How I’m Maximizing Amex Business Platinum’s Welcome Offer for a Summer Europe Trip

The summer travel season is rapidly approaching, which means it’s time to get booking. However, with my points balances running low, I decided it was time to “reload” by taking advantage of some lucrative welcome offers.

One such card is The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express, which is currently offering a very interesting — and lucrative —- welcome bonus offer.

Here’s my plan to leverage this welcome bonus offer to help pay for my flights to (and from) a family trip to Italy, and extend my stay in the country by a few days.

Amex Business Platinum Card Welcome Offer

Right now, eligible applicants for the Amex Business Platinum card can earn 150,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $20,000 on eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership. This new welcome offer also includes a $500 statement credit after you spend $2,500 on qualifying flights booked directly with airlines or through AmexTravel.com with your Amex Business Platinum card within the first 3 months of card membership.

You can earn 1 or both of these offers. This welcome bonus offer ends on June 30, 2025.

LIMITED TIME TRAVEL OFFER

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express

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This card is ideal for business travelers who enjoy luxury travel and are looking for a card loaded with benefits!

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The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express

This card is ideal for business travelers who enjoy luxury travel and are looking for a card loaded with benefits!

Welcome Offer

Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases on your Business Platinum Card^® within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn a $500 statement credit after you spend $2,500 on qualifying flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel with your Business Platinum Card^® within the first 3 months of Card Membership. You can earn one or both of these offers. Offer ends 6/30/25.

150,000 points + $500 statement credit

UP's Offer Valuation*:

Up to $3,800

Annual Fee

$695

APR

18.49% - 27.49% Variable

Credit Recommended

Upgraded Points credit ranges are a variation of FICO^®Score 8, one of many types of credit scores lenders may use when considering your credit cardapplication.

Good to Excellent

Why We Like This Card

The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express is a premium travel rewards card tailored toward business owners who are frequent travelers with a high number of annual expenses.

When you factor in the large number of perks that the card offers like the best airport lounge access at over 1,400 lounges, along with tons of annual credits, it’s easy to see why this card can is a top option for frequent traveling business owners.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• 5x Membership Rewards points per $1 on flights, prepaid hotels, and short-term rentals and prepaid flight and hotel packages booked through Amex Travel
• Access to over 1,400 worldwide airport lounges as part of the American Express Global Lounge Collection (as of 10/2024).
• Get 50% more Membership Rewards points (1.5 points per $1) on eligible purchases in key business categories, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more (on up to $2 million per calendar year)

Cons

• High annual fee of $695 (rates & fees)
• Airline fee credit does not cover airfare, only incidentals like checked bags

Read Full Review

Card Highlights

• Limited Time Travel Offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $20,000 on eligible purchases on your Business Platinum Card^® within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Plus, earn a $500 statement credit after you spend $2,500 on qualifying flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel with your Business Platinum Card^® within the first 3 months of Card Membership. You can earn one or both of these offers. Offer ends 6/30/25.
• The American Express Global Lounge Collection^® can provide an escape at the airport. With complimentary access to more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card issuer on the market as of 10/2024.
• Unlock over $1,000 in statement credits on select purchases, including tech, recruiting and wireless in the first year of membership with the Business Platinum Card^®. Enrollment required.
• Fly like a pro with a $200 Airline Fee Credit. Select one qualifying airline to receive up to $200 back per year on baggage fees and other incidentals.
• NEW! Make the Business Platinum Card^® work even harder for you. Hilton For Business members get up to $200 back per calendar year when you make an eligible purchase at Hilton properties across the globe. Benefit enrollment required.
• Earn 5X Membership Rewards^® points for flights, prepaid hotels, and short-term rentals and prepaid flight + hotel packages booked at AmexTravel.com. 1X points on other eligible purchases.
• Earn 1.5X points (that’s an extra half point per dollar) on each eligible purchase at US construction material, hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more, on up to $2 million per Card Account per calendar year. Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus.
• $199 CLEAR^® Plus Credit: Use your card and get up to $199 in statement credits per calendar year on your CLEAR^® Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use the Business Platinum Card^®.
• $695 Annual Fee.
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 18.49% - 27.49% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

American Express Membership Rewards

Based on our valuation of Membership Rewards points at 2.2 cents apiece, 150,000 points are worth $3,300. But add the $500 airfare statement credit, and you’re left with a total value of $3,800!

Top Benefits of the Amex Business Platinum Card

The Amex Business Platinum card isn’t one that you apply for to earn the welcome bonus offer and then tuck away in a sock drawer, never to be used again. Despite its steep $695 annual fee (rates & fees), it offers tons of earning potential and travel-focused benefits that make it a worthwhile resident in your wallet.

Note that some of the following perks and benefits require enrollment, and Amex is making changes to the existing Adobe and Dell credits that feature on the card as of July 1, 2025:

Meeting the Minimum Spend Requirement

The Amex Business Platinum card’s current welcome offer is generous — but the minimum spending requirement is proportionally high, with $20,000 in required spend in just 3 months.

That’s a lot of spending. But, with a lot of expenses headed my way, the timing couldn’t be better. I’m in the midst of a big move, one in which the costs are adding up quickly.

I’ve had to furnish a new apartment with mostly new furniture, cooking supplies, electronics, and more, and had to purchase ancillary things such as a new auto insurance policy, all on top of paying rent.

Taken together, this is close to $15,000 all-in, which is still short of the $20,000 required for the minimum spend requirement on the Amex Business Platinum card. However, my new building only charges a 1.5% fee for paying rent on a card. It’s charged per transaction, so I prepaid 3 months of rent with my Amex Business Platinum card to push me over the minimum spend threshold quickly.

