How I Redeemed 150,000 Bonus Points From the Amex Business Platinum Card

For business owners on the go, The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express is arguably the best card on the market today. The Amex Business Platinum card has numerous perks and benefits, lounge access at over 1,400 lounges, and various statement credits that make it worth carrying.

However, arguably the best part about the Amex Business Platinum card is that it earns highly valuable Membership Rewards points and generally comes with a fantastic welcome bonus offer.

When I applied and was approved for the card, I earned 150,000 points after meeting the spending requirements. This was an extraordinary amount of bonus points, which, when redeemed correctly, can be worth thousands of dollars.

Here’s an overview of the Amex Business Platinum card and how I used its fantastic welcome offer to book first class seats to Japan and back on one of the world’s premier airlines.

Amex Business Platinum Card Overview

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 in's and out's 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!

Apply Now(at Amex's secure site)

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 Bonus Valuation*:

$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 (670-850)

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 at Amex Travel
• Access to over 1,400 worldwide airport lounges as part of the American Express Global Lounge Collection
• 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 (cap applies)

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.
• 5X Membership Rewards^® points on flights and prepaid hotels on AmexTravel.com, and 1X points for each dollar you spend on 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.
• 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^®, here.
• $200 Airline Fee Credit: Select one qualifying airline and then receive up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year when incidental fees are charged by the airline to the Card.
• $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^®.
• 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 03/2023.
• $695 Annual Fee.
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

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

Rewards Center

American Express Membership Rewards

The Amex Business Platinum card is an excellent rewards card for business owners who are also frequent travelers. It provides top-notch travel benefits (some requiring enrollment) such as comprehensive airport lounge access at over 1,400 lounges, hotel elite status with 2 major hotel chains, rental car elite status with several agencies, and numerous purchase and travel insurances and protections.

However, the Amex Business Platinum card also has a high $695 annual fee (rates & fees). The card comes with different statement credits (some requiring enrollment) to help offset the massive cost.

Despite the numerous perks and benefits the Amex Business Platinum card offers, none are as valuable as the massive welcome bonus offer.

What Are 150,000 Amex Membership Rewards Points Worth?

We value American Express Membership Rewards points at 2.2 cents apiece, the highest of any transferable points currency. This means 150,000 Amex Membership Rewards points are worth at least $3,300 when redeemed for travel.

Think about that for a second: over $3,000 of value from a single welcome bonus offer.

Of course, how you choose to redeem the points ultimately determines how much value you can get. Fortunately, there are numerous ways to redeem American Express Membership Rewards points, including gift cards, statement credits, shopping with points, and booking travel through AmexTravel.com.

However, generally speaking, the best way to use Amex Membership Rewards points is by utilizing transfer partners.

Redeeming 150,000 Amex Membership Rewards Points

Although I have traveled to more than 100 countries, I find myself returning to Japan, my favorite country, every year as of late. Of course, as much as I love traveling to Japan, I enjoy flying there in business or first class even more.

Fortunately, that is relatively easy to do with credit card points, including Amex Membership Rewards points. To do so best, I transfer points to Amex’s airline and hotel transfer partners.

One transfer partner I frequently transfer points to is the Virgin Atlantic Flying Club loyalty program. With Flying Club, you can book flights on All Nippon Airways (ANA), which is considered among the world’s best airlines.

Although the airlines are in different airline alliances, the 2 airline programs have a nonalliance partnership with a separate award chart. With the partnership, you can redeem Virgin Points to fly on ANA.

Virgin Atlantic has a separate award chart for ANA-operated flights. Although the recent ANA award chart was significantly devalued, plenty of value remains. Here is the Virgin Atlantic award chart for ANA-operated flights:

The above chart shows the round-trip cost in Virgin Points, though you can book a one-way trip at half of the cost.

From Chicago (ORD), I could book a round-trip ANA first class award for 170,000 Virgin Points plus taxes and fees. Although the mileage requirements are high, this is an excellent redemption, as round-trip, first-class cash fares to Japan often exceed $20,000!

However, there are also frequent transfer bonuses to Virgin Atlantic Flying Club. Recently, I took advantage of a 30% transfer bonus to Flying Club. Instead of transferring 170,000 Amex points to Flying Club, I transferred just 131,000 points, saving nearly 40,000 Amex Membership Rewards points for an incredible redemption. I got a tremendous 15 cents per point for this redemption, much more than our 2.2 cents per point valuation.

Final Thoughts

The Amex Business Platinum card is a fantastic travel rewards card with numerous perks and benefits. However, the card’s welcome offer is what makes it stand out.

To get the most out of your credit card points, it is best to transfer them to airline and hotel transfer partners. With this single welcome offer, I was able to fly to Japan in first class on one of the best airlines in the world.

For the purchase protection benefit of The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express, eligibility and benefit level varies by Card. Terms, conditions and limitations apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by AMEX Assurance Company.