I couldn’t resist the offer i got in the regular mail for 150,000 Membership Rewards points with the American Express Business Platinum card. I needed to spend $15k in 3 months and I jumped at it. The public offer is currently 120,000 bonus points.
And, interestingly enough, I have had the card before. Back in 2018, I switched it to the personal version, so the lifetime rule here didn’t apply to me. Hmmm…
Yes, the card has a a hefty $595 annual fee but the 165,000 bonus points that you will get the first year (150,000 bonus plus 15,000 spend) will yield u AT LEAST $1650 in travel the first year. And the below benefits knock that fee down even further!
With the card, you earn 1x Membership Rewards point for every dollar you spend on most purchases. You earn 1.5X Membership Rewards points on purchases at U.S. electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year. You earn 2x Membership Rewards points for each dollar of eligible purchases made when you book on the American Express Travel website, but 5x Membership Rewards points on airfare and prepaid hotels. Also, you can earn 1.5X Membership Rewards points per dollar spent on ANY purchase of $5,000 or more.
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!
You get up to $200 in statement credits between January and June and up to $100 in statement credits between July and December for U.S. purchases with Dell on your card when enrolled.
You get up to $179 in statement credits per year after you pay for CLEAR with your Platinum Card. This is enough to cover the cost of a CLEAR membership.
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 you have access to lower fares for you and up to 7 of your travel companions.
You get complimentary benefits and competitive rates at FINE HOTELS & RESORTS. There is a concierge staff available to you day or night as a personal resource.
Some new benefits in 2021 are a $360 Ineed Credit, $150 Adobe Credit and $120 Wireless Statement Credits, the only credit I can take advantage of but that is still $120 per year in credits!
You have Purchase Protection, Extended Warranty and Return Protection. You can read more about these here.
Also, as a Business 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.
