On the heels of a major refresh of the personal Platinum Card® from American Express, Amex has made major changes to the Business Platinum Card® from American Express. It follows a familiar script.
Announced way back in October, American Express is adding a handful of additional benefits and money-saving credits while pushing the annual fee up to $695 on the Business Platinum Card – an increase of $100 from the old $595 annual fee (see rates & fees).
So what are the additional American Express Business Platinum Card benefits that launched in October? Read on for everything you need to know.
Click Here to learn more about the Business Platinum Card® from American Express.
What are the Additional Amex Business Platinum Card Benefits?
With the Business Platinum Card refresh, American Express seems focused on rewarding cardholders for business-to-business (B2B) transactions. A handful of new (and enhanced) statement credits will allow cardholders to recoup a large majority of their annual fee – that is of course if they are actually using them.
Welcome Offer Bonus
You can now earn 120,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with your Card within the first three months of Card Membership. That's up from the previous bonus of 100,000 points for the same spending requirement.
Up to $400 in Annual Statement Credits on Dell Purchases
Business Platinum cardholders will get double the money at Dell.
Each year, Business Platinum cardholders will now get up to $400 to spend on purchases with Dell: You'll receive $200 from January through June and another $200 from July through December. These credits are a use-it-or-lose-it benefit, meaning any balance you have left each six-month period will be forfeited.
This credit isn't new, but it was previously $200 a year – $100 towards Dell purchases every six months. Enrollment is required to take advantage of this benefit, which can be done on the benefits tab of your American Express online account.
Up to $360 in Annual Statement Credits at Indeed
Business Platinum cardholders will now get up to a $360 annual statement credit on all Indeed hiring and recruiting products. Cardholders will get up to $90 each quarter. Again, any unused amount will not roll over to the next quarter: It will be forfeited.
Enrollment is required to take advantage of this benefit, which can be done on the benefits tab of your American Express online account.
Up to $150 in Annual Statement Credits on Adobe Products
Business Platinum Cardholders will also now get up to $150 each year to spend on select Adobe purchases, including Adobe Creative Cloud, and Acrobat Pro DC with e-sign. The benefit is valid only on purchases of annual prepaid subscriptions.
This benefit is given as a lump sum of $150 each year. However, be warned. This credit is only valid for annual prepaid plans. Monthly subscriptions will not trigger the credit according to the cardmember terms and conditions.
Enrollment is required to take advantage of this benefit, which can be done on the benefits tab of your American Express online account.
Up to $120 Each Year for Wireless Phone Service
Business Platinum Cardholders will now get up to $120 in statement credits each year for purchases made directly with any U.S. wireless telephone provider. The credits will be issued $10 per month ($120 per year). Any unused amount will be forfeited.
However, if you pay your wireless phone bill with your card, this one should be pretty easy to take advantage of.
According to the American Express website, the following service providers will be eligible for the credit.
- AT&T
- Sprint
- T-Mobile
- Verizon
Amex says this is not a complete list, but notably, when Amex offered temporary wireless credits for cardholders in 2020 to help weather the pandemic, Google Fi service was not eligible for the statement credit.
Paying your wireless bill with your Business Platinum Card will also make you eligible for cell phone insurance protection.
Enrollment is required to take advantage of this benefit, which can be done on the benefits tab of your American Express online account.
An Annual $189 Statement Credit for CLEAR Plus Membership
Business Platinum cardholders will now get up to a $189 annual credit for a CLEAR Plus membership, the privately run security program. Just pay for your membership with your Business Platinum Card and the credit should kick in automatically.
You can easily lower the cost of CLEAR to just $119 by being a Delta SkyMiles or United MileagePlus member. That leaves some extra money on the table with this additional credit, which you could use by adding a family member to your account for $50.
Read More: How to Use the Amex Platinum CLEAR Credit…For Two!
Read our review of CLEAR … and whether it's worth the cost!
