Maximizing the Amex Business Platinum: How I Booked Business Travel With Points

As an independent contractor, I’m responsible for paying my way to most of the conferences, meetings, and other industry events I attend. It’s the price I pay for the flexibility that comes with freelancing. But just because I’m responsible for my travel doesn’t mean I have to pay out of pocket for all my flights and hotel stays.

Instead, I often redeem points and miles for my work trips. This reduces my travel expenses and prevents them from cutting into my business’ bottom line. I often redeem the American Express Membership Rewards points that I earn with The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express for these work trips.

Here’s how I used the Amex Business Platinum card and Amex Membership Rewards points to save money on upcoming business travel.

Amex Business Platinum Card Overview

Before we dive in, here’s a quick overview of the Amex Business Platinum card. This card is among the most premium business cards, with benefits like airport lounge access and business-friendly statement credits that can help you save on travel and other operating expenses. These benefits do, however, come with a large $695 annual fee (rates & fees)

On the travel benefits side, you get access to airport lounge networks like American Express Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass (upon enrollment), Delta Sky Clubs (when flying with Delta the same day), and others. Just note that you’re now limited to 10 Sky Club visits annually unless you spend $75,000 on the card in a calendar year.

You can also take advantage of up to $200 in annual airline incidental fee credits (enrollment required), complimentary Hilton and Marriott elite status (enrollment required), and other lucrative travel benefits. And when it comes to redeeming Membership Rewards points, the Amex Business Platinum card gives you a 35% Pay With Points rebate on eligible AmexTravel.com bookings.

Specifically, you can get a 35% points rebate on all premium cabin (premium economy, business, and first class) flights and economy class flights booked with 1 airline of your choice that you book through AmexTravel.com and pay for with Membership Rewards points (up to 1 million points per calendar year).

Since you can redeem points at 1 cent per point through AmexTravel.com, the 35% rebate gives you roughly 1.54 cents per point in value. This is lower than Upgraded Points’ 2.2 cent per point valuation for Membership Rewards points, but the added flexibility of booking any flight through AmexTravel.com can be a big plus for business travel.

The Amex Business Platinum card’s current public welcome bonus offer is excellent:

• ELEVATED OFFER: Earn 150,000 points after spending $20,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months.

ELEVATED OFFER

Terms Apply / Rates & Fees

The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express

U.P. Rating 

The rating for this card has been determined by our own industry experts who know the ins and outs of credit card products. Bonuses, rewards as well as rates and fees are all taken into account. Compensation from the issuer does not affect our rating. We only recommend products we either use ourselves or endorse.

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 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.

150,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

Up to $3,300

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 and Prepaid Hotels 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). Access is limited to eligible Card Members.
• 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

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Card Highlights

• Welcome Offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
• 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. Access is limited to eligible Card Members.
• 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. See how you can unlock over $1,000 annually in credits on select purchases with the Business Platinum Card^®.
• 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^® on Flights, and Prepaid Hotels Booked through 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

Saving on Business Travel With Amex Points

This article only covers how I used Membership Rewards points earned with my Amex Business Platinum card to save on travel, not how I used benefits like the statement credits and elite status included with the card. With that in mind, here are 3 work trips I have planned this year and how I used Membership Rewards points to save on them.

Flying to a Client Meeting in Rome

I’m meeting a consulting client in Rome later this year and used Membership Rewards to almost completely cover the cost of my flights to and from Europe. I did this by leveraging Amex’s suite of transfer partners, namely Virgin Atlantic Flying Club and Air France-KLM Flying Blue.

I’m flying Air France in economy class from New York (JFK) to Rome (FCO) via Paris (CDG). I transferred 9,000 Membership Rewards points to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club during a 40% transfer bonus, making those points worth 12,600 Virgin points. Taxes and fees were roughly $165.

On the way back, I’m flying from Rome to Ottawa (YOW) via Paris in Air France business class for 37,500 Membership Rewards points transferred to Flying Blue plus $281 in taxes and fees. I booked this flight last year during an Flying Blue Promo Rewards deal that massively reduced the number of miles needed to fly business class from Europe to Ottawa and other Canadian cities.

These 2 redemptions saved me hundreds of dollars when compared to booking an economy ticket outright. Plus, I get to enjoy a business class seat on my way back to North America.

Conference in Boca Raton

I attend (and speak at) CardCon Expo every year. It’s a great place to network with other journalists who cover credit cards, travel, and points and miles. The conference is in a different U.S. city every year, and this year it’s in Boca Raton, Florida, just outside of Fort Lauderdale.

I live in New York City, so I need to fly to Fort Lauderdale for the conference. I used the annual Capital One Travel credit from my Capital One Venture X Business Card*×Information collected independently. Not reviewed by Capital One. to cover the cost of my outbound flight from New York (LGA) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) but booked my return flight with Delta SkyMiles.

My flight home from Fort Lauderdale cost 11,600 SkyMiles (after factoring in Delta’s TakeOff 15 credit card benefit) and $5.60 in taxes and fees. I already had enough SkyMiles in my account to book this award, but I could have transferred from Membership Rewards to Delta SkyMiles at a 1:1 transfer ratio if I didn’t.

Note that transfers from Membership Rewards to domestic partners — including Delta SkyMiles — are subject to a small fee to cover excise taxes. You pay 0.06 cents per transferred point, up to $99 per transfer.

Another Conference in Portland

Finally_, I’m also attending FinCon in Portland, Oregon, later this year. Right after the conference, I need to fly to Spokane (GEG) for a wedding, so I’ve booked my flights accordingly.

I booked New York (JFK) to Portland (PDX) through AmexTravel.com and redeemed 20,849 Membership Rewards to cover the cost of a nonstop Delta flight. Since Delta is my airline of choice for the 35% Pay With Points rebate, I’ll get 7,297 points back. This brings my cost to 13,552 Membership Rewards points.

Then I transferred 5,000 Membership Rewards points to Hawaiian Airlines to book my flight from Portland to Spokane on Alaska Airlines. I did this because, right now, you can transfer miles between Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines. Alaska acquired Hawaiian last year and is still in the process of merging Mileage Plan and HawaiianMiles. It’s unclear how long transfers between the programs will last.

These 2 flights would’ve cost nearly $350 if I had paid out of pocket. Instead, I was able to pay just 18,552 Membership Rewards points plus the taxes and fees ($5.60) for the flight from Portland to Spokane.

Final Thoughts

As you read in this article, I’ve booked several of my work flights with Membership Rewards points this year. And given that I work in the travel industry, I expect to book more over the coming months.

Consider doing the same if you run a business. Using the Amex Business Platinum card to earn and redeem Membership Rewards points for business travel can save your business thousands of dollars per year. This gives you more opportunities to attend industry events and visit clients or suppliers without taking money away from your bottom line.