I likely will open a Bilt World Elite Mastercard^® in the future because I love the fact you can transfer Bilt Rewards Points to Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan, but this strategy worked for right now and allowed me to earn a very lucrative Amex welcome bonus offer!

Remember, there’s another component of this welcome offer: earning a $500 statement credit after spending at least $2,500 on airfare booked directly with the airline or through AmexTravel.com.

I have a plan for that, too — keep reading to learn about it.

Redeeming Amex Points for a Flight to Italy

With the minimum spend requirement out of the way, the fun part begins: finding and booking flights. As a reminder, I have a fresh stash of 150,000 points to work with, which opens up plenty of options for flying to and from Europe.

The American Express Membership Rewards program has a lengthy list of airline transfer partners, which allow you to unlock incredible value in exchange for your points. Some of my favorite options include Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, and Virgin Atlantic Flying Club.

I typically check these 3 programs first before diving deeper, if it’s necessary. I lucked out on my first try (thank you, availability gods). I searched for a flight between Chicago (ORD) and Rome (FCO) on July 17, 2025, and there were a few itineraries available on SWISS Air business class.

As an added bonus, it’s an airline I haven’t tried yet but have been very keen to do so!

Amex Membership Rewards points transfer to Aeroplan almost instantly at a 1:1 ratio, so I immediately logged into my Amex account and transferred the 70,000 points required to book this flight. I logged out of my Aeroplan account, logged back in, and saw my points ready to use. I booked the flight and paid for the taxes and fees, and I was officially going to Rome!

Redeeming 70,000 points for a one-way flight to Italy left me with 80,000 points, which I earmarked for lodging since I had the cash portion of the welcome offer to utilize — more on that now.

Hot Tip:

Learn about all the best ways to earn and redeem Air Canada Aeroplan points for maximum value!

Earning the $500 Airfare Statement Credit

I had a flight to Italy, but now I had to get home. I knew I wanted to use the final 80,000 points of my welcome offer for lodging in Rome, so I turned to the $500 statement credit portion of this offer for finding a flight home.

I figured I could score a one-way business class flight for between $2,500 and $3,000, allowing me to take care of the $2,500 airfare spending threshold and get a good deal on a business class flight across the Pond at the same time.

A quick search on Google Flights told me I was correct in that assumption. In fact, I found an Aer Lingus business class flight from Rome to Chicago via Dublin (DUB) for after my family trip wraps up for just over $2,500, truly allowing me to maximize the welcome offer.

I immediately clicked through to Aer Lingus’ site to book my ticket. I put the $2,526 purchase on my Amex Business Platinum card and while I’m still waiting for the statement credit to appear, I’ve never had an issue with an Amex statement credit in the past, so I’m sure it’ll pop up soon.

Taking advantage of this portion of the welcome offer allowed me to score a one-way business class ticket for just a hair more than $2,000 — I’d consider that a pretty great deal for summer travel.

Redeeming Amex Points for a Hotel in Rome

While Amex has a very long list of airline transfer partners, the hotel transfer partner list is comparatively limited, with just 3 available:

• Choice Privileges
• Hilton Honors
• Marriott Bonvoy

Membership Rewards transfer to Choice and Marriott at a 1:1 ratio, but, they transfer at a 1:2 ratio to Hilton Honors, meaning for every 1,000 Amex points transferred, I’d receive 2,000 Hilton Honors points.

Yes, Hilton Honors has high redemption rates, and no, I rarely transfer points to a hotel program other than World of Hyatt, but I needed a hotel for 2 nights in Rome before I meet up with my extended family in southern Italy, so this felt like a great time to utilize these fresh Amex points for a hotel stay.

Hilton’s relatively recent relationship with Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) has opened a ton of new redemption options, particularly in Europe, where boutique hotels are plentiful. This worked in my favor because Hilton has many SLH properties in Rome available for booking with Honors points.

During my search, I discovered the Palm Suite, an SLH hotel, and found it to be the perfect option. It’s set in an 18th-century building adjacent to both the Colosseum and the Roman Forum, but its interior is thoroughly modern and quirky, a nice change from many Roman hotels that sport outdated, overwrought interior design.

For my 2-night weekend stay, I was able to find Standard Room Reward rates of 95,000 Hilton Honors points per night. This seems like a lot — and it is. However, thanks to the transfer ratio, I’d need to only transfer 95,000 points from my Amex account to earn the 190,000 required to book the hotel for 2 nights.

However, I already had 50,000 Hilton Honors points sitting in my account, meaning I only needed 140,000 additional points to bridge the gap. As such, I’d need to transfer just 70,000 Amex points to my Hilton Honors account.

My points transferred immediately and I then used the 190,000 Hilton Honors points I had to book 2 nights at Palm Suite. The room was selling for €608 (about $691) per night. Based on our valuations, 95,000 Hilton Honors points are worth about $475, which means I came out way ahead by using points for this stay.

Hot Tip:

If you ever find yourself short on Hilton Honors points, the brand runs fairly regular sales on points purchases, often allowing you to purchase points for as little as 0.5 cents apiece, which is exactly what we value each Hilton Honors point at. These points sales can be a great way to top up your account if you are shy of redemption, even after transferring points.

Final Thoughts

Planning a trip with a single welcome offer is certainly possible, but it takes a considerable amount of patience and some degree of flexibility.

In this case, I knew I had a pricey trip coming up, and because my unique life circumstances meant that I’d be spending a hefty sum of money in a short amount of time, I knew I could apply for the Amex Business Platinum card and take advantage of its limited-time welcome offer (150,000 bonus points and a $500 statement credit).

By doing so, I was able to use this welcome bonus offer to secure business class flights to and from Italy, along with a 2-night stay at a luxurious boutique property in the heart of the Eternal City before moving to the south of the country for a vacation with family!