While there are quite a few credit cards that will reimburse for the cost of either TSA PreCheck or Global Entry, The personal and Business Platinum Cards are the first and only credit cards that will completely cover the cost of CLEAR membership. And you’ll still get that credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck, too.
Amex is marketing this as a additional benefit of the Business Platinum Card, but in reality, it has been available on the card since July when they refreshed the personal Platinum Card.
Additional 1.5x Membership Rewards® Points Earning Categories
Business Platinum Cardholders will now earn 1.5x Membership Rewards Points per dollar spent on up to $2 million spent on eligible purchases in key business categories each calendar year:
- Electronics goods retailers, software, and cloud service providers
- U.S. Construction materials and hardware suppliers
- Shipping providers
The Business Platinum Card currently earns 1.5x points per dollar spent on transactions of $5,000 or more. These categories would be in addition to that bonus. So assuming you had a purchase in one of these categories of more than $5,000, you would earn 3x points per dollar spent.
These additional categories are in addition to the 5x Membership Rewards points per dollar spent you will already earn on flights and pre-paid hotels booked through AmexTravel.com.
Premium Private Jet Program
Do you fly private? Or plan to do so?
Business Platinum cardholders will now get a 20% discount on Wheels Up Connect and a 40% discount on Wheels Up Core memberships. You’ll also get a $500 or $2,000 credit added to your Wheels Up account to use towards your initial flight within your first year, depending on which Wheels Up membership you select.
More information on this perk can be found here.
Global Dining Access by Resy
Lastly, Amex Platinum cardholders will get access to the new Global Dining Access program from Resy. The Platform will give Platinum cardholders access to exclusive reservations at some of the world’s top restaurants.
They will also get access to premium events and other perks like priority notifications and VIP status.
More information can be found here.
Existing Business Platinum Card Benefits
These new benefits are in addition to the longstanding benefits on the card, which aren't going anywhere.
- Earn 5x points on flights and pre-paid hotels booked in advance through AmexTravel.com
- $200 Airline Fee Credit: Get up to $200 back in statement credits each year on incidental fees at one selected qualifying airline.
- 35% Points Back when Card Members pay with points to purchase all or part of an airline fare (up to 500,000 points back per calendar year). This works for one selected airline in economy class, and all airlines in business or first class.
- Cell Phone Protection for repair or replacement costs following damage or theft up to $800 per claim, with a limit of two approved claims per 12 month period, when the cell phone line is listed on a wireless bill and the prior month’s wireless bill was paid by an Eligible Card Account. A $50 deductible will apply to each approved claim.
- Up to $100 credit on a Global Entry or TSA Pre✓® application fee.
- Airport Lounge Access: Complimentary access to the Amex Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs (when flying Delta), and a Priority Pass Select Membership.
Our Analysis
For better or for worse, American Express seems to be all in on these sponsored credit card benefits.
Offering statement credits for specific companies likely costs Amex very little, allowing them to provide perceived value for new and existing cardholders – and justifying another annual fee increase. So while they claim you can get up to $1,400 with the card, that math gets a little fuzzy if you don't plan to use some of the additional statement credits.
That said, I think a lot of cardholders will find value in the new wireless phone service credit of up to $120. As a Business Platinum cardholder myself, this is a big deal for me as I am already paying my phone bill with a credit card. By simply paying my phone bill with my Business Platinum Card, I will get $120 back each year.
With that one, $120 yearly credit alone, I'm already effectively paying less each year with the annual fee increases to $695, since $695 – $120 = $575. A handful of other credits like for Adobe purchases and doubling the existing Dell credit adds up, too.
By and large, I think a lot of the additional Business Platinum Card benefits will be easier to use than the benefits on the updated consumer Platinum Card.
Bottom Line
American Express has rolled out a handful of additional benefits to the Business Platinum Card from American Express and increased the card's annual fee from $595 to $695.
Click Here to learn more about the Business Platinum Card® from American Express.
Photos courtesy of American Express