The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is not only one of the best small-business cards but also one of the best cards for travel rewards in general. Cardmembers definitely pay for all those perks, though, since it charges a $895 annual fee (see rates and fees).
However, despite many valuable benefits and opportunities to earn bonus points, the Amex Business Platinum is often overshadowed by its personal counterpart, The Platinum Card® from American Express, which also charges a $895 annual fee (see rates and fees).
Both cards have been refreshed, including adding and improving some statement credits and benefits and introducing a new card design. However, with this refresh, both cards saw a 29% annual fee increase.
If you’re only going to have one of the Amex Platinum products, there are compelling reasons why you should opt for the business version over the personal one. Let’s dive into them.
Comparing the Amex Platinum and Amex Business Platinum
Let’s start with a quick comparison of both cards.
| The Platinum Card from American Express | The Business Platinum Card from American Express | |
|---|---|---|
| Welcome offer | Find out your offer and see if you are eligible for as high as 175,000 bonus points after spending $8,000 on purchases within the first six months of card membership. (Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.) | Earn 200,000 bonus points after spending $20,000 on purchases in the first three months of card membership. |
| Annual fee | $895 | $895 |
| Earning rates |
|
|
| Unique benefits |
Enrollment is required for select benefits. |
Enrollment is required for select benefits. |
Related: 9 things to do when you get the Amex Business Platinum Card
Perks offered by both cards
These are the main benefits that both cards offer their members (enrollment is required for select benefits, and terms apply):
- Up to $600 statement credit each calendar year (up to $300 semi-annually) on prepaid bookings at Fine Hotels + Resorts or The Hotel Collection properties made through Amex Travel (minimum two-night stay requirement for The Hotel Collection)
- Enjoy an airline fee statement credit of up to $200 per calendar year on charges with the airline you select
- Get $120 as a statement credit for your Global Entry application fee (every four years) or a statement credit of up to $85 for TSA PreCheck (every 4½ years)
- Receive a statement credit per calendar year to reimburse your annual Clear Plus membership fee (up to $209 per calendar year; subject to auto-renewal). Use your card to pay for a Clear Plus membership (it doesn’t have to be for you) and be reimbursed automatically
- Eligible cardmembers can access the American Express Global Lounge Collection, which includes Centurion Lounges, Priority Pass™ lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (limited to 10 annual visits; when flying on a same-day Delta flight; except basic economy flights; spend $75,000 in a calendar year to unlock unlimited flights), Aspire lounges, Escape lounges, Plaza Premium lounges and Lufthansa lounges
- Complimentary car elite rental status with Hertz President’s Circle, Avis Preferred Plus and National Emerald Club Executive
- Complimentary Gold elite status with Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy, plus Leaders Club Sterling status from Leading Hotels of the World
- Enjoy no foreign transaction fees (see rates and fees for the Amex Platinum and rates and fees for the Amex Business Platinum)
- Access to Amex’s Fine Hotels + Resorts program and the Hotel Collection (minimum two-night stay requirement for the Hotel Collection)
- Benefit from various travel protections and purchase protections
- Up to $400 Resy statement credit each calendar year, (up to $100 each quarter) for U.S. Resy restaurants
- Access to Platinum nights by Resy in Los Angeles, Miami and New York
- Enrollment is required for select benefits
Reasons to choose the Amex Business Platinum over the Amex Platinum
Now that their similarities are out of the way, let’s focus on their differences and how those might sway you to choose the Amex Business Platinum instead of the Amex Platinum.
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You have or already had the personal Amex Platinum
Like many other issuers, American Express has increasingly restricted who is eligible for the welcome bonuses on its cards. The offer terms for the Platinum, for instance, say the following:
“You may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer if you have or have had this Card, the Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Charles Schwab, the Platinum Card® from American Express Exclusively for Morgan Stanley or previous versions of these Cards. You also may not be eligible to receive a welcome offer based on various factors, such as your history with credit card balance transfers, your history as an American Express Card Member, the number of credit cards that you have opened and closed and other factors. If you are not eligible for a welcome offer, we will notify you prior to processing your application so you have the option to withdraw your application.”
The information for the Platinum Amex for Charles Schwab and the Amex Exclusively for Morgan Stanley has been collected independently by The Points Guy. The card details on this page have not been reviewed or provided by the card issuer.
So, if you already have the Platinum, or even if you carried it in the past but have since closed it, you might be blocked from taking advantage of its current welcome offer.
If you want to regain some of its benefits and the chance to score thousands of additional Membership Rewards points, you might have to opt for the Business Platinum instead.
Related: 10 things to do when you get the Amex Platinum
You spend enough to earn the Amex Business Platinum’s higher welcome offer
The Business Platinum welcome bonus requires some strategy to earn the offer in its entirety since the minimum spending requirement is $20,000 over three months. That’s a considerable amount, but it’s not outside the budget of some small businesses.
By contrast, the Platinum currently has a lower spending requirement to earn its welcome bonus: $8,000 spent within the first six months of card membership. Plus, you have double the time of the business version to reach it.
