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.The information related to the The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has been independently collected by LendingTree and has not been reviewed or provided by the issuer of this card prior to publication.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express offers plenty of benefits for business owners who travel frequently and take advantage of luxury perks — which include airline fee credits, lounge access and concierge service. Plus, the card offers a very generous welcome offer.
Benefits include airline fee credits, lounge access and concierge service. Plus, cardholders eager to rack up Membership Rewards points will love the welcome offer.
It has an annual fee of $695, which is one of the highest out there — so this may not be the best card for businesses that don’t travel much. But if you travel enough and take advantage of the many travel credits and business credits — which include Dell, Indeed and Adobe (enrollment required) — then this card may be a worth it for you.
We’ll take a close look at where this card excels, where it falls short and another American Express business card worth considering.
*Enrollment required for these benefits
Intro Purchase APR
N/A
Regular Purchase APR
19.49% - 28.49% Variable
Intro BT APR
N/A
Regular BT APR
N/A
Annual Fee
$695
Cash Advance Fee
N/A
Foreign Transaction Fee
None
Balance Transfer Fee
N/A
Generous welcome offer
Earn 120,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with your Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership. If you redeem that amount via the American Express travel portal, it’s worth about $1,200.
However, the most valuable way to redeem your American Express points is by transferring them to travel partners. American Express Membership Rewards® are typically worth about 0.5 to 1 cent. But by transferring them to the right partners, you can increase the value to 2 cents or higher — so you could possibly turn the welcome offer into $2,400.
Airport lounge access
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. Book your flights with it and enjoy access to more than 1,400 lounges in over 500 airports across 140 countries. Note that enrollment is required for Priority Pass lounges.
More than $1,000 in credits available per year
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express comes with a long list of useful credits. If you were to max them out, that’s a value of more than $1,000 per year. These are awarded as statement credits after eligible spending. The credits include:
In addition to those annual credits, this card offers a statement credit up to $100 to reimburse you when you apply for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck. For the former, you can get the credit every four years. For the latter, it’s every four-and-a-half years.
*Enrollment required for these benefits.
No preset spending limit
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has a unique feature that allows your credit limit to be flexible. There’s no preset spending limit — instead, your credit limit can change depending on your purchase, payment and credit history.
This is a valuable feature that can help business owners who have a lot of variable expenses and may need higher credit limits occasionally.
No foreign transaction fee
If business trips take you or your employees out of the country frequently, don’t worry about paying an extra fee on each transaction — there is none.
High annual fee
This card’s annual fee of $695 is one of the highest around. Granted, it comes with premium travel benefits that can make the annual fee worth it. However, for businesses that only travel occasionally, a no-annual-fee credit card like The American Express Blue Business Cash™ Card is likely to be a better choice.
Minimum spending requirement to earn welcome offer
The minimum spending requirement to qualify for the welcome offer is very high and must be met within a short period of time.
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express also comes with a welcome offer: Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership.
If you’re a small business owner that travels maybe once or twice a year and you’re looking for a simple, no annual fee card, then The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express is likely a better choice. But if you travel frequently and your business has higher spending, then The Business Platinum Card® from American Express could be right for you.
The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card has a more reasonable annual fee than The Business Platinum Card® from American Express at $95.
You can 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.
That’s a generous earning rate with a high spending cap on common business purchases. It also comes with a great welcome offer: Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening.
Although it doesn’t have the travel business credits that The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has, it’s a solid card with an excellent rewards rate, sign-up bonus and travel insurance. Unless you would use all of the credits and the lounge access The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has to offer, the Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card is a solid and more accessible alternative.
The 4X categories include:
You can also earn 70,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.*
If you’re looking for a lower annual fee and you spend a lot in at least two of the categories listed above, then the American Express® Business Gold Card is probably better for you. But if you’re willing to pay the $695 annual fee for credits that align with your spending and plenty of lounge access, then you may want to go with The Business Platinum Card® from American Express.
| Credit Cards | Our Ratings | Annual Fee | Welcome Offer | Rewards Rate | Intro Purchase APR | Regular APR | Intro Balance Transfer APR | Regular Balance Transfer Rate | Balance Transfer Fee | Recommended Credit Credit scores ranges may vary. Your individual chance at approval may vary due to factors such as creditors using a particular variation at their discretion | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
|
$695 | Earn 120,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with your Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership. | 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com, and 1X points for each dollar you spend on eligible purchases. Earn 1.5X points (that’s an extra half point per dollar) on each eligible purchase at US construction material, hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers, and software & 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. | N/A | 19.49% - 28.49% Variable | N/A | N/A | N/A | Good/Excellent | ||
|
American Express® Business Gold Card
|
$375 | Earn 70,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $10,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Gold Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership.* | Get 4X Membership Rewards® points on the 2 select categories where your business spent the most each month on the first $150,000 in combined purchases each calendar year (then 1X thereafter). Earn 3X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels booked on amextravel.com using your Business Gold Card. Earn up to $20 in statement credits monthly after you use the Business Gold Card for eligible U.S. purchases at FedEx, Grubhub, and Office Supply Stores. This can be an annual savings of up to $240. Enrollment required. | N/A | 19.49% - 28.49% Variable | N/A | N/A | N/A | Good/Excellent | ||
|
The Blue Business® Plus Credit Card from American Express
|
No annual fee | Earn 15,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $3,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within your first 3 months of Card Membership. | Earn 2X Membership Rewards® points on everyday business purchases such as office supplies or client dinners. 2X applies to the first $50,000 in purchases per year, 1 point per dollar thereafter. | 0% on purchases for 12 months from date of account opening | 18.49% - 26.49% Variable | N/A | N/A | N/A | Good/Excellent | ||
Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card
 Apply Now
on Chase's secure site |
$95 | Earn 100,000 bonus points after you spend $8,000 on purchases in the first 3 months from account opening. | 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. | N/A | 21.24% – 26.24% Variable | N/A | 21.24% – 26.24% Variable | Either $5 or 5% of the amount of each transfer, whichever is greater | Excellent |
Apply Now
on Chase's secure site |
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express is a standout business card with a valuable array of travel benefits. It’s well worth the annual fee of $695 if you take advantage of benefits such as the annual travel credit (enrollment required), the CLEAR® fee credit (enrollment required) and the unparalleled airport lounge access.
However, business owners wanting more flexibility in earning rewards, plus a less expensive annual fee, might prefer the American Express® Business Gold Card. If neither card fits your needs, one from our list of best small business cards might suit you better.
Some of the biggest benefits of The Business Platinum Card® from American Express include:
Yes, you can add up to 99 employee cards at no cost. Your employee cards earn rewards — and you can oversee their activity, set spending limits and freeze them.
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express has no preset spending limit. Instead of having a permanent spending limit, your credit limit can vary based on your purchase, payment and credit history.
You’ll need a good/excellent credit score to qualify for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express. That ranges from a 690 to 850 FICO Score. When applying for The Business Platinum Card® from American Express and any other credit card, your income, expenses and can affect your chances of getting approved.
