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. If you’re eligible for the card and haven’t yet applied, now is an ideal time to do so.
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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 bonus Amex Membership Rewards points after spending $20,000 within the first three months. 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).
On an unrelated Google search just now, came across an AMEX link advertising “up to” 300k MRs for Business Platinum for $20k spend. But it’s an apply now and see your offer thing (like with buying airline miles).
Since Ben used the photo, I’m not sure 200K MR will get you Emirates First outright anymore, unless it’s EK short-haul 777. Otherwise, the sweet spot is buying Business, then using 35K or 72K, etc., for confirmed upgrades to First when available. You’d have to transfer MR to EK and hope it all works out. Just saying, there’s a little more to it than just… ‘get this card, bonus, EK First!’
Are there any regular readers who have not already had this card and are not lifetime limited?
I recently got another 200K snail mail (NLL) offer on the Biz Plat that I might pull the trigger on before year end. And I've had, ~5 in the last ~6 years. So keep an eye out??
The biggest warning: If you use this card for airfare, you will need to call Amex Travel every time you want to make a change, which is a real pita if you do a lot of flying. I got the card last year with the 250K bonus, and while overall it was pretty good, calling Amex. Travel got old quickly, especially when you realize that you probably know a LOT more than the agent with...
The biggest warning: If you use this card for airfare, you will need to call Amex Travel every time you want to make a change, which is a real pita if you do a lot of flying. I got the card last year with the 250K bonus, and while overall it was pretty good, calling Amex. Travel got old quickly, especially when you realize that you probably know a LOT more than the agent with whom you're speaking if you have any non-vanilla request.
But this 200,000 point bonus really is incredible.
Yes. This absurd policy is is as useful as undescended testicles (hidden, pointless, and never there when you need them).