How to Maximize the AmEx Business Platinum Card

The Business Platinum Card® from American Express offers an excellent combination of rewards, benefits and premium travel perks in exchange for a $695 annual fee (see rates and fees). It regularly ranks among the top luxury travel credit cards for business owners thanks to benefits like airport lounge access, hundreds of dollars in annual credits for travel and other purchases and extensive built-in protections. Terms apply.

Whether you have the card already or you’re considering signing up, these power user tips can help you maximize The Business Platinum Card® from American Express.

How to get the most from The Business Platinum Card® from American Express

Score the sizeable welcome offer

If you are new to The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, you can start with a new cardmember welcome offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $20,000 in eligible purchases on the Card within the first 3 months of Card Membership. Terms Apply.

Not all businesses spend $5,000 per month on average, so to help you earn the bonus, consider whether you can prepay some expenses on the card during the first three months. Insurance, quarterly estimated tax payments, inventory and supplies are common purchases you might have to make in the near future that could help you hit the minimum spend.

» Learn more: AmEx Membership Rewards: How to earn and use them

Earn maximum points for regular spending

Valuable Membership Rewards points are one of the biggest reasons to sign-up for this card. When you use the card, you earn 5 points per dollar on flights and prepaid hotels booked at amextravel.com, 1.5 points per dollar on large purchases of $5,000 or more (up to one million extra points per year) and purchases at U.S. construction material and hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers and software and cloud system providers, and shipping providers. You'll earn 1 point for each dollar you spend on eligible purchases. Terms apply.

The 5x rate for flights and hotels booked through American Express Travel is particularly lucrative. If you’re shopping around for flights and hotels, be sure to check on prices here to potentially earn more rewards.

Turn your points into miles for higher redemption values

If you redeem points through the American Express portal, you’ll likely find redemption offers that give you a value of around 0.5 to 1 cent per point. Savvy cardholders can sometimes get even more value per point by transferring them to the loyalty programs of a long list of airline and hotel partners. Terms apply.

For example, you could transfer points to Avianca LifeMiles and use those miles to book flights on United or Lufthansa. Bookings for a United flight in the U.S. on Avianca are available for 10,000 LifeMiles or less in some cases. If you use them well, you can get a great value per point. In the example below, an economy-class flight on United from Denver to Santa Barbara, California, costs $249 in cash.

But you could book that same flight on United for 10,000 Avianca LifeMiles. Because American Express Membership Rewards points can be converted to Avianca LifeMiles program at a 1:1 transfer rate, using miles for this flight gets you a value of about 2.5 cents per point.

Other Membership Rewards transfer partners include Delta, British Airways, Singapore Airlines and Etihad.

» Learn more: Advanced tips for using American Express Membership Rewards points

Take full advantage of the $200 airline fee credit

For regular travelers, this card’s annual $200 airline fee credit is almost as good as cash. Once you have your card, pick one airline where you’ll get up to $200 back in the form of statement credits for incidentals like baggage fees and inflight purchases every year. And you can change your preferred airline in January of each year. Terms apply.

You can use the credit to pay for checked bags, upgrade your seat, buy a snack on the plane, or any of a number of other incidental purchases from your airline.

Access airport lounges

If you prefer the sanctity of an airport lounge to hanging out in a busy terminal, this credit card may be your best choice. This card includes access to more than 1,300 lounges worldwide, including the American Express Centurion Lounge network and the International American Express Lounges.

The card also includes a Priority Pass Select membership, which you need to activate first, and access to Delta Sky Club lounges when flying on Delta Air Lines. Cardholders can also access the Delta Sky Club when flying Delta up to 10 visits per year (though they can earn unlimited Delta Sky Club visits if they spend $75,000 on the card in a calendar year). Terms apply.

Take the express lane with Global Entry or TSA PreCheck

Standing in lines is one of the worst parts of airport travel, but you can take a fast lane in many airports when you have a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck membership. If you pay for a membership with your card, you’ll get a credit worth up to $100 up to once every four years for Global Entry or $85 every 4.5 years for TSA PreCheck. Note that the TSA PreCheck application fee was recently lowered to $78. Terms apply.

Global Entry includes PreCheck benefits, so it’s worth signing up for the more expensive program, effectively for free, if you travel internationally.

Activate elite hotel status

When checking into a hotel, it’s nice to hear you got a room upgrade or other elite traveler perk. The Business Platinum Card® from American Express includes complimentary upgrades to Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite status and Hilton Honors Gold Status, which come with benefits like accelerated points earning on every stay and space-available late checkout. Enrollment required. Terms apply.

Enroll in both hotel programs, request Gold elite status and American Express will confirm your eligibility to the hotel loyalty programs, getting you a more luxurious experience nearly anywhere you travel. Terms apply.

Take advantage of travel and purchase protections

AmEx cards often come loaded with premium purchase and travel benefits — and this card doesn’t disappoint. Benefits include trip delay insurance, trip cancellation and interruption insurance, rental car insurance, baggage insurance and other protections to save you money and help ensure smooth travels. Terms apply.

When swiping, tapping, dipping or using your card to pay in any other way, eligible new items are covered by purchase protection and an automatic extended manufacturer’s warranty.

» Learn more: You can now use AmEx points to bid on flight upgrades

Get to know your other credits and perks

A few more valuable features included with The Business Platinum Card® from American Express are below.

• Up to $400 Dell statement credit: Get up to $400 back every year ($200 in the first half of the year and $200 in the second half of the year) for eligible purchases from Dell Technologies. Enrollment required.

• Up to $360 Indeed statement credit: Get up to $300 back every year for purchases with the job search company Indeed. Enrollment required.

• Up to $150 Adobe statement credit: Get up to $150 back every year on select subscription plans with Adobe. Enrollment required.

• Up to $120 in statement credits for wireless telephone service: Get up to $10 back each month on your cell phone bill. Enrollment required.

• Fine Hotels & Resorts: When you book a hotel in this program you can get benefits like free daily breakfast for two, room upgrades, late check-out, early check-in, free Wi-Fi internet or a hotel amenity valued at $100.

• Card concierge: Outsource your to-do list with this complimentary benefit. A card concierge can make bookings, shop for deals and more for you and your business.

• No foreign transaction fees: As one would expect with a premium travel rewards card, this card charges no foreign transaction fees when you use it outside of the United States.

• 35% airline bonus: When you redeem Membership Rewards for an eligible first class or business class flight, you’ll get 35% of your points back up to 500,000 points per year.

Terms apply.

The bottom line

This credit card has so many benefits, it’s almost overwhelming. To make sure you don’t miss out, take time to review all of the card’s benefits.

The $695 annual fee isn’t negligible, but when you take a few simple steps to get the most from The Business Platinum Card® from American Express, the benefits can add up to well over the annual cost. Terms apply.