Why I Think The Amex Business Platinum Is Better Than The Personal Platinum

While many of the benefits appear on both the business and consumer versions of the card, the business card comes with a few perks that are designed to help grow your business and stay productive. These include:

• Up to $400 Dell Technologies credit. The credit is paid out twice a year in up to $200 increments through 12/31/24. You can use up to $200 from January 1 to June 30 and the second credit from July 1 until December 31. Enrollment required.
• Up to $360 Indeed.com credit. This credit is paid out in increments of up to $90 every quarter to help you grow your team and find quality talent through 12/31/24. Enrollment required.
• Up to $150 Adobe credit. This is given as statement credits for subscription services to Adobe through 12/31/24. Enrollment required.
• Up to $120 wireless credit. Pay your wireless bill with your Business Platinum Card and receive a statement credit of up to $10 each month. Enrollment required.
• 35% rebate on select flights. This benefit of using the Amex Travel portal is one feature that I love and use the most. The rebate is for any first or business class cabin travel or any travel on the airline of your choice each year regardless of the class of service booked and paid with Membership Rewards® through American Express Travel, up to 1,000,000 points back per calendar year.

The personal version of the card, The Platinum Card® from American Express (Terms apply, see rates & fees), offers many more opportunities to offset the annual fee. But it does require you to manage more credits in more places.

• Up to $200 hotel credit. This credit covers eligible prepaid stays at hotels participating in the Fine Hotels and Resorts program or The Hotel Collection booked through the Amex Travel portal. Hotel Collection bookings require a minimum two-night stay.
• Up to $240 digital entertainment credit. Get up to $20 in statement credits each month after paying for eligible purchases from Hulu, Disney+, a Disney Bundle, the New York Times, Peacock or The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
• Up to $155 Walmart+ credit. Walmart shoppers can save up to $12.95 each month, or up to $155 a year, after paying for a Walmart+ monthly membership (plus applicable taxes, subject to auto-renewal).
• Up to $200 in Uber Cash. If you use Uber Eats or think you’ll snag an Uber to the airport, you’ll net up to $15 a month (plus a bonus $20 in December) or up to $200 a year in credits. Note that they don’t carry over month to month, so use it or lose it. Effective 11/8/24, an eligible card must be enrolled and selected as the payment method for the Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem this benefit.
• Up to $100 Saks Fifth Avenue credit. This credit is issued in up to $50 increments twice a year and must be used only at Saks Fifth Avenue and not Saks Off 5th. Enrollment required.
• Up to $300 Equinox credit. This credit covers a digital subscription or club membership to Equinox at one of their clubs in major cities across the U.S. Enrollment required.

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Rates & Fees / Terms Apply

4.8

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5X Reward Rate

Earn 5 Membership Rewards Points per dollar on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel and on flights booked directlyRead More

Welcome Bonus

Earn 80,000 points

Annual Fee

$695

Regular APR

See Pay Over Time APR

Credit Score

Good,Excellent (700 - 749)

Editorial Review

The Platinum Card is destined for frequent travelers who intend to fully leverage the rich set of luxury travel benefits and Platinum Concierge service. In the right hands, the classic status card’s staggering annual fee is well justified.

Pros & Cons

• High reward potential on flights and hotels booked through American Express Travel
• Multiple credits can help justify the fee
• Comprehensive airport lounge access
• Luxury travel benefits and elite status with Hilton and Marriott with enrollment

• Very high annual fee
• Maximizing the statement credits takes some work and could be impractical for many
• Reward rate outside of travel is subpar for a premium card

