Amex Business Platinum gets new benefits, higher annual fee
This summer, American Express increased the annual fee and benefits for its flagship consumer credit card, The Platinum Card® from American Express. This change left many wondering if the business version of the card would follow suit.
Well, as you may have guessed, The Business Platinum Card® from American Express will also have a higher annual fee of $695, up from $595, along with more benefits like card perks and statement credits. The new annual fee of $695 starts on or after Jan. 13, 2022 for both new and existing cardmembers.
What’s changing with the Business Platinum Amex card?
If you are vying for this business credit card or wondering if you’ll keep it or downgrade your Amex card, it’s helpful to know what’s changing and if the new higher fee is worth it. We’ll also give you a rundown of what’s staying the same for U.S. Amex Business Platinum cardholders.
What’s staying
Current and new card members will still earn 5X points on flights and prepaid hotels booked through AmexTravel.com. Plus, you’ll still get an annual $200 airline fee credit with a select airline and 35 percent points bonus when using Amex points to book qualifying airfare through AmexTravel.com (up to 500,000 points back per calendar year).
Also, you’ll still receive benefits like cellphone protection (terms and conditions apply), up to a $100 credit on a Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee and access to Pay Over Time.
What’s new
Essentially, the changes focus on providing additional value to cardholders who may not be benefiting from travel-related perks and rewards due to scaling back business travel during the pandemic.
As a result, there are now more card benefits geared toward adding value where businesses are spending: wireless, technology, software and recruitment. Also, there’s now up to $1,000 each year in statement credits, including:
- Up to $400 annual statement credit on all Dell purchases, up to $200 semiannually ($200 increase from the existing Dell benefit)
- Up to $360 annual statement credit on all Indeed hiring, recruiting products and services to post open positions, up to $90 per quarter
- Up to $150 annual statement credit on select Adobe purchases, including Adobe Creative Cloud and Acrobat Pro DC with e-sign
- Up to $120 annual statement credits for purchases made directly from any U.S. wireless telephone provider, up to $10 per month
Plus, there are additional ways to earn rewards, including:
- Earning 1.5X Membership Rewards points on purchases for up to $2 million per calendar year across new categories that include: electronics goods, retailers, software, and cloud service providers, construction materials and hardware supplies and shipping providers
- Earning 1.5X points on large purchases over $5,000
There’s also good news for business owners who are still traveling and expecting travel-related benefits from one of the best travel credit cards around. The Amex Business Platinum card is upping the ante and offering enhanced premium travel and dining benefits that were part of the consumer version of the card that debuted earlier this year.
These perks include annual credits toward Clear membership, improved Centurion Lounge Network access, discounts toward a private jet program with Wheels Up and access to Resy’s Global Dining program.
