Amex Platinum Card Comparison: Personal Vs. Business

The way I view it, both The Platinum Card® from American Express and The Business Platinum Card® from American Express are fantastic cards, especially for the perks that they offer.

I often get questions about which card is better (aside from the obvious fact that one is a personal card and one is a business card). For many people, I think both cards can be part of a good Amex card strategy, while for others there’s a distinct advantage to one over the other.

Personally I have both of these cards — I’ve had the Amex Personal Platinum Card for years, and picked up the Amex Business Platinum Card earlier this year. In this post, I wanted to look more closely at the differences between the two cards, for someone who might be considering applying for one of the two cards. This is hopefully especially useful given the recent changes to the Amex Platinum products.

For the purposes of this post, I won’t factor in the welcome bonuses, since those can vary — rather I’ll be focused on the long-term perks offered by these cards.

What both Amex Platinums have in common

Both the personal and business versions of the Amex Platinum have a lot in common, including the following:

• A $200 annual airline fee credit (enrollment required)
• A $189 annual CLEAR credit
• A comprehensive airport lounge access program, including access to Centurion Lounges, Delta SkyClubs when flying Delta same day, and a Priority Pass membership (enrollment required)
• Hilton Honors Gold status and Marriott Bonvoy Gold status (enrollment required)
• Access to the International Airline Program (IAP), which can save you money on airfare
• Access to Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts, offering extra perks at luxury hotels
• A TSA PreCheck or Global Entry credit once every four years
• Access to the Amex Offers program

So, what’s different between the two versions of the Amex Platinum? First I’ll cover the advantages of the personal version of the card, and then I’ll cover the advantages of the business version of the card.

Amex Personal Platinum advantages

For some consumers the Amex Personal Platinum Card could make a lot more sense, especially given all of the credits that the card offers nowadays. While you can read a full review of the personal version of the card here, these are the highlights that set this card apart:

Lower authorized user fee

Perhaps more significant than the difference in annual fees for the primary cardmember is the difference in annual fees for authorized users:

• On the personal version of the Amex Platinum you can add up to three authorized users for a total of $175 (Rates & Fees), meaning you’re potentially paying under $60 per authorized user per year
• On the business version of the Amex Platinum each authorized user costs $300 (Rates & Fees), meaning three authorized users would cost you $900 per year

This can make a huge difference, especially when you consider the value of adding authorized users. Authorized users on the Amex Platinum get the full suite of lounge access perks, access to the International Airline Program, hotel elite status, and more.

Adding authorized users on the personal version of the card is a phenomenal deal, while it’s not quite so valuable on the business version.

$300 annual Equinox credit

The personal version of the Amex Platinum offers a $300 annual Equinox credit, which can be used towards purchases of select Equinox Fitness Club monthly memberships, or a digital subscription to Equinox+. You don’t get this all at once, but rather you get a $25 monthly credit.

$300 annual SoulCycle credit

This will likely be of limited use to most, but the personal version of the Amex Platinum offers a $300 credit towards the purchase of a SoulCycle bike for at most. You need to pay for the entire purchase with your card in order to qualify for the credit.

$240 annual digital entertainment credit

The personal version of the Amex Platinum offers a $240 annual digital entertainment credit. This is valid for eligible purchases or subscriptions with Peacock, Audible, SiriusXM, The New York Times, Disney+, The Disney Bundle, ESPN+, and Hulu. You’re given a $20 credit per month, so there are some limitations with using this.

$200 annual hotel credit

The personal version of the Amex Platinum offers a $200 annual statement credit valid for prepaid bookings at Fine Hotels & Resorts or The Hotel Collection properties (two-night minimum required), when booking through Amex Travel. This is great for those who stay at luxury hotels with any frequency, and you can use the entire credit at once.

$200 annual Uber Cash benefit

The personal version of the Amex Platinum offers a $200 annual Uber Cash benefit, which comes in the form of a $15 monthly Uber Cash credit, and then a $35 Uber Cash credit in December. I consider this to more or less be worth face value, especially since it can even be used towards Uber Eats.

$155 annual Walmart+ credit

The personal version of the Amex Platinum offers a $12.95 monthly credit towards a Walmart+ membership, which should cover the entire cost of the membership. This can save you a lot of money with Walmart, and offers everything from free shipping to free home delivery. Registration is required.

$100 annual Saks credit

The personal version of the Amex Platinum offers a $100 annual Saks credit, which comes in the form of a $50 credit in the first half of the year, and a $50 credit in the second half of the year. There’s no minimum purchase amount, so this could potentially get you up to $100 in value per year.

5x points on airfare

This is something I get tons of value out of. The personal version of the Amex Platinum offers 5x points on airfare purchased directly from airlines, as well as airfare purchased through amextravel.com. The business version of the card only offers 5x points on airfare purchased through amextravel.com, so that’s a major difference.

I value Membership Rewards points at ~1.7 cents each, so to me that’s like a return of 8.5% on airfare spending, which supercharges my Amex points earning. Add in the excellent travel protection offered by the card, and this is my go-to card for airfare spending.

Amex Platinum Business advantages

For some small businesses, the Amex Business Platinum Card could prove more lucrative. While you can read a full review of the business version of the card here, these are the highlights that set this card apart:

$400 annual Dell credit

The business version of the Amex Platinum offers a $400 annual Dell credit, which comes in the form of a $200 credit in the first half of the year (Jan – Jun), and a $200 credit in the second half of the year (Jul – Dec). There’s no minimum purchase amount, so this could potentially get you up to $400 in value per year. Enrollment required.

While Dell isn’t exactly the most exciting retailer (at least in my opinion), the company sells all kinds of non-Dell branded merchandise, making this pretty easy to maximize.

50% bonus on purchases of $5,000+

If you frequently make big purchases, the business version of the Amex Platinum offers 1.5x points on purchases of $5,000 or more, making it a decent card for non-bonused spending in large increments.

You can earn up to a million additional points per year with this bonus. Of course, this is only useful if you make purchases of $5,000 or more in one transaction. Keep in mind that The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express offers 2x points on the first $50,000 spent annually (1x after that).

35% refund on Pay With Points bookings

When you redeem points using the Pay With Points method (which typically gets you one cent per point of airfare), you can get 35% of your points back, up to 500,000 bonus points per year. This is available for first and business class tickets with all airlines through American Express Travel, or on a designated US airline for economy travel. This can get you up to ~1.54 cents of value per Amex Membership Rewards point, give or take, which is quite solid.

Bottom line

I think both the Amex Personal Platinum Card and Amex Business Platinum Card are fantastic cards that can get you significantly more value than you’ll pay in annual fees.

While many of the cards’ benefits overlap, the above are what I consider to be some of the biggest differences between the cards. Personally, I think the personal version of the card is easier to justify in terms of the perks you get for the annual fee, especially based on all of the extra credits, but this is very much a “your mileage may vary” situation.

Which version of the Amex Platinum do you consider to be more valuable?

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), and The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees).