Amex Business Plat Vs. Delta Amex Business Plat: Which Offer Is Better?

Update: These offers for The Business Platinum® Card from American Express OPEN and the Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express have expired. Learn more about the current offers here.

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At the moment we’re seeing the two best publicly available welcome bonuses we’ve ever seen on two American Express small business cards:

The Business Platinum® Card from American Express

Annual fee: $595
Welcome bonus: 50,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $10,000 within three months, plus an additional 50,000 points after spending an additional $15,000 within three months

The Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express

Annual fee: $195
welcome bonus: 70,000 Delta SkyMiles after spending $5,000 within three months, plus 10,000 bonus Medallion Qualifying Miles, plus a $100 Delta statement credit

With that in mind, I figured I’d look at which of these offers is more compelling, across a variety of factors:

Which card offer is better?

I figured I’d compare these offers based on a few factors: the welcome bonuses, the urgency with which to apply for the cards, and the long term perks and value proposition of the cards.

Which welcome bonus is better?

The Amex Business Platinum Card is offering 50,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $10,000 within three months, or a total of 100,000 Membership Rewards points after spending $25,000 within three months. These points can essentially be used for two cents each towards the cost of airfare, meaning 50,000 points are worth ~$1,000, while 100,000 points are worth ~$2,000.

Redeem Amex points towards the cost of paid tickets at a great rate

Meanwhile on the Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express, you earn 70,000 miles upon completing minimum spend, which I value at ~1.3 cents each, or ~$910.

Verdict: While everyone values points differently, in general I’d say the Amex Business Platinum Card welcome bonus is better, even if you can only spend $10,000 within three months.

Which offer is easier to get approved for?

The welcome bonus on the Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express is only available those who haven’t had this exact card before. However, if you’ve had another Delta card, like the Gold Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express, you’d still be eligible.

The welcome bonus on the Amex Business Platinum Card is also once in a lifetime, so if you’ve had this exact card before you’re not eligible for the welcome bonus.

Another consideration is that the Delta version of the card is a credit card, while the other version is a charge card. Typically you can have at most four Amex charge cards and four Amex credit cards at any given point. I think more people have maxed out their limit on credit cards, meaning you might be more likely to be approved for the charge card.

Verdict: The welcome bonus on the Delta Business Card is set to expire soon. However, the major consideration here should be which of these cards you’ve had before (if any), and also how many charge cards and how many credit cards you have with Amex.

Which card offers better perks/long term value proposition?

Both of these cards offer a several valuable long term perks. The Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express offers the following long term perks:

• A Delta Platinum companion certificate upon account renewal every year
• 20% savings on eligible in-flight purchases
• Priority boarding on Delta flights
• First checked bag free on Delta itineraries
• The ability to earn bonus Medallion Qualifying miles — if you spend $50,000 on the card per year you’d earn 20,000 bonus redeemable and elite qualifying miles

Receive priority boarding with the Delta Amex Platinum Card

The Amex Business Platinum Card offers the following long term perks:

• $200 annual airline fee credit
• Access to Boingo hotspots
• 10 Gogo passes
• Access to American Express Fine Hotels & Resorts
• Access to Delta SkyClubs
• Priority Pass Select membership
• Access to the American Express Centurion Lounges in Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, etc.
• A Global Entry fee credit
• Gold elite status in both Hilton HHonors, Starwood Preferred Guest, and, by matching with SPG, Marriott Rewards.
• The ability to pool all your Amex Membership Rewards points and receive a 35% refund when using the Pay with Points option on your selected carrier

Receive access to Delta SkyClubs with the Amex Platinum Card

Verdict: It all depends what airline you usually travel with, but all things considered the Amex Business Platinum Card offers far superior perks. Between the $200 annual airline credit, SkyClub access, Centurion Lounge access, and the ability to get more value out of all your Amex points, this card has superior perks.

Bottom line

The offers on both the Amex Business Platinum Card and Amex Delta Platinum Business Card are extremely compelling.

In general I think the Amex Business Platinum Card offer is more compelling all around for the average person. Ideally you can spend $25,000 on the card within three months and earn 100,000 Membership Rewards points, but even if you can’t, this could still be the best option. The main benefit of the card is that it increases the value of all the Membership Rewards points you earn, getting you up to two cents per point of value.

However, the welcome bonus on the Platinum Delta SkyMiles® Business Credit Card from American Express is extremely compelling as well, and the bonus ends sooner, in theory. There’s no reason you couldn’t apply for and be approved for both cards.

Are you planning on picking up one of these cards, and if so, which one?