How LendingTree Rates Credit Cards?
Our experts rate credit cards based on several factors including card benefits, bonus offers and independent research. Credit card issuers do not influence or have a say in our card ratings. Read our credit card methodology here.Are premium travel benefits worth a $895 annual fee? If you’re a business owner who enjoys luxury perks and is constantly on the move, the answer is a definite yes. With over $3,500 in value-packed perks and credits (after meeting qualifying spend thresholds) — like lounge access, airline fee credits (enrollment required), concierge services and business credits for brands like Dell and Adobe (enrollment required) — The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is built to elevate your travel experience.
For road warriors who maximize these perks, the card can more than pay for itself year after year. But if you don’t travel enough to get the mileage out of it, you should check out a moderately priced alternative, like the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
We use calculations to estimate the value of each card for the average cardholder, based on LendingTree and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.
Annual fee: $895
Welcome offer: Elevated Welcome Offer: Earn 200,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Business Platinum Card® within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
Rewards: 1X - 5X points
Regular purchase APR: 18.24% - 28.99% Variable
Foreign transaction fee: None
Other benefits:
Recommended credit: Good / Excellent
Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Annual Fee | Rewards Rate | Welcome Offer | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
|
$895 | 1X - 5X points
| 200,000 points
Elevated Welcome Offer: Earn 200,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Business Platinum Card® within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
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American Express® Business Gold Card
|
$375 | 1X - 4X points
| 100,000 points
Earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.*
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Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card*
|
$95 | 1X - 3X points
| 90,000 points
Earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
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American Express Platinum Card®
|
$895 | 5X points
| As high as 175,000 points
You may be eligible for as high as 175,000 Membership Rewards® Points after spending $8,000 in eligible purchases on your new Card in your first 6 months of Membership. Welcome offers vary and you may not be eligible for an offer.
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The Business Platinum Card® from American Express provides more than $3,000 in value annually from its credits alone (after meeting qualifying spend thresholds). These credits include:
Additionally, this card offers a statement credit of $120 every four years for Global Entry or an $85 credit every four and a half years for TSA PreCheck®.
As of July 1, cardholders will need to meet a spending requirement to qualify for the Dell Technologies and Adobe credits.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express boasts one of the highest welcome offers currently available. You’ll get an Elevated Welcome Offer: Earn 200,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Business Platinum Card® within the first 3 months of Card Membership. If you redeem your points via the American Express travel portal, the welcome offer will be worth approximately $2,000.
However, the most valuable way to redeem your American Express points is to transfer them to travel partners. American Express Membership Rewards® are typically worth about 0.5 to 1 cent each. By transferring them to the right partners, you can increase the value to 2 cents or higher — potentially boosting the value of the welcome offer to $4,000.
If you’re looking for the best business card for airport lounge access, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is top of the line. When you use the card to book a flight, you can enjoy access to more than 1,550 lounges across over 140 countries and counting through the American Express Global Lounge Collection®. This includes The Centurion® Lounge, Delta Sky Club, Escape Lounges, Plaza Premium Lounges, Priority Pass Lounges (enrollment required) and Lufthansa Lounges.
As a cardholder of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, you have access to an array of complimentary hotel perks when you book your stay through Fine Hotels + Resorts. This includes:
Plus, you’ll get Hilton Honors Gold status (enrollment required) and Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status (enrollment required). This gets you access to perks like increased point earnings and room upgrades when available when you stay with these chains.
This card’s annual fee of $895 is one of the highest around. Granted, if you take advantage of its long list of travel perks and credits, the card is well worth its annual fee.
That said, if you’re a business owner who only travels occasionally, a no-annual-fee travel card, like The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express (see rates & fees), may be a better choice.
→ Check out our list of the best no-annual-fee travel credit cards.
The minimum spending requirement to qualify for the welcome offer is very high and must be met within a short period of time. To earn it, you’ll need to make approximately $6,667 in purchases using your card each month for three months.
The following categories are eligible to earn the highest rewards rate:
You’ll also earn 100,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.*
You’ll earn 3 points per $1 on the first $150,000 spent in combined purchases on travel, shipping purchases, Internet, cable and phone services, advertising purchases made with social media sites and search engines each account anniversary year. Earn 1 point per $1 on all other purchases-with no limit to the amount you can earn. You can also earn 90,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Its rewards are more valuable and more flexible than Amex Membership Rewards: You can get more value on points when you redeem them for any travel purchase through Chase’s portal. And, like Amex, you can transfer your points to several airline and hotel partners at a rate of 1:1.
That said, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card doesn’t come close to offering the same luxurious benefits or credits that The Business Platinum Card® from American Express does. Still, it does come with a variety of helpful travel and purchase protections.
You’ll also get more than $2,000 worth of credits (enrollment required), hotel elite status (enrollment required) and access to a variety of lounges worldwide through the Global Lounge Collection®. In fact, it’s our pick for the best credit card with airport lounge access.
That said, it charges a $895 annual fee (see rates & fees). Plus, purchases outside of travel earn a low rewards rate.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express shines as a premium business card, offering exceptional travel perks like annual travel credits, a CLEAR® Plus fee credit (enrollment required) and unmatched airport lounge access. For business owners who maximize these benefits, the $895 annual fee can easily be justified.
But if you want a better rewards rate and a lower annual fee, the American Express® Business Gold Card might be a better choice. Or, for an even lower annual fee with strong rewards potential, consider the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card.
To see rates & fees for American Express cards mentioned on this page, visit the links provided below:
The information related to the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has been independently collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication. Terms apply.
The content above is not provided by any issuer. Any opinions expressed are those of LendingTree alone and have not been reviewed, approved, or otherwise endorsed by any issuer. The offers and/or promotions mentioned above may have changed, expired, or are no longer available. Check the issuer's website for more details.