment. Just note that Priority Pass memberships from U.S.-issued American Express cards no longer include restaurants (“non-lounge airport experiences”).
Access to these lounges could cost hundreds of dollars if purchased separately, so this benefit is incredibly valuable.
TSA PreCheck or Global Entry Fee Credit
Enjoying expedited security is a nice perk to have when traveling on business. It’s even better when it doesn’t affect your bottom line.
You’ll receive a fee reimbursement for a TSA PreCheck or a Global Entry fee that’s charged to your Amex Business Platinum card. Plus, this benefit extends to additional cards on your account!
CLEAR Plus Credit
Cardmembers can zip through security screenings at select U.S. airports and sporting events with an annual statement credit of up to $189 for CLEAR Plus membership.
Hotel Elite Status
Having hotel elite status can make frequent business trips (or even leisure vacations) much more comfortable. As an Amex Business Platinum cardholder, you’ll receive elite status at 2 major hotel chains:
- Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite Status — Receive a 25% points bonus on your stays, a room upgrade (subject to availability), 2 p.m. late checkout, and a welcome gift of 250 to 500 Marriott Bonvoy points.
- Hilton Honors Gold Status — Enjoy 2 bottles of water per stay, late checkout, and free breakfast daily.
Note that you must enroll in this benefit through your American Express account, so be sure to get the most out of your benefits!
Each year you’re a cardmember, you’ll be eligible to receive up to $400 in statement credits toward your U.S. purchases from Dell on your Amex Business Platinum card. You can get $200 in statement credits from January to June and another $200 in statement credits from July to December.
Up to $360 Annual Indeed Statement Credit
Get up to $90 each quarter, up to $360 each year, in statement credits towards eligible purchases with Indeed for your staffing needs.
Up to $150 Annual Adobe Statement Credit
Cardholders receive up to $150 in statement credits each year for select prepaid subscriptions with Adobe. If you use any Adobe programs like Adobe Premiere, Adobe Lightroom, or even if you have the full set of Adobe Creative Cloud, then this can save you quite a bit each year.
Up to $120 Annual Wireless Phone Services Statement Credit
You can get up to $10 each month, for a total of $120 in statement credits each year, for wireless phone services purchased directly with a U.S. wireless provider. An easy way to take advantage of this is to pay your monthly phone bill with your Amex Business Platinum card.
Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts
As a cardholder, you’ll get access to the Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts program. When you book one of these select properties, you’ll receive perks like:
- Room upgrade upon arrival (when available)
- Daily breakfast for 2
- Noon check-in (when available)
- Guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout
- Complimentary Wi-Fi
- A unique amenity valued at $100, like a food and beverage credit
Global Dining Access by Resy
Add your Amex Business Platinum card to your Resy profile to unlock access to exclusive reservations and special dining experiences.
Wheels Up (Premium Private Jet Program)
Enjoy up to 40% off a Wheels Up membership and up to $2,000 inflight credit towards your initial flight within your first year (depending on membership).
Trip Delay Insurance
When you purchase a round-trip ticket with your card and the flight is delayed by more than 6 hours, you’re covered for up to $500 in reasonable expenses like meals, lodging, and personal use items.
Trip Cancellation and Interruption Insurance
Flights purchased with your card that are canceled or interrupted due to a covered reason, like inclement weather or accidental injury, are covered up to $10,000 per trip and $20,000 per year.
Baggage Insurance
You’ll love knowing you’re covered if your baggage is lost, damaged, or stolen. To be eligible, you need to pay for your entire fare using your Amex Business Platinum card or American Express Membership Rewards points. Coverage is capped at $2,000 for checked baggage and a combined maximum of $3,000 for checked and carry-on baggage.
Car Rental Insurance
When you pay for your entire rental with your Amex Business Platinum card and decline the coverage offered by the car rental agency, you’ll be covered if your rental car is damaged or stolen. This coverage doesn’t cover damage to other vehicles or any injuries.
The card comes with secondary car rental loss and damage insurance. That means you’ll need to file a claim with any other insurance you may have first.
This applies to cars rented in most countries but excludes cars rented in Australia, Italy, and New Zealand.
This coverage is capped at $75,000 per rental agreement.
Rental Car Elite Status
With the card, you’ll get automatic elite status and special privileges with Avis, Hertz, and National.
Purchase Protection
When you purchase an item with your card, that purchase is covered for up to 90 days from the purchase date, up to $10,000 per item and $50,000 per year, in the event of theft, loss, or damage.
Extended Warranty Protection
Any items purchased with your card that have a manufacturer’s warranty of 5 years or less can be extended up to 1 additional year.
Cell Phone Protection
Cardholders receive up to $1,600 in cell phone protection (2 claims per year with up to $800 for each claim) against theft and damage, including cosmetic damage (like a cracked phone screen). Each claim has a $50 deductible, and your monthly phone bill should be paid with your Amex Business Platinum card to receive coverage.
How To Earn and Redeem Your Amex Points
Since the Amex Business Platinum card offers just a single bonus category, you’ll want to utilize other ways of earning Membership Rewards points. Fortunately, there are plenty of great ways to do just that!
Once you’ve earned those points, you’ll then want to strategize about how you’ll want to redeem your Membership Rewards points for future trips.
Our favorite use of Amex Membership Rewards points is utilizing the Amex transfer partners, as they allow you to book amazing first and business class flights for a fraction of what they’d usually cost!
Alternatives to the Amex Business Platinum Card
Similar to the Ink Business Cash® Credit Card, the Amex Blue Business Cash card offers 2% cash-back on all eligible purchases on up to $50,000 per calendar year, then 1%.
This card is a great choice for those looking for a more well-rounded option.
While it doesn’t feature any of the luxury perks that come with the Amex Business Platinum card, it has a fantastic earn rate of 3x points per $1 on up to $150,000 in combined purchases on travel, shipping, ad purchases made with social media sites or search engines, and internet, cable, and phones services.
It makes for a compelling option for those who just want a strong point-earning card without any extras.
Check out our direct comparison of the Amex Business Platinum card vs. Ink Business Preferred card.
We’ve compared the card to a couple of other popular alternatives:
UP’s Card Review Methodology
Every card we review is assigned a “U.P. Rating” – our star-based system that encompasses all the key details to showcase a card’s standout features, where it falls short, and how it stacks up for travelers to maximize rewards.
These ratings range from 0 to 5 stars and are determined by carefully weighing crucial factors like:
- Bonus categories
- Benefits and perks
- Quality of associated loyalty programs
- Annual fees and other costs
- Size of the welcome bonus (and relative to the annual fee)
- And several more
You can learn more about how Upgraded Points reviews and rates credit cards.
For rates and fees of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
For rates and fees of The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the American Express® Business Gold Card, click here.
For rates and fees of The Platinum Card® from American Express, click here.
