Score a Whopping 250K Bonus With the Amex Business Platinum Card [Current Public Offer Is 150K]

This is easily one of the biggest Amex welcome bonus offers we’ve ever seen. New applicants could earn 250,000 points with The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express.

Amex is known for awarding new cardholders generous welcome offers when meeting their minimum spend requirements, but 250,000 points take generosity to the next level. Here’s what you should know about Amex’s targeted welcome offer and some tips on how you might spend a quarter of a million points.

Targeted offers are discussed in the article below. Please note that these offers are not available to all applicants. Any information related to targeted offers has been independently collected and has not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.

Outstanding Amex Business Platinum Card Offer

Before you get as excited as we are, it’s worth noting this welcome bonus offer might not be available to all applicants. The current publicly available offer is:

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

The card also comes with an annual fee of $695 (rates & fees).

This amazing welcome offer is targeted at certain applicants, who can earn up to 250,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $15,000 in purchases in the first 3 months of card ownership.

What are 250,000 points worth? Based on our latest point valuations, we estimate that Amex Membership Rewards points are worth about 2.2 cents apiece — so this 250,000-point welcome offer is worth roughly $5,400 for travel!

Option 1: Check On Amex Directly (Try This First)

To see if you’re eligible for the 250,000-point welcome bonus offer, you’ll first want to check American Express’ website directly.

As mentioned above, the current publicly available offer is: ELEVATED OFFER: Earn 150,000 points after spending $20,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months.

However, our writers have seen that American Express will offer an elevated offer directly to targeted applicants. As with all targeted offers, these offers aren’t available to all applicants, but here’s an example of the targeted offer we’ve found through our research directly through American Express.

While this offer provides 250,000 bonus points after spending $15,000 in the first 3 months, you might see a similar offer that requires $20,000 of spending in 3 months instead.

This welcome offer notes explicitly that “you may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had this Card or previous versions of this Card.”

Option 2. Targeted Email Offers

Don’t leave those targeted emails or mailers off the table. These offers may provide a special targeted invitation for you to apply. If you want to receive targeted offers, be sure to opt-in to receive New Card and Credit Offers in your Amex account’s General Marketing Email Preferences.

Option 3: Check on CardMatch

Use the CardMatch tool to check for available elevated offers for a variety of cards and issuers. CardMatch doesn’t conduct a hard pull on your credit, so your score won’t be impacted.

Benefits of the Amex Business Platinum Card

Thankfully, this business credit card comes with many benefits that offset the $695 annual fee.

• Generous bonus points: 5x on flights and prepaid hotels through AmexTravel.com; 1.5x points for eligible purchases at electronic goods retailers (like Apple), shipping providers, software and cloud system providers, U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers, and on purchases of $5,000 more (limited to $2,000,000 per year); 1x points are earned on all other eligible spending
• Access to over 1,400 lounges at airports around the world, including American Express Centurion Lounges, (domestic and international), Delta Sky Clubs (with a same-day Delta boarding pass), Priority Pass lounges (enrollment required), and more
• Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee credit
• Generous statement credits: including eligible purchases made at Dell Technologies, Indeed, Adobe, U.S. wireless service providers, airline fee incidentals, and a CLEAR Plus membership (enrollment required for some benefits)
• Complimentary Gold elite status with Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy upon enrollment
• 35% airline bonus when you use Pay With Points for flights booked through AmexTravel.com (up to 1 million points per year)

Maximizing 250K Points for Winter Holidays

It’s possible to redeem Amex Membership Rewards points in dozens of ways, whether you’re interested in flying some of the world’s best first and business class seats or flying the whole family to Europe. Here are a couple of options to get the ball rolling.

Hit the Slopes of Europe This Winter

The Air France-KLM Flying Blue program often offers one-way tickets to destinations across Europe (via Paris or Amsterdam) from just 20,000 points in economy. You can transfer your Amex Membership Rewards points at a 1:1 ratio to Flying Blue.

For example, you can book round-trip tickets for a family of 4 between the U.S. and a number of skiing hubs across the continent, such as Geneva (GVA), Salzburg (SLZ), or Turin (TRN), for just 160,000 Flying Blue miles (plus taxes and fees).

Let’s say you’re flying solo to Geneva. You’d have enough miles to do the round-trip in Air France business class, with tickets starting at around 115,000 miles each way.

Fly First Class With Emirates to Dubai for Some Winter Sun

With an onboard shower and some of the most expensive Champagne in the sky, flying Emirates first class on the Airbus A380 is a bucket-list experience for many frequent flyers.

As Membership Rewards transfer 1:1 to Emirates’ Skywards frequent flyer program, this 250,000-point bonus alone should be more than enough to cover the cost of a round-trip first class ticket between the East Coast and Dubai (DXB), which comes in at 217,500 Skywards miles.

The great thing about Dubai is that you can enjoy it as a destination unto itself (the weather is warm year-round) or use the incredibly well-connected airport as a springboard to another destination of your choice.

Indulge at The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands

If you prefer to spend points and miles on hotel stays rather than flights, a visit to The Ritz-Carlton Maldives, Fari Islands, would be well within reach thanks to this 250,000-point welcome offer.

Ritz-Carlton properties are part of the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio. Membership Rewards points transfer to Marriott at a 1:1 ratio, meaning you could accrue at least 250,000 Marriott Bonvoy points from this welcome bonus alone.

With award nights at this property starting at about 88,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night, the welcome bonus alone could get you to a place where you’re just 14,000 points shy of a 3-night stay at one of the Maldives’ most exclusive resorts.

Final Thoughts

This 250,000-point welcome bonus offer has turned our heads here at Upgraded Points.

If you’re eligible for the Amex Business Platinum card and don’t already have it in your wallet, this could be the best time to apply.