Card Details

• Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.
• Earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points for flights booked directly with airlines or with American Express Travel up to $500,000 on these purchases per calendar year and earn 5X Membership Rewards® Points on prepaid hotels booked with American Express Travel.
• $200 Hotel Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on prepaid Fine Hotels + Resorts® or The Hotel Collection bookings through American Express Travel using your Platinum Card®. The Hotel Collection requires a minimum two-night stay.
• $240 Digital Entertainment Credit: Get up to $20 back in statement credits each month on eligible purchases made with your Platinum Card® on one or more of the following: Disney+, a Disney Bundle, ESPN+, Hulu, The New York Times, Peacock, and The Wall Street Journal. Enrollment required.
• 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.
• $155 Walmart+ Credit: Save on eligible delivery fees, shipping, and more with a Walmart+ membership. Use your Platinum Card® to pay for a monthly Walmart+ membership and get up to $12.95 plus applicable taxes back on one membership (excluding Plus Ups) each month.
• $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 your Platinum Card®.
• $200 Uber Cash: Platinum Card® Members can get out and about and explore their local area with $15 in Uber Cash for US rides each month, plus a bonus $20 in December. That can be up to $200 in annual Uber savings. Simply download the Uber app and add your Platinum Card® to your Uber account to get started. Available to Basic Card Member only. Effective 11/8/2024, an Amex Card must be selected as the payment method for your Uber or Uber Eats transaction to redeem the Amex Uber Cash benefit.
• $199 CLEAR® Plus Credit: CLEAR® Plus helps to get you to your gate faster at 50+ airports nationwide and get up to $199 back per calendar year on your Membership (subject to auto-renewal) when you use your Card. CLEARLanes are available at 100+ airports, stadiums, and entertainment venues.
• Receive either a $120 statement credit every 4 years for a Global Entry application fee or a statement credit up to $85 every 4.5 years for a TSA PreCheck® (through a TSA official enrollment provider) application fee, when charged to your Platinum Card®. Card Members approved for Global Entry will also receive access to TSA PreCheck at no additional cost.
• Shop Saks with Platinum: Get up to $100 in statement credits annually for purchases in Saks Fifth Avenue stores or at saks.com on your Platinum Card®. That’s up to $50 in statement credits semi-annually. Enrollment required.
• Unlock access to exclusive reservations and special dining experiences with Global Dining Access by Resy when you add your Platinum Card® to your Resy profile.
• $695 annual fee.¤
• Terms Apply.

Earn 80,000 Membership Rewards® Points after you spend $8,000 on eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Card Membership.

Credit Score ranges are based on FICO® credit scoring. This is just one scoring method and a credit card issuer may use another method when considering your application. These are provided as guidelines only and approval is not guaranteed.

When you look at the different benefits, you can see that the credits are geared towards businesses and consumers, respectively. But you’ll get a few of the same benefits no matter which card you choose.

• A statement credit every four or 4.5 years to cover Global Entry or TSA PreCheck® application fees.
• A statement credit of $199 each year for a CLEAR® Plus membership with enrollment.
• An airline fee credit of up to $200 each year on the qualifying carrier of your choice with enrollment. You’ll select it once, but you can change it each year if your plans change.
• Elite status with Marriott and Hilton hotels, along with Avis, Hertz and National Car Rental with enrollment.
• Centurion Lounge access and a Priority Pass membership with enrollment for when there are no Centurion Lounges in your airport.

It might seem like the credits offered by The Platinum Card® from American Express could help you get more value out of the card, but I find a few of the benefits offered by The Business Platinum Card® from American Express to be much more compelling.

I Love the 35% Points Rebate on Cash Tickets

For me, this is the secret weapon of the Amex Business Platinum. When you redeem Membership Rewards for select flights via the Amex Travel portal, you can get 35% of them back within a couple of weeks as a rebate.

You’ll get the 35% rebate on all tickets, regardless of the class of service, on your selected airline each year. You specify this airline when you enroll for the $200 incidental fee credit every year. But what’s often overlooked is that the rebate also applies to points redemptions for premium cabin travel (think business or first class), no matter the airline.

For example, I love flying on Condor Airlines to Germany from Seattle, as it’s a great way to redeem points and get to Europe. Business class flights are incredibly affordable, and redeeming your Membership Rewards makes the deal even sweeter.

A one-way ticket costs $1,269 or 126,930 points. You can see that you’re redeeming for a penny per point. With the Pay With Points 35% rebate, you’ll get 44,425 points back a few weeks later, making the final price 82,504 points, or $825.04. This is a huge savings on the cost of a ticket and represents a large opportunity to get tens of thousands of points back every year.

As an added bonus, since these are cash tickets, you’re able to earn points on the flight as well. This differs from redeeming an airline’s frequent flier miles for a free flight, where you won’t be earning miles for those flights.

For many years, the standard bearer in travel cards has been the Chase Sapphire brand and specifically the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. One of the perks that many people talk about is the 50% boost when redeeming Ultimate Rewards® points for travel via the Chase Travel℠ portal.