The personal card’s terms might work better for you, considering you have twice the time to spend less than half the amount of money for the bonus points.
If you haven’t held either card, consider whether you can meet the minimum spending requirement on the Business Platinum organically. If you think it might be a concern, opt for the Platinum.
You spend a lot on flights and hotels
The two cards have very similar earning structures with two subtle (but significant) differences.
First, the personal card earns 5 points per dollar spent on flights booked through Amex Travel, plus directly with airlines, while the Business Platinum only earns 5 points per dollar spent on flights booked through Amex Travel.
Second, the personal card’s bonus-earning on flights is capped at $500,000 in spending per calendar year (then 1 point per dollar after that), while the business version has no such cap.
Both cards earn 5 points per dollar spent on prepaid hotel bookings with Amex Travel.
If you tend to just book flights directly with airlines, the personal card is a better choice. However, if you use Amex Travel for a lot of your travel plans — or if you have that option — then you at least won’t be missing out by charging your reservations to the Business Platinum.
Plus, if you book a lot of flights — more than $500,000 worth per year — with your card, then you’re definitely better off with the business card since its bonus-qualifying spending isn’t capped at that amount.
Related: The best credit cards for paying taxes and fees on award tickets
You can maximize the Amex Business Platinum’s large-transaction and business category bonuses
The Business Platinum has a unique earning structure:
- 2 points per dollar spent on purchases of $5,000 or more
- 2 points per dollar spent on U.S. purchases from construction material and hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, shipping providers, and software and cloud system providers
Both have a combined $2 million spending cap per calendar year (then 1 point per dollar).
If you frequently make these types of business purchases — or regularly use your card for transactions of more than $5,000 — then the Business Platinum blows the personal version out of the water.
You might also find creative ways to leverage this purchase bonus on one-off expenditures.
Related: The top 7 credit cards to maximize large purchases
You use Pay with Points for premium travel
One major way the two cards diverge is that the Business Platinum offers cardmembers a bonus of 35% of the points they redeem through Amex’s Pay with Points feature, while the personal version does not. There are a few stipulations.
First, you only receive the 35% points bonus on flights booked through Amex Travel on your designated airline (the same one you selected for the annual up to $200 airline fee statement credit). The ticket can be in any cabin class.
Secondly, you’ll only be able to receive up to 1 million points back per year.
Even if you seldom redeem Membership Rewards points this way, this one benefit can save you tens of thousands of points on a single ticket.
That makes carrying the Business Platinum instead of the personal card well worth it since the latter won’t provide any points bonus when you use Pay with Points.
You prefer the business card’s statement credits
The personal and business versions offer many unique annual statement credits.
The personal card offers quite a few lifestyle statement credits. But if they aren’t for things you actually use (or plan to), why bother trying to track them while juggling the card’s steep annual fee?
The Business Platinum offers hundreds of dollars in annual statement credits with popular merchants. (Enrollment is required for select benefits.)
Plus, with the Business Platinum, you’ll earn up to $1,200 in Amex Travel flight statement credits and up to $2,400 in One AP statement credits (valid from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31 of the calendar year after meeting the requirement), after spending $250,000 or more on eligible purchases (spending on your card this year counts toward the requirement).
While this is a substantial spending requirement, if you can meet it organically, the Business Platinum could be a better option. That said, these benefits aren’t substantial enough to make it worth going out of your way to spend that much on the Business Platinum.
Related: How to decide if a credit card’s annual fee is worth paying
You don’t use Uber that often
The personal card includes up to $15 in Uber Cash each month for rides and Uber Eats orders in the U.S. (The amount increases to up to $35 in December.) That’s a total yearly benefit of up to $200 per calendar year. You must have your Amex Platinum included as a payment option and redeem with any Amex card.
Plus, you’ll get a statement credit for up to $120 each calendar year that fully covers an annual, auto-renewing Uber One membership ($96 annually or $9.99 monthly; enrollment required).
The potential savings available with this benefit are pretty substantial, but remember that these credits don’t roll over from month to month. So, if you don’t use Uber regularly, you might be unable to take full advantage of it.
Related: Who should (and shouldn’t) get the Amex Business Platinum?
Bottom line
Both the Amex Platinum and the Business Platinum are excellent rewards cards with a variety of benefits from which members can reap tremendous value.
Which card is right for you will come down to understanding which one offers the best combination of welcome bonus, ongoing rewards and benefits for your needs.
Consider which card best matches your financial habits and needs, and which card’s other perks you’re most likely to leverage year after year.
All that said, you might want to consider carrying both the personal and business Amex Platinum cards since there are plenty of ways the two cards don’t overlap.
To learn more, check out our full reviews of the Amex Platinum and Amex Business Platinum.
Apply here: The Business Platinum Card from American Express
Apply here: The Platinum Card from American Express
For rates and fees of the Amex Business Platinum Card, click here.
For rates and fees of the Amex Platinum Card, click here.