How I Turned $20K in Business Spend Into Lie-Flat Flights Around the World

For business owners who spend heavily and travel frequently, like myself, few cards offer as much value as The Business Platinum Card^® from American Express. Long considered the go-to card for premium travel perks and benefits, its latest refresh has elevated it to a newer, higher level, albeit with a higher $895 annual fee (rates & fees).

Still, the Amex Business Platinum card provides plenty of value, with numerous statement credits and benefits upon enrollment, lounge access at over 1,550 lounges, and a massive welcome bonus offer:

• Earn 150,000 200,000 points after spending $20,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months.

Here’s an in-depth look at the Amex Business Platinum card, the value of American Express Membership Rewards points, and how I redeemed the massive welcome bonus the card offers.

Amex Business Platinum Card Overview

The newly refreshed Amex Business Platinum card has completely shaken up the world of points and miles. The card now has an even more extensive list of elevated benefits, including elite status across 3 major hotel brands, rental car elite status, airport lounge access, and numerous consumer and travel protections, many of which require prior enrollment.

The Amex Business Platinum card also improved its rewards-earning potential. It now earns:

• 5x points for flights, prepaid hotels, and short-term rentals booked through AmexTravel.com
• 2x points on key U.S. business category purchases and purchases of $5,000 or more (up to $2 million in purchases per year)

ELEVATED WELCOME 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 150,000 200,000 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

18.24% - 28.99% 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: 18.24% - 28.99% Variable
• Foreign Transaction Fees: None

Rewards Center

American Express Membership Rewards

To provide this value, American Express raised the annual fee of the Amex Business Platinum card to an astounding $895. While this may seem like an incredibly high number (it is), the card also comes with several statement credits (and some new ones), including:

• Up to $600 in prepaid hotel credit, with up to $300 between January and June and $300 between July and December, on prepaid bookings with Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection through AmexTravel.com (The Hotel Collection requires 2-night minimum) 
• Up to $1,150 annual Dell shopping statement credit
• Up to $90 in Indeed statement credit quarterly, for up to $360 back per year (enrollment required)
• $250 annual Adobe credit after $600 or more on eligible purchases
• Up to $209 in CLEAR^® Plus credit 
• Up to $200 in airline incidental fee credit (good toward expenses such as baggage and seat selection fees)
• Up to $200 annual Hilton credit
• Up to $120 annual wireless phone service credit
• Up to $85 TSA PreCheck fee credit every 4 1/2 years or up to $120 Global Entry fee credit every 4 years

However, arguably the most valuable benefit from account opening may just be the card’s massive welcome bonus offer:

Earn 150,000 200,000 points after spending $20,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months.

However, I took it a step further. After diligently looking, I found a targeted welcome offer of 250,000 Amex Membership Rewards points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)

Hot Tip: Check to see if you’re eligible for a welcome bonus offer of up to 250,000 points with the Amex Business Platinum card. The current public offer is 150,000 200,000 points. (This targeted offer was independently researched and may not be available to all applicants.)

What Are American Express Membership Rewards Points Worth?

We value American Express Membership Rewards points at 2.2 cents each, the highest of any transferable points currency. This means the 200,000-point welcome bonus is worth roughly $4,400 and the 250,000-point offer is about $5,500. This is an absurd amount of potential value, all from a single welcome bonus offer.

Of course, how you redeem these rewards ultimately determines how much value you get. There are numerous ways to redeem Amex Membership Rewards points, including statement credits, gift cards, and booking travel through AmexTravel.com.

However, the best way to redeem them is by transferring them to Amex’s long list of airline and hotel transfer partners, as we’ll demonstrate below. In doing so, I have received more than 10 cents per point on some redemptions.

How I Redeemed 250K Amex Points

Here at Upgraded Points, we are all about getting maximum value from our points and miles. After meeting the minimum spending requirements, I was ready to use the massive bonus offer for another once-in-a-lifetime trip (I’ve been taking quite a few of these recently).

As mentioned, American Express has many airline and hotel transfer partners, including well-known programs like Air Canada Aeroplan, Air France-KLM Flying Blue, Delta Air Lines SkyMiles, Virgin Atlantic Flying Club, Hilton Honors, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Leveraging these loyalty programs is the best way to get the most out of your American Express Membership Rewards points. I used 3 of these airline partners to get 3 long-haul business class flights.

1. Air France Business Class to Paris for 60,000 Points

My first step was to figure out how to get to Paris to attend a friend’s wedding. Fortunately, that is relatively simple when you decide what airlines to fly with. The decision was easy for me. I chose Air France for 2 main reasons: I’d never experienced their business class before, and they offered a nonstop flight from my home airport, Chicago O’Hare (ORD).

Fortunately, Flying Blue, Air France-KLM’s loyalty program, is a 1:1 transfer partner of American Express. Although the program has changed a lot in the past few years, it still offers tremendous value.

