Why I’m Changing the Preferred Airline on my Amex Business Platinum Card

The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express offers 2 perks that require you to enroll in and select an airline in advance: up to $200 in annual statement credits for fees incurred with your preferred airline and a 35% points rebate on select bookings, up to 1 million bonus points per calendar year.

That latter perk got more restrictive recently, and that prompted me to change the preferred airline on my Amex Business Platinum card. Let’s recap what’s changing and the thought process around changing my preferred airline going forward.

Amex Pay 35% Points Rebate 2025 Changes

Those with the Amex Business Platinum card enjoy 2 perks related to an airline they select in advance: up to $200 in annual statement credits for incidental fees with their preferred airline and a 35% Pay with Points rebate (up to 1 million points per calendar year) that applies to certain reservations made on AmexTravel.com.

Both perks require selecting an airline in advance, and it must be the same airline. Luckily, the up to $200 airline credit isn’t changing.

However, American Express made the 35% points rebate much more restrictive on September 18, 2025. Previously, you could enjoy a 35% refund of points when booking flights through AmexTravel.com and meeting the following conditions:

• Must use Pay with Points
• Flight in any cabin with your preferred airline
• Flight in first or business class with any airline
• Up to 1 million points refunded each calendar year

As of September 18, 2025, however, the ability to get a points rebate only applies to your preferred airline.

In other words, Amex is no longer offering a rebate when you book first class or business class with other airlines. That’s a significant, negative restriction on this cardholder benefit.

Why I’m Changing My Preferred Airline With Amex

I have both the Amex Business Platinum card and its personal consumer counterpart, the Platinum Card^® from American Express. While only the Amex Business Platinum card offers the 35% Pay with Points rebate, both cards offer up to $200 in airline statement credits with a preferred carrier each year.

Until now, I’ve chosen different airlines with these cards each year — doing so to ensure as many of my incidental fees as possible are covered. Since the Amex Business Platinum card offered the 35% points rebate for first- and business class bookings with any airline, which airline I chose wasn’t so important. Until now, that is.

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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 150,000 200,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.

150,000 200,000 points

UP's Offer Valuation*:

Up to $4,400

Annual Fee

$895

APR

17.99% - 28.74% 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 card application.

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 1,550 lounges, along with tons of annual credits, it’s easy to see why this card is a top option for frequent traveling business owners.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Earn 5x Membership Rewards points per $1 on eligible travel purchases like flights, prepaid hotels, and prepaid short-term rentals booked through AmexTravel.com
• Access to over 1,550 worldwide airport lounges as part of the American Express Global Lounge Collection
• Earn 2x Membership Rewards points 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 $895 (rates & fees)
• Airline fee credit does not cover airfare, only incidentals like checked bags

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Card Highlights

• Elevated Welcome Offer: Earn 200,000 Membership Rewards^® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Business Platinum 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 1,550 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more airport lounge options than any other credit card company on the market as of 07/2025.
• See how you can unlock over $3,500 in business and travel value annually after meeting qualifying spend thresholds on the Business Platinum Card. Terms apply.
• New! Get up to $300 in statement credits semi-annually for up to a total of $600 in statement credits per calendar year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts^® or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using the Business Platinum Card^®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
• No Preset Spending Limit: The spending limit on the Business Platinum Card is flexible, so unlike a traditional credit card with a set limit, the amount you can spend adapts based on factors such as your purchase, payment and credit history.
• 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.
• 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.
• Use the Business Platinum Card and get up to $209 back per calendar year on your CLEAR^® Plus Membership (subject to auto-renewal).
• Maximize your time away with Fine Hotels + Resorts through Amex Travel™.
• New! Enroll and get up to $150 in statement credits on U.S purchases directly with Dell Technologies on the Business Platinum Card and an additional $1,000 statement credit after you spend $5,000 or more on that same Card per calendar year.
• New! Enroll and get a $250 statement credit after you spend $600 or more on U.S. purchases directly with Adobe per calendar year on the Business Platinum Card.
• Get up to $90 in statement credits quarterly for purchases with Indeed on the Business Platinum Card. That’s up to $360 back per year. Enrollment required.
• Get up to $10 in statement credits per month for wireless telephone service purchases made directly with a wireless provider in the U.S. on the Business Platinum Card. That’s up to $120 back per year. Enrollment required.
• Enhanced! 2X points on purchases at U.S. construction material & hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on each eligible purchase of $5,000 or more, up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year. Purchases eligible for multiple additional point bonuses will only receive the highest eligible bonus.
• 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels on AmexTravel.com
• 1X points on other eligible purchases
• $895 Annual Fee.
• Terms Apply.

Financial Snapshot

• APR: 17.99% - 28.74% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

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For the 2025 year, I chose United as my preferred airline on the Amex Platinum card and Delta on the Amex Business Platinum card. I plan to change from Delta to United next year on the business card for 3 reasons.

Why I’m Choosing United as My Preferred Airline

First, I don’t expect to use the full $200 of incidental credits with Delta next year. Since I recently relocated from the U.S. to Spain, I don’t expect to fly Delta a lot in the next year. That means I won’t incur many change, bag, or other incidental fees that could be offset with the airline credit.

Second, I find it unlikely I would book business class flights with Delta using the Pay with Points feature to get a 35% points rebate. Unfortunately, Delta’s flights tend to be more expensive than other airlines’ in this area — in my experience, at least. Essentially using points like cash toward these fares isn’t my best option by a long shot.

Third, United has provided consistent reliability for using my $200 airline fee benefit, and I see a slight possibility I could use the Pay with Points rebate here. Since I see fewer ways to use the 35% points rebate when it’s restricted to just 1 airline, I’m focusing on maximizing the $200 airline credit — something I easily do with United and likely won’t find with Delta next year.

Sadly, with the change to the 35% points rebate, I feel like Amex has put me in the position where I need to maximize the $200 credit with my preferred airline and then hope to get lucky with the 35% rebate — if I use it at all.

Among other user-friendly options, paying for United’s inflight Wi-Fi reliably counts toward the $200 airline credit. It doesn’t with Delta.

Final Thoughts

With the recent changes on the Amex Business Platinum card, I’ll be making adjustment sto my preferred airline. The change to the 35% points rebate is incredibly negative, and I’m not sure I’ll get any value out of it going forward. Between that and changes in my life situation, I need to reassess other perks on the Amex Business Platinum card. That reassessment means I’ll change my preferred airline from Delta to United to maximize the $200 airline credit and not worry about the 35% points rebate.