Is The Amex Business Platinum Worth The Annual Fee? How To Decide…

Link: Apply now for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express (review) is a popular business card. The card has a $695 annual fee (Rates & Fees), which is of course on the steep side. Often people will wonder if the card is worth that amount of money. There’s no “one size fits all” answer, so in this post, I want to talk about how I’d go about deciding.

The way I view it, there’s not just one question here. It comes down to whether the card is worth getting in the first place, and also whether it’s worth keeping, based on the ongoing perks. So here are my thoughts on the value proposition of the Amex Business Platinum Card, in no particular order…

The Amex Business Platinum welcome offer is compelling

One of the big incentives to pick up any card is the welcome offer. Fortunately the Amex Business Platinum Card currently has a phenomenal welcome offer, which I value at thousands of dollars. So that can be a great incentive to pick up the card and give it a try for at least a year.

As I’ve explained before, anecdotally I find Amex business cards to be quite easy to get approved for, and there are several advantages when it comes to applying for the Amex Business Platinum, even if you’re new to business cards. There’s no reason to leave those kinds of rewards on the table, if you ask me.

The Amex Business Platinum isn’t a slam dunk for spending

While the Amex Business Platinum Card has a huge welcome offer and features some great perks, the one area where the card is a bit weak is when it comes to actual rewards for spending. The card offers:

• 5x Membership Rewards points on prepaid hotels and flights that are booked through American Express Travel®
• 1.5x Membership Rewards points on eligible purchases in key business categories, including U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers, U.S. electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers, and U.S. shipping providers, as well as eligible purchases of $5,000 or more, regardless of category
• 1x Membership Rewards points on all other eligible purchases

Truth be told, I’d consider cards like The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (review), Capital One Venture X Business (review), and Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card (review), to potentially be more compelling for everyday spending. That’s not necessarily an issue, but the point is that the cards we have for perks and the cards we use for spending aren’t necessarily always the same.

The Amex Business Platinum credits can offset the annual fee

The Amex Business Platinum Card offers a variety of credits and benefits, which on the surface, are the easiest way to offset the annual fee. I won’t go over all the credits here (since too many disclaimers are required), but you can find all the details in my card review. This includes everything from airline fee credits, to wireless credits, to Hilton credits, to Adobe credits, to Dell statement credits, to CLEAR credits, to Indeed credits.

While you can potentially get well over $1,000 in credits per year, a vast majority of people aren’t going to be able to maximize every one of these credits, given the effort required to use them (they’re often broken up into periods, and have restrictions on redemptions).

Personally, I get a decent amount of value out of the airline fee credits, wireless credits, and Hilton credits. For me, they don’t fully offset the annual fee, but they help with a quite.

The Amex Business Platinum lounge access could be valuable

Nowadays, airport lounge access is one of the most valuable perks offered by premium credit cards. Admittedly there’s quite a bit of overlap here, given that premium cards from all of the big issuers offer lounge access, though the details differ.

Amex is known for its comprehensive lounge access perks. What’s most noteworthy is the lounge access perks offered for Amex Centurion Lounges and Delta Sky Clubs, as that’s a major point of differentiation compared to cards from other issuers.

The Amex Business Platinum offers assorted other perks

Beyond the lounge access and credits, the Amex Business Platinum Card offers a variety of perks that will be of varying use to card members. We’re talking about everything from Hilton Honors and Marriott Bonvoy elite status, to Hertz and National elite status, to access to the Amex Fine Hotels + Resorts® program and Amex International Airline program.

Personally, I also appreciate the unique opportunity this card affords for Membership Rewards points redemptions. The card offers a 35% bonus on select Pay With Points redemptions, potentially letting you redeem points for up to 1.54 cents each toward airfare (with some restrictions).

So, is the Amex Business Platinum Card worth it?

What’s my take on the value proposition of the Amex Business Platinum Card? I recently picked up the card again, given the current welcome offer, plus given that I was targeted for an offer with “no lifetime language” (meaning I was eligible for the welcome offer, despite having had the card years back).

The card’s welcome offer is of course great, and a big incentive to pick up the card. Beyond that, I just consider the card’s value proposition on a year-by-year basis. One additional consideration is that I also have the personal version of the card, The Platinum Card® from American Express (review), and there’s some overlap in the benefits between the cards.

Personally, I’ve been getting good value from the credits on this card, and those have largely helped me offset the annual fee. Furthermore, the 35% airline bonus on select Pay With Points redemptions is something I value, given that I have a sizable balance of Membership Rewards points.

I’m not sure I’ll be keeping this card forever, but for now, I’m very happy with it, especially given the offer that I received.

Bottom line

The Amex Business Platinum Card is a premium business card, and one that many people have. It’s worth getting for the large welcome offer, and it’s potentially worth holding onto for the credits, lounge access, and assorted other perks.

Admittedly there’s some effort required to really maximize the card, but for many people, I know the math checks out. If you ask me, the downside to the card is that there are better cards for everyday spending, so that makes it hard to justify putting a significant amount of spending on the card, if you’re looking to maximize your rewards.

What’s your take on the value proposition of the Amex Business Platinum Card?

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).