I swooped in today before the August 8 expiration date for Rob for the bonus offer for the American Express Business Platinum card where you can earn 50,000 Membership Rewards points after you spend $10,000 and an extra 50,000 points after you spend an additional $15,000 on purchases within your first 3 months of Card Membership. That is a total of 100,000! Membership Rewards points. (The offer prior to this was 75,000 points) and for $450, I couldn’t pass this up. You can access the offer here.
Yes, as mentioned, the card has a a hefty $450 annual fee which is really not $450 because of the $200 airline fee credit. As I indicated in a prior post, The Dog Ate My Timberlands, I happily pay the fee for my Amex Platinum because of all of the benefits and perks that I receive for the $450 fee. Not to mention, the 125,000 bonus points you will get the first year (100,000 bonus plus 25,000 spend) will yield u AT LEAST $1250 in travel the first year.
With the card, you earn 1x Membership Rewards point for every dollar you spend on most purchases. You earn 2x Membership Rewards points for each dollar of eligible purchases made when you book on the American Express Travel website. Also, you can earn 1.5X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on ANY purchase of $5,000 or more. Lastly, you earn 5x Membership Rewards points on airfare and prepaid hotels booked through American Express Travel and paid for with your Business Platinum card.
As for redeeming points, as a Business Platinum Card Member, you can now earn 35% points back when using Membership Rewards Pay with Points through American Express Travel to book a flight with their selected airline. You can also receive this benefit when booking a first or business class ticket with ANY airline any airline available through American Express Travel. In both cases, you must use your Amex Business Platinum card as payment. Note, with the 35% benefit, you can get up to 500,000 bonus points per calendar year.
Don’t want to use your points redeeming thru Amex? Don’t worry, you can transfer points to numerous frequent traveler programs. I do this all the time!
There are no foreign transaction fees when you use your card on purchases made outside the United States. In addition, there is also a $200 Airline Fee Credit and a fee credit for TSA Pre✓ or Global Entry.
The card comes with complimentary airport lounge access to The Centurion Lounges, Delta Sky Clubs, and Airspace Lounges and you can enroll in Priority Pass Select at no additional cost. These programs provide you access to numerous domestic and international airport lounges.
The card also gives you the International Airline Program benefit where anytime you purchase a qualifying Business Class, First Class or PREMIUM ECONOMY ticket for international air travel with your card on participating airlines, you can get a complimentary ticket for a companion up to $2,500.
You enjoy complimentary benefits and competitive rates at FINE HOTELS & RESORTS. There is a concierge staff available to you day or night as a personal resource.
You have Purchase Protection, Extended Warranty and Return Protection. You can read more about these here.
Also, as a Platinum Card Member, you can upgrade to Starwood Preferred Guest Gold Status without meeting any stay requirements. Also you are eligible to enroll in complimentary Hilton HHonors Gold status.
