Link: Learn more about The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is one of the most perks-rich business cards out there. The card recently underwent a refresh, and while the annual fee increased, several valuable new perks were introduced as well. At the moment, the card has an excellent welcome offer, making it an ideal time to apply.
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Amex Business Platinum Card 200K points welcome offer
The Amex Business Platinum Card has a massive welcome offer where you can earn 200,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases within the first 3 months of Card Membership.. Personally, I value Membership Rewards points at 1.7 cents each, meaning that to me, the 200,000 points are worth a staggering $3,400.
There are lots of great uses for Amex points, as they can be transferred to all kinds of useful airline and hotel partners. Also keep in mind that having this card lets you unlock the full value of Amex Pay With Points, potentially allowing you to get up to 1.54 cents of value per point toward the cost of airfare on a designated airline. You could then use that redemption rate for all your linked Amex Membership Rewards cards.
Note that sometimes there are targeted welcome offers out there that are bigger. However, those aren’t publicly available, so there’s no link to share, but it’s definitely worth keeping an eye out for those deals, if you do come across them.
Who is eligible for the Amex Business Platinum Card bonus?
In line with Amex’s “once in a lifetime” rule, the welcome offer on the Amex Business Platinum Card isn’t available to those who currently have the card, or those who have had the card (or previous versions of the card) in the past. On top of that, Amex’s general card restrictions apply.
There are a few additional things to note:
- You are eligible for the welcome offer on this card if you’ve had any other Amex card, so you can apply for this card even if you have cards like American Express Platinum Card® (review) or American Express® Business Gold Card (review)
- While Amex typically has a limit of letting someone have at most five Amex credit cards (including personal and business cards), that doesn’t include this product, since it’s not a traditional credit card
- If you’re worried about the Chase 5/24 limit, getting approved for the Amex Business Platinum shouldn’t count as a further card toward that limit
Why the Amex Business Platinum Card is worth it
The Amex Business Platinum Card has a $895 annual fee (Rates & Fees). While this isn’t the most rewarding card in terms of the return on spending, it does have a huge number of valuable perks. Here are just some of them (enrollment is required for select benefits):
- Comprehensive airport lounge access, including Amex Centurion Lounge access, Delta Sky Club® access, a Priority Pass™ Select membership, and more; in all cases, there are some terms and restrictions associated with access
- Elite status with travel brands, including Hilton Honors™ Gold Status, Marriott Bonvoy® Gold Elite Status, and elite status with multiple rental car companies
- Up to thousands of dollars worth of credits, including for airline fees, hotels, wireless purchases, Adobe, Dell, and more
- Access to all kinds of special programs, from Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts®, to the Amex International Airline Program, and more
Of particular note is that with the recent refresh of the card, we’ve seen the addition of up to $600 per year in hotel credits, in the form of a $300 credit semi-annually. This can be used even for one night stays at Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts® properties, so I think that’s quite easy to maximize, and largely helps with offsetting the annual fee.
Read a full review of the Amex Business Platinum Card here.
Bottom line
The Amex Business Platinum Card has a huge welcome offer of 200,000 bonus points upon completing minimum spending. While the spending requirement is significant, so is the number of points you can earn, so this is worth it if you can swing it.
This card offers all kinds of great perks that can help offset the annual fee, ranging from lounge access, to credits, to elite status, and more.
Do you plan on picking up the Amex Business Platinum Card with the welcome offer of 200K points?
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Business Platinum® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees).
data point: I had two offers in the mail recently: one for 200k points for amex platinum (20k spend/3 months) and one for 150k (15k spend/3months) points for amex gold. I went with the amex gold 150k point offer and a few months later, under my amex offers I had an option to upgrade to platinum for 100k points (10k spend/3months) which I took. so overall 250k points with 1 credit check and $25k spend...
data point: I had two offers in the mail recently: one for 200k points for amex platinum (20k spend/3 months) and one for 150k (15k spend/3months) points for amex gold. I went with the amex gold 150k point offer and a few months later, under my amex offers I had an option to upgrade to platinum for 100k points (10k spend/3months) which I took. so overall 250k points with 1 credit check and $25k spend over 6 months.
obviously not guaranteed, but if folks are trying to decide between the gold and platinum because they are unsure of making the minimum spend (as was I), I recommend going with the gold and then maybe you'll get lucky with the platinum offer down the line.
This seems to be the only card that is keeping up with the redemption inflation for the last 10 years. Too bad the minimum spend is $20k.