The Business Platinum Card® from American Express recently got a huge refresh with revamped benefits and perks, plus a hefty new annual fee of $895 to go with it. Let’s break down the Amex Business Platinum changes, the new perks, and what they mean for business travelers.

<All information about The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has been collected independently by The Traveling Hansens. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.>

Amex Business Platinum Card Details

The current Amex Business Platinum welcome offer is for 200,000 Membership Rewards® after spending $20,000 in purchases in the first three months. This is the highest public offer we’ve ever seen on this card!

The annual fee is now $895, up from the previous fee of $695 (rates & fees).

Amex Business Platinum Benefits and Credits

Amex cards are jokingly referred to as “coupon books” due to their many small credits and perks. This new refresh brings even more of these little credits, but when used, they can be worth multiple thousands of dollars.

• Up to $600 Hotel Credit – Split into two $300 credits, one every six months, for prepaid bookings at Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection via Amex Travel.
• Dell – Up to $150 in statement credits on U.S. purchases made directly at Dell and an additional $1,000 statement credit after spending $5,000 or more with Dell each calendar year.
• Indeed – Up to $360 per calendar year, up to $90 per quarter on U.S. purchases made directly with Indeed.
• Adobe – $250 statement credit after spending $600 or more on U.S. purchases made directly at Adobe each calendar year (subject to auto-renewal).
• Hilton – Up to $200 per calendar year, up to $50 per quarter on eligible purchases made directly with a property in the Hilton portfolio.
• Cell Phone – Up to $120 per calendar year, up to $10 per month in statement credits for purchases made directly from any U.S. wireless telephone provider.
• Airline Fee Credit – Up to $200 annually for incidental charges with your selected airline.
• Up to $120 statement credit for Global Entry once every four years, or $85 statement credit for TSA PreCheck once every 4.5 years. Learn more about Global Entry and TSA PreCheck here.
• CLEAR Plus Credit – Receive up to $209 in statement credits per calendar year.
• Airport lounge access: Global Lounge Collection, including Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta), Priority Pass, Aspire Lounges, and Escape Lounges.
• Hotel Status – Complimentary Marriott Bonvoy Gold and Hilton Honors Gold.
• Rental Car Status – Complimentary Hertz Gold Plus Rewards President’s Circle, Avis Preferred Plus and National Emerald Club Executive status.
• Cell Phone Protection, Trip Cancellation/Interruption Insurance, Trip Delay, Extended Warranty, and more.
• No foreign transaction fees.

*Eligibility and Benefit level varies by Card. Terms, Conditions, and Limitations Apply. Please visit americanexpress.com/benefitsguide for more details. Underwritten by Amex Assurance Company.

Earning Rates

This isn’t a long-term keeper card for its earning rates. Instead, this would be a card to keep for the credit and benefits, but only if they’re useful to you. For everyday spending, you’re better off using a card like the American Express® Business Gold Card®, which earns 4x on your top two spending categories each month (up to $150,000 spent, then 1x) from categories like U.S. restaurants, U.S. gas stations, and transit purchases.

The earning rates for the Amex Business Platinum break down as follows:

• 5x on flights and prepaid hotels through Amex Travel
• 2x on key business categories – hardware, tech, shipping, purchases of $5,000 or more
• 1x on all other purchases

Eligibility

FAMILY LANGUAGE

Amex has some tricky rules when it comes to its cards. Basically, if you already have (or have had) a higher-level card, you can’t go back and open a lower one. For example, you won’t be eligible for the Amex Business Gold if you currently have (or once had) the Amex Business Platinum.

So, if your goal is to earn the welcome offers on all of the cards, you’ll want to start at the bottom and work your way up.

For example:

1. American Express® Business Green Rewards Card (though honestly, I think this one is worth skipping)
2. American Express® Business Gold Card®
3. American Express® Business Platinum Card®

<All information about the American Express® Business Green Rewards Card has been collected independently by The Traveling Hansens. The American Express® Business Green Rewards Card is no longer available through The Traveling Hansens.>

LIFETIME LANGUAGE

Amex also has what’s called “lifetime language,” which says: “Welcome offer not available to applicants who have or have had this Card or previous versions of this Card.” In other words, you can only earn a welcome bonus once per card.

However, there are some times this may not apply:

• Many data points show that Amex defines a “lifetime” as around seven years.
• Oftentimes, you’ll find targeted offers (in the mail, in your email, or in your Amex account online) that don’t include lifetime language. If you see a targeted offer, it means you may be able to earn the bonus again, even if you’ve had the card before. This has happened to me multiple times.

The other good thing? Amex is upfront about your eligibility. When you apply, a pop-up will tell you if you’re not eligible for the welcome bonus. This is what people sometimes call “Amex pop-up jail.” If you get this, just back out of the application. There will be no credit pull, and you can try again at a different time.

Using Your Points

These cards earn valuable Membership Rewards®, which can be used in multiple ways.

Transferring points to travel partners is my favorite way to use our points because it gives us the most value. However, there are a few other options.

• You can transfer them to one of Amex’s 21 airline and hotel partners.
• You can book flights, hotels, and more through the Amex Travel portal.
• You can cash out your points to cover expenses; however, this typically nets a lower than one cent per point value, so I try to avoid this.

Wrapping it up

This Amex Business Platinum now offers more benefits and perks for cardholders, but only if you actually use them. If you regularly stay at luxury hotels, spend heavily on business expenses, or enjoy access to luxury airport lounges, the card can absolutely justify the $895 fee. If not, the credits may not outweigh the cost.

Either way, the huge welcome offers and expanded perks make the card worth considering.