It turns out that the 35% rebate with the Amex Business Platinum is actually a slightly better deal than booking with the 50% bonus from the Chase Sapphire Reserve®. In our example above, the final price with Membership Rewards will be 82,504. Using Ultimate Rewards, you’ll be paying 84,620 points, assuming you can find the flight for the same price.

American Express also has discounts with many airlines via their International Airline Program. That same flight on Condor via the Chase Travel website actually costs $88 more, requiring even more points in the long run.

I’ve Earned Higher Welcome Bonuses With the Amex Business Platinum

Right now the Amex Business Platinum card is offering 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $20,000 in eligible purchases with the card within the first 3 months of card membership. The personal card’s welcome bonus is 80,000 Membership Rewards Points after spending $8,000 on eligible purchases on the card in the first 6 months of card membership. If you can meet the minimum spending requirement, getting nearly double the amount of Membership Rewards with the welcome bonus is a no-brainer.

If you have multiple businesses you can get an Amex Business Platinum card for each. This gives you the opportunity to earn multiple welcome bonuses while helping to keep your finances separate.

I Appreciate the Large Transaction and Category Bonuses

A few times a year I make pretty large purchases on my card, and when I pay with the Business Platinum, purchases over $5,000 each earn 1.5 Membership Rewards points per dollar, as opposed to just 1 point per dollar via the personal version of the card.

Plus, you can earn 1.5 points per dollar no matter the spending amount for purchases at electronics stores, construction and hardware stores, shipping providers and cloud/software services. Since the personal Platinum card doesn’t offer bonus rewards for any of these purchases, the ability to earn extra points on them with the Business Platinum means more points earned each year.

I Use Uber Less Frequently

Getting up to $200 a year in Uber credits seems like a solid benefit, but I’m finding myself using Uber less and less. The current cost for an Uber from my house to the airport is nearly $70 and the fees that are being tacked on to every Uber Eats order are astronomical. Since these credits don’t stack and they have to be used each and every month, I find that some months I’ve missed out on using the credit.

I Value the Statement Credits on the Amex Business Platinum More

It may seem like The Platinum Card® from American Express has more credits available, and there are, but I think the Amex Business Platinum credits have more value.

The two credits that I have absolutely no problem using every year are the Dell credits and the wireless credits. Paying for my wireless cellphone with The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is a breeze. Plus it entitles me to cellphone protection¹, so I never miss that $10 monthly credit.

While most people think of Dell as a company that sells laptops, the Dell store now lists a wide range of desirable products, including smart home devices, video games and camera accessories. In the past couple of years, I’ve purchased Bose Headphones, SD memory cards for my digital camera, and even some Nintendo Switch games for our nephews.

If you need an affordable laptop for your kids or for yourself, the website has awesome deals. For example, I did a quick search and found the Inspiron 15 Laptop shown below starting at $279.99. That would make a new laptop less than $100 out of pocket after the semi-annual $200 credit is applied.

When considering the credits from the personal Platinum Card, I don’t shop at Walmart much, so having a “plus” membership doesn’t really do anything for me. And finding something useful at Saks for $50 or less is a challenge.

There’s no Equinox gym near our house. Even if there was, I can’t say I’m much of a gym person. And I’m certainly not enough of one to want to go to a gym with a high monthly fee.

Many of the hotels in the Fine Hotels and Resorts program are quite expensive to begin with. And I’d much rather use my points for a free night instead of paying cash to get a $200 discount.

It’s not that the credits aren’t useful for anyone. In fact, I’d say that many people can find good value in them. But for the type of spending I do and the lifestyle that I live, they’re not very beneficial for me.

When it comes to Amex Membership Rewards, not only can I earn more points with the business version of the Platinum Card, but I can also redeem fewer points when it comes time to use them on premium cabin flights or simply in economy on my selected airline. The 35% rebate is an oft-overlooked benefit that can translate to tens if not hundreds of thousands of points back to your business each and every year.

It’s true that Amex Business Platinum has fewer credits to help offset the annual fee. But that also makes them easier to track so I don’t have to worry about missing out, plus I find them to be more useful. Since the other benefits that I use, like lounge access and airline incidental fees, are the same across both cards, it comes down to which perks I’ll be using most. All of that has made The Business Platinum Card® from American Express the winner in my book, year after year.

To view rates and fees for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express please visit this page.
To view rates and fees for The Platinum Card® from American Express please visit this page.
¹Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by New Hampshire Insurance Company, an AIG Company.