The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (terms apply, see rates & fees) is one of few cards that offer to bonus your large purchases, making it a great choice for those potentially large business related expenses. Although the annual fee may be considered rather steep, it’s packed with benefits that will help offset the sting of that fee and help you get value from those points.
Every purchase of $5,000 or more on this card will earn 1.5 Membership Rewards® for the first $2 million per year, potentially making it an excellent value proposition for businesses that often incur expenses over that amount.
Rewards: Earn 5 Membership Rewards® points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels through American Express Travel, 1.5 points per dollar on eligible purchases at U.S. construction material & hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers and software and cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else, on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year and 1 point per dollar on other eligible purchases.
Welcome offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after spending $20,000 in eligible purchases with the card within the first 3 months of card membership.
Annual fee: $695
Other benefits and drawbacks: This card comes with several statement credits toward purchases at select companies in the first year of membership, however they are not automatic and require enrollment ahead of time. You will get up to a $400 credit toward purchases at Dell Technologies (up to $200 semi-annually) to offset any equipment purchases from that company through 12/31/24, up to $360 in statement credits per year for the job posting website Indeed.com (coming in at up to $90 per quarter) through 12/31/24, up to $150 annually in prepaid business plan purchases from Adobe through 12/31/24, and up to a $10 monthly credit for wireless telephone services for a total of $120 a year.
Perhaps the most valuable statement credit within the travel space, you will get up to $200 in annual credit toward airline fees to offset any incidental charges from one airline, which requires choosing a specific airline before taking advantage of it, along with $189 in statement credits to offset the year membership to CLEAR® Plus so that you can move faster through security at airports.
With this card, you will be earning Membership Rewards that can be transferred to multiple travel partners to book flights or hotel stays where you can potentially obtain outsize value. Moreover, when redeeming your Membership Rewards from this card, you are given a 35% rebate of the total points you use to redeem for a first- or business-class ticket through American Express Travel when you use the Pay with Points option.