The program uses dynamic pricing but also has standardized saver-level pricing. One-way business class flights between the U.S. and Europe can be booked for as little as 60,000 miles one-way. Although this is a fantastic rate, Flying Blue levies hefty fuel surcharges, so you can expect to pay roughly $250 per person one-way.

However, award space is solid, as long as you are flexible with your dates (which I almost always am). By running an award search without entering a specific date, I could pull up a calendar view, highlighting the lowest rates.

Fortunately, the award search was simple, as several dates had saver-level pricing. I could book a one-way business class ticket between Chicago O’Hare and Paris (CDG) for 60,000 miles (transferred from American Express) plus roughly $244 in taxes and fees.

This is an excellent value for Flying Blue miles, as cash rates for one-way business class flights between the U.S. and Europe are routinely over $2,000, depending on the airline and route. This Air France business class cash fare was $3,708, representing 5.8 cents per point of value.

Hot Tip:

Flying Blue is a transfer partner of American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One Miles, Chase Ultimate Rewards, Citi ThankYou Rewards, and Wells Fargo Rewards.

2. Thai Airways Business Class to Bangkok for 80,000 Points

After a week in Paris, I needed to get to Bangkok (BKK), Thailand, to attend another wedding. While numerous airlines run flights between Europe and Southeast Asia, I did not want to fly on a good number of them for one reason or another.

I wanted to prioritize a nonstop journey, which limited me to flying on Air France or Thai Airways. Since I try my best not to fly the same airline twice on the same trip, I picked Thai Airways. A recent long-haul business class flight with the airline restored my faith in them.

Since I knew what airline I wanted to fly to Bangkok, the next step was to choose the award loyalty program with which to book a flight. Thai Airways is a member of Star Alliance, the largest airline alliance in the world, so I had numerous options.

Ultimately, I booked this flight by leveraging Air Canada Aeroplan, arguably my favorite loyalty program. The program has numerous partner airlines (including nonalliance partners), does not levy fuel surcharges for partner redemptions, allows for stopovers for just 5,000 points, and makes it easy to earn its points.

However, the most valuable perk of Aeroplan is that it offers a zone-based award chart for certain partner redemptions, where rates depend on the total mileage flown between 2 zones.

Since I was flying between Paris’ Charles de Gaulle and Bangkok, I needed to look at the award chart for flights between the Atlantic and Pacific zones. Using Great Circle Mapper, I calculated the distance between the airports to be 5,878 miles.

The award chart showed that this one-way Thai Airways business class flight could be booked for 80,000 points plus taxes and fees. Fortunately, I found the award availability for the exact date I needed with the correct pricing.

The cash fare for this one-way business class flight was $2,851, which netted me 3.27 cents per point. Again, I was getting solid value from my points (which I transferred from American Express).

Hot Tip:

Check out our detailed guide on some of the best ways to redeem Air Canada Aeroplan points for maximum value.

3. ANA Business Class Back Home to Chicago for 60,000 Points

After about 10 days in and around Bangkok, I wanted to visit Japan again. I found a reasonably priced Zip Air business class flight to Tokyo (NRT), which I paid for using cash.

After 2 incredible weeks in Japan, I was ready to return home. I wanted to fly on All Nippon Airways (ANA), one of my favorite airlines offering nonstop flights to Chicago. Like Thai Airways, ANA is also a member of Star Alliance, which meant I had numerous redemption options. However, ANA also has several nonalliance partnerships.

One of these partners is Virgin Atlantic, a member of the rival SkyTeam alliance. This special partnership allows you to redeem Virgin Atlantic Flying Club points for ANA flights. Best of all, Flying Club is a 1:1 transfer partner of American Express.

Virgin Atlantic Flying Club has a separate zone-based award chart for ANA award redemptions. Here is the one-way award pricing for flights between the Japan and the U.S. on ANA:

This meant that I could book a one-way, nonstop business class award on ANA for just 60,000 Virgin Points plus taxes and fees. However, the trickier part was finding the necessary award space, as flights between Japan and the U.S. are popular.

I used the United website to look for partner award availability and was surprised to find the award space quite easily. MileagePlus charges 110,000 miles plus taxes and fees for the exact same flight.

I called Virgin Atlantic to confirm the award space. After the phone representative confirmed she could see it, I transferred 60,000 American Express Membership Rewards points to Flying Club and booked the flight.

Cash prices for ANA-operated business class flights between the U.S. and Japan are often well over $5,000. This one-way business class flight was $5,772, netting me 9.2 cents per point.

The cash fare for this one-way business class flight was $2,851, which netted me 3.27 cents per point. Again, I was getting solid value from my points (which I transferred from American Express).

Final Thoughts

The updated Amex Business Platinum card is a tremendous business travel rewards card. It offers numerous perks and benefits, but the card’s massive welcome bonus is what makes it truly stand out.

Maximizing the value of your points and miles starts with understanding how to use transfer partners effectively. Thanks to the Amex Business Platinum card’s welcome offer alone, I was able to book 3 long-haul business class flights — flights that would have cost over $12,000 if paid I’d in cash.