How I Booked a Week at a Luxury Bali Hotel With Amex Business Platinum Welcome Offer

If you’re a business owner, The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express is a great way to enhance your travel experience. It has several fantastic perks, including lounge access, hotel elite status, and various travel statement credits (enrollment required for some benefits).

One thing that makes the Amex Business Platinum card so powerful is the fact that it earns valuable Membership Rewards points. You can use these to book hotels, flights, and more. It also comes with a fabulous welcome bonus offer:

• LIMITED TIME TRAVEL OFFER: Earn 150,000 points after spending $20,000 on purchases in the first 3 months. Plus, earn a $500 statement credit after spending $2,500 on qualifying flights booked directly with airlines or through American Express Travel in the first 3 months. Offer ends 6/30/25.

When I became a small business owner in 2019, I applied for the Amex Business Platinum card as my first premium card. It’s been my go-to business card ever since.

Here’s a look at the Amex Business Platinum card and how you can maximize the current welcome bonus offer to book 7 nights at an ultra-luxe hotel in Asia.

Amex Business Platinum Card Overview

Before I go into depth about how I booked 7 nights at a luxury hotel in Asia, let’s look at the benefits of the Amex Business Platinum card.

First, it’s important to know that you’ll pay a hefty $695 annual fee for these benefits (rates & fees). However, the benefits more than cover the high annual fee if you use them.

LIMITED TIME TRAVEL 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!

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 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

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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

For example, the Amex Business Platinum card gets you airport lounge access like American Express Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass (upon enrollment), Delta Sky Clubs (when flying with Delta the same day), Escape Lounges, Plaza Premium, and Lufthansa (when flying Lufthansa). 

Keep in mind that airlines are cracking down on lounge access as more travelers get lounge access.

This is true for Amex Business Platinum cardholders, who are limited to 10 Delta Sky Club visits annually. Additionally, Amex Business Platinum cardholders cannot bring guests to Centurion Lounges without paying a $50 fee per guest. You can waive this fee (and unlock unlimited Sky Club visits) by spending $75,000 on the card in a calendar year. If you’re a business owner putting your expenses on your card, you shouldn’t have trouble meeting the requirement.

You’ll also receive up to $200 in annual airline incidental fee credits (enrollment required) and complimentary elite status with Hilton and Marriott (enrollment required), which can come in handy when booking hotels. The card includes other travel benefits, like American Express Fine Hotels and Resorts access, a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck fee credit, a CLEAR Plus membership credit, an up to $200 annual Hilton statement credit (enrollment required), and more.

Finally, you receive a 35% Pay With Points rebate on eligible AmexTravel.com bookings when you redeem Membership Rewards points (up to 1 million points per calendar year). This applies to all premium cabin flights you book and economy flights with one airline of your choice.

Redeeming 150,000 American Express Membership Rewards Points

I no longer keep track of the countries I visit, but I find myself returning to Asia repeatedly. Something about the culture, food, and favorable weather made me fall in love with the region years ago.

As a budget traveler, I am drawn to Asia because of the low cost of hotels. This is undoubtedly true for cash rates — you can often find 5-star hotels for under $100 per night — and even for points bookings.

Hilton Honors has excellent award pricing at luxury hotels in Asia. I don’t usually transfer Amex points to Hilton since we value Hilton points at just 0.5 cents per point. However, Amex points transfer to Hilton at a 1:2 ratio, meaning you get 2 Hilton points for every Amex Membership Rewards point transferred.

That said, I make an exception for hotels in Asia. Hilton has a reputation in the U.S. for pricing luxurious hotels at exorbitant rates. It’s not unheard of to see ultra-luxe hotels that cost more than 100,000 points per night. But you can find sweet spots with Hilton in the Middle East and Asia. In these regions, you can find award stays at luxury brands like Conrad and SLH for under 40,000 points per night!

Like many hotel chains, Hilton no longer uses an award chart. Instead, the chain has adopted variable award pricing. That means award nights can be cheaper or more expensive, depending on factors like season and demand. 

For a 7-night stay in December, I can redeem 300,000 Hilton Honors points at the 5-star Conrad Bali in Indonesia. Thanks to Amex’s 1:2 transfer ratio to Hilton, I can transfer exactly 150,000 Amex points to 300,000 Hilton Honors points.

Thanks to Hilton’s fifth-night-free perk on award stays for elite members —and the complimentary Hilton Gold status that comes with the Amex Business Platinum card upon enrollment — I’m technically getting one night free. Even though the hotel costs 50,000 points per night, I only need points for 4 of the 5 nights.

Because of the low award rates, the 150,000-point welcome bonus offer covers more than a whole week’s stay at this 5-star hotel.

What Are 150,000 Membership Points Worth?

Amex Membership Rewards points are worth a whopping 2.2 cents each, according to our valuations. That’s the highest transferable points currency out there. Given those valuations, the Amex Business Platinum’s 150,000-point welcome bonus offer is worth a whopping $3,300 when redeemed for travel — and that’s before taking into account the savings from the potential $500 flight statement credit!

That’s an absolutely incredible welcome offer. Plus, you have other ways to redeem your points, like purchasing gift cards, covering purchases with statement credits, booking travel on AmexTravel.com, and leveraging Amex’s other transfer partners.

If you want to really maximize your welcome bonus offer, we strongly recommend using Amex’s transfer partners to book luxury hotels and flights.

Final Thoughts

The Amex Business Platinum card is 1 of the best picks for business owners, largely due to its fantastic travel benefits, statement credits, and business perks. While it does come with a hefty annual fee, but if you can look past it, you can score incredible travel for your business, as I did when booking 1 of the most luxury points hotels in